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Published: November 21st 2009
Day 8- Lobuche to Gorak Shep (5140m) to Everest Base Camp (5364m)
We got up at a very unsociable time at 5:15am as there way a long day ahead of us. A quick breakfast before departure but were surprised when we went to brush our teeth that there was no water coming from the taps as the pipes had frozen solid. It was still -10 when we set off as the sun had yet to rise. We broke out the recently acquired down jackets and bundled up for a very cold start to the day. I'd left a litre bottle of water outside overnight as a test and sure enough upon examination it was completely solid. After a few minutes walking my fingers and toes were starting to get pretty cold and it wasn't long before they became numb. Along the way we saw someone being carried down the mountain on someone's backs, clinging on loosely but looking sick and lifeless- a victim of AMS, the only treatment being a rapid descent to low altitude.
The path stayed at a sedate incline for a while, following the glacier up the valley to Loboche pass. The glacier, which is at
times hidden under rock, is when visible jagged/cracked and uneven - not at all what we expected, and rarely white in colour. Thankfully the sun had begun to rise and its rays quickly warmed us through so we could move a bit more freely when undertaking this next rocky scramble to our highest sleeping altitude of Gorak Shep at 5100m. This small village is on the site of a dried up lake where only a duty basin remains and its sole purpose is as a support village for trekkers and mountaineers. It has only a few lodges but they are apparently on record as the highest hotels in the world so we were very pleased to be there. As there are so few and this is the peak time of the trekking season, they fill up quickly. The first one we went to was full already and it was only mid morning. Ratna sent our faithful porter Kamal out to look for vacancies and sure enough, he came through for us and got us a room t the Buddha lodge. It wasn't too much longer in the day before all of the hotels were full and trekkers had the choice
of either sleeping in the dining room with the guides or walking back down to Loboche for the night.
After a cup of tea, we set straight off to Everest base camp, two hours further up the glacier. We didn't gain much height but went up and down rocky paths following the side of the glacier up toward new base camp. Old base camp which was used by Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tensing Norgay was further down the glacier closer to Gorak Shep, but crevasses etc. had made it unsafe in modern times so the site was moved to its new location.
Reaching the end of the rocky path, the final push was to cross the glacier for several hundred metres to the main site. As the main climbing season is in April, the site consisted of a few plaques and prayer flags and was a very peaceful place. In the season, there are 200 or more tents covering the site (although I'm not sure how as there wasn't any level ground in sight!) with everything from the base of operations to bakery tents serving apple pie. This all had to be carried up from Lukla each year
by hundreds of porters and yak's bearing the burden. Amazing.
There is no view of Everest itself as its hidden away by the other mountains but there are some fantastic views including the Khumbu ice fall which is one of the most treacherous parts of the climb to Everest. The ice fall is the beginning of the glacier as it falls from the mountains and is a sea of jagged ice pinnacles and deadly crevasses. It was fantastic to be here with barely a soul around and it marked the end of the road for most people except the few who come to climb each year.
The glacier was amazing up close - a huge river of ice with a dusty coating of rocks that gorge out the valleys as they are forced down to lower ground. Walking back towards Gorak Shep was relatively swift and we headed to the hotel for lunch. The altitude effects almost everyone at this point and one of the effects was loss of appetite which hit Stacey badly as she just about managed to force down a small bowl of soup. The lodge had a small communal area with a perspex roof
that they called a 'sun room' so we spent the afternoon in there, keeping warm and looking out over the snowy Himalayas. Thankfully our bedroom was being kept slightly warm by 2 sun-filled windows so the chill (!) of the night was not as bad as anticipated - but not by much!
Day 9- Gorak Shep to Kallapather and back down
We went to bed wearing thermal underwear ready for our 4:15am start, doubting that the room would be much above freezing when we got up. We slept with the camera and batteries in our sleeping bags to keep them warm otherwise there was little chance of getting any photos from the top. Bundling up as warm as possible, we set out across the dusty lake to climb Kallapather, 5550m high and the viewpoint for Mount Everest. The thermometer for outside of the lodge read -18 Celsius It was nearly pitch black apart from the beautiful glow of the moonlight reflected off the snowy mountains.
