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| Stego's FAQ on Nepal travel v.3 - Everest area 1/1 |
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Keywords: Everest area, Guides & porters
From: Per Löwdin <per.lowdin@statsvet.uu.se>
| Date: 95.12.06 | (Id.: 84) |
Talking about an expedition to the base camp seems to be wide of the mark. There is a beaten track all the way. En route there are hundreds of hotels that cater to trekers. Finding the way is no problem. There are hundreds of other trekers and the trekking manuals explain all You need to know. In order to get all the way to the base camp proper bring good shoes, warm clothing, and a good sleeping bag. In late autumn, winter and early spring it may be rather cold.
If You insist on going with porters there are several well reputed trekking agencies in Kathmandu. They will gladly set You up for the trekk. But You are better of on Your own I would say. Set aside at least three weeks to do it in both directions.
Per Löwdin
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Per Löwdin
Statsvetenskapliga institutionen Box 514 751 20 Uppsala
Telefon 018-18 34 15, Email: Per.Lowdin@statvet.uu.se,dokomb@us.us.se
Keywords: Everest area, Weather
From: Frank F Kroger <fkroger@coho.halcyon.com>
| Date: 96.01.12 | (Id.: 37) |
Frank
*Frank Kroger, fkroger@halcyon.com, (volunteer) Seattle WA US
** World Neighbors: Strengthening the capacity of
*** marginalized communities to meet their basic needs.
**** "LOCAL PEOPLE ARE THE EXPERTS" http://www.halcyon.com/fkroger/wn.html
Keywords: Everest area
From: Peter Stevens <peter@suraboyo.demon.co.uk>
| Date: 96.01.30 | (Id.: 86) |
Keywords: Everest area
From: Per Löwdin <per.lowdin@statsvet.uu.se>
| Date: 96.02.02 | (Id.: 85) |
>A nice sideline is to go to Gokyo Lake.
Absolutely
>This is (as I remember - its a
>long time since) a three day excursion from Namche, or a really hard,
>hazardous days trek from Gorak Shep, by a short cut.
Well, You have to cross Cho La a five thousand meter pass. If You are prepared and have good sense it is not particularly hazardous in fair conditions. A small glacier must be crossed. Though to do it safely it is better to do it in two days then in one. In fact I doubt that it is at all possible to do it in one day. Unless You are a runner.
Keywords: Everest area, Accomodation
From: Per Löwdin <dokomb@us.uu.se>
| Date: 96.03.07 | (Id.: 87) |
>Looking for information about the "Everest Base Camp" trek in Nepal. I am considerring trekking the
>route in May/June and was wonderring if there would be "guest houses" along the route in the same
>way as on the Annapurna route i.e. do I have to take any camping gear or can I find a teahouse/guest
>house each night?
You will find a nepali hotel each night. In fact I doubt there is anywhere on the route where You are more than one or two hours from a tea house.
Keywords: Everest area
From: Dean Myerson <dean@vexcel.com>
| Date: 96.03.07 | (Id.: 88) |
>I will go to Nepal for a three weeks trek in the Everest region. I plan
>to start from Jiri and fly back from Lukla. So this leaves me with having
>to decide between Gokio Peak and Kala Pattar as final destinations, and
>this choice is not simple for me. Gokio Peak seems to give a better
>general view but is about three times farther from Everest than Kala
>Pattar. On the other hand, the walk from Namche Bazaar to Kala Pattar
>seems to offer many points of interest (Tengpoche monastry and views of
>Ama Dablam and other peaks), even though the final goal may not be as
>rewarding as Gokio. Furthermore, is a tent required for Gokio? I hope
>that some of you can help me solving my dilemma.
>......
>Dario
You've pretty much got the tradeoffs right: Kala Pattar is closer and more overpowering while Gokyo gives you a broader view. Normally Gokyo if served with the standard teahouses but the Gokyo area was hit with devastating avalanches last November so it may be in bad shape. The snow from those avalanches is probably just starting to melt so Spring travellers may want to plan on Kala Pattar, though you will get the actual situation in Namche. I recommend you don't decide until you get there.
--
-- Dean Myerson
(dean@vexcel.com) (http://www.vexcel.com)
Keywords: Everest area, Langtang, Weather
From: John D. Child <fihp@aol.com>
| Date: 96.04.15 | (Id.: 50) |
>Dhunche-Syabru-Langtang-Syabru-Gosainkund-Tharepati-Sundarijal
>or to Gokyo Ri in the Everest Region.
Lodges will be open in both places. Both routes' high passes (above Gosainkund and between Gokyo and Lobuje) may be heavily snowed in December/January. Whether there's significant snow at Gosainkund or Gokyo lakes depends on the weather that week.
Both Langtang and Everest offer options though, if you're snowed out of the route you planned. Note that the Everest region is much colder that time of year than Langtang.
