My Trip Journal
Pass the Peak...
Day Fourteen
Well, here we are in not-so-lovely Lobuje at 4930m. Now, lodges aren't 5 star hotels and all the ones we've stayed in so far have been on the spartan side of comfortable. But, despite the thin plywood walls and wooden cots with hard little pillows they have been cosy, clean and comfortable. Not so here. Our sleeping quarters are pretty squalid. A bare, dirt floor, plastic sheeting covering some of the ceiling, cracks between the paperthin plywood walls. And a very dusty blanket on the bed. Still, I guess it's better than camping...just. I'm still suffering from sore muscles round my ribs so will take a bed over a tent anytime!
The walk up from Pheriche was lovely and relaxed. A few steep parts but some really pretty scenery in the valley. Lunch was at Dugla where we had a nice sunny spot and were treated to a wonderful 'slide show' of mountains appearing and disappearing behind the clouds. Pasang called me 'didi' today, meaning 'elder sister' - which is much better than the 'baje' and 'baju' (grandfather and grandmother, respectively) that George, Colin, Jack, Toni and Carmel are called! The average age of the group is 47, with George the eldest at 61 and Zoe the youngest at 25.
After lunch was a big uphill slog to where the memorials to dead Sherpas and westerners like Scott Fisher are. Walked alongside the huge ablation valley at the edge of the Khumbu Glacier, whose sidewalls towered over us. Glenn and Zoe made it over the Kongma La and got to Lobuje about half an hour before us. They said it was really tough going and looking up at the pass and the moraine and glacier walls they had to traverse, I'm very glad we walked around!
That T-shirt I bought back in Khumjung has turned out to be more accurate than first thought!
The Morning Ritual
7am: Bed Tea - black tea brought to the room, followed shortly after by
Washie water and orders taken for breakfast.
Roll up sleeping bag and stow in kit bag to make room on the bed for washie water. Drink tea as quickly as possible to have empty mug ready
Scoop mug of water out of washie bowl. Use rest of water to wash face, armpits, crotch, feet (if desired) and/or hair.
Clean teeth using mug of water to rinse brush in. Swill mouth with bottle water (try not to scream when freezing cold water hits gums). Use now soapy water to rinse out knicks, socks and shirts as required.
After washie: pack up kitbag and daypack.
Leave kitbag in hallway for porters to collect.
Lug daypack, walking stick and camera into dining room at 7.45am to wait for breakfast, which for me is usually:
* bowl of muesli with warm milk
* two slices of toast with jam, no butter
* white coffee
Day Fifteen
Had a very restless night. My feet kept getting tangled up in the sleeping bag liner and I had a very busy mind - so not a lot of sleep by the time bed tea arrived at 5.15am! The plan was to have breakfast at 6am and leave for Gorek Shep at 6.30. Well, we finally left about 6.45, so not too far behind schedule. The walk to Gorek Shep was a tough one - particularly the last two-thirds over the moraine and it took 3 hours in total with lots and lots of rests and going very slowly.
Stunning scenery of the Khumbu Glacier and the side of Nuptse. Amazing stuff. After a hot drink at Gorek Shep we struck off for Kalar Pattar. Boy! Was that a steep, tough climb! Carmel and I went very very slowly with lots of stops but it was very hard breathing. After about an hour and twenty minutes we gave up. Carmel's breathing was too difficult and my rib muscle was really hurting with every breath I took. The place we stopped at gave us excellent views of Everest and all the other mountains - Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, Lho La, Lobuche, the tippity tip of Ama Dablam, the dome of Cho Oyu, Kantega, Themserku. Marvellous stuff! We took pictures of ourselves with Everest in the background, then headed slowly downhill back to where Jack was waiting in the little meadow we had had drinks in. Jack had been complaining for days now about the lack of "oomph" in his legs. Being a stocky, burly kind of fellow, he was having trouble accepting the wimpiness that altitude was causing! We took him with us to the edge of the glacier to add our prayerflags to the stringfuls already there. As we were admiring the view and listening to the creaks and rattles of the glacier and whistle of the wind, a huge "Crack!" shot out, followed by a "Whoosh!" and "Boom!" We swivelled our heads around to see an avalanche rumbling down the side of Nuptse right opposite us! Awesome!
