Everest Trek

Wasn’t really sure how to approach a blog covering 18 days of trekking in and around the Everest region – “Woke up at x am, trekked for about y hours, it was [new superlative]” – didn’t quite seem to be right, plus it doesn’t really do it any justice but nothing I write probably will to be fair!! So, lets start by getting all the superlatives out of the way – it is truely stunning, totally beautiful and surreal environment, amazing mountain vistas at every turn, some of the most spectacular and dramatic you can imagine… the world’s highest mountain range lives up to the billing. As well as the mountains you also get glaciers, valleys, gorging rivers, icy blue lakes, alpine forest, small villages and even a few tasty bakeries along the way. Next, the daily routine – this quickly evolved into a neat little pattern…wake up around 530ish; shiver in sleeping bags until brave enough to come out or toiletry needs took over; grab a warming brekkie; start walking asap; slog up, down, round, down and back up some big valley and mountain; when breath allowed comment lots on yet again how stunning it is; arrive at destination around 4-7 hours (some days are nice and short because you’d gain too much altitude in one day otherwise) later just in time for lunch or afternoon snacks; find a teahouse with beds for the night; chill for the rest of the afternoon; head to the teahouse’s dining room at 5pm to huddle around the yak poo fuelled stove before dinner trying to keep warm; then after dinner around 8pm slide into your sleeping bag with varying amounts of clothes on depending on altitude to keep warm and sleep! Repeat for as many days as you really want as there is so much to explore. Within the 18 days we trekked for, you also have a few so called ‘Rest Days’ – these are to help you acclimatize and let the physical demands placed on the body of being at such high altitude ease, so you hopefully dont end up being helicopter’d off the mountain…..OR you can use your rest day to climb something bigger, harder and higher in order to get yet more stunning views and sod resting altogether! No prizes for guessing what option we took!! We trekked over 2 out of the 3 valley passes, hitting over 5,500m on route, climbed up Ri’s (summits) whenever the chance offered itself, went to base camp and up to Kala Paatar (5,545m) for sunrise, visited Gokyo and its lakes and had some long days down stunning valleys. A trek of a lifetime!
Ok, now for the day by day stuff, read on if you wish or switch off the PC and get back to Eastenders. Ohhh 1 or 2 last things:
– diarrhoea at 5,000 odd meters isn’t funny (got tummy bug on final 4 days!)
– there’s a hint in the name of the mountain to how you will feel when you get down “Ever_rest”
– a nights accomodation is cheaper than buying a Mars Bar on the mountain, – you can get San Miguel the whole way up to Base Camp
– sitting on a mountain at a height higher than what you’d jump out of a plane doing a parachute jump at is a wierd thing to comprehend!
– and finally for all the Gor-Tex clad, base layered up and sturdy booted trekkers there are more plimsole donned, battered old track bottom wearing, holey jumpered clad porters whizzing past everyone carrying 4 times the weight on their backs!! PS: We didnt use a porter or a guide – although there were times when I wish we had!!!
Day 1:
Flight to Lukla (see blog), walk to Phakding
Time walking: 2.25 hours
Altitude: 2860 to 2610….hang on we’re going down already!!
Quick lunch in Lukla before walking in the cloud and rain to Phakding, thought it was meant to be clear this time of year!
Day 2:
Phakding to Namche Bizaar
Time walking: 4.50 hours
Altitude: 2610 to 3440
Namche is definitely more Bazaar than bizarre, cobbled streets, small alleys, market stalls and shops, incense burning, asian music floating down alley-ways with the cloud as it rolls down the mountains – just instead of carpets and fez hats its all fake north face trekking gear! Highest mountain range in the world and still not seen a mountain!
Day 3:
Rest Day
Time Walking: 3.5 hours
Altitude: 3440 to 3840 back to 3440
Clear skies and our first view of Everest, along with Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam and lots more I just dont know the name of them! Also walked round to the small Sherpa village of Kumjung.
Day 4:
Namche to Tengboche
Time Walking: 4 hours
Altitude: 3440 to 3870 although annoyingly had to drop down to 3200 first!
Watched monks play football before being called into their afternoon prayer. Hit the bakery for big slaps of cake before looking through a photo album of Tengzing Norgay, the main sherpa guide on Hillary’s ascent of Everest in 1953, it was complete with letters from HRH and the Nepali King. The album was showed to us by his grandaughter who ran the guesthouse we were staying in. Meet some cool Irish guys on route (thanks for the copy of The Ascent of Rum Doodle)
Day 5:
Tengboch to Dingboche
Time Walking: 3.5 hours
Altitude: 3870 to 4360
First signs of lots of people with Altitude sickness when we sat with a group of around 10 trekkers and at least half of them were ill – head aches, sick, diahorrea etc plus they all seem to be on Diamox, the altitude drug! hmmm perhaps we should have bought some. From now on there was lots of sick people being turned round to go down, taking horses back down or being airlifted out.
Day 6:
Rest Day
Time Walking: 4 hours
Altitude: 4360 to 5090 to 4360
Tough trek up Nangkartshang a peak that backs on to the town, but the views on the way up made it worth while, although when we finally reached the summit the cloud rolled in!
Day 7:
Dingboche to Chhukung
Time walking: 2.5 hours
Altitude: 4360 to 4710
A nice easy walk out to a village near the ice wall of Ama Dablam and Island Peak base camp, stunning spot and not many people around. Met an American/Brazilian guy Flavio who is planning to do the same pass that we are – the first other person so far!
Day 8:
Rest Day
Time walking: 3.5 hours
Altitude: 4710 to 5410 to 4710
Another one of those rest days! Climbed to the highest point we’d ever been today, Chhukung Ri, and it was hard work, especially the last few hundred meters….just can’t quite get the oxygen to