The climb was steep and rocky, not helped by the lack of light. We were exhausted and breathing heavily but the down jackets and thermal under wear were keeping the cold out (except
for the partly frozen fingers and toes). About halfway up Stacey was sick from the exertion and altitude effects but she kept on until we reached the ridge. We were one of the first groups there and all that remained was a slippery scramble across large boulders to a small rocky viewpoint. After one last push, we made it to the highest we've ever climbed and are likely to climb at 5550m and took some quick photos before the batteries gave up with the cold. The view was fantastic; just after sunrise, no cloud and a clear shot of Everest without the usual wind/snow blowing over from Tibet that makes it appear as a giant chimney above the other mountains.
So it was there that I took my hood down and got down on one knee and proposed to Stacey, five and a half km above sea level and minus 20 degrees with God only knows what wind chill. She said “yes” and thankfully I could stand up again before becoming frozen in that position. We started back down the mountain for breakfast with new energy and very proud of what we'd achieved.
Our appetites were still suffering
but I had my staple of Tibetan Bread which is best described as a doughnut waffle, fried and covered with honey. It was a hardy mountaineering food that had served me well so far. We packed up and headed for Pangboche, the distance which we would cover had taken nearly three days on the way up, so it would be a long trek for a single day but would give us a much better night's sleep. The day dragged on as we headed down some easy paths next to rivers and some not so easy rocky mountain passes but we were gradually starting to feel better and more 'with it' as the air began to thicken. Stacey was in pain as she kept catching the end of her boots hard on rocks protruding from the path and by the end of the day she was in relative agony each time a big toe was knocked.
The trees began to appear again and the valley ahead became more lush as we reached Pangboche. The lodge we stayed in was empty apart from four other trekkers so we enjoyed the peace and quite, sitting in the dining room on the edge
of a cliff, looking out over the valley. In the evening we were treated to a National Geographic documentary on Sir Edmund Hillary on a television powered by car batteries. His achievements in high altitude mountaineering were amazing and so was his later charitable work for the Sherpa people of Nepal, building schools and infrastructure for the impoverished folk who live in these remote places high in the mountains. It was one of the best sleeps we've ever had that night and despite the sub zero temperatures outside, was still a lot more comfortable than the previous few nights.
Day 10- Pangoche (3930m) to Namche (3440m)
As we'd put in some hard work on the previous day, today's trek would be relatively sedate. We descended to the river and then once again walked amongst the trees past Rivendell Lodge and climbed up towards Tengboche, the home of the Buddhist monastery where the unfortunate Japanese woman had decided to set fire to herself. Further downhill and Stacey was in agony with her toes but we spun the prayers wheels on the way own to bring her some good luck. A long climb back up into Namche and we checked
into the Namche Inn where we had stayed previously. Stacey treated herself to a 300 rupee hot shower and I walked down to the town, happy to smell bad for a few more days and save some money. The Tibetan market had doubled in size with still more yaks on their way from China and I met our guide and porter there splashing out their wages on some warm clothes and backpacks.
Back at the lodge, an Irish lady saw the state of Stacey's swollen feet and gave her some Scholl pressure point pads to help on the next stretch down the mountain. She was part of a group from Ireland and we chatted to them and they congratulated us on our engagement. That night I dined on Yak steak; it was a risky thing to do having seen how the meat is transported around but my appetite had returned with avengence which only red meat would satisfy. I waited nervously at the table for it to arrive while Stacey munched on fried rice and then it appeared, covered in steak sauce and with french fries. The moment of truth. I had a piece and it was brilliant! By
this point, I could swear it was the best thing I'd ever eaten but my perspective may have been distorted a little by the undercooked meals of a few nights previous.
