On Sunday morning Donnie and I will be heading to Ratna Bus Park and taking the bus to Jiri or Shivalaya, and from there walking all the way to Everest Base Camp, Gokyo and then flying out of Lukla. In a previous post I mentioned that in my opinion this is the best single trek you can do in Nepal. Although this will be my third trip into the region, I have not done the part prior to Lukla since 2002 and I'm very interested to see how it's different. The last time I was in this region the insurgency had really just started to heat back up after the royal massacre the summer before. I'm interested to see what's happened now that the insurgency is over.
Another opportunity will be to get up and over the Cho La pass. My last trip had me going up and over this pass, but as fate would have it, we were unable to get across the Ngozumpa Glacier. Even after heading south it turned out due to the excessive amount of glacial melt that the bridges to the village of Nha were up forcing us to take the southern route through Phortse and then over the high trail to Pengboche. This time we will be heading up to Everest Base Camp and Kala Patar first then heading south and heading over the Cho La pass from the east, a route that by all accounts is the better crossing anyway.
We will on the return be flying out of Lukla again, which is always an adventure. as cited numerous times on this blog, that steep graded runway ending essentially with a very steep drop is an interesting airport to fly out of. Really it's more frightening flying into that airport, so I guess we're dodging the really sketchy part. Still the morning flights coincide with the thermal ups which can cause you stomach to hang around in the same vicinity of your throat for the duration of the flight spent in the Khumbu valley.
So again for what I'm guessing will be roughly two and a half weeks this blog will be quiet. I'm sure on my return I'll have plenty of stories to share and more than a few posts to write.
Showing posts with label Ngozumpa Glacier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ngozumpa Glacier. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Mix of Cultural Events: Tibet, America, Bhutan, & Nepal
This month we've got a few events going on. First up this Friday is Losar, more commonly known as Tibetan New Year. Usually there are some celebrations out at Boudha where the Tibetan community of Kathmandu in large part lives. Kim and I went out there last year for the celebration and there were some tensions between Tibetan's who wanted to parade a portrait of the Dali Lama around the stupa and local authorities that are very sensitive to the wants and fears of the Chinese. I suspect it will mostly be lighthearted celebration and throwing some of that flour stuff up in the air while people cheer and chant stuff in a language that I can't comprehend. I really do love the people out at Boudha so I am looking forward to this.
Next we move back to my native United States as there is the upcoming Super Bowl next Monday morning which we will not be able to watch it appears. The only place that appears to be showing it is Phora, and as we are not members it doesn't look like we'll be seeing it there. So back up plan is in effect and the projector will get hooked up to the laptop which will have to stream the audio and have the play-by-play board from ESPN on. Now in some countries you might be able to find a stream of the full broadcast, but in Nepal the internet just isn't up to streaming live video feeds. The plan is currently to supply plenty of buffalo wings, pulled pork sandwiches, and nachos along with some beer and other light alcoholic drinks. A perfect start to a Monday morning with some football. Looking forward to a good game between the Packers and Steelers.
The following weekend we are leaving for a short five day trip to the small Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan. This country is a little difficult to get to and travel in, as the government sets a minimum amount of money to be spent per day and you have to receive a letter of invitation arranged by a travel agency to visit. After a few weeks of e-mails, scanning passports, and wiring cash we got our plane tickets and letters of invitation. One highlight for me will be visiting Taktsang Monastery, better known as tiger's nest, which sits on the side of a cliff roughly 3000 feet above the nearby valley. This is one of the most dramatically placed buildings on the planet and I've always wanted to go there since I first saw a photo of it. Our trip will also coincide with the Punahka festival which I think celebrates the victory over invading Tibetan forces and the result is lots of dancing, costumes and what should be a good time. Really looking forward to this trip and am not really sure what to expect.