Nepal's a wonderful place. You'll have a great time. I'd be happy to talk further or answer questions via e-mail.
John Child
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Keywords: Everest area
From: Mike Espinosa <maluku@maluku.com>
| Date: 96.06.13 | (Id.: 14) |
> Hi, I am considering going on a trek from Lukla to the Everest
> Base Camp. In the Lonely Planet book Trekking In The Nepal Himalaya,
> the author highly recommends making rest days at 2 or 3 of the
> spots in order to acclimate to the altitude. However, the tour
> I'm thinking of taking has an itinerary of moving up every day.
> When you did your trek, did you move every day or did you take
> rest days?
HI David;
I thought I would pass this itinerary on to you, prepared by the author of the Lonely Planet book, Stan Armington. He has been preparing itineraries since the late 60's, and it works as set out. If you have other questions, please contact me:
Everest Expedition Route 22 Days of trekking.
This is the best way to do an Everest trek. It follows much of the old approach route followed by Everest expeditions from the 1950's through the 70's. It provides a good opportunity to see the densly populated middle hills and the high altitude splendour of the Khumbu, or Everest, region. The portion of the trek from Jiri to Lukla is often uncrowded, and therefore much better trekking country. From Namche the trek follows the Lukla to Everest base camp route and then flies out from Lukla.
Day 1: Drive to Jiri
Day 2: Jiri to Bhandar
Day 3: Bhandar to Sagar
Day 4: Sagar to Junbesi
Day 5: Junbesi to Nuntala
Day 6: Nuntala to Khari Khola
Day 7: Khari Khola to Puiyan
Day 8: Puiyan to Phakding
Day 9: Phakding to Namche
Day 10: Acclimatisation Day in Namche
Day 11: Namche Bazaar to Tengpoche
Day 12: Acclimatisation Day in Tengpoche
Day 13: Tengpoche to Dingboche
Day 14: Acclimatisation Day in Dingboche
Day 15: Pheriche to Lobuje
Day 16: Lobuje to Gorak Shep
Day 17: Gorak Shep to Lobuje
Day 18: Lobuje to Pheriche
Day 19: Pheriche to Tengpoche
Day 20: Tengpoche to Namche Bazaar
Day 21: Namche Bazaar to Lukla
Day 22: Fly from Lukla to Kathmandu
-- Maluku Adventures - For the best in adventure; land; cruises; kayaking and scuba diving!
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Keywords: Everest area, Going & coming from Tibet
From: Martin Egger <EGGER@id.unibe.ch>
| Date: 96.06.14 | (Id.: 16) |
>I am currently in the process of planning a month long hike from
>Tibet to Nepal and would like to take the Tibetan route to the Mt.
>Everest Base Camp and then continue across the border into Nepal and trek
>towards Kathmandu. First of all...is this possible? and secondly...would
>I need extreme experience to do such an excursion?
In general, yes, it is possible. There is a very precise 1:50'000 map of the Everest region available, so all passes etc. from BC1 to Nepal are on this map.
But: these passes are as high as 6'000 to 7'000 meters and they are probably covered by snow and ice during the whole year. So you do need very good equipment and mountaineering training and experience.
You also have to check all the formalities which you need to have to cross the border there.
Regards,
Martin
PS - I was in BC1 in October and it would be a great trek to go to Kathmandu from there!
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Keywords: Everest area, Health
From: Per Löwdin <dokomb@us.uu.se>
| Date: 96.06.14 | (Id.: 220) |
> Hi, I am considering going on a trek from Lukla to the Everest
> Base Camp. In the Lonely Planet book Trekking In The Nepal Himalaya,
> the author highly recommends making rest days at 2 or 3 of the
> spots in order to acclimate to the altitude. However, the tour
> I'm thinking of taking has an itinerary of moving up every day.
Looks like if You are going to have head ache and maybe even Acute Mountain Sickness unless the tour moves at a snail+s pace. If You fly in via Lukla You need several days of rest at different altitudes. If you come straight from California You may find that You have a slight head ache and problems to sleep even in Namche.
A nice way to do it is to stay in places like Namche, Tengboche, Pheriche, etc. I hope You are aware that these places have everything You may reasonably ask for: friendly family run hotels, good food, etc. Instead of going with a tour with a set itinerary it would be more rewarding, I think, to go in and proceed upwards as You feel more aclimatized. Explore Namche and its surroundings a couple of days, than proceed to Tengboche, and so on.
Don+t fool around with AMS. Unless You are aclimatized You will get it! It can be severe.
