With the university closed for the 15-day Dashain Holiday (See ) http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/festivals/dashain.html, I decided to trek to the Everest Region. Also, the Hillary School is there and researching their facilities fit nicely into the Research portion of my Fulbright.
This was a 14 day hike from Lukla to both Everest Base Camp and higher to the top of Kala Pattar (Black Rock) at 18,188 feet.
It is the hardest thing I have ever done!
I used a 24 year old porter/guide named nicknamed Babu ("baby"). He was terrific - I wouldn't have made it without him!
Day 1
The Domestic Terminal was closed when we got there. Things were the usual chaos when it opened.
The 45 minute turbo prop flight from Kathmandu landed at the short "ski jump" runway at Lukla. The runway slants up so the planes can slow down. It was so fascinating, I took a number of pictures of landings and takeoffs:
Babu and I started off with a Malaysian group from the same trekking agency (see http://www.allnepal.com ). But I wanted to decide the pace, so I had hired Babu just for me. Trekking groups have to keep to a schedule, so if someone has a problem, they are left behind or continue sick. In the Nature Trail group of four, one turned back at Day 5 (not the Trekking Company's fault - he was Malaysian, and couldn't tolerate the cold at night), one continued despite Acute Mountain Sickness symptoms. I saw similar problems in other groups - 80 % of Altitude Sickness deaths occur in trekking groups.
Naks are female yaks - not as much hair. Yaks can't live at lower altitudes, so they are used up higher. It goes without saying that they both have the right of way on bridges.
We spent the first night in Phakding.
Day 2
Then it was up, up, up to Namche Bazaar:
Entering Sagamatha (Everest) National Park
They use yak shit for both mortor on rocks and for fuel in stoves:
This woman is rolling it into balls
Day 3
It is important to acclimatize to high altitudes, so we stayed two nights in Namche (altitude: 11,218 feet). At higher altitudes, it is recommended not to increase by more than 300 meters (about 928 feet) per day. The trekking groups ignore this.
Now I have met a young woman, Karen Eastwood, from Birmingham, England, taking a year off to travel the world. You will see her and her guide, Kami, a sherpa, who seemed to know everybody - this is Sherpa territory - in some of the following:
Rather than just hang out for a day, we went to some neighboring villages:
Airfield serving Hotel Everest View
Hillary funded a school in Khumjung
The school is closed for Dashain
The Japanese built a hotel high on a ridge where visitors can see Mount Everest from their beds - which is where they spend their first few days if they fly in because they haven't acclimatized. It is a beautiful place with terrible food. We had lunch there.
Day 4
On to Tengboche, where the world's highest monastery is located. It snowed there during the night ("the earliest it has ever snowed here"). The monks dug out their skis! Because everyone knew Kami, we got to see the monks making a sand mandala for an upcoming festival.
Day 5
On to Pheriche (13,907 feet) , a cold place by a river where the Himalayan Rescue Association is located. We stayed here two nights, but it is such a dismal place, I took no pictures there. We did trek to Dingboche on Day 6, but since I stayed there on the way back, I'll talk about this lovely place later.
Day 7
On to Labouche for Karen, but just to Duglha for me - keeping to the 300 meter rise per day. Karen and I would meet up again later.
Our last picture all together!
Day 8
On to Labouche (16,170 feet) - getting close now. On the way we passed a memorial area with monuments to those who have died - mostly sherpas - on Everest. Scott Fischer has one there, but we couldn't find it either on the way up or the way down.
Morning through my window in Duglha
Babu in front of a Japanese Memorial
Day 9
This was the hardest day I've ever experienced. First we trekked from Labouche to Gorak Shep (16,925 feet). It took three hours. We met up and had a snack with Karen, then left for Base Camp. Because of fatigue and the altitude, it took me four more hours to get there and 3 1/2 to get back to Gorak Shep. It was dark when we returned.
BUT, Base Camp seemed magical to me - dreams hung in the air. You could see where teams started out. A Japanese team had just left and their porters were still packing up.
Day 10
We stayed at Gorak Shep, then in the morning climbed Kala Pattar (18,188 feet) where there are gorgeous views of Everest. THEN, for the second hardest day of my life, we trekked to Dingboche, another ten hour day. But Dingboche was the first place that was actually a working, farming community, rather than a place set up for trekkers.
Note the picture of Babu helping an old woman put on my glove liners. It was freezing. I had already given my fleece gloves to Babu who didn't have warm mittens (I will buy him some when we get back). We will see this woman lugging more stuff tomorrow on our way back down to Tengboche.
Babu and me at the top of Kala Pattar
Babu and me at the top of Kala Pattar
Day 11
Dingboche was bright and clear as we left for Tengboche. Watch for the old woman from Day 10.
The usual spelling of restaurant
Day 12
Leaving Tengboche for Namche Bazaar
Can you see the yak at the door?
Day 13
In Namche, I had a shower and had some clothes washed. It was wonderful. Then on to Phakding:
Day 14
Phakding to Lukla and home!
So after all the cold, pit toilets outside at night, bridges featured in Raiders of the Lost Ark, no clean underwear for days, gastrointestinal issues, exhaustion, etc., was it worth it? You know it was!
On to Annapurna base camp in November!
