Blogs from Himalayas, Nepal, Asia - page 11

EVEREST BASE CAMP (EBC) 5340m high 3/6/10: Jacinta woke up feeling fine; she had no headache and the bed rest the day earlier really payed off. Although we had a restless sleep and packet noodles for breakfast we had a great start to the morning. Halfway into the walk we heard a massive thunder followed by the sound of what can only be described as a ragging torrent of water or a flooded river coming from the opposite side of the mountain, it was a huge avalanche that made our stomachs rumble from the noise. The only problem was it came from the hidden side of the mountain. It was so loud that I shuddered to think how loud it would have been if it happened on our side, I was so disappointed that we missed ... read more

DINGBOCHE TO CHHUNKHUNG and CHHUNKHUNG RI 31/6/10: We were up at 5:00am to witness the first clear view of Aba Dablam and its early morning sunlit peak. I raced to get ready, grabbing my coat, gloves, beanie, balaclava and camera. By the time I was ready, 5 minutes later, it was shrouded in mist, Doh! It pissed me off, but I needn’t worry too much about unclear skies. Breakfast, what will I have this time, oh I know packet noodles! We finished breakfast quickly and started to walk up to Chhunkung for our acclimatization day. We left our packs in the room and walked only with a day pack. Chhungkung was roughly 4730 high and took 2.5hours to walk up the shallow incline valley. It was great to walk without our big packs, it made a ... read more

NAMCHE TO PANGBOCHE 29/5/10: A great night sleep turned into a disastrous morning when the 19 Indians we met the night before decided to get up at 4:30am in the morning and proceeded to, all, go through their morning cleansing ritual. I have written about this in past blogs, especially through India but never thought I would have to live through it again in Nepal. In short it sounded like somebody was strangling a yak 19 times right outside our bedroom door. I still can’t understand why they insists on letting the whole of Namche valley know they are shoving there toothbrush halfway down to their stomach. A quick breakfast, again wholesome noodles with eggs we brought back in Kathmandu. Slowly we whittle away at my overweight pack. We started walking around 6:00am. The visibility was ... read more

The Everest Base Camp trek is perhaps the most famous in the world. It is certainly one of the most popular. In the peak season of October/November, up to 10,000 people take to the route with the foot of the highest mountain on Earth in their sights. In fact, it is hard to think of a good reason to choose Nepal over India as a destination if you are not visiting the high Himalayas. It is the most amazing place, with the highest peaks, deepest valleys and some of the biggest challenges on Earth. The word challenge is pretty appropriate in summing up our reasons for going but having read, 'Into Thin Air', 'The Death Zone', 'Left for Dead' and many others you begin to doubt yourself and wonder if you'll be able to cope high ... read more

not the best of photos but finally I achieved one of my lifelong ambitions. I also flew with what must have been the highest cockroach in the world! Unfortunatley David couldn't be with me because he was otherwise occupied with crawling from the bedroom to the bathroom - damn those bugs! Oh well what a shame we will just have to go back and do it all over again. Of course we will be stopping ath the Ganesh Himal what a fantastic little hotel and excellent friendly family and staff.... read more