Keywords: Everest area, Going & coming from Tibet, Travelogues
From: Jeff from Portland, Oregon, USA <jedwards@aracnet.com>
| Date: 96.06.15 | (Id.: 24) |
>Per Löwdin <Per.Lowdin@statsvet.uu.se> wrote:
>Anyone out there in cyberspace that has been trekking north of Everest. I need some elementary information. I have questions like:
>>is it possible to trek anywhere from Rongbuk?
>>East or West?
>>To the upper reaches (tibetan side) of the Arun valley?
Per:
I trekked to Rongbuk in 87 - so I may not remember the details of the trek. I'm sure the logistics have changed. I found Dean Oman's name on a board at the Snowland hotel in Lhasa. He's fom Minnesota, USA - I still keep in touch with him; last I heard he was headed to S. America for a year or two. We took the bus (stopping in Gyantse - a great little Tibetan city, don't miss it - and Shigatse) to Kilometer post 494 on the Lhasa-Kathmandu highway. From there we hiked in 1 or 2 km to a small town, where a man offered us food (tsampa), shelter, and to have his donkey carry our bags the next day. First (and only) time I slept in the same room as a cow - a calf, actually. Next morning the man's donkey carried our bags up to Pang La at 5200 meters. From there I got my first distant view of Quomolonga (Mt Everest), and had a shot of chang which really made my head spin. We headed down the other side and stopped for lunch at the man's brother's house. Then we continued down to another town which had a trekkers "hotel" (dorm room). Our route paralelled a rough gravel road.
Well - I could go on forever, but will start to keep it short: next day we hired a man and his dzo to carry our bags for half a day, then we hired a man and a horse to carry our bags. We stayed the third night at his "brother's" house in another town, and then on day 4 we got to Rangbuk. The initial view of Quomolonga for Rungbuk at 5000 meters is stunning, to say the least. Rongbuk was run by some Chinese-appointed "monks" who would serve boiled potatoes - and only boiled potatoes. We were glad that we had carried in some canned food. That first night I stayed awake and listened to myself breath.
It was very cold. From Rongbuk its about 10 km to the main base camp area. I hiked to base camp and then to an "advanced" base camp, (another 10 km?) at about 5600m. The view from there was amazing:
3200 meters of vertical in 5 or 10 km horizontal.
We stayed 4 nights at Rongbuk and I hiked UP the east valley walls.
The country around there is very steep so I doubt you could "trek" out of the valley without some serious mountaineering equipment - but I don't know that for sure. When we left Rongbuk we hired a man with a cow to take us for half a day, and then we left the valley with the gravel road and headed west over a pass towards Lunja and Tingri, hoping to find a sheephearder with a tent who would put us up for the night. We found one and spent the night in a yak-hair tent with the sheephearder, his wife, and an infant who spent most of his time in a basket full of sheep skins. It was a very cold night after the dung fire went out. Next day we hiked all the way "out" to the Tingri on the main "highway" (I think - we may have spent a night in Lunja).
Back to "civilization", Chinese army posts, and beer. From there we hitched to Nepal, getting a ride on top of a big truck - spectacular scenery, what a way to see the Himalayas! - but very cold after the sun went down.
Guess that's enough for now. Heck, it really wasn't all that cold.
Keywords: Everest area, Health
From: Dario Boffelli <boffelli@bc.biol.ehtz.ch>
| Date: 96.06.17 | (Id.: 13) |
Keywords: Everest area, Health
From: Harry Hakkennes <Harry.Hakkennes@dsto.defence.gov.au>
| Date: 96.06.18 | (Id.: 15) |
> Hi, I am considering going on a trek from Lukla to the Everest
> Base Camp. In the Lonely Planet book Trekking In The Nepal Himalaya,
> the author highly recommends making rest days at 2 or 3 of the
> spots in order to acclimate to the altitude. However, the tour
> I'm thinking of taking has an itinerary of moving up every day.
> When you did your trek, did you move every day or did you take
> rest days?
I would strongly recommend having at least two rest days, especially if you are flying in to Lukla. Without the benefit of any acclimatisation, which you would get by walking in from Jiri, it is even more important to have these rest days.
Namche Bazaar and Dingboche seem to be the usual villages for this purpose. On your rest day in Dingboche, you could attend the lecture on the affects of high altitude trekking given by a medical officer/doctor in the adjacent village of Pheriche. (I assume these sessions are still on). Better safe and armed with adequate knowledge, than to be carried down in a body-bag, as so often happens when people ignore the symptoms.
--
Keywords: Everest area, Miscelaneous
From: Federico <federico@ed.atl.sita.int>
| Date: 96.10.11 | (Id.: 175) |
Went to the Everest region (Gokyo) and also managed to get in a couple of days of white-water rafting in the Trisuli river.