We had to wait for everyone else to come back down before we could have lunch - quite a wait. Glenn and Zoe RAN down the 'hill' - a 22 minute trip - then expressed disappointment that lunch wasn't ready and served straight away for them as they were in a hurry to get going to Everest Base Camp! Even when lunch did come it was a very hurried affair - main meal arriving while we were still eating soup. Finally we all got going. David decided he wanted to go to Base Camp too, so Pasang and Cheung accompanied the three of them up the glacier while the rest of us headed back to Lobuje. More tough going over the moraine but wonderful to hear the glacier creaking, groaning and rattling as it moved.
Once off the moraine, it was all downhill, but for some strange reason Mandal maintained the same slow pace he had going up to Gorek Shep. The wind had picked up and was blowing icily into our faces and we were walking too slowly to keep warm. I finally 'cracked' it at being forced into such an unnatural pace and took off ahead at my own speed. I was tired of walking and just wanted to get back to the lodge as quickly as possible.
We finally got there about 4.30pm, cold and tired. Dumped our bags in our rooms and made our way to a very crowded dining room. Some very selfish Danes refused to move over and Toni had to spend the evening perched on the edge of the benchseat, leaning against a pole, while two Danes stretched out very comfortably in the space that 3 of us had easily sat in earlier in the day. To cap off their audacity, they even accepted our left over apple fritters and STILL refused to make room for Toni! Toddled off to bed after a lovely dinner of Sherpa stew, fried rice and apple fritter. Read for awhile, enjoyed the singsong from the group camped out front then nodded off to sleep very soundly until 6am.
Day Sixteen
Had a lovely sleep-in - bed tea at 8am! Breakfast was for 8.45 so had lots of time to pack, do washie washie. Enjoyed a leisurely hour in the lodge dining room before we all set off for our campsite below Cho La. Glenn, Zoe and David rejoined us after walking down from Gorek Shep. They had to get up at some ungodly hour to make it in time. David said he was sorry he had gone as Base Camp was nothing much. Two expeditions were camped there, but had roped themselves off so no one could visit them. He said that they could have been anywhere on a glacier, there was nothing that identified it as Everest Base Camp.
A really pleasant walk back down the valley - along a ridge on the opposite side to the one we went up. Then we turned a bend and what a sight greeted us - the beautifully turquoise Cholatse Tso! Just stunning. The walk to our lunch stop was hard - a few tough uphill pulls and some tricky footwork, but the flowers all along the way were just gorgeous. We are way above the treeline, but there is still lots of plant life up here. At some points, it was as if someone had created little rockgardens - beautiful little spots were 20 or more different plants all grew together.
Carmel had a few words to say to Nima about the lack of stops in a 2 hour 20 minute walk and was very upset when we sat down at lunchtime at his shrug of the shoulders in response to her comments. Zoe said that if Carmel was getting tired she should ask for more breaks. Our response was i) the leader was too far in front to ask and ii) we shouldn't have to ask. At lower altitudes we were stopping every 40 minutes and we should be stopping just as often now. Zoe considered this a fair point and went off to speak with Nima, who came back later on and said that we would be stopping more frequently from now on.
After lunch, Mandal set off at an incredibly slow pace which was alright when we were going uphill but absurd on the flat and downhill. We were all struggling to walk slowly. Now whether he was doing it because we had complained, I don't know but we were all chafing to go a bit faster, especially when the campsite came into view. We're camped in a meadow, with a stream running through it. Mountains looming all around us. Very very pretty. We all craned our necks to see Cho La - way way up high and still a long walk off!