After we get back it will be a week and a half to get things in order before Donnie and I set out to reach Everest Base Camp and the Gokyo Region. Yes I did this Trek just last Sept/Oct, but this time we will be walking in from Jiri, rhododendrons should be coming into bloom and I'll get another shot at going over the Cho La pass that I couldn't get to due to being turned back by the Ngozumpu glacier. I'm really looking forward to the part of the trek from Jiri to Lukla as I haven't done it since 2002 when the country was in the midst of civil war, I'm curious to see what those villages and towns are like along that part of the trail now. I remember many of the villages along that route fondly, and they have been some of the better ones I've stayed in amongst the middle hills of Nepal. That trail is also an endurance tester, as over the course of traversing the many ridges passes and valleys on your way to Everest your total elevation gain is higher than the summit of Mt. Everest, roughly 9000 meters, or 27,000feet.
So there should be some fun things to talk about and pictures coming up soon, certainly an interesting month or two.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Everest Trek Part 4: To Base Camp & Back Again
So when I left off, we had just spent all day trying to get to the village of Dragnag in order to prepare for crossing the Cho La pass, but complications on the trail over the Ngozumpa glacier had forced us to turn back and look for another way across. When we found the bridges also up when trying to cross to the village of Nha, we finally ended the day in Machhermo and had to plan another route around to base camp, skipping the Cho La pass. After studying the maps a bit we all decided that we would head south to Phortse Tenga and then cross the Dudh Koshi river ascending to the village of Phortse. From there we planned on taking the high trail to Pengboche and from there follow the main route up to Gorek Shep and Everest base camp. Our plan was to make for the village of Dughla, and then on to Gorek Shep.
I hate getting behind, and my thought was that if I had been able to get over the glacier and the Cho La I would have ended the day in Lobuche. In the back of my mind this is really where I wanted to end the next day, but the distance seemed to make this fairly impractical. We were on the trail early the next morning and made good time retracing our steps south and we made it to the very picturesque village of Phortse still early in the morning. After stopping here for a few photos and dodging some streams that ran down the main trails through town we made our way to the top of the ridge and headed out on to the high trail to Pengboche.
The Village of Phortse
I hate getting behind, and my thought was that if I had been able to get over the glacier and the Cho La I would have ended the day in Lobuche. In the back of my mind this is really where I wanted to end the next day, but the distance seemed to make this fairly impractical. We were on the trail early the next morning and made good time retracing our steps south and we made it to the very picturesque village of Phortse still early in the morning. After stopping here for a few photos and dodging some streams that ran down the main trails through town we made our way to the top of the ridge and headed out on to the high trail to Pengboche.
The Vertigo Inducing High Trail to Pengboche
Monday, October 4, 2010
Everest Trek Part 3: Crossing the Ngozumpa Glacier
I love writing in this blog and I've rarely gone this many days without writing in it, especially after getting back from such a great trip in the Himalaya. The thing is that there has been numerous things conspiring against me. First I've been busy selling and making salsa for the last few days, and I've also come down with a mild head cold that has been making me quite tired. Anyway on to the story.
So After climbing up Gokyo Ri the plan was to head a little ways south, take the trail that crosses the Ngozumpa glacier and end the day at the base of the Cho La pass in the village of Dragnag. I had talked to several people who had come across the pass from the other direction and had said it was a little tricky but they had just followed the cairns and had been able to get across. The pass itself was said to have had some snow on it and to be very steep from the side we were approaching from, but to be otherwise uncomplicated.
So the three of us headed out for what we thought would be an easy couple hours of walking and made for the trail just south of the second gokyo lake that headed across the glacier. At first it seemed simple enough. Sure you were walking over some fairly large rocks and gravel and the terrain was a bit odd but the trail was well worn. Then the trail suddenly came to an end, where the stone and gravel suddenly had toppled into a pool of water that had resulted from a good deal of melting.
From here the plans got a little confusing. with the clear trail gone we looked on some of the nearby side trails. We followed some yak poop which looked fresh, but these trails also ended in similar collapsed gravel, rock and a sudden drop into water. So we took some time to survey the surroundings, as it was hard to tell which bodies of water were connected, and many large piles of rocks and boulders obscured views of what was beyond. After a good half hour of looking over where we had to go and deciding how we were going to get there we started out across the loose rocks, most of them being about the size of a basketball.