Day 11 Namche to Phakding
We bandaged up Stacey's feet as best as possible that morning and set off back down the valley. The long climb that had caused grief on the way up was now even wore on the way down as her toes were pushed to the end of her boots on the steep decline. The way was busier now with more porters carrying goods up to Namche for the weekend market and at one point, 30 donkeys carrying large bottles of kerosene up from Jiri five days away.
The valley became more and more lush as we continued down, with the colourful villages and their crops of potatoes and carrots. At Phakding we were the only ones in the Hotel and got a fantastic corner room with two windows each looking over the valley in a different direction. With a revived taste for meat, we tempted chicken curry which again turned out to be fantastic with lots of nice fresh ginger and I
decided that this was the new best meal ever. We enjoyed it so much that we had the same thing for dinner. The lodge had a TV showing a pirate movie channel from Pakistan which to Stacey's delight was showing 'The Wizard of Oz' that evening. She was not the only one singing away though as a lady from the Netherlands had arrived and was almost as enthusiastic. What a scene!
Day 12: Pakding to Lukla
This was a very short Trek at only two and a half hours but was no less exhausting with the constant ups and downs. The air was now warm and it was pleasant to walk along in T-shirts. We made it to Lukla and stayed at the Lodge that we'd had breakfast in the first day. An Australian girl named Steph was there who we'd met at Gorak Shep. We exchanged travelling stories over hot coffee and had the afternoon to explore the town. There was a Starbucks sign on the main street advertising its Lukla branch although I half think the brand was ripped off, much like most merchandise in Nepal. We went down to a local market with Kamal and
Ratna and had a group photo before they went off to celebrate with some roxie (a cheap but strong, locally distilled spirit sold in plastic bottles and popular with the porters).
We watched the tiny aeroplanes taking off and landing on the tiny stretch of runway which still seemed an impossible feat. Later on, Ratna told us that there was a crash the previous year when an overconfident pilot had come in too soon and caught the rear wheel on the edge of the cliff, destroying the aircraft and killing all on board. Apparently the airline had to change its name as a result. There was also a helicopter that had come to collect the dead bodies of people from the last few days, including one of a guide who had died of altitude sickness, reminding us once more of the dangers of trekking this high which can be fatal to anyone regardless of individual abilities.
It was chicken again on the menu for the remaining meals here which we greatly enjoyed, especially since we had been practically vegetarians throughout India for reasons of self preservation. We tipped Kamal for all his hard work and said goodbye as
he was leaving early in the morning for the two day trek back down to his home. That evening we sat chatting with Steph and bought a small bottle of rum to celebrate and to toast our engagement. Some of the bigger trekking groups that had irritated us on the way up were also staying here and celebrating by cleaning out the bar of the overpriced beer. A couple of boys in their mid to late teens that we'd flown in with originally were knocking back a few before heading out to another bar to party. They had the room next to ours and we heard them come in late that night and then an hour later, throw up violently in the room. They'd made best use of the lack of Nepalese legal drinking age but it was obvious the next morning that this was their first hangover. We were pleased to not be on the same return flight.
Day 13- back to Kathmandu
The airport here is rather chaotic and we ended up flying out 2 hours late (which apparently isn't too bad - once Ratna had to wait 3 days due to cloud and his group
were stuck in Lukla). Eventually after a long wait to check in, we waited further in another lounge watching the inbound aircraft land. As it was near the end of the trekking season, they were mainly unloading beer and other supplies instead of people.
When it was our turn to go down, we sat tensely waiting to see if this little plane could take off on such a small runway and not drive straight over the cliff at the end. Sure enough, it was all fine and we were on our way, watching the Himalayas drift out of sight, sadly being replaced by a vista of smog.
From the airport we got a taxi back to hotel downtown and said goodbye to Ratna, sad that the trek was behind us and we'd left the beautiful mountain villages for polluted Kathmandu but happy to be heading for a hot shower and a change of clothes.
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valda blewitt
non-member comment
hi
pleased you got back safely and wern't taking the helicopter flight!!!! Hope Stacey's feet have recovered by now. Is that the most energetic thing you are going to do in your year away. Look after yourselves Love Mum and Susie says woof