Its interesting how once you have been visiting places around the world, the international news is so much more meaningful. Seems like there is always something going on from a place you have visited or something like that.
Just yesterday when I checked cnn.com, there were two major news stories. One about the release of Suu Kyi (the myanmar pro democracy lady who has been under house arrest for ever). The other was about all the deaths on Mt. Merapi, the volcano in indonesia.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/13/indonesia.volcano/index.html?hpt=T2
Crazy thing is, is that about 1 year ago, I was standing on top of that volcano with my Czech friends Lukas and Martin! In fact, the picture I took while on top, was the photo my parents used for their Christmas card last year.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Canyoneering and Rafting
11/10 Very sunny and clear (i.e. little pollution) in Kathmandu so you can even see the snow capped mighty Himalayas shimmering in the distance. Drive back up the canyon that leads to Tibet to do some rafting. I had taken some immodium, but still feeling kind of crampy and sick to my stomach. The first day we raft the lower Bhote Khosi. Not my best day of rafting as I am feeling a bit sick, its pretty cold, and as it is the warm up for the next day, it is not overly exciting with just some class IIIs. There is a big group of 18 Russians and then Benjamin and Matteus (both from Bavaria) and Oliver (from the UK but works for a mining magazine based out of Boulder and currently lives in Mumbai). Only a couple of the Russians speak a touch of English, so us English speakers were happy to be in the same raft so that we could understand the commands from the guide. At one point in the trip was the jumping rock. Normally I am all about jumping off rocks, but again, I wasnt feeling great and it was kind of cold. The other English speakers didnt jump either. But every single Russian, including the older ladies all jumped. Russians are touch and cold doesnt bother them. After the jump, the two Nepali guides were shaking furiously bc of the cold. You couldnt find a single goosebump on any of th Ruskies.
We were staying at a place called borderlands (as it is near tibet) resort. It was a nice safari style resort along the Bhote Kosi where you stay in big canvas tents. On the way to the resort after the rafting, we discovered that there was some sort of fight between the people of Bharbarise town and the poice, so the road was barricaded. So we had to walk 30 minutes through the town to get a bus on the other side
11/11 Full day rafting the Bhote Kosi. This day was much better! I was feeling better and the rapids were much more exciting. Not too mention they also gave us wetsuits which helped with the cold. Most of the rapids were class 4s with a few 5s in there. The river is very technical. Its not like the huge rapids mixed in with flat water that you think of back home, but instead its constant whitewater with lots or rocks and obstacles. Kind of like if you were to raft the Big Thompson from below the dam in Estes down to Loveland (except of course with a bigger river). So it is non-stop action and paddling and maneuvering is important. The bhote khosi has absolutlely not flat water. At one point, Oliver had to go into a different raft for some reason, but the next time we stopped, he immediately demanded that he come back with us. He said the Russians had know idea what was going on and couldnt understand the commands and he feared for his life, so he wanted back on with us. The river is very scenic as well, with lots of waterfalls falling down in to the river. The bus we took coming back was full, so the germans and I sat on the top of the rafts which were on top of the bus. It was a wild ride with bouncing rafts on the bumpy road. Ducking trees and electric wires and holding on for dear life. `so this is what a class 6 is` is what Benny said.
11/12 Did a half day of canyoning and abseling (rapelling down waterfalls) near the borderlands resort. Went with a guy named Michael from Australia who is driving a motorbike from London to Sydney. He was a real nice guy and we had a good time rapelling down the falls.
11/13. Another half day of abseiling and canyoning, except just me and the guides as Michael had gone rafting. Today was really awesome with some huge waterfalls that we went down. Also some cool natural slides that we slid down.
11/14 Stayed an extra day in Kathmandu just to make sure that my stomach was ok. Since I was here I did some errands that I was going to do in Pokhara. Got my ACAP permit (annapurna coservation area permit) as well as my TIMS card (a trekking card requird to trek in nepal). Also picked up some more prescription antibiotics in case I fall ill again, and stopped by the main post office to pick up a poste restante from my lovely mother. Finally had my back in civilization celebratory meal from my last trek...chicken tikka masala with a banana lassi.
We were staying at a place called borderlands (as it is near tibet) resort. It was a nice safari style resort along the Bhote Kosi where you stay in big canvas tents. On the way to the resort after the rafting, we discovered that there was some sort of fight between the people of Bharbarise town and the poice, so the road was barricaded. So we had to walk 30 minutes through the town to get a bus on the other side
11/11 Full day rafting the Bhote Kosi. This day was much better! I was feeling better and the rapids were much more exciting. Not too mention they also gave us wetsuits which helped with the cold. Most of the rapids were class 4s with a few 5s in there. The river is very technical. Its not like the huge rapids mixed in with flat water that you think of back home, but instead its constant whitewater with lots or rocks and obstacles. Kind of like if you were to raft the Big Thompson from below the dam in Estes down to Loveland (except of course with a bigger river). So it is non-stop action and paddling and maneuvering is important. The bhote khosi has absolutlely not flat water. At one point, Oliver had to go into a different raft for some reason, but the next time we stopped, he immediately demanded that he come back with us. He said the Russians had know idea what was going on and couldnt understand the commands and he feared for his life, so he wanted back on with us. The river is very scenic as well, with lots of waterfalls falling down in to the river. The bus we took coming back was full, so the germans and I sat on the top of the rafts which were on top of the bus. It was a wild ride with bouncing rafts on the bumpy road. Ducking trees and electric wires and holding on for dear life. `so this is what a class 6 is` is what Benny said.
11/12 Did a half day of canyoning and abseling (rapelling down waterfalls) near the borderlands resort. Went with a guy named Michael from Australia who is driving a motorbike from London to Sydney. He was a real nice guy and we had a good time rapelling down the falls.
11/13. Another half day of abseiling and canyoning, except just me and the guides as Michael had gone rafting. Today was really awesome with some huge waterfalls that we went down. Also some cool natural slides that we slid down.
11/14 Stayed an extra day in Kathmandu just to make sure that my stomach was ok. Since I was here I did some errands that I was going to do in Pokhara. Got my ACAP permit (annapurna coservation area permit) as well as my TIMS card (a trekking card requird to trek in nepal). Also picked up some more prescription antibiotics in case I fall ill again, and stopped by the main post office to pick up a poste restante from my lovely mother. Finally had my back in civilization celebratory meal from my last trek...chicken tikka masala with a banana lassi.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Mera Peak/Everest/Gokyo Trek
As it is difficult to write about what has happened in a 25 day action packed period in a short time while still traveling, here is my best shot. Mostly sort of copied from the short journal that I keep. This is just intended to give the major highlights.
10/14 (Day 1) Flight to Lukla. Its on a tiny 16 seater dornier aircraft that flies into a crazy uphill (35 degree slope they say) landing strip. Supposedly the most dangerous airport in the world, not just bc the runway is short and uphill, but bc it is an all or nothing venture. Once the plane comes in through the narrow mountains, there is no turning back… it is all committing.. It has to land bc the mountains are too high and tight for a turnaround in the air. The landing was scary, but we made it, and of course walked out onto the tiny mountain airport to see the plane still there that had crashed just a few days ago (not injuries on it, but the front nose of the plane was smashed from crashing into the wall). Once we arrived, since it was late afternoon, Chhombwa (my Sherpa guide), Collin (originally from New Zealand but living like 20 years in Argentina. Hes a mineral exploration geologist and has had so many cool amazing adventures. Seemed like a sweet job), and his wife Andrea (from Argentina and not very good at English so I got to practice my Spanish for a couple of weeks which was nice), and I had a short walk to our guesthouse. Overnight in Lukla at 2800m/9185ft. While eating dinner I strarted feeling like my left side was having that weird numb feeling, and I panicked a bit, but the next morning it was no more, and I thankfully wouldn’t be bother by it again. It was probably just a bit of a mental thing while in Lukla.
10/15 (day 2). Start hiking in a nice day that quickly turns rainy at the end. Some river crossings at sketchy bridges to cross. Spend the night in Chutanga at 3499m/11,977ft. This is the day I discovered dal bhat, and would have it for lunch almost everyday. It is a dish with rice, dhal (lentil soup), and some sort of curry (usually different from tea house to tea house). The best thing about it is that it is unlimited, which is amazing after a long day of trekking and when it is cold outside bc for some reason the combination of camping, physical work, and cold always makes me so hungry. I would never get that symptom of high altitude sickness of loss of appetite!
10/16 (day 3) Chutanga to Zatrwa La pass (4620m/15,125ft). Raining on way up turning to heavy snow at the top, then rainy again on the way back down the pass to Thuli Kharka (4300m/14,107ft) where we slept. We were supposed to be camping, but it was raining so hard that we stayed in tea houses. Even the big fancy expeditions, including the huge German expedition that we called the blitzkrieg (not bc they were fast, but bc once they arrived, for some reason they always had priority and pushed everyone out of the tables, etc) left their expensive tents to sleep in the drier tea houses. The little tea village was in a cool seting at the base of mountains with monstrous boulders everywhere. I shared my room with a nice Canadian guy on his way back down the mountain.