It's slow going as you have to avoid the areas that look a little unstable, avoid the water and try to stick to the more stable high ground. Eventually we made our way to the a rock that we had picked out from the first dead end and as we got on the back side of that rock pile I picked up another trail and a couple cairns on the pile to the east. Our big smiles faded immediately as we reached another dead end, which again ended in a sudden steep drop into a pool of water. From this point we again surveyed our position, and picked out a route across some increasingly sketchy terrain. At one point we had to traverse a scree slope, and descended to a very large pool of water that had water and debris falling into it on a regular basis. There was even a trekkers pole floating in this one.
On the other side of this pool we came across a large sand dune, that from across the way I had thought was snow from a distance. There were plenty of cairns on the far side of the sand and even some rocks lain out to spell something, though we couldn't read it. We made out across the sand, but my companions were uncomfortable with the cracks in the sand that showed where it had shifted due to the glacier had melted underneath. We made it over to the other side and climbed over more rocks, only to see a huge body of water. This body of water seemed to snake a couple hundred meters north of us, and connected to the large glacial wake that had formed on the glacier just to the south of us. There was no way we were getting across this. It looked like you could possibly cross a ways to the north, but the route passed over some unstable slopes that were getting ready to fall into the watery pool that was in our way.
All hopes dashed of crossing this glacier from where we were we moved back across the sand dunes, took out our coconut crunchies that had been given to us by the good folks at the Gokyo Namaste lodge and got to thinking about how we could get over to the village of Dragnag. It occurred to me that if we travel south past the end of the glacier we could cross the river at the bridge that goes to the village of Nha, and from there we could turn north and head to Dragnag. Sure it would take us at least three hours to get there from our current location, but at least it was a route that we knew would eventually get us to the destination we were headed for. We consulted our maps and trekking books to make sure I was remembering correctly and with everything looking good we set off to retrace our steps and get off the glacier.
Taking every step carefully over this terrain is a bit draining, and I was mentally and a little physically tired by the time I got back on the main trail. Happy that we were at least getting somewhere we set off with a little vigor southward toward the bridge. As we passed the end of the glacier we found the trail signs that pointed toward the crossing to the village of Nha, and we could see the village not too far ahead of us on the other side of the river. Th problem was that we couldn't see any bridge. I was a bit perplexed as we couldn't even find what looked like a bridge that had been washed out...there were trails along the high flowing river but no bridges anywhere to be seen. Some locals in Nha watched us from the far banks of the river, but they were much to far away for us to try to communicate with them in any way. Feeling thoroughly defeated and the time now closing in on 3PM I was out of suggestions.
Our options it seemed were to try and make it back up to Gokyo, at least a two hour walk when you're in a good mood and rested, or head up to the village above us, Phang. We all hemmed and hawed for a bit. In Gokyo we could get a guide to bring us across the glacier and possibly over the pass, in Phang we could rest. I voted for Gokyo and the others agreed that they thought they could make it. On the way up to the main trail we spotted the bridge to Nha, it was up and there was no crossing this river. Getting back to the main trail my companions decided they just didn't have it in them to make it back to Gokyo, and to be honest I was quite tired myself, so we turned south and made for Phang.
Once in Phang we were told that none of the lodges were open. That was about par for the day's course. So we continued south to the village of Machhermo, where we staggered into the friendly Trekker's lodge that I had stayed in previously. Once there we happily had some soup and conversed with the lodge owner about the days events. He informed us that the glacier had "broken" and that you had to cross it a ways to the north now. Increased water flow from the glacier meant that the bridge to Nha was up more often. It would be some time before people could cross that bridge, maybe another month. With this day completely shot, and not enthused at the prospect of spending another day to possibly attempt the glacier again only to stop in Dragnag before heading over the pass, we seriously looked at taking the southerly route through Phortse and on over the high trail to Pengboche.It would be a long day but it would be possible to make it as far as Dughla.