While coming back to Lukla for our flight back to Kathmandu, there was kind of a general strike of porters, guides, lodges, and flights in/out of Lukla to protest the helicopter flights from Kathmandu to Syanboche air strip (north of Namche Bazaar). It seems that these recent helicopter flights have caused quite a negative impact on the economies and tourist trade in all villages from Lukla to Namche, as they allow tourists/trekkers to avoid this two day section.
The strike was finally resolved with the decision to stop these helicopter flights to Syangboche, except for cargo, government officials and medical emergencies. This will be effective starting December 1, 1996. Current helicopter flights will continue to fly tourists to Syanboche until that date.
The trekking season is now in full-force in Nepal, and judging from all the people we saw there in September, its probably pretty crowded now. Kathmandu, as usual, was a zoo (a good one though :-).
I highly recommend trekking in the Khumbu/Everest region.
You get to meet people from all over, get a great workout while trekking, and have the opprtunity to enjoy some of the best views in the world.
I do not recommend trekking alone, specially if you plan to reach significant altitudes, due to the tricky nature of AMS.
Cheers,
Keywords: Everest area, Health
From: Per Löwdin <dokomb@us.uu.se>
| Date: 96.10.11 | (Id.: 197) |
>...
>... there was kind of a general strike of porters,
> guides, lodges, and flights in/out of Lukla to protest the
> helicopter flights from Kathmandu to Syanboche air strip
> (north of Namche Bazaar). It seems that these recent
> helicopter flights have caused quite a negative impact on
> the economies and tourist trade in all villages from Lukla
> to Namche, as they allow tourists/trekkers to avoid this
> two day section.
> The strike was finally resolved with the decision to stop
> these helicopter flights to Syangboche, except for cargo,
> government officials and medical emergencies. This will be
> effective starting December 1, 1996. Current helicopter
> flights will continue to fly tourists to Syanboche until
> that date.
Starting a trek by flying in to Syangboche seems to be to beg for altitude sickness. Even flying in to Lukla may be to ask for trouble. To trek in Khumbu one simply has to be acclimatized and the only way to get acclimatized is by spending time on different altitudes ascending to greater elevations gradually.
Keywords: Everest area
From: Petri Kaipiainen <petkai@nanda.pp.fi>
| Date: 96.11.03 | (Id.: 118) |
>I am going to Nepal this month for three weeks and I plan to do the
>Everest trek from Lukla to Kala Pattar.
>Is it possible to combine this with a trip to Gorkyo Lakes and cross
>Cho La Pass?
This question was discussed at length a few months ago, maybe somebody has a FAQ on this?
Anyway: It is quite easy to cross the pass:
1) no guide is needed, if you can read a map and the weather is fair.
2) It is one (very) long day from the nearest lodge to a lodge in other side. You have more time to play with if you have a tent and are able to camp on the way (not too high, Dzonglha is a fair place to camp),
3) West side of the pass is easy, eastern side is partly glaciated and finding route down might be a bit complicated.
4) you should have some kind of idea about glacier travel and what a crevasse looks like, even though heavy ice equipment is not needed. If there is heavy snow waiting a day or two often melts the snow.
Keywords: Everest area, Weather
From: Per Löwdin <dokomb@us.uu.se>
| Date: 96.11.07 | (Id.: 123) |
> Hello!
> I am going to Nepal this month for three weeks and I plan to do the
> Everest trek from Lukla to Kala Pattar.
> Is it possible to combine this with a trip to Gorkyo Lakes and cross
> Cho La Pass?
Yes
>Has anyone done this before?
Yes: we did it but in the opposite direction and in August.
> Are there any lodges and
> places to get fed on this trail and do I need to have some extra
> stuff?
It would be safer to cross Cho La if You have a tent and food.
>Where is the best place to hire a guide for Cho La-Gorkyo part
> of the trek?
Anywhere above Namche i guess. We did it without. I think route finding would not be a big problem if You get the Schneider map and any better trekking manual. Cho La is a rather uncomplicated pass in good conditions.
However, in November You may have snow fall and in that case it may be very difficult to get across even with a guide.
Keywords: Everest area
From: Frank Kriz <a50154w8@awinc.com>
| Date: 96.11.08 | (Id.: 189) |
>Hello!
>I am going to Nepal this month for three weeks and I plan to do the
>Everest trek from Lukla to Kala Pattar.
>Is it possible to combine this with a trip to Gorkyo Lakes and cross
>Cho La Pass? Has anyone done this before? Are there any lodges and
>places to get fed on this trail and do I need to have some extra
>stuff? Where is the best place to hire a guide for Cho La-Gorkyo part
>of the trek?
>
> riapco@aha.ru
Few years ago a small group of us went to Gokyo. That was first week in March and it snowed on the top so as we left Khumjung we arranged for a porter.Good thing we did because under the snow the path and markings were lost.There was also some ice.
Otherwise the pass is relatively easy.
You need food,water,tent.All that can be bought in Namche
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