10/17 (day 4) More walking in pouring rain down to rushing river valley through thick mossy and rhododendron forests. Could have sworn I was in Washington. Reaching Tashing Ongno (aka Kote) which was along the river. Nice setting, but foggy and rainy (3580m/11,745ft) with waterfalls coming down into camp. We were becoming quite depressed by (and worried for a summit attempt) with all the bad weather. The monsoon usually ends in late September or early October and it had supposedly already ended bc they had had many days of sunshine, so no one knew what was going on. Climate change of course was to blame by most people. Apparently the Himalayas had been having some of the strangest and most unusual weather this year with major flooding in Pakistan where parts of the dry himalaya received as much rain in 1 day as they normally received in an entire year. And placed like Lek in Ladahk India getting so much rain that their normally deserty dry slopes just became oversaturated and slid burying several villages. So I was definitely beginning to worry that all the money and effort I put into this summit attempt would be for naught bc not only would I not be able to go for the summit, but I wouldn’t even see the mountains. Plus all the rain was making things cold and quite miserable actually
10/18 (day 5) Actually mostly sunny in the morning. First sight of the destination: Mera Peak from the last nights camp. Walk up a huge glacial moraine valley with rushing river and some nice views of freshly snowed peaks and also huge glaciated mountains. Even some sun today! Stop at a monastery where has monk has been living for the past 25 years! Stay at Thangnak (Tagnag) at 4356m/14,291 ft). In our tents tonight as there is only a slight drizzle.
10/19 (day 6) Hike to Khare (Mera peak base camp) at an altitude of 5045m/16,552 ft, but hike further up a ridge for some view to about 5245m. Gorgeous hike up to Khare along a glacial moraine with a cascading river and great views of several snowcapped and glaciated peaks including Mera. Go by a beautiful turquoise lake with a mountain behind it, which is like what ones idea of a ''perfect'' mountain is. Khare is up high enough where there is some new snowfall and is in a beautiful mountain cirque with glaciers all around and view of Mera. Run into Roger Truesdale (from Estes Park!) who is climbing Mera and then onto Buruntse, a 7000m peak, with a company called summit climbed based out of Olympica, WA. Some snow showers in the afternoon and then a really nice sunset.
10/20 (day 7) Acclimatization day. Hike up to Mera La Pass 5415m/ 17,761 ft and then returning down to Khare to sleep again. The first part of the hike is on icy snow and then it was up and walking onto a huge glacier. Great views of the Mera route and summit and some other mountains and big glaciers. We come back down the pass in a bit of a snowstorm. Back at base camp, we practice some technical climbing techniques such as jumar climbing on a fixed rope and repelling. Sweet view of near full moon over mountains and fog.
10/21 (day 8) Hike up to camp 1 (5350m/17,548ft) in some fog, cold, and sometimes snowy weather via Mera La (5415m/17,761ft). Camp out in a rocky area right below the pass. After the snowstorm, the weather clears, and I hike up to Mera La for amazing sunset views over Mera, Makalu (8000+m peak) and of course some other high Himalayas. Very cold that night.
10/22 (day 9) Nice sunny day. Hike up to high camp (5780m/18,960ft) The entire hike is up Mera glacier and the camp is perched on the glacier as well. Since it is such a nice day, hike about an hour further up and feel like I could just go for the summit. From the camp there is great views including 5 of the 6 highest mountains in the world (Everest #1, Kantachenga #3, Lhotse #4, Makalu #5, and Cho Oyo #6) plus Baruntse, Ama Dablam and others. I wore the plastic mountaineering boots today, but they are way too small (rental shop had said size 12, but they were size 10 when I thought to take the lining out and look. In the shop I thought they were just supposed to be tight like ski boots since they look a lot like them, so I just took their word for the size and the tight feel) and my feet get very cold bc my circulation gets cut off. It is pretty funny when you have to take a poo on the glacier bc it is totally exposed and everyone above and below you can see. Hang out with the guides and our two porters (pisang and tenge) in their tent…some good times there. I hadn’t known we would have porters, so I had packed very light. Definitely would have brought a few more luxury things (like deodorant and some extra warm clothes) if I had known I wasn’t carrying everything on my own…though I would be carrying everything on my own later after the Mera trek. Amazing sunset over Everest and the high Himalayas and an almost better moonrise. Very, very cold night of course up at that altitude. Definitely all water bottles freeze solid even when inside the tent
10/23 (day 10) Up at 1am and leave at 2 am for summit. I am wearing my simple hiking boots since I fear frostbite if I wear the very tight mountaineering boots. Chhombwa is afraid of how I will do without crampons as they cant be attached to my hiking boots, but I tell him I am pretty adept at walking in snow and if it gets too hard then we will turn around, but there was no way I would wear the mountaineering boots. So cold in the morning that even my headlamp doesn’t work, but the moon is so bright it doesn’t really matter…full moon, so a glorious time to be climbing an all snow peak at 2 in the morning. All the snow, glaciers, and peaks are lit up brilliantly. Colin is sick and Andrea a bit too, so they don’t go for the summit. Put on harness, rope to Chhumbwa, and grab ice axe in case one of us were to fall in a crevasse. Obviously bc I have thinner shoes on my feet do get cold, though not as bad I am sure as in the mountaineering boots. So in order to keep my feet warm enough (again I don’t want to get frostbite) we hike pretty fast. Our camp was the lowest camp bc some big groups had taken up all the sites at the highest camp and we start later bc of Colin being sick and all, so we started out last and also the lowest, but we eventually pass everyone (I was even making Chhumbwa tired, but I was not feeling the effects of altitude at all), and we arrive on top of Mera Peak summit (6485m/21,271ft!) first at 5:45am and before sunrise. The goal is to be up before 11am! Dang, we could have slept in and waited for the sun to come up and it to get warmer. On the summit it was very windy and extremely cold, but toes suddenly felt better. We didn’t linger too long, but we took a few pictures, waved the mandatory flags (USA, CO, Nepal, and C of I), hug, then head down. We watch the sunrise as we head down. There were a few clouds early, but then it completely clears up to bright blue sky. Dawn lights up the snow red. Warms (or seems to) quickly bc the sun is soo INTENSE at that altitude. Going down was a lot of fun. Since I didn’t have crampons, I could ski town glissading style as most of the people still struggled coming up. Chhumbwa and all the guides, etc are very impressed that I did the whole thing with no plastic boots and no crampons, but I did have an ice axe in case I needed it, and we had learned how to jumar in case we needed to set a fixed rope, but the snow was fine and crispy, and to me like climbing up a black diamond slope at a ski area back home. So no problem. Back at high camp, we relax a bit. Chhumbwa is completely exhausted and lies right down and falls asleep. I celebrate with a snickers bar, and then head back to Khare base camp to relax. I later found out that Roger also successfully summated, though about 4 hours after me. Way to go EP. Two on Mera peak in one day.
Some noticeable characters that we met along the way on the trek that I will remember: This Japanese guy that on night 2 helped us make origami cranes. He was my roommate at Khare, and I was worried he was really sick b/c he never left his room or tent and never moved, He didn’t know any English really, so how could he tell anyone. But he made it to the summit! Late in the afternoon and had to spend another night in high camp, but he amazingly made it. Then the fancy german blitzkrieg group with all the modern stuff (percent oxygen saturation machines and gourmet meals). Most made it to the summit, though one did have to get evacuated by helicopter bc of AMS (acute mountains sickness).
10/24 (day 11) Say goodbye and adios to Andrea and Colin and also to Chhumbwa and Tenge as they are returning to Lukla. I go with just one porter (pisang), who knows no English. We go back over Mera La (5414m/17,761ft) and then descend quite a bit with gorgeous mountain and glacial valley (and some lake) views to Kongue Dingma (4800m/15,744ft) where we camp. Explore and hike around a bit in the area around the campsite in a glacial moraine with winding river and steep glacial mountains on all sides. Over hear conversation between 3 guys who are leaders of summitclimb (the group Roger is on). Sounds interesting and cool what they do. One American living in Olympia, one living in Chamonix, and one swiss guys. Fog rolls in and a bit of snow. Go for a hike high up in the glacial valley and find a cave with some sherpas crouched around a fire that I hang out in for a bit.