As disapointing as it was to not get to where we were trying to go, I had no regrets on the day. We had made good informed decisions, it's just that the goal we were trying to accomplish was impossible from the points that we attempted it. Later in the trek we would talk to several trekkers and guides who said the Cho La had received a good amount of snow and was very tricky at the moment. Apparently some things are blessings in disguise. Besides having another pass up that way that I haven't done gives me an excuse to go back up there! The next entry will cover the long day that took me over the high trail to Pengboche, onward to Dughla and onward to Gorek Shep, Base Camp and my one epic day that brought me from the top of Kala Patar all the way to Lukla.
Horses relax at the edge of the Ngozumpa Glacier
So After climbing up Gokyo Ri the plan was to head a little ways south, take the trail that crosses the Ngozumpa glacier and end the day at the base of the Cho La pass in the village of Dragnag. I had talked to several people who had come across the pass from the other direction and had said it was a little tricky but they had just followed the cairns and had been able to get across. The pass itself was said to have had some snow on it and to be very steep from the side we were approaching from, but to be otherwise uncomplicated.
Trail Descends Onto the Glacier
So the three of us headed out for what we thought would be an easy couple hours of walking and made for the trail just south of the second gokyo lake that headed across the glacier. At first it seemed simple enough. Sure you were walking over some fairly large rocks and gravel and the terrain was a bit odd but the trail was well worn. Then the trail suddenly came to an end, where the stone and gravel suddenly had toppled into a pool of water that had resulted from a good deal of melting.
End of the Trail
From here the plans got a little confusing. with the clear trail gone we looked on some of the nearby side trails. We followed some yak poop which looked fresh, but these trails also ended in similar collapsed gravel, rock and a sudden drop into water. So we took some time to survey the surroundings, as it was hard to tell which bodies of water were connected, and many large piles of rocks and boulders obscured views of what was beyond. After a good half hour of looking over where we had to go and deciding how we were going to get there we started out across the loose rocks, most of them being about the size of a basketball.
Ian and Rob Navigate the Glacier
It's slow going as you have to avoid the areas that look a little unstable, avoid the water and try to stick to the more stable high ground. Eventually we made our way to the a rock that we had picked out from the first dead end and as we got on the back side of that rock pile I picked up another trail and a couple cairns on the pile to the east. Our big smiles faded immediately as we reached another dead end, which again ended in a sudden steep drop into a pool of water. From this point we again surveyed our position, and picked out a route across some increasingly sketchy terrain. At one point we had to traverse a scree slope, and descended to a very large pool of water that had water and debris falling into it on a regular basis. There was even a trekkers pole floating in this one.
This Pool Even Had a Trekker's Pole Floating In It
On the other side of this pool we came across a large sand dune, that from across the way I had thought was snow from a distance. There were plenty of cairns on the far side of the sand and even some rocks lain out to spell something, though we couldn't read it. We made out across the sand, but my companions were uncomfortable with the cracks in the sand that showed where it had shifted due to the glacier had melted underneath. We made it over to the other side and climbed over more rocks, only to see a huge body of water. This body of water seemed to snake a couple hundred meters north of us, and connected to the large glacial wake that had formed on the glacier just to the south of us. There was no way we were getting across this. It looked like you could possibly cross a ways to the north, but the route passed over some unstable slopes that were getting ready to fall into the watery pool that was in our way.
Sand Deposit On the Glacier
All hopes dashed of crossing this glacier from where we were we moved back across the sand dunes, took out our coconut crunchies that had been given to us by the good folks at the Gokyo Namaste lodge and got to thinking about how we could get over to the village of Dragnag. It occurred to me that if we travel south past the end of the glacier we could cross the river at the bridge that goes to the village of Nha, and from there we could turn north and head to Dragnag. Sure it would take us at least three hours to get there from our current location, but at least it was a route that we knew would eventually get us to the destination we were headed for. We consulted our maps and trekking books to make sure I was remembering correctly and with everything looking good we set off to retrace our steps and get off the glacier.