Carmel's having a snooze right now - tucked up in our tent. It's all misted over at the moment and starting to get rather cold.
Day Seventeen
Bed tea at 6am today for an early start on Cho La. Got going about 7.30am. Beautiful sunny day, but I kept on my thermal top under a polo shirt and wore my fleecy trousers. The going was really good for the first hour or so, then my legs just totally ran out of puff. It was horrible, they were so leaden I was having to stop every five minutes or so. It got so frustrating and I thought I wasn't going to make it. Nima insisted I take my pack off and just carry my camera and water. He and Kanccha helped me up the rockface - which was almoost vertical and a lot of scrambling, hauling myself up onto one huge boulder after another. Finally, we made it to the top of the rock ridge. Stunning ice and snow sculptures on the mountain opposite us. Once we got onto the snowfield, my giddiness passed but the legs were still wobbly. It was absolutely wonderful being on all that pristine snow. Just beautiful. We finally made the pass and Carmel and I strung up some prayer flags and David took our photos. We made it! We crossed the Cho La!
Down the other side was a steep nightmare of loose scree. Kanccha accompanied Toni and me down. Got to what looked like the bottom and had to negotiate large boulders all scrambled together with no obvious track through. Hard hard work up and over one ridge after another all the time slowly going downhill. Topped another ridge and I fully expected to see our lunch position - but no! Yet another mess of trackless big black boulders to struggle over. I sat down and burst into tears! It was all too much! The stress of concentration, fear, my sore ribs and wobbly legs all played a part in my emotional reaction. With encouragement from Toni and with the realisation that I couldn't just catch a bus out of there - I had to get myself out - I got up and staggered on, with lots of support from Kanccha and finally we made to lunch where I collapsed on the ground.
After a meal of baked beans and chapattis it was onwards over the next ridge to Dragnag, where we would be camping for the night - the consensus being that we were all too tired to make it to Gokyo. A long long walk - Carmel got dispirited at the distance, but I was revitalised, I didn't care how far away Dragnag was, I had survived Cho La! - that ended in a long steep descent in mist to our destination - picturesque Dragnag, built entirely of stone. Huge cliff dominates one side of the village, with prayer flags strung along its face in what look like impossible-to-reach positions! Our tents were set up in the courtyard of the lodge and very crowded it was too, with at least two other grups camped there!
Dinner was in a tiny little room - but at least we had it to ourselves. Pasta, momos, carrot and cabbage was dinner, followed by chocolate rice pudding for dessert. A cup of coffee to finish off, discussion of tomorrow's plans and time for this very tired little bunny to crawl into her sleeping bag.
Day Eighteen
The plan today was to leave Dragnag at 8.30 and take one and a half hours to get to Gokyo. Ha! I say. Ha! We finally left at 9am and my legs were immediate jelly - so to the back of the line for me! Slowly slowly up and over the moraine and onto the glacier. Cos I had no strength in my legs I couldn't balance myself during the boulder hopping, so Nima took my hand each time we had to do that. Excellent views of the glacier, Gokyo Ri and numerous glacial lakes. Stood watching a number of small rock slides tumbling into one lake - caused by porters passing. On other occasions, the movement of the glacier itself caused small falls into lakes. It was eerie hearing the rattle and splash in an otherwise silent environment. The walk wasn't nearly as physically difficult as the past few days, but my legs were useless so the pace was slow. We finally topped a ridge and got our first view of the second Gokyo lake. Stunning! Unreal! The colour - turquoise - is out of this world. No matter how many photos you see of these lakes, nothing prepares you for the reality of them. We worked our way downhill and joined the rest of the group for a rest just beyond the lake's end. We could just see the buildings of Gokyo and it was a further 25 minutes walk through lots of cairns, chortens and prayer flags alongside the third lake to our lodge with its wonderful westfacing views of the lake and mountains beyond.
