Bistari, bistari 2.0 - A second trip to Nepal - Lobouche (4930m) to Dzonghla (4830)

---

An "easy, steady day" says Dhana. The actual walking time was just over 4 hrs- that certainly constitutes easy. Right? Nope, the walk was actually pretty damn hard work.

We took a trail heading down from Lobouche towards what appeared to be a frozen lake, it was actually just ice covering the valley floor- super slippery stuff but really fun. We had our little crampons on which we were really grateful for. Our only tourists this morning were four Chileans who were also planning on crossing the Chola Pass too, they were slipping and sliding even more than us. After about 30 mins of ice slipping on the flat we scaled up a steep, barren hill- on all fours at times, to reach a more defined trail. This trail ran parallel with the one that we had taken from Dingboche. The trail- covered in low ground cover and a yellowish thick moss, was the "easy, steady" part of the day. Another couple of new things for the day- black flies and a purple broad leaf grass- maybe signs of the weather warming up? The yellow moss apparently is a protected plant- it used to be use in fires as it is slow burning. As we rounded the hill the snow began- not falling out of the sky snow but on the ground stuff. Snow that you drop in to your knees.

So, amongst the incredible views of Ama Dablam behind us, and Cholatse towering over us we trudged onward. It was pretty hard going. Certainly much, much slower than any day to date. We didn't seem to be making much progress through the whiteness but Dhana assured us that we didn't have much further to go. When we got to a patch of open ground he suggested a food/drink stop- we were skeptical, if it wasn't much further to Dzonghla why were we taking what appeared to be a full on lunch break?? Anyway... out came the chocolate, the muslei bar, the tea, the digestive biscuits and the nak cheese. We pretty much inhaled it- you get hungry trudging through the snow! At this point I knew my hygiene standards had completely slipped when I retrieved a piece of cheese that had dropped on the ground and ate it without even thinking - the ground right next to a perfectly formed lump of yak poo.

Another hour of making our way down through the snow- and now a bit of slush too with the sun warming things up, we spotted a tiny stone house almost completely hidden in the snow. Tiny house was attached to a warm teahouse (Dzongla Inn and Restaurant), one of four in the village but the only one open. Lunch was toast and marmalade, enjoyed in the sunny window while our soaking wet socks and boots were sunning outside. We indulged in a bowl of hot water each and had a bit of a wash in the room as it was also sunny and warm- nice (nice is an understatement- it was fantatsic), to peel some clothes off (and a layer of dry skin- eeeewwwww) and slather on some body lotion. We then spent a very slack rest of the afternoon just reading and sitting around. We were the only tourists here until about 4pm when a big group from the Netherlands arrived. They were absolutely shattered and frozen and looked pretty shell shocked- there were 10 trekkers, 5 porters and 4 guides and they had taken 11 hours to get over the Chola Pass. They were waist deep in snow at times and had ended up having to take an alternative path to the Chola, using ropes and ice axes to reach Dzonghla. Eeeek.

With the arrival of 19 more people I made a monumental decision- I had better do a toilet run before it got busy. OMG- small metal shed, 50 m away through slush, now getting icy. A large mound of fresh (but semi-frozen) poo streaked with white toilet paper. I was trying not to imagine another 19 layers in the morning. Mary and I then amused ourselves for an hour coming up with plans of how not to use it- a bucket?, a ziploc bag?, bowl stolen from the kitchen? sacrificial water bottle (now that would take precision)? What to do?

Took some photos of the sun going down over Cholatse, the cloud had almost completely descended when a small window of sun pushed through. I hoped the photos would convey the absolute beauty of this scene.

At dinner Dhana announced that we would have to change our plans- he had consulted extensively with the people in the village and the other giudes, and as a group of only 4 without any equipment the Chola Pass would be too dangerous. It was really disappointing news although not completely unexpected given the amount of snow up there. Still, there's always next time!!! (And I know there will be a next time, even after a day back trekking I was convinced I would be back...)

Dinner was fried macaroni, veges and cheese. Chatted with one of the Dutch group, an outgoing guy who was keen to talk. We heard about his travels, his job- something to do with using ultrasound and pipes, and about the group dynamics. His group were originally 12 but 2 (plus a guide) had to turn back at Gokyo as they were struggling. They were hoping to meet up with them in a few days- one was the mother of one of the other trekkers (this led to a massive reshuffling of room allocation.... etc, etc). After dinner their guide gave the group a comprehensive debriefing and told some jokes- pretty entertaining- well Mary and I thought so). The guide also had a pulse oximeter so everyone dutifully got measured, even us. My SaO2 was 85% which I was really pleased with, no wonder i was feeling so good! Bedtime at 8.30- all the porters and guides are sleeping in the dining room so time to ......

Brave the toilet- not so bad- pitch black so you can't see and the slush is frozen solid so it was an easier walk. The major bonus being the night sky- clear and amazing.

---

Photos

Late afternoon
cloud descends