Trail Back South
Taking every step carefully over this terrain is a bit draining, and I was mentally and a little physically tired by the time I got back on the main trail. Happy that we were at least getting somewhere we set off with a little vigor southward toward the bridge. As we passed the end of the glacier we found the trail signs that pointed toward the crossing to the village of Nha, and we could see the village not too far ahead of us on the other side of the river. Th problem was that we couldn't see any bridge. I was a bit perplexed as we couldn't even find what looked like a bridge that had been washed out...there were trails along the high flowing river but no bridges anywhere to be seen. Some locals in Nha watched us from the far banks of the river, but they were much to far away for us to try to communicate with them in any way. Feeling thoroughly defeated and the time now closing in on 3PM I was out of suggestions.
Our options it seemed were to try and make it back up to Gokyo, at least a two hour walk when you're in a good mood and rested, or head up to the village above us, Phang. We all hemmed and hawed for a bit. In Gokyo we could get a guide to bring us across the glacier and possibly over the pass, in Phang we could rest. I voted for Gokyo and the others agreed that they thought they could make it. On the way up to the main trail we spotted the bridge to Nha, it was up and there was no crossing this river. Getting back to the main trail my companions decided they just didn't have it in them to make it back to Gokyo, and to be honest I was quite tired myself, so we turned south and made for Phang.
Once in Phang we were told that none of the lodges were open. That was about par for the day's course. So we continued south to the village of Machhermo, where we staggered into the friendly Trekker's lodge that I had stayed in previously. Once there we happily had some soup and conversed with the lodge owner about the days events. He informed us that the glacier had "broken" and that you had to cross it a ways to the north now. Increased water flow from the glacier meant that the bridge to Nha was up more often. It would be some time before people could cross that bridge, maybe another month. With this day completely shot, and not enthused at the prospect of spending another day to possibly attempt the glacier again only to stop in Dragnag before heading over the pass, we seriously looked at taking the southerly route through Phortse and on over the high trail to Pengboche.It would be a long day but it would be possible to make it as far as Dughla.
As disapointing as it was to not get to where we were trying to go, I had no regrets on the day. We had made good informed decisions, it's just that the goal we were trying to accomplish was impossible from the points that we attempted it. Later in the trek we would talk to several trekkers and guides who said the Cho La had received a good amount of snow and was very tricky at the moment. Apparently some things are blessings in disguise. Besides having another pass up that way that I haven't done gives me an excuse to go back up there! The next entry will cover the long day that took me over the high trail to Pengboche, onward to Dughla and onward to Gorek Shep, Base Camp and my one epic day that brought me from the top of Kala Patar all the way to Lukla.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Everest Trek Part 1: Flights, Acclimatization, & Namche Bazaar
I'll start this series of posts with the usual disclaimer; this is a recounting of my experience, and I do not recommend this as an itinerary for most people. I am rarely bothered at all by elevation and thus I ascend a little faster than what some people with medical experience consider ideal. I also tend to walk a little faster than average and carry a light pack, so some distances may be a bit long for the average person attempting their first trip in the Himalaya. This will apply to all posts about this trip, especially my last day which was roughly a 34 mile marathon from the top of Kala Patar all the way back to Lukla.
This trek started with a flight out of Tribhuvan airport in Kathmandu. Not the international terminal, but the domestic one, just a little ways to the north. I arrived early, just around 6AM with a flight time of 7:30. The scene was one of a mob clambering at a tiny set of booths, and since "the line" does not seem to have been invented in Asia yet it was chaotic and a bit of a mess. The early flights got out, but the later flights were put on standby as clouds seem to have moved in to Lukla that morning, something that is not all that uncommon. I figured I'd stay a while to see if things cleared up, but went as far as to call Kim and let her know that I would most likely be around for another day. At 9:30 good news of clear weather came in from Lukla and passengers eagerly filled the planes.