10/25 (day 12) Hike up Hinku valley. My best day yet. Gorgeous mountain scenery of high glaciated peaks including Everest, Nuptse, Makalu, and Baruntse. Hike along blue glacial river and then past several alpine lakes. Skip by base camp (Panch Pokhara at 5189m/17,020ft) bc we arrived early and hike all the way up to high camp (5554m/18,217ft) passed a whole bunch of cool lakes. I cook us some mac n cheese at high camp. Gorgeous day, no clouds all day. All by ourselves today. Didn’t see a single person. No one along trail, and we have high camp to ourselves. Wow! What a day! Great sunset as well
10/26 (day 13) Early start over the Amphalapcha la pass (5839m/19,154ft). Amazing scenery of course especially looking down at the lakes. Hiking steep up a glacier. Need to use jumar and ice ax in areas to climb up ice. Way down is very, very steep and tricky and snowy. Have to repel down a lot. This pass is known to be quite dangerous and actually more difficult than Mera peak itself. Many people die each year on the pass. With that said, the danger to me was little. This is because almost all of the people that die on the pass are porters. Sadly, porters here are still treated poorly as they are a lower caste. On standard treks, many of them don’t have warm enough clothes (it is supposed to be the job of the clients to make sure their porters are well equipped) and many actually die on standard routes each year due to cold exposure or even altitude sickness as many of them come from lower down and are not adapted to altitude either and are often carrying 50 to 60 pounds. On this particular pass, there are lots of porters passing through carrying huge loads to reach Baruntse and Makalu base camps. The route is technical and one needs to know how to jumar going up and self belay coming down (I had good practice with this from my time in Utah in which Zach and Ryan Albright taught me all about it). The porters of course don’t know how to do this and just hold onto a rope without being tied in (carrying their huge loads). If they slip or let go, they can fall down the mountain and of course bad weather makes it even worse. Me on the other hand am safely roped in with my harness. For Pisang, I tied a rope around him with a bowline knot and belayed him down and then belayed our bags down.
End up in a sweet basin with some great views of Nuptse and Island Peak. Walk out through a HUGE glacial moraine with more greatviews of huge mountains including Ama Dablam. Arrive in Chhukhung (base campe for island peak) to camp (4730m/15,514ft).
10/27 (day 14) Say a sad goodbye to my porter Pisang. He was really, really awesome and nice and helpful, even if he didn’t speak any English. Start up early to Kongma La pass (5555m/18,220ft). Great views of Makalu, Ama Dablam, Nuptse, and others. Going over this pass, I cross into the Khumbu region, so there of lots of yaks and rocks yak pens. What yaks mean is YAK DUNG! Which equals warm fires!! Some really nice lakes near the top of the pass. Have the whole pass to myself going up bc again I am the fastest one up, so I get to enjoy the top and the amazing views all to myself. From the top are amazing views back towards the Chukhung valley and and ahead to the Khumbu valley. Just stunning views! When I come back down I have to cross the Khumbu glacier. At this part it is mostly under rock with some huge areas of exposed ice and some frozen ponds. Its this huge area of rocks of all sizes covering the ice. Its alive! You can see rocks falling and hear the ice creaking and groaning and even see the earth shift a bit. A bit scary to cross, and very difficult b/c it was up and down and scrambling on very loose and unstable rocks. No trail of course b/c the glacier changes too much. Reminded me a bit of what its like to cross a huge field of sand dunes—no trail, up down, never ending. Had it been a normal trail, it would have taken me maybe 10 minutes to cross, but instead it took me about an hour. Finally arrived on top of the glacial moraine overlooking Lobouche (4950m/16,236ft) where I spent the night. The scale here of everything from the glacial moraines to the rocks to the mountains is just unreal! Fun dinner in warm dining room w/ two brits, a brazilian, and Singaporean.
10/28 (day 15) Hike from Lobouche to Gorak Shep which is sort of an Everest base camp at 5140m (16,663ft) After arrival I hiked up to Kall Pattar Peak (5550m/18204ft) to get AMAZING views of Everest, Pumo Ri, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, and of course more. Also views into Tibet. Hang out on the summit soaking up views for a while, then head back down to base camp to chill and watch some rescue choppers come in. Then climb back up to Kalla Pattar to watch an unreal sunset. Only one on top of the usually crowded Kalla Pattar for sunset. Carry and Everest Beer up to the top and enjoy a beer at 18,000ft.)
10/29 (day 16) Walk to the true everest base camp (5364m/17,598ft) that is used during the climbing season (april and may) and then a bit beyond to explore where the tent city would be during climbing season and to explore the big nasty Khumbu Ice Fall. The ice fall is crazy. Jagged 'peaks' of ice. You can hear it creaking and groaning and saw some avalanches. Just a crazy mass of ice and some rock. Base camp is actually on the ice. I walked a bit among the ice towers before heading back to gorak shep and then contining down to Lobouche stopping at the Italian high altitude research area called pyramid. Very sciencey fiction looking place. Then hike to Dzonglha (4830m/15,842ft) with amazing views down the valley to Pherichet and Ama Dablam. After Lobouche, I was aon a very small trail, all by myself that wound along a big ridge and had some nice views of a turquoise lake. At Dzonghla, I met a guide who had been to Aspen to visit his everest client and a teach shop owner who had been to Boulder a lot and had a CU hat. Lot and lots of people from CO in Nepal. You run into lots of them. And the Sherpas all know about Colorado, which always surprised me. An Austria guy at Gorak Shep recognized me as first being from the states (bc I wasn’t decked out in fancy trekking gear) and then from being from Colorado bc I was wearing the typical outfit of shorts and t-shirt even though it was a bit chilly out.
10/30 (day 17) Trek over the Cho La Pass (5398m/17571ft) to Gokyo (4790m/15,715ft) I do it very fast and am first up in order to get a room in Gokyo as some of the high altitude spots in the popular areas can be tough to find a room. Although this is obviously far from a good comparison, when you are a single traveller without a guide you sometimes feel like Mary and Joseph looking for a room at the inn. The higher up lodges during this busy season can be quite crowded and the people with guides (97% of people) have the connections. So sometimes I got a room, sometimes I slept in a store room, sometimes in the dining room after the meals, and occasionally in crappy tents outside. The Cho La pass has gorgeous views over both sides—towards ama dablam on one side and towards a more deserty mixed with glaciers side. I could see weather coming in though. Cross over Ngozumba Glacier, which is icy and rocky and nasty like Khumbu glacier, and takes a while to cross in order to get to Gokyo. At Gokyo, a nice guy, Moshe, let me stay in his room with him as he has an extra bed, which is quite a relief as I would end up being in Gokyo for 3 nights. Moshe (born in the US, grew up in Israel, now lives in Denmark), is traveling with two Norwegians (Geir and Gunnar) and they are attempting to climb Pumo Ri on a face onldy done once (by an American team), but on a route never before done. The group is really fun and they welcome me into their group with open arms. Moshe knows Gunnar from work in a shipping company and Geir and Gunnar are long time outdoor friends. They are big climbers and backcountry skiers and talk about how good Norway is for that (as well as all the other good things about Norway). Moshe and group are quite social butterflies and know everyone in the lodge and dining hall (the dining halls in the everest khumbu region are the big hang outs since they have the food and the heat from the yak dung). Moshe is very, very impressed by the fact that I am not only doing this tough itinerary, but that I am doing it all without a guide or porter. So he was bragging to everyone at the dining hall about me. And he was telling me how all the Colorado people he has met on his trek (a lot) had just been really in good shape and blown by him…he was so impressed by them, it was quite funny. His words '4 places where people come by the boatload and do crazy outdooer stuff—colorado, New Zealand, Scandinavia, and BC' At our table there was a girl from Denver/Silverthorne (had a ski house in the winter) who had quite an ambitious itinerary, a gal from Whistler, and a couple other Americans on big trips. So had a really fun night hanging out with them and the Pumori crowd in the warm dining lodge. Learning a lot about Norway and how their socialism society works and seems to do pretty good. Seemed to be pretty good to me. They pay high taxes, but have great benefits like some of the best healthcare in the world, free schooling, social security, etc, and you still see lots of Norwegians out traveling and doing what they want, so it is not like they are so overburdened by the taxes. Moshe and Gunnar's jobs sound quite interesting. Work for a big shipping company and get to travel a lot. Moshe (30 years old) has 35 days vacation. Gunnar (60 yrs old) has 50 day paid vacation. They also get 8 weeks of 'family' time throughout their career to spend time with children and spouse that are not part of the normal vacation. Their company has a full gym, pool, squash, etc and pays for all their sport/outdoor adventure things like bike races, ski races, marathons (added up to 5000 bucks for moshe last year)
10/31 (Day 18) Happy Halloween!! Snowing and bad weather. Hike up to Gokyo Ri peak (5357m/17,571ft) with gunnar, geir, and moshe. They are impressed w/ how fast I an climb and not be out of breath. The two older guys who are experienced mountaineers tell me how impressed they are with my fitness. This is quite the complement coming from them! Snow is really too heavy to see much views. On the way down the mountain, Gunnar was telling me about all the sweet skiing opportunities in Norway and the hiking/ski hut system there. Sounded awesome! Norway sounds sweet for sure! Afternoon is spent reading and journaling and eating in the warm lodge watching the blizzard outside. So thankful to be in the Khumbu region now for sure with the warm lodges. Moshe and I explore the little 'village' of Gokyo which consists of about 6 guesthouses, each with dining halls with different 'feels'. Also learn that Gunnar is the head of the national Norwegian cycling association. Cool thing is I have adventure tour guides and places to stay if I ever go visit Norway.
