To trek in
Nepal has been a dream for me for decades and 2018 became the time to live the
dream. I left on November 4th and arrived in the morning of the 5th.
Arriving from Copenhagen, Kathmandu seemed the total opposite of Denmark - noisy,
dusty and chaotic, and any traffic rules that might exist seemed to be
interpreted as very loose guidelines.
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| Some of the less chaotic sights in Kathmandu |
After a day
of preparation in the city I was more than ready to head for the mountains. The
flight to Lukla in the eighteen-seater plane was exhilarating, first views of
Kathmandu, then hills covered in trees and rice terraces, then the first
glimpses of the Himalayas. After 30 minutes the engine note dropped and we
began to descend, skirting the cliffs, then the landing strip of Lukla airport came
into view and almost before we new it we were landing, braking on the uphill runway.
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| Arrival in Lukla |
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| Ready to start from Lukla - L to R, Lily, Michael, Amelia and me |
My fellow
trekkers were an Australian couple, Michael and Amelia, and an American girl,
Lily, accompanied by our guide Homnath, assistant guide Ongchhu, and two
porters. We set off walking to our first overnight stop, Phakding, walking through
forest, the sun was warm but in the shade the air was cold. We arrived at our
teahouse after about 3 hours.
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| Hanging bridges and and yak trains. If you are on a bridge and meet a yak train coming towards you, turn around! |
Our route
to Everest base camp from Lukla was very standard – Phakding, 2652m – Namche Bazaar,
3440m – Tengboche, 3870m– Dingboche, 4360m – Lobuche, 4940m – Everest Base Camp,
5364m and Kala Pattar, 5600 - Gorak Shep, 5170m with acclimatisation days added
in Namche and Dingboche. The first days on the trails were teeming with
activity, it was high season for trekking and there were lots of groups and
individuals. On top of these there were yak trains, mule trains, and porters
carrying unfeasibly big loads.
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| View of Everest (centre-left), Lhotse (centre-right) and Ama Dablam (far right) |
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| Stupa near Dingboche |
As we went
higher the country changed from Pine and Juniper forests and villages where
vegetables were being grown to an increasingly barren landscape with just dried
out grass that the yaks kept cropped, and low heather like bushes. Most days we
were blessed with clear skies and bright sunshine that warmed during the day,
but once the sun dipped behind the mountains any warmth disappeared with it,
and evenings in the teahouses were increasingly cold. Generally, a yak dung
burning stove in the dining room kept a bit of the chill off, but bedrooms were
freezing. After a couple of days, we got used to putting extra clothes on for
the evening and eating dinner wearing woolly hat and gloves.
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| Summit of Nangkartshang Peak, near Dingboche |
Six days
after leaving Lukla we reached Everest Base Camp. It was an early start from
Lobuche, and a cold one, but once the sun came up, we warmed up, although the
air remained bitingly cold and dry. We walked with the Khumbu glacier below us
and down onto the glacier itself. As we approached Base Camp, we saw an
avalanche roll down Mt. Pumori – wow!
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| Mt. Pumori, snow from the avalanche still in the air |
We reached
Everest Base Camp, and time for photos. No expedition tents – Spring is the
season for climbing Everest. A few meters away from the rest of us we suddenly realised
that Michael was down on one knee in front of Amelia proposing to her! Happily,
she accepted (could have been an awkward atmosphere otherwise!).
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| Everest Base Camp |
Then it was
back to Gorak Shep for lunch and a break before the hike up to Kala Pattar, for
the classic view of Everest. A steady climb up to 5600m made much harder in the
thin air. But the views were spectacular, not least the view of Everest in the
setting sun.
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| Summit of Kala Pattar, Mt. Pumori in the background |
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| Mt. Everest at sunset |
Back at our
teahouse in Gorak Shep, it was our last night all together. From here our group
split up – Lily, Michael and Homnath heading back to Lukla and thereafter
Kathmandu and home, whilst for Amelia and me the adventure was just beginning.
We had ambitious plans to summit two Himalayan peaks – Lobuche East and Island Peak.
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| Lobuche East peak - the next challenge.... |
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