The flight to Lukla takes about 45 minutes or so, and our flight was in a twin otter. We flew high enough to clear the middle hills outside of Kathmandu, but low enough to be below the cloud cover that morning, and this put us not too high above some of the passes that we flew over. This gives some great views of the hills and mountains as you fly over the region, and this time of year you get to spot some really spectacular waterfalls. Landing at Lukla is a bit scary as the plane banks into the mountain and then lands on the sloping runway, coming to a stop just as you reach the top of the slope. To be fair, our pilots that day did a wonderful job and I had a very smooth flight.
Once off the plane I grabbed my bag which weighed in at 8.5 KG full with 4 liters of water, not too shabby for a two week hike. The delay in take off time meant that I didn't get out of the airport until about 10:30 in the morning, and I wasn't sure how long it would take to get to Namche Bazaar, the spot I was planning to spend my first night. Plenty of want to be guides and porters hawked their services at the gate outside the airport, but I just tried to separate myself from the crowds and made for the trail. One man asked me where I was headed, and when I said I was going to try for Namche, he replied by shaking his head and pointing to the sky, "Too late to get to Namche."
Still I'm a goal orientated person, and I'm not a slow hiker, so I kept a consistent pace determined to make Namche by evening. Within an hour or so of leaving Lukla I started passing the package groups that had gotten out on the early flights. I've read that during the busiest seasons you can wait up to 20 minutes to cross some of these suspension bridges due to the number of tourists on them. I passed by a group that was wide eyed on such a bridge snapping pictures of where the stream below joined the Dudh Koshi just beyond. It seemed there was a good chance the rumors were true.
The trail through this portion of the trek is cluttered with stones that have Buddhist carvings, well positioned chortens, and small stupas set here and there. Waterfalls cascade down from the high Himalaya above and you are still low enough that everything is quite green. While some of the villages seem to exist for reasons other than tourism, most of the structures you pass in this area are well stocked with cold drinks, pringles, candy bars and other commodities that trekkers may be craving. Most also advertise their willingness to serve tea, lunch dinner or rooms for a nights stay. You also pass a number of gompas, most set off the main trail a bit, but there are often signs posted to point the way for those who want to visit.
For those that come trekking and do not get their park entrance permit ahead of time, the office to get it in is at the village of Monjo. Somehow I completely missed it though, maybe because I was just concentrating on getting to Namche. Not far after that village is Jorsale where an army post checks your paperwork, and since I missed the post at Monjo I was without a permit. The army post however was convinced that the only place I could get a permit was in Kathmandu, and since I didn't see the post on my way through Monjo I thought maybe they removed it (it's there, I saw it on my way out). Anyway, they let me pass but the price of not getting the permit meant explaining this to every post I would pass a much bigger hassle than just forking over the thousand rupees.
After this point it was across the last suspension bridge and up the final rise to Namche Bazaar, a climb I remember as being particularly brutal as I had done it at the end of a ten hour trekking day last time. The climb is one of the more sustained on the trek going from Lukla to base camp, being surpassed only by the climb up to Tengboche. After making it up the climb I arrived in what must be the wealthiest town in Nepal, Namche Bazaar around 3:30. If Thamel was to be done right, it would look like Namche; paving stones, no trash, no traffic, good looking shops and friendly vendors. It was amazing to me how much Namche had changed since my last visit just over eight years ago. It continues to grow too, as the sound of people chipping away at building stones is a constant reminder.
Upon arrival I found accommodation on the west side of town at the friendly and well equipped Yak Hotel. As most trekking groups take two days to get to Namche from Lukla and no flights had gone out the day before, the town was relatively empty aside from some that were on their return or those who had walked in from Jiri. I spent my afternoon munching on baked goods from one of the nearby bakeries and reading my Kindle. I also spent a little time mapping out my route from this point forward, looking over the maps and reading some details of the trails ahead. The next day would be an acclimatization day in order to adjust to the rising elevation, and I would use it to explore the other Sherpa towns and villages around Namche.