Halloween tricker treating spoils: white toblerone from Geir, Toblerone and Mars bar from Moshe
11/1 (day 19) Wake up to about 5'' of fresh snow and gorgeous day. Epic day! Sad goodbye to the Scandinavian team. Hike pack up to the top of Gokyo Ri peak. I wasn’t the first to start, but soon passed everyone, so I was the one breaking trail most of the way. Gorgeous, gorgeous views from the top. Looking down at completely snow covered landscape, at the turquoise lakes around gokyo, Makalu, Everest, Nuptse, and way down the valley. After coming down I hiked to the 4th lake—Thonak Tsho—(4870m/15,794ft) and then onto 5th lake (Ngozumbha Tsho)—(4990m/16,368ft) in very beautiful setting with cho oyo in background. Then decided to climb some unnamed peak without a trail up it (5419m/17,974ft). Steep, snow covered, but sweet views. Coming down, as it was getting a touch dark, I got a bit lost and disoriented b/c a heavy fog came in, and I could no longer see the mountains for orientation. But I used the depth of snow on slopes to figure out which was southfacing (since it had been sunny quite a bit of snow had melted) and soon found my way down and met up with the trail. Walked the last hour or so in the dark, which was actually really sweet b/c the alpenglow on the mountains with all the fresh snow was unreal. Gokyo is a really cool place bc it sits on a nice turquoise lake, dudh pokari, and the guesthouses all have nice views.
11/2 (day 20) Hike up to Renjo La Pass (5360m/17588ft). w/ spectacular views of the turquoise lake, w/ Everest, Makalu, and Nuptse in the background. Just amazing views. First to the top of the pass and still plenty of snow. Nice views over to the other side of the pass as well. Then after lunch, hike to Dhole (4110m/13,484 ft) past 2 lakes (Taujung Tsho and Long ponge) and along and above a steep canyon w/ a big metn at the end. Plenty of yaks to pass along the way. Nice quiet guesthouse that has warm fireplace and great for relaxing and reading.
11/3 (day 21) First day not about 5000m. First day seeing trees (just for a bit when I went down for a bit). Walk to Pheriche (4240m/13,911 ft—same as mt meeker) via phortse tonga (3680m/12073ft) and Pangboche (3930m/12,894ft) going over several 'small' passes including pheriche pass (4270m/14,109ft). Go through several cool Sherpa villages w/ yaks, stone walls, and little agricultural fields and small temples, gompas and manistones. Sweet part of the trail, up high on a canyon wall on narrow exposed trail w/ views down to the glacial blue river below, across to large temple of tenboched, and eventually stuning views of Ama Dablam and Nuptse when you rounded a corner. Just really cool winding trail along the canyone w/ sweet views of mtns, rushing river, and cute villages. At pheriche, staying at 5 star resort! So nice1 But only 2 bucks. Canle light dinner, great warm dining room, huge sleeping room, hot towel. Go to Himalayan Rescue Association talk on altitude. Interesting for sure.Talkd with the doctor and she told me lots of cool things about mtn and wildnerness medicine. I have been lucky with no signs or even minor symptoms of altitude sickness (AMS), even though they say everone gets something. They’ve had many evacuations and even some deaths in the last few days due to HAPE, HACE, and AMS Lodge als has music (pink floyd and beetles…1st time since I left KTM) Beginning of the walk today had some nice waterfalls.
11/4 (day 22) Walk to Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,286ft) via Panboche (3930m/11,286ft) , Tengboche (3860m/12,664ft) Phungi Thanga (3250m/10663ft) and Khumjung (378m./12,401ft), so lots of up and downs crossing canyons and river gorges, but of course mainly down. Going up the hills though at these 'lower' altitudes…its amazing!! I can like run up them and not be out of breath. As I am getting lower down, there are more things and services and luxuries, so I stopped at 3 bakeries along the way to get apple pies, apple stredudals, and apple crisps. Crossed a cool suspension bridge near Phungie Thanga and had fun watching the yaks cross. At tengoboche is a big monastery with sweet views of Ama Dbalam and Nuptse in the background of it. A lot of walking along rivers and pine forests. Smelt and 'felt' like like CO bc of the warm sun and dry pine air. Detour out to Khumjung, a 'big' Nepali Sherpa village and a place where sir Edmund hillary's school is. Then drop down to Manche Bazaar, the biggest Sherpa village in the Khumbu region. It has lots of luxuries. Got a donut and some Cadbury chocolate and chyang (rice wine) and yak steak and apple fritters to celebrate a successful trek.
It was really cool to be arriving for the first time to Namche while coming down b/c then you come steeply down to Manche, and the large village (by Sherpa standards) clinging to a steep side of the mountain was quite cool.
11/5 (day 23) Explored Manche a bit. Cool little trading town w/ gorgeous mountain views and yaks alking through the narrow streets.. Walked up to the Everest NP HQs and checked out the museum and views of Everest. Then walked up to the tiny grass/dirt 'airport' that is used for charter flights to a fancy hotel. Crazy runway! Right off a cliff. You can walk across it…no fences or anything. Yaks alking across it. A couple planes landed whn I was there, and I was just within in a few feet of the tiny plane landing. Then walked up to the fancy Everest view hotel and had some juice on their balcony w/ the amazing views of Everest, Ama Dablam, and Nuptse. Then walked back up to Khumjung (3780m/12,401) for the bakery and to go into the monastery that has a supposed yeti skull. Also visited the school that Sir Edmund Hillary set up. Khumung is definitely a cool little Sherpa village in a stunning location. From there I walked to Khunde (3840m/12,598) another small Sherpa village before completing my loop to Namche. Then went to a bar playing the movie 'sherpas' on a projector. When I got back to my guest house, I had chills and a fever and then an upset stomach. Vomited. Went to bed feeling bad. I left my light on for getting up to go to the bathroom and the guesthouse owner came to check on me. Not thinking and out of habit, when he shut the door he locked the latch on the outside, so I was locked in the room with the runs!!! Luckily there was a trashcan, and I had a plastic bag which I used for the night. Met a guy at my guesthouse who is the founder of the REI adventurer program way back 20 some odd years ago.
11/6 (day 24) Still sick w/ some diarrhea, but have to keep moving bc the day before I had called ahead to reserve my open ended flight for the 7th. The only day on the whole trek that I struggle (and it is the lowest altitude!). Mainly bc I felt bad, hadn’t eaten anything, was probably dehydrated, and couldn’t use my hip belt with my heavy pack bc my stomach hurt, so my shoulders took a beating. And even though it was a day where the trail lost elevation overall, there was lots of ups and downs and the last hour or more was uphill as the trail climbed out of a gorge. It was a very good day though as the trail followed a raging blue river most of the day. Lots of suspension bridges to cross. Trail went through lots of little agricultural villages full of Sherpa people. Lots of yak 'jams' on the trail as well. Very green down here. A festival day today, so lots of people dancing in the streets…err..trails, people playing games, and singing and handing out flowers. There was a Saturday market in Manche that I stopped by, but since I wasn’t feeling too well, I didn’t linger Lots of prayer wheels (some water driven) and chortens along the way (remember to always pass by them on the left!) Route: Namche (340m/11,286ft) to Monjo (2835m/9301ft) to Nurning (2592m/8503ft) to Lukla (2840m/ 9317 ft)
So the trek was obviously amazing. The trekking books recommend as the hardest trek a 3 pass trek connecting them all. I ended up doing a 5 pass trek and an amazing loop. I rarely ever had to backtrack onto the same trail I had done before. Some of my favorite parts were when I got off the main everest trail bc then I was usually all by myself most of the day.
11/7 (day 25) Still a bit sick to my stomach in the morning. Walk to airport and flight from Lukla to Kathmandu. Clear weather so you can see the big Himalayas as we fly parallel to them for a while. And in the foothills, such intense rice terracing. Ive never seen so much! Such a crazy flight. Downhill runway, not turning back, then weaving and flying low through the canyons and mountains. Sometimes the mtn is literally 50-100ft away. Chhongba picks me up at the airport. Back to noise crazy, loud Kathmandy. Even crazier than normal b/c it is Diwali festival (like their new years I think) and people are singing, banging drums and cymbals in the streets and shooting fireworks. They are doing fancy 'paintings' from various fruits and beans on the streets and Christmas type lights and candles are everywhere. Most shops are closed. Have a beer with Chhongba to celebrate my return and then take my first shower in 25 DAYS!
