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Published: October 27th 2018
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October 14th - Gorakshep - Dia 115
Today we crossed our first of three 5000+meter passes. Kunma La Pass reaching an elevation of 5536 meters is the highest of the three.
It was a long day with a lot of elevation gain. I was really proud of our pace. We kept a steady pace with minimal rests, taking over everyone that had started a few hours earlier then us. ? After passing the crowds we were venturing alone through the beautiful barren alpine terrain. The best part of the pass was having the huge mountain range which has Nuptse (7864m!) and Lhotse (8516m!) immediately on our right hand side. Being so close to such big mountains is incredible. Hopefully one lucky day I can climb any one of them. There are too many!
Another cool feeling when doing the pass today was looking across and seeing Tibet! I got really close to the sacred and forbidden country of Tibet. As a border wall they just have a series of huge glaciers and mountains you would need to cross. ??
The best part of doing mountain passes is once you reach the top you get to descend down another beautiful landscape of
mysterious mountains.
On the other side of Kunma La Pass is the famous valley where Mount Everest is. We descended down and crossed the glacier which runs in the middle of the valley. Glaciers here are completely different to the ones I have seen and experienced in Canada. Here they are covered with dust and dirt, to the point that sometimes you can't seem to see the ice! There were points where I was walking on dirt and rocks without realizing I was actually on top of the glacier ?.
I guess everything will change once the first snow starts falling.
In the valley we kept on hiking upwards until reaching the town of Gorak Shep at an altitude of 5,164m! It was going to be a cold night!
Gorak Shep is the last town before reaching Mount Everest Basecamp. That was for tomorrow's adventure ?
Gorak Shep was the first town were I found myself with no room for the night. A busy town it seemed...The teahouses around here usually have an area assigned for tourists and another for the sherpas.. Luckily Valaran helped me get a room on the Sherpas living quarters. It was literally a room with
a space for a bed only.
October 15th - Everest Base Camp & Mt. Kala Patthar - Dia 116
My sleep was like all the other successive nights. At altitude I just can't seem to sleep continusualy, I wake up every hour or so. But I still manage to feel rested the next day.
Today was a long day. Managed to summit a nearby mountain called Kala Patthar at 5550 and did the hike to Everest Base Camp. All through the way accompanied by again the blue sky's and the massive mountains.
Interestingly everest base camp is quite a small space situated right next to a massive glacier. Walking around the base camp made me wonder how they manage to fit more the a hundred tents in a few months here ?
Starting to get tired I headed back to find Valaran in the small town of Gorakshep. With still half of the day left we decided to hike to the village of Dzongla (the last village before heading up the through Cho La Pass.
Heading from Gorakshep to Dzongla was mind blowingly beautiful. Hard to compare with other scenaries from the trip since everything just seemed to get
better and better. The reason why this section was so beautiful is because as we diverted from the busy everest trail we contoured around a big hill while heading into another valley. As we walked into the valley new beautiful eye opening views emerged. Walking next to a ginormous pathway that a glacier had carved its way through. Right next to it a mountain stretched all the way to the sky. It's steep face leaving Cho La Lake and exploding more then 2000 meters vertically made it feel to be the biggest mountain on earth. But Arakam Tse just reached 6400 meters. With the clouds coming in and hiding part of the views away it even made it more sexually appealing ??. Later by talking with some guides in the teahouse I found out that Arakam Tse is extremely technical and not open to climb with fixed lines. But rather an expedition adventure has to be organized to try and gain the submit. Maybe for the future ?
?.
Crossing through the valley and making our way to the village of Dzongla we passed through a big prairie filled with Sumpati Flower Bushes. They were releasing an incredible aroma which
made the hiking experience even better. Apart from that we were the only ones on this beautiful barren fields overlooking Arakam Tse and a herder with his yaks in front. Love this moments were everything lines up perfectly.
Arriving to the town late in the evening Valaran and I found out there were no spare rooms left. With no option left and not about to walk back I decided to sleep in the sherpas dormitory. Sherpas dormitories is made up of a huge bunk bed. A bed long enough to fit 10 man side by side. I got comfortable on the top bunk and prepared for a cozy night with the sherpas. ??
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