Unfortunately the weather was quite cloudy on my rest day so the sprawling views of Ama Dablam and as far as Everest from the hill near the National Park headquarters was non-existent. As I strolled through the hills though the clouds cleared here and there offering up some nice scenery around me. I watched school kids make their way to the school that Sir Edmund Hillary founded and walked past the famous Everest View Hotel. Upon returning to Namche following lunch I started to see a trickle of trekkers arriving from points south, and got to talk to a few of the people who I had shared a flight or time in the airport with the day before. I also bumped into an Israeli guy who had walked in from Jiri named Elie, and he was thinking about calling it quits and heading back to Lukla as the weather and solitude were starting to get to him. I told him to at least try to make it to Temboche where there was the potential for fantastic views and also a very interesting monastery.
The next morning I looked out my window to see clear skies and jumped out of bed got dressed and headed up top the viewing point above the town. Many of the mountains around Namche were quite clear, but the one I wanted to see most in Ama Dablam was wreathed with a thin layer of clouds. As the sun came up though it burned off the last clouds around Ama Dablam and I got the view I had been waiting for. On return to the town I ran into Elie again and he asked if I'd mind if he joined me, and I told him I'd be happy to have the company. So we set out toward the town of Dole which is just a few hours beyond the turn off toward the Gokyo lakes. The views all morning were spectacular, and Elie especially was thrilled to finally see the mountains he had been hiking under all this time.
As we moved toward noon the clouds moved back in and we arrived at the small village of Dole and got a room at the quaint Juniper Guest House. Now that we were in the National park and the elevation was starting to creep up, fires are stoked not by wood but dried yak poo. Yup, yak shit in place of wood. Of course the fires are not open, it's like a coal stove and surprisingly it doesn't smell or burn out too quickly, it actually works quite well. Still it strikes one a bit funny that you can say, "Hey my friend, can you throw some more shit on the fire?" and mean it in all seriousness. On that note I'll bring this post to a close. In part two I'll discuss the trail leading up to the Gokyo lakes and discuss at length the problems with crossing the Ngozumpa Glacier.
Waiting for Take Off: The Twin Otter in this Picture is Identical to the Plane I was On.
This trek started with a flight out of Tribhuvan airport in Kathmandu. Not the international terminal, but the domestic one, just a little ways to the north. I arrived early, just around 6AM with a flight time of 7:30. The scene was one of a mob clambering at a tiny set of booths, and since "the line" does not seem to have been invented in Asia yet it was chaotic and a bit of a mess. The early flights got out, but the later flights were put on standby as clouds seem to have moved in to Lukla that morning, something that is not all that uncommon. I figured I'd stay a while to see if things cleared up, but went as far as to call Kim and let her know that I would most likely be around for another day. At 9:30 good news of clear weather came in from Lukla and passengers eagerly filled the planes.
View During The Flight
The flight to Lukla takes about 45 minutes or so, and our flight was in a twin otter. We flew high enough to clear the middle hills outside of Kathmandu, but low enough to be below the cloud cover that morning, and this put us not too high above some of the passes that we flew over. This gives some great views of the hills and mountains as you fly over the region, and this time of year you get to spot some really spectacular waterfalls. Landing at Lukla is a bit scary as the plane banks into the mountain and then lands on the sloping runway, coming to a stop just as you reach the top of the slope. To be fair, our pilots that day did a wonderful job and I had a very smooth flight.
Buddhist Monuments Line the Trail
Once off the plane I grabbed my bag which weighed in at 8.5 KG full with 4 liters of water, not too shabby for a two week hike. The delay in take off time meant that I didn't get out of the airport until about 10:30 in the morning, and I wasn't sure how long it would take to get to Namche Bazaar, the spot I was planning to spend my first night. Plenty of want to be guides and porters hawked their services at the gate outside the airport, but I just tried to separate myself from the crowds and made for the trail. One man asked me where I was headed, and when I said I was going to try for Namche, he replied by shaking his head and pointing to the sky, "Too late to get to Namche."
