Blogs from Gokyo Lakes, Nepal, Asia

Today was the end of our little team of walkers. We all ate breakfast together and then Robin and Miriam got ready to go back to Namche via Phortse and we prepared to go over the pass. Overnight the wind had been ferocious, rattling the windows and making our room move. By morning it had settled down a lot and the sun was shining again. Despite this leaving the teahouse the intermittent gusts of wind were enough to knock us off balance and were freezing cold. The walk started climbing gently around the side of the lake. There were a few icy bits to navigate but overall it was fine. Stephen was feeling much better but still not quite 100%, I suspect it’s more fatigue than anything else. Once at the far side of the ... read more

Today is a much needed rest day. I think it’s safe to say we are all very tired after 4 long days of walking. We had a relative lie in and ate breakfast around 730am. This lodge lights it’s fire in the morning so wasn’t as chilly as some places. After eating & getting our things together we headed out towards the large hill visible from our lodge windows. This is Gokyo Ri, at 5360m it offers views of Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cholatse & Taboche and Ngozumpa glacier. The walk was immediately steep up and we were slower than we have been. Bart is unfortunately feeling unwell and the rest of us are just tired. One advantage of it being steep is that we had reached the top by 1030am, about 1hr 45mins ... read more

We discussed what would be next by the furnace fire. Looking at the map, it became clear that we all had time to add in some more trekking and maybe, instead of going back from EBC the way we came, we could try to get somewhere else and return in a completely unique way. We had reached Gorak Shep quickly from Namche and we had experienced both Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar in one day. We all decided that we would try to push on. "Gokyo." As I tapped the map with my finger. "But to get there we'll need to cross this thing," I said staring at a large mountain range in the path... Day 13 After staying in our cold lodge at Gorak Shep (5180m) for two nights, it was time to get ... read more

After the success of our previous year's exploits up Kilimanjaro, another high altitude mountain trip was called for. Initially at least I had to quell Tarryn's desires to summit an 8000m peak, pointing out what I considered the fairly obvious 'danger of death' that no doubt would have had various mothers having kittens. Climbing Kilimanjaro with a set of porters practically carrying us up, would not really equate to strolling up a Himalayan peak on our own across glaciers, crevasses and like. And of course the considerable expense (I do have Scottish genes in me). Fortunately for me at some point Tarryn must have watched a real Himalayan climbing documentary (the one on death on K2), rather than Vertical Limit, and realised that yes it would be a bit extreme. So we settled for an exploratory ... read more

We won. The plan... get up at 0600 for a 0630 departure, we won't get to do sunrise but we might get to have the view to ourselves. I would estimate that there are maybe a maximum of 20 trekkers in the village, so this plan has merit. Based on our time on Kala Patthar and then EBC the whole solitude thing continues to appeal. At 0710 (staffing problems in the kitchen) we leave the relative post porridge warmth and walk down through the village to the lake, it's an icy, snowy path and I earn one wet foot. The two ducks are out and there is mist coming off the lake where a hot spring is located. Some stellar shaped cracks are appearing in the lake, reminiscent of the glacial lake in Manang that we ... read more