11/8 Sick badly again, so go to the clinic to get diagnosed. They are not sure, but probably some bacteria, so I start taking cipro.
10/14 (Day 1) Flight to Lukla. Its on a tiny 16 seater dornier aircraft that flies into a crazy uphill (35 degree slope they say) landing strip. Supposedly the most dangerous airport in the world, not just bc the runway is short and uphill, but bc it is an all or nothing venture. Once the plane comes in through the narrow mountains, there is no turning back… it is all committing.. It has to land bc the mountains are too high and tight for a turnaround in the air. The landing was scary, but we made it, and of course walked out onto the tiny mountain airport to see the plane still there that had crashed just a few days ago (not injuries on it, but the front nose of the plane was smashed from crashing into the wall). Once we arrived, since it was late afternoon, Chhombwa (my Sherpa guide), Collin (originally from New Zealand but living like 20 years in Argentina. Hes a mineral exploration geologist and has had so many cool amazing adventures. Seemed like a sweet job), and his wife Andrea (from Argentina and not very good at English so I got to practice my Spanish for a couple of weeks which was nice), and I had a short walk to our guesthouse. Overnight in Lukla at 2800m/9185ft. While eating dinner I strarted feeling like my left side was having that weird numb feeling, and I panicked a bit, but the next morning it was no more, and I thankfully wouldn’t be bother by it again. It was probably just a bit of a mental thing while in Lukla.
10/15 (day 2). Start hiking in a nice day that quickly turns rainy at the end. Some river crossings at sketchy bridges to cross. Spend the night in Chutanga at 3499m/11,977ft. This is the day I discovered dal bhat, and would have it for lunch almost everyday. It is a dish with rice, dhal (lentil soup), and some sort of curry (usually different from tea house to tea house). The best thing about it is that it is unlimited, which is amazing after a long day of trekking and when it is cold outside bc for some reason the combination of camping, physical work, and cold always makes me so hungry. I would never get that symptom of high altitude sickness of loss of appetite!
10/16 (day 3) Chutanga to Zatrwa La pass (4620m/15,125ft). Raining on way up turning to heavy snow at the top, then rainy again on the way back down the pass to Thuli Kharka (4300m/14,107ft) where we slept. We were supposed to be camping, but it was raining so hard that we stayed in tea houses. Even the big fancy expeditions, including the huge German expedition that we called the blitzkrieg (not bc they were fast, but bc once they arrived, for some reason they always had priority and pushed everyone out of the tables, etc) left their expensive tents to sleep in the drier tea houses. The little tea village was in a cool seting at the base of mountains with monstrous boulders everywhere. I shared my room with a nice Canadian guy on his way back down the mountain.
10/17 (day 4) More walking in pouring rain down to rushing river valley through thick mossy and rhododendron forests. Could have sworn I was in Washington. Reaching Tashing Ongno (aka Kote) which was along the river. Nice setting, but foggy and rainy (3580m/11,745ft) with waterfalls coming down into camp. We were becoming quite depressed by (and worried for a summit attempt) with all the bad weather. The monsoon usually ends in late September or early October and it had supposedly already ended bc they had had many days of sunshine, so no one knew what was going on. Climate change of course was to blame by most people. Apparently the Himalayas had been having some of the strangest and most unusual weather this year with major flooding in Pakistan where parts of the dry himalaya received as much rain in 1 day as they normally received in an entire year. And placed like Lek in Ladahk India getting so much rain that their normally deserty dry slopes just became oversaturated and slid burying several villages. So I was definitely beginning to worry that all the money and effort I put into this summit attempt would be for naught bc not only would I not be able to go for the summit, but I wouldn’t even see the mountains. Plus all the rain was making things cold and quite miserable actually
10/18 (day 5) Actually mostly sunny in the morning. First sight of the destination: Mera Peak from the last nights camp. Walk up a huge glacial moraine valley with rushing river and some nice views of freshly snowed peaks and also huge glaciated mountains. Even some sun today! Stop at a monastery where has monk has been living for the past 25 years! Stay at Thangnak (Tagnag) at 4356m/14,291 ft). In our tents tonight as there is only a slight drizzle.
10/19 (day 6) Hike to Khare (Mera peak base camp) at an altitude of 5045m/16,552 ft, but hike further up a ridge for some view to about 5245m. Gorgeous hike up to Khare along a glacial moraine with a cascading river and great views of several snowcapped and glaciated peaks including Mera. Go by a beautiful turquoise lake with a mountain behind it, which is like what ones idea of a ''perfect'' mountain is. Khare is up high enough where there is some new snowfall and is in a beautiful mountain cirque with glaciers all around and view of Mera. Run into Roger Truesdale (from Estes Park!) who is climbing Mera and then onto Buruntse, a 7000m peak, with a company called summit climbed based out of Olympica, WA. Some snow showers in the afternoon and then a really nice sunset.
10/20 (day 7) Acclimatization day. Hike up to Mera La Pass 5415m/ 17,761 ft and then returning down to Khare to sleep again. The first part of the hike is on icy snow and then it was up and walking onto a huge glacier. Great views of the Mera route and summit and some other mountains and big glaciers. We come back down the pass in a bit of a snowstorm. Back at base camp, we practice some technical climbing techniques such as jumar climbing on a fixed rope and repelling. Sweet view of near full moon over mountains and fog.
10/21 (day 8) Hike up to camp 1 (5350m/17,548ft) in some fog, cold, and sometimes snowy weather via Mera La (5415m/17,761ft). Camp out in a rocky area right below the pass. After the snowstorm, the weather clears, and I hike up to Mera La for amazing sunset views over Mera, Makalu (8000+m peak) and of course some other high Himalayas. Very cold that night.
10/22 (day 9) Nice sunny day. Hike up to high camp (5780m/18,960ft) The entire hike is up Mera glacier and the camp is perched on the glacier as well. Since it is such a nice day, hike about an hour further up and feel like I could just go for the summit. From the camp there is great views including 5 of the 6 highest mountains in the world (Everest #1, Kantachenga #3, Lhotse #4, Makalu #5, and Cho Oyo #6) plus Baruntse, Ama Dablam and others. I wore the plastic mountaineering boots today, but they are way too small (rental shop had said size 12, but they were size 10 when I thought to take the lining out and look. In the shop I thought they were just supposed to be tight like ski boots since they look a lot like them, so I just took their word for the size and the tight feel) and my feet get very cold bc my circulation gets cut off. It is pretty funny when you have to take a poo on the glacier bc it is totally exposed and everyone above and below you can see. Hang out with the guides and our two porters (pisang and tenge) in their tent…some good times there. I hadn’t known we would have porters, so I had packed very light. Definitely would have brought a few more luxury things (like deodorant and some extra warm clothes) if I had known I wasn’t carrying everything on my own…though I would be carrying everything on my own later after the Mera trek. Amazing sunset over Everest and the high Himalayas and an almost better moonrise. Very, very cold night of course up at that altitude. Definitely all water bottles freeze solid even when inside the tent
10/23 (day 10) Up at 1am and leave at 2 am for summit. I am wearing my simple hiking boots since I fear frostbite if I wear the very tight mountaineering boots. Chhombwa is afraid of how I will do without crampons as they cant be attached to my hiking boots, but I tell him I am pretty adept at walking in snow and if it gets too hard then we will turn around, but there was no way I would wear the mountaineering boots. So cold in the morning that even my headlamp doesn’t work, but the moon is so bright it doesn’t really matter…full moon, so a glorious time to be climbing an all snow peak at 2 in the morning. All the snow, glaciers, and peaks are lit up brilliantly. Colin is sick and Andrea a bit too, so they don’t go for the summit. Put on harness, rope to Chhumbwa, and grab ice axe in case one of us were to fall in a crevasse. Obviously bc I have thinner shoes on my feet do get cold, though not as bad I am sure as in the mountaineering boots. So in order to keep my feet warm enough (again I don’t want to get frostbite) we hike pretty fast. Our camp was the lowest camp bc some big groups had taken up all the sites at the highest camp and we start later bc of Colin being sick and all, so we started out last and also the lowest, but we eventually pass everyone (I was even making Chhumbwa tired, but I was not feeling the effects of altitude at all), and we arrive on top of Mera Peak summit (6485m/21,271ft!) first at 5:45am and before sunrise. The goal is to be up before 11am! Dang, we could have slept in and waited for the sun to come up and it to get warmer. On the summit it was very windy and extremely cold, but toes suddenly felt better. We didn’t linger too long, but we took a few pictures, waved the mandatory flags (USA, CO, Nepal, and C of I), hug, then head down. We watch the sunrise as we head down. There were a few clouds early, but then it completely clears up to bright blue sky. Dawn lights up the snow red. Warms (or seems to) quickly bc the sun is soo INTENSE at that altitude. Going down was a lot of fun. Since I didn’t have crampons, I could ski town glissading style as most of the people still struggled coming up. Chhumbwa and all the guides, etc are very impressed that I did the whole thing with no plastic boots and no crampons, but I did have an ice axe in case I needed it, and we had learned how to jumar in case we needed to set a fixed rope, but the snow was fine and crispy, and to me like climbing up a black diamond slope at a ski area back home. So no problem. Back at high camp, we relax a bit. Chhumbwa is completely exhausted and lies right down and falls asleep. I celebrate with a snickers bar, and then head back to Khare base camp to relax. I later found out that Roger also successfully summated, though about 4 hours after me. Way to go EP. Two on Mera peak in one day.
