Blogs from Gorak Shep, Nepal, Asia - page 3

Posing for one last photograph at the top of Kala Pattar (5550m), the “Mountain Machine” began the descent back down to Gorak Shep. For some reason, it had been decided earlier in the trip we needed a team name – so “Mountain Machine” was chosen, which had its origins as a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger and requires the reader to say it in the words of Arnie himself. The journey down for me was very slow – the last of the group to reach Gorak Shep. Not only were my knees were very painful (I had not been able to take any anti-inflammatory tablets due to still having an empty stomach), but also my state of fatigue coupled with the persistent feeling of being on the verge of blacking out and about to vomit meant I ... read more

Lobuche 4930m - Gorak Shep 5160m - Everest Base Camp 5340m - Gorak Shep 5160m Time taken: Lobuche to Gorak Shep 2 hours Gorak Shep to EBC 1 hour 40 mins EBC to Gorak Shep 1 hour 30 mins The trek from Lobuche to Gorak Shep is fairly easy going, taking about two hours and running mostly a gentle incline alongside the Khumbu glacier. Due to the suspected high demand on lodge rooms at Gorak Shep, Azay, our porter is sent out in front to secure rooms for us. When we reach the lodge at 10am, it is packed with trekkers chatting excitedly and having food before the trek to Everest base camp. Our plan is to arrive mid-morning, have a short break then continue on to base camp to arrive there early afternoon. We will ... read more

It took us about 3 hours to get from Pheriche to Dukhla which should have only taken an hour an a half, but due to the increase in elevation every step up the hill was a struggle. It is amazing how much of an effect the altitude has on your body. You can walk for as long as you like, but you are only able to go up in elevation 300-400m per day. Due to this restriction we stopped in Dukhla to get acclimatized and were nearly traumatized by the washroom (if you would even call it that)! We had been in Thailand for roughly 5 months and I thought I saw the worst of the worst toilets. However, Dukhla took it to a whole new level. The “washroom” was about 50m down a hill outside ... read more

Day 16 - Deboche to Shomare and back to Pangboche We left just before 9. A relatively easy day planned that take us just over the 4,000metre mark. Rhi felt better so we set off. By Pangboche (3,890) though, Rhi was starting to get headaches gain. We carried on as far as Shomare and had lunch there, but Rhi's breathing was extremely laboured and the headache wouldn't budge. So we came back down to Pangboche which is about halfway between Deboche and Shomare. We're starting to worry that if the AMS doesn't pass soon we'll run out of time, money or both, so for now, we're just hoping it'll click into place. Day 17 - Pangboche Rhi is still feeling bad and the headache was still there this morning so we wait another day. The owner ... read more

Day 6 - Goyem to Junbesi The storm finished at first light, just after 5 am. Neither of us slept particularly well and so we had a couple of hours extra in bed and finally left Goyam around 9. The cloud was still hanging around and it made the morning pretty cold, we reached the pass over the mountain ridge at around 11am and had our first glimpses of the peaks of the Himalayas. The snowy peaks poking over the cloudline to give us a view of what was to come. Coming down the ridge we passed through thick forest, and eventually found a place to have lunch. Our Dutch friend, Gert, was already there and we decided after lunch that we'd all walk down to Junbesi together, though he's normally a bit slower than us, ... read more