After lunch, most of the group decided to tackle Gokyo Ri for sunset. The rest of us decided on an afternoon of rest so that we can spend tomorrow going up the glacier to Scoundrel's View, which offers the same spectacular views as from Gokyo Ri, but without the steep climb. If my legs recover I may attempt Gokyo Ri the following morning before we move onto the camp below Renjo La.
Once we had had a shower - a luxury we had been saving since Lukla - and sorted out our kitbags and rooms, Carmel and I decided to take a walk up to the top of the moraine wall behind the village. Great views of the glacier with light cloud coming across and mountains beyond. Loved listening to the sounds of the glacier rattling and creaking. The cloud was starting to wisp across the lake as we headed back 'home' and it looked like steam coming off the water. Magical!
Treated ourselves to Pringles and a Coke for afternoon tea. Right now, five of us are ensconced in the very spacious but cosy dining room. Toni, Carmel and I played Yahtzee whilst Jack and George snoozed. We're enjoying a hot drink and relaxing before dinner. I am so happy to be here. Gokyo was the highlight of the trip as far as I'm concerned. I don't care if I never make it up Gokyo Ri. As I joked earlier, why not make it 3 out of 3 peaks I haven't gone up!
Found out from Nima that our lead porter, Pancha Bhadur Rai, writes poetry and plays! He's in the middle of writing a play right now! All the times we saw him scribbling with a stump of pencil in a scruffy little exercise book and thought he was just keeping a record of the day's work, he's been writing a play in which it's holiday season and he's trying to explain to his wife why he should go portering instead of staying home and celebrating the festival with his family. "I can earn money and when I come back we can eat a goat and have a festival all over again!"
Day Nineteen
Another early wakeup at 6am after a very comfortable night's sleep. I read tucked up in bed til about 9pm last night - we had an electric light in the room, the height of luxury!
Today we all planned to walk to Scoundrel's View, up by the fifth lake, have lunch then return to the lodge. We set off about quarter to eight, all bundled up because it was so cold. Forst lay on the ground and those people who had left their washing out overnight found it frozen! We headed up the valley, with the walls of the moraine looming over us on the right. Toni stayed behind - she has never been totally well and Nima has decided enough is enough, she needs proper medical treatment. She is going to be evacuated out by helicopter and taken to the medical centre in Kathmandu. Unbeknownst to us at the time, Mandal had been sent down to Namche Bazaar to ring the helicopter - he ran down in 5 hours! It's a shame it's come to this, but Toni did extremely well to get this far, given Nima was going to evacuate her out from Dingboche. She was too upset to let any of us say goodbye to her. So it felt odd leaving for our excursion knowing she'd be gone without a word when we got back. We saw her helicopter fly over at about 1.30pm and all waved to it before it turned and headed back down the valley.
The walk was very pleasant - a bit of rockiness, lots of beaten dirt path. My legs weren't perfect still so I stayed at the back with Carmel, keeping a nice comfortable pace. Once we arrived at Scoundrel's View, we had to scramble over a lot of rocks to get the best viewing points. Great views of Cho Oyu, Ngozumba Kang ( we had come across a memorial cairn on the way up to a Korean man who had died on Ngozumpa Kang), Everest, Lhotse, Kami Chotal (very oddly shaped - oblong knob on one crest) and two very pointy mountains on the opposite side of the glacier which are unnamed on the map. Carmel and I strung more prayer flags betwen thre existing cairns, took lots of photos and sat and enjoyed the view for a little while.
We headed home at 1pm, after a lunch spent huddled in a rocky hollow to shelter from the cold wind that had sprung up, right into the face of a stiff chill wind blowing up the valley. We were all back by about 3pm - a rapid walk home! Now, most of us are in the dining room writing our diaries, letters etc. Dinner will be at 6pm and Carmel and I ordered the same as last night - Sherpa stew and a plate of chips - delicious! It's a bit chilly in here - hope the stove heats up soon!