Some noticeable characters that we met along the way on the trek that I will remember: This Japanese guy that on night 2 helped us make origami cranes. He was my roommate at Khare, and I was worried he was really sick b/c he never left his room or tent and never moved, He didn’t know any English really, so how could he tell anyone. But he made it to the summit! Late in the afternoon and had to spend another night in high camp, but he amazingly made it. Then the fancy german blitzkrieg group with all the modern stuff (percent oxygen saturation machines and gourmet meals). Most made it to the summit, though one did have to get evacuated by helicopter bc of AMS (acute mountains sickness).
10/24 (day 11) Say goodbye and adios to Andrea and Colin and also to Chhumbwa and Tenge as they are returning to Lukla. I go with just one porter (pisang), who knows no English. We go back over Mera La (5414m/17,761ft) and then descend quite a bit with gorgeous mountain and glacial valley (and some lake) views to Kongue Dingma (4800m/15,744ft) where we camp. Explore and hike around a bit in the area around the campsite in a glacial moraine with winding river and steep glacial mountains on all sides. Over hear conversation between 3 guys who are leaders of summitclimb (the group Roger is on). Sounds interesting and cool what they do. One American living in Olympia, one living in Chamonix, and one swiss guys. Fog rolls in and a bit of snow. Go for a hike high up in the glacial valley and find a cave with some sherpas crouched around a fire that I hang out in for a bit.
10/25 (day 12) Hike up Hinku valley. My best day yet. Gorgeous mountain scenery of high glaciated peaks including Everest, Nuptse, Makalu, and Baruntse. Hike along blue glacial river and then past several alpine lakes. Skip by base camp (Panch Pokhara at 5189m/17,020ft) bc we arrived early and hike all the way up to high camp (5554m/18,217ft) passed a whole bunch of cool lakes. I cook us some mac n cheese at high camp. Gorgeous day, no clouds all day. All by ourselves today. Didn’t see a single person. No one along trail, and we have high camp to ourselves. Wow! What a day! Great sunset as well
10/26 (day 13) Early start over the Amphalapcha la pass (5839m/19,154ft). Amazing scenery of course especially looking down at the lakes. Hiking steep up a glacier. Need to use jumar and ice ax in areas to climb up ice. Way down is very, very steep and tricky and snowy. Have to repel down a lot. This pass is known to be quite dangerous and actually more difficult than Mera peak itself. Many people die each year on the pass. With that said, the danger to me was little. This is because almost all of the people that die on the pass are porters. Sadly, porters here are still treated poorly as they are a lower caste. On standard treks, many of them don’t have warm enough clothes (it is supposed to be the job of the clients to make sure their porters are well equipped) and many actually die on standard routes each year due to cold exposure or even altitude sickness as many of them come from lower down and are not adapted to altitude either and are often carrying 50 to 60 pounds. On this particular pass, there are lots of porters passing through carrying huge loads to reach Baruntse and Makalu base camps. The route is technical and one needs to know how to jumar going up and self belay coming down (I had good practice with this from my time in Utah in which Zach and Ryan Albright taught me all about it). The porters of course don’t know how to do this and just hold onto a rope without being tied in (carrying their huge loads). If they slip or let go, they can fall down the mountain and of course bad weather makes it even worse. Me on the other hand am safely roped in with my harness. For Pisang, I tied a rope around him with a bowline knot and belayed him down and then belayed our bags down.
End up in a sweet basin with some great views of Nuptse and Island Peak. Walk out through a HUGE glacial moraine with more greatviews of huge mountains including Ama Dablam. Arrive in Chhukhung (base campe for island peak) to camp (4730m/15,514ft).
10/27 (day 14) Say a sad goodbye to my porter Pisang. He was really, really awesome and nice and helpful, even if he didn’t speak any English. Start up early to Kongma La pass (5555m/18,220ft). Great views of Makalu, Ama Dablam, Nuptse, and others. Going over this pass, I cross into the Khumbu region, so there of lots of yaks and rocks yak pens. What yaks mean is YAK DUNG! Which equals warm fires!! Some really nice lakes near the top of the pass. Have the whole pass to myself going up bc again I am the fastest one up, so I get to enjoy the top and the amazing views all to myself. From the top are amazing views back towards the Chukhung valley and and ahead to the Khumbu valley. Just stunning views! When I come back down I have to cross the Khumbu glacier. At this part it is mostly under rock with some huge areas of exposed ice and some frozen ponds. Its this huge area of rocks of all sizes covering the ice. Its alive! You can see rocks falling and hear the ice creaking and groaning and even see the earth shift a bit. A bit scary to cross, and very difficult b/c it was up and down and scrambling on very loose and unstable rocks. No trail of course b/c the glacier changes too much. Reminded me a bit of what its like to cross a huge field of sand dunes—no trail, up down, never ending. Had it been a normal trail, it would have taken me maybe 10 minutes to cross, but instead it took me about an hour. Finally arrived on top of the glacial moraine overlooking Lobouche (4950m/16,236ft) where I spent the night. The scale here of everything from the glacial moraines to the rocks to the mountains is just unreal! Fun dinner in warm dining room w/ two brits, a brazilian, and Singaporean.
10/28 (day 15) Hike from Lobouche to Gorak Shep which is sort of an Everest base camp at 5140m (16,663ft) After arrival I hiked up to Kall Pattar Peak (5550m/18204ft) to get AMAZING views of Everest, Pumo Ri, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, and of course more. Also views into Tibet. Hang out on the summit soaking up views for a while, then head back down to base camp to chill and watch some rescue choppers come in. Then climb back up to Kalla Pattar to watch an unreal sunset. Only one on top of the usually crowded Kalla Pattar for sunset. Carry and Everest Beer up to the top and enjoy a beer at 18,000ft.)
10/29 (day 16) Walk to the true everest base camp (5364m/17,598ft) that is used during the climbing season (april and may) and then a bit beyond to explore where the tent city would be during climbing season and to explore the big nasty Khumbu Ice Fall. The ice fall is crazy. Jagged 'peaks' of ice. You can hear it creaking and groaning and saw some avalanches. Just a crazy mass of ice and some rock. Base camp is actually on the ice. I walked a bit among the ice towers before heading back to gorak shep and then contining down to Lobouche stopping at the Italian high altitude research area called pyramid. Very sciencey fiction looking place. Then hike to Dzonglha (4830m/15,842ft) with amazing views down the valley to Pherichet and Ama Dablam. After Lobouche, I was aon a very small trail, all by myself that wound along a big ridge and had some nice views of a turquoise lake. At Dzonghla, I met a guide who had been to Aspen to visit his everest client and a teach shop owner who had been to Boulder a lot and had a CU hat. Lot and lots of people from CO in Nepal. You run into lots of them. And the Sherpas all know about Colorado, which always surprised me. An Austria guy at Gorak Shep recognized me as first being from the states (bc I wasn’t decked out in fancy trekking gear) and then from being from Colorado bc I was wearing the typical outfit of shorts and t-shirt even though it was a bit chilly out.