I Soon Pass Other Trekkers Heading North From Lukla
Still I'm a goal orientated person, and I'm not a slow hiker, so I kept a consistent pace determined to make Namche by evening. Within an hour or so of leaving Lukla I started passing the package groups that had gotten out on the early flights. I've read that during the busiest seasons you can wait up to 20 minutes to cross some of these suspension bridges due to the number of tourists on them. I passed by a group that was wide eyed on such a bridge snapping pictures of where the stream below joined the Dudh Koshi just beyond. It seemed there was a good chance the rumors were true.
Waterfall Near Toktok
The trail through this portion of the trek is cluttered with stones that have Buddhist carvings, well positioned chortens, and small stupas set here and there. Waterfalls cascade down from the high Himalaya above and you are still low enough that everything is quite green. While some of the villages seem to exist for reasons other than tourism, most of the structures you pass in this area are well stocked with cold drinks, pringles, candy bars and other commodities that trekkers may be craving. Most also advertise their willingness to serve tea, lunch dinner or rooms for a nights stay. You also pass a number of gompas, most set off the main trail a bit, but there are often signs posted to point the way for those who want to visit.
For those that come trekking and do not get their park entrance permit ahead of time, the office to get it in is at the village of Monjo. Somehow I completely missed it though, maybe because I was just concentrating on getting to Namche. Not far after that village is Jorsale where an army post checks your paperwork, and since I missed the post at Monjo I was without a permit. The army post however was convinced that the only place I could get a permit was in Kathmandu, and since I didn't see the post on my way through Monjo I thought maybe they removed it (it's there, I saw it on my way out). Anyway, they let me pass but the price of not getting the permit meant explaining this to every post I would pass a much bigger hassle than just forking over the thousand rupees.
View from the Bridge Crossing Over to the Ridge Below Namche Bazaar
Streets of Namche
Upon arrival I found accommodation on the west side of town at the friendly and well equipped Yak Hotel. As most trekking groups take two days to get to Namche from Lukla and no flights had gone out the day before, the town was relatively empty aside from some that were on their return or those who had walked in from Jiri. I spent my afternoon munching on baked goods from one of the nearby bakeries and reading my Kindle. I also spent a little time mapping out my route from this point forward, looking over the maps and reading some details of the trails ahead. The next day would be an acclimatization day in order to adjust to the rising elevation, and I would use it to explore the other Sherpa towns and villages around Namche.
Walking Through the Hills North of Namche
Unfortunately the weather was quite cloudy on my rest day so the sprawling views of Ama Dablam and as far as Everest from the hill near the National Park headquarters was non-existent. As I strolled through the hills though the clouds cleared here and there offering up some nice scenery around me. I watched school kids make their way to the school that Sir Edmund Hillary founded and walked past the famous Everest View Hotel. Upon returning to Namche following lunch I started to see a trickle of trekkers arriving from points south, and got to talk to a few of the people who I had shared a flight or time in the airport with the day before. I also bumped into an Israeli guy who had walked in from Jiri named Elie, and he was thinking about calling it quits and heading back to Lukla as the weather and solitude were starting to get to him. I told him to at least try to make it to Temboche where there was the potential for fantastic views and also a very interesting monastery.
Morning Views of Ama Dablam
Yak Poo Dries in a Field; Later to be Used to Keep Trekkers Warm
As we moved toward noon the clouds moved back in and we arrived at the small village of Dole and got a room at the quaint Juniper Guest House. Now that we were in the National park and the elevation was starting to creep up, fires are stoked not by wood but dried yak poo. Yup, yak shit in place of wood. Of course the fires are not open, it's like a coal stove and surprisingly it doesn't smell or burn out too quickly, it actually works quite well. Still it strikes one a bit funny that you can say, "Hey my friend, can you throw some more shit on the fire?" and mean it in all seriousness. On that note I'll bring this post to a close. In part two I'll discuss the trail leading up to the Gokyo lakes and discuss at length the problems with crossing the Ngozumpa Glacier.
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