10/30 (day 17) Trek over the Cho La Pass (5398m/17571ft) to Gokyo (4790m/15,715ft) I do it very fast and am first up in order to get a room in Gokyo as some of the high altitude spots in the popular areas can be tough to find a room. Although this is obviously far from a good comparison, when you are a single traveller without a guide you sometimes feel like Mary and Joseph looking for a room at the inn. The higher up lodges during this busy season can be quite crowded and the people with guides (97% of people) have the connections. So sometimes I got a room, sometimes I slept in a store room, sometimes in the dining room after the meals, and occasionally in crappy tents outside. The Cho La pass has gorgeous views over both sides—towards ama dablam on one side and towards a more deserty mixed with glaciers side. I could see weather coming in though. Cross over Ngozumba Glacier, which is icy and rocky and nasty like Khumbu glacier, and takes a while to cross in order to get to Gokyo. At Gokyo, a nice guy, Moshe, let me stay in his room with him as he has an extra bed, which is quite a relief as I would end up being in Gokyo for 3 nights. Moshe (born in the US, grew up in Israel, now lives in Denmark), is traveling with two Norwegians (Geir and Gunnar) and they are attempting to climb Pumo Ri on a face onldy done once (by an American team), but on a route never before done. The group is really fun and they welcome me into their group with open arms. Moshe knows Gunnar from work in a shipping company and Geir and Gunnar are long time outdoor friends. They are big climbers and backcountry skiers and talk about how good Norway is for that (as well as all the other good things about Norway). Moshe and group are quite social butterflies and know everyone in the lodge and dining hall (the dining halls in the everest khumbu region are the big hang outs since they have the food and the heat from the yak dung). Moshe is very, very impressed by the fact that I am not only doing this tough itinerary, but that I am doing it all without a guide or porter. So he was bragging to everyone at the dining hall about me. And he was telling me how all the Colorado people he has met on his trek (a lot) had just been really in good shape and blown by him…he was so impressed by them, it was quite funny. His words '4 places where people come by the boatload and do crazy outdooer stuff—colorado, New Zealand, Scandinavia, and BC' At our table there was a girl from Denver/Silverthorne (had a ski house in the winter) who had quite an ambitious itinerary, a gal from Whistler, and a couple other Americans on big trips. So had a really fun night hanging out with them and the Pumori crowd in the warm dining lodge. Learning a lot about Norway and how their socialism society works and seems to do pretty good. Seemed to be pretty good to me. They pay high taxes, but have great benefits like some of the best healthcare in the world, free schooling, social security, etc, and you still see lots of Norwegians out traveling and doing what they want, so it is not like they are so overburdened by the taxes. Moshe and Gunnar's jobs sound quite interesting. Work for a big shipping company and get to travel a lot. Moshe (30 years old) has 35 days vacation. Gunnar (60 yrs old) has 50 day paid vacation. They also get 8 weeks of 'family' time throughout their career to spend time with children and spouse that are not part of the normal vacation. Their company has a full gym, pool, squash, etc and pays for all their sport/outdoor adventure things like bike races, ski races, marathons (added up to 5000 bucks for moshe last year)
10/31 (Day 18) Happy Halloween!! Snowing and bad weather. Hike up to Gokyo Ri peak (5357m/17,571ft) with gunnar, geir, and moshe. They are impressed w/ how fast I an climb and not be out of breath. The two older guys who are experienced mountaineers tell me how impressed they are with my fitness. This is quite the complement coming from them! Snow is really too heavy to see much views. On the way down the mountain, Gunnar was telling me about all the sweet skiing opportunities in Norway and the hiking/ski hut system there. Sounded awesome! Norway sounds sweet for sure! Afternoon is spent reading and journaling and eating in the warm lodge watching the blizzard outside. So thankful to be in the Khumbu region now for sure with the warm lodges. Moshe and I explore the little 'village' of Gokyo which consists of about 6 guesthouses, each with dining halls with different 'feels'. Also learn that Gunnar is the head of the national Norwegian cycling association. Cool thing is I have adventure tour guides and places to stay if I ever go visit Norway.
Halloween tricker treating spoils: white toblerone from Geir, Toblerone and Mars bar from Moshe
11/1 (day 19) Wake up to about 5'' of fresh snow and gorgeous day. Epic day! Sad goodbye to the Scandinavian team. Hike pack up to the top of Gokyo Ri peak. I wasn’t the first to start, but soon passed everyone, so I was the one breaking trail most of the way. Gorgeous, gorgeous views from the top. Looking down at completely snow covered landscape, at the turquoise lakes around gokyo, Makalu, Everest, Nuptse, and way down the valley. After coming down I hiked to the 4th lake—Thonak Tsho—(4870m/15,794ft) and then onto 5th lake (Ngozumbha Tsho)—(4990m/16,368ft) in very beautiful setting with cho oyo in background. Then decided to climb some unnamed peak without a trail up it (5419m/17,974ft). Steep, snow covered, but sweet views. Coming down, as it was getting a touch dark, I got a bit lost and disoriented b/c a heavy fog came in, and I could no longer see the mountains for orientation. But I used the depth of snow on slopes to figure out which was southfacing (since it had been sunny quite a bit of snow had melted) and soon found my way down and met up with the trail. Walked the last hour or so in the dark, which was actually really sweet b/c the alpenglow on the mountains with all the fresh snow was unreal. Gokyo is a really cool place bc it sits on a nice turquoise lake, dudh pokari, and the guesthouses all have nice views.
11/2 (day 20) Hike up to Renjo La Pass (5360m/17588ft). w/ spectacular views of the turquoise lake, w/ Everest, Makalu, and Nuptse in the background. Just amazing views. First to the top of the pass and still plenty of snow. Nice views over to the other side of the pass as well. Then after lunch, hike to Dhole (4110m/13,484 ft) past 2 lakes (Taujung Tsho and Long ponge) and along and above a steep canyon w/ a big metn at the end. Plenty of yaks to pass along the way. Nice quiet guesthouse that has warm fireplace and great for relaxing and reading.
11/3 (day 21) First day not about 5000m. First day seeing trees (just for a bit when I went down for a bit). Walk to Pheriche (4240m/13,911 ft—same as mt meeker) via phortse tonga (3680m/12073ft) and Pangboche (3930m/12,894ft) going over several 'small' passes including pheriche pass (4270m/14,109ft). Go through several cool Sherpa villages w/ yaks, stone walls, and little agricultural fields and small temples, gompas and manistones. Sweet part of the trail, up high on a canyon wall on narrow exposed trail w/ views down to the glacial blue river below, across to large temple of tenboched, and eventually stuning views of Ama Dablam and Nuptse when you rounded a corner. Just really cool winding trail along the canyone w/ sweet views of mtns, rushing river, and cute villages. At pheriche, staying at 5 star resort! So nice1 But only 2 bucks. Canle light dinner, great warm dining room, huge sleeping room, hot towel. Go to Himalayan Rescue Association talk on altitude. Interesting for sure.Talkd with the doctor and she told me lots of cool things about mtn and wildnerness medicine. I have been lucky with no signs or even minor symptoms of altitude sickness (AMS), even though they say everone gets something. They’ve had many evacuations and even some deaths in the last few days due to HAPE, HACE, and AMS Lodge als has music (pink floyd and beetles…1st time since I left KTM) Beginning of the walk today had some nice waterfalls.
11/4 (day 22) Walk to Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,286ft) via Panboche (3930m/11,286ft) , Tengboche (3860m/12,664ft) Phungi Thanga (3250m/10663ft) and Khumjung (378m./12,401ft), so lots of up and downs crossing canyons and river gorges, but of course mainly down. Going up the hills though at these 'lower' altitudes…its amazing!! I can like run up them and not be out of breath. As I am getting lower down, there are more things and services and luxuries, so I stopped at 3 bakeries along the way to get apple pies, apple stredudals, and apple crisps. Crossed a cool suspension bridge near Phungie Thanga and had fun watching the yaks cross. At tengoboche is a big monastery with sweet views of Ama Dbalam and Nuptse in the background of it. A lot of walking along rivers and pine forests. Smelt and 'felt' like like CO bc of the warm sun and dry pine air. Detour out to Khumjung, a 'big' Nepali Sherpa village and a place where sir Edmund hillary's school is. Then drop down to Manche Bazaar, the biggest Sherpa village in the Khumbu region. It has lots of luxuries. Got a donut and some Cadbury chocolate and chyang (rice wine) and yak steak and apple fritters to celebrate a successful trek.
It was really cool to be arriving for the first time to Namche while coming down b/c then you come steeply down to Manche, and the large village (by Sherpa standards) clinging to a steep side of the mountain was quite cool.
11/5 (day 23) Explored Manche a bit. Cool little trading town w/ gorgeous mountain views and yaks alking through the narrow streets.. Walked up to the Everest NP HQs and checked out the museum and views of Everest. Then walked up to the tiny grass/dirt 'airport' that is used for charter flights to a fancy hotel. Crazy runway! Right off a cliff. You can walk across it…no fences or anything. Yaks alking across it. A couple planes landed whn I was there, and I was just within in a few feet of the tiny plane landing. Then walked up to the fancy Everest view hotel and had some juice on their balcony w/ the amazing views of Everest, Ama Dablam, and Nuptse. Then walked back up to Khumjung (3780m/12,401) for the bakery and to go into the monastery that has a supposed yeti skull. Also visited the school that Sir Edmund Hillary set up. Khumung is definitely a cool little Sherpa village in a stunning location. From there I walked to Khunde (3840m/12,598) another small Sherpa village before completing my loop to Namche. Then went to a bar playing the movie 'sherpas' on a projector. When I got back to my guest house, I had chills and a fever and then an upset stomach. Vomited. Went to bed feeling bad. I left my light on for getting up to go to the bathroom and the guesthouse owner came to check on me. Not thinking and out of habit, when he shut the door he locked the latch on the outside, so I was locked in the room with the runs!!! Luckily there was a trashcan, and I had a plastic bag which I used for the night. Met a guy at my guesthouse who is the founder of the REI adventurer program way back 20 some odd years ago.
11/6 (day 24) Still sick w/ some diarrhea, but have to keep moving bc the day before I had called ahead to reserve my open ended flight for the 7th. The only day on the whole trek that I struggle (and it is the lowest altitude!). Mainly bc I felt bad, hadn’t eaten anything, was probably dehydrated, and couldn’t use my hip belt with my heavy pack bc my stomach hurt, so my shoulders took a beating. And even though it was a day where the trail lost elevation overall, there was lots of ups and downs and the last hour or more was uphill as the trail climbed out of a gorge. It was a very good day though as the trail followed a raging blue river most of the day. Lots of suspension bridges to cross. Trail went through lots of little agricultural villages full of Sherpa people. Lots of yak 'jams' on the trail as well. Very green down here. A festival day today, so lots of people dancing in the streets…err..trails, people playing games, and singing and handing out flowers. There was a Saturday market in Manche that I stopped by, but since I wasn’t feeling too well, I didn’t linger Lots of prayer wheels (some water driven) and chortens along the way (remember to always pass by them on the left!) Route: Namche (340m/11,286ft) to Monjo (2835m/9301ft) to Nurning (2592m/8503ft) to Lukla (2840m/ 9317 ft)
So the trek was obviously amazing. The trekking books recommend as the hardest trek a 3 pass trek connecting them all. I ended up doing a 5 pass trek and an amazing loop. I rarely ever had to backtrack onto the same trail I had done before. Some of my favorite parts were when I got off the main everest trail bc then I was usually all by myself most of the day.
11/7 (day 25) Still a bit sick to my stomach in the morning. Walk to airport and flight from Lukla to Kathmandu. Clear weather so you can see the big Himalayas as we fly parallel to them for a while. And in the foothills, such intense rice terracing. Ive never seen so much! Such a crazy flight. Downhill runway, not turning back, then weaving and flying low through the canyons and mountains. Sometimes the mtn is literally 50-100ft away. Chhongba picks me up at the airport. Back to noise crazy, loud Kathmandy. Even crazier than normal b/c it is Diwali festival (like their new years I think) and people are singing, banging drums and cymbals in the streets and shooting fireworks. They are doing fancy 'paintings' from various fruits and beans on the streets and Christmas type lights and candles are everywhere. Most shops are closed. Have a beer with Chhongba to celebrate my return and then take my first shower in 25 DAYS!
11/8 Sick badly again, so go to the clinic to get diagnosed. They are not sure, but probably some bacteria, so I start taking cipro.
near disaster
Since it will be spending too much time already on the computer writing about my trek, for this post I am mainly just going to paste in an email I wrote to my mom and brother describing the events of the 13th.
Well I am still stuck in Kathmandu. lots of flights went out this
morning, and I got confirmed on a 2pm one, but the weather had rolled
in by then. Really wish I had been able to go bc afterwards I had a
nearly huge disaster that just turned into a small one, but that is
still upsetting. I was out in the taxi parking area with 2 big bags
(my backpack and the bag that has all the dangerous things for the
airplane that has to be in a separate bag like crampons, plastic
boots, ice ax, fuel canisters) and my little made to move athletic bag
that is my travel life and has all my important and breakable things
in it (biking sunglasses, passport, 160 dollars cash, UV purifier,
camera, memory cards, extra batteries, charger, journal, adapters,
climbing permit). I put the little bag down on a luggage trolley as I
waited for my guide to find a taxi. He came back with a bunch of
drivers bugging him, so we quickly moved on. At the same time I was
watching some spaniards in quite an argument with some other taxi
drivers, so I wasnt focused when we made a quick move, and I left the
little bag. I realized it about 20 minutes into the taxi ride. We
quickly turned around, but of course it was gone by the time we got
there. The police didn’t have it and neither did any of the drivers
right there. Of course I was completely panicked and beside myself.
Finally my guide found a driver that had seen which driver had taken
it. I was quite relieved. We met him in Thamel, and he had the bag
with everything in it! I was going to give both the driver and the
guy who had it significant gifts (30-40usd each) for their help and
not stealing it. I personally thought this was quite generous
considering the average nepali makes at the most 5-10 dollars a day and
also considering of course what is right and what should have been
done would be to give the bag to the police or airport security at the
airport as opposed to taking it. I mean when I was a bus driver for
Beaver Creek and people left purses or very expensive goggles or ipods
on the bus, I just kept them on the bus for the rest of my route and
never expected any money for saving them, and at the end if the owner
hadn’t come back, I just handed them to lost and found. Well the guys
demanded over 200 dollars (besides the cash in the bag, the rest was
hardly worth anything as the other main thing of value, the camera, is
old and shows a lot of use, so its not like I had been saved tons of
money). I wasn’t sure what to do bc here I was quite relieved to have
it back. It would be terrible to lose my camera the day
before flying into the Himalayas and of course losing the passport and
permit would be problematic, so I would have paid a lot to get them
back, but I also don’t really agree with paying off people that steal
things. Plus, my guide, who I really liked and was going to have my
life in his hands the next couple of weeks, was watching (he later
told me I should have given them 75 dollars together). I ended up
giving them the 160 that was in the bag and acting like I had nothing
else. They made me mad bc they acted all hurt by it, but 160 dollars
is a huge amount, even to Americans, and for like a couple hours of
work (and theft at that). So that hurt quite a bit to put out 160
bucks for something stupid like that, a lot my own stupidity for
leaving it. I mean you scrimp so hard on things only to lost 160 just
like that. In hindsight I maybe should have had the police involved when dealing with the cab drivers later, but then again, I was just very relieved to have all that stuff back.
Well I am still stuck in Kathmandu. lots of flights went out this
morning, and I got confirmed on a 2pm one, but the weather had rolled
in by then. Really wish I had been able to go bc afterwards I had a
nearly huge disaster that just turned into a small one, but that is
still upsetting. I was out in the taxi parking area with 2 big bags
(my backpack and the bag that has all the dangerous things for the
airplane that has to be in a separate bag like crampons, plastic
boots, ice ax, fuel canisters) and my little made to move athletic bag
that is my travel life and has all my important and breakable things
in it (biking sunglasses, passport, 160 dollars cash, UV purifier,
camera, memory cards, extra batteries, charger, journal, adapters,
climbing permit). I put the little bag down on a luggage trolley as I
waited for my guide to find a taxi. He came back with a bunch of
drivers bugging him, so we quickly moved on. At the same time I was
watching some spaniards in quite an argument with some other taxi
drivers, so I wasnt focused when we made a quick move, and I left the
little bag. I realized it about 20 minutes into the taxi ride. We
quickly turned around, but of course it was gone by the time we got
there. The police didn’t have it and neither did any of the drivers
right there. Of course I was completely panicked and beside myself.
Finally my guide found a driver that had seen which driver had taken
it. I was quite relieved. We met him in Thamel, and he had the bag
with everything in it! I was going to give both the driver and the
guy who had it significant gifts (30-40usd each) for their help and
not stealing it. I personally thought this was quite generous
considering the average nepali makes at the most 5-10 dollars a day and
also considering of course what is right and what should have been
done would be to give the bag to the police or airport security at the
airport as opposed to taking it. I mean when I was a bus driver for
Beaver Creek and people left purses or very expensive goggles or ipods
on the bus, I just kept them on the bus for the rest of my route and
never expected any money for saving them, and at the end if the owner
hadn’t come back, I just handed them to lost and found. Well the guys
demanded over 200 dollars (besides the cash in the bag, the rest was
hardly worth anything as the other main thing of value, the camera, is
old and shows a lot of use, so its not like I had been saved tons of
money). I wasn’t sure what to do bc here I was quite relieved to have
it back. It would be terrible to lose my camera the day
before flying into the Himalayas and of course losing the passport and
permit would be problematic, so I would have paid a lot to get them
back, but I also don’t really agree with paying off people that steal
things. Plus, my guide, who I really liked and was going to have my
life in his hands the next couple of weeks, was watching (he later
told me I should have given them 75 dollars together). I ended up
giving them the 160 that was in the bag and acting like I had nothing
else. They made me mad bc they acted all hurt by it, but 160 dollars
is a huge amount, even to Americans, and for like a couple hours of
work (and theft at that). So that hurt quite a bit to put out 160
bucks for something stupid like that, a lot my own stupidity for
leaving it. I mean you scrimp so hard on things only to lost 160 just
like that. In hindsight I maybe should have had the police involved when dealing with the cab drivers later, but then again, I was just very relieved to have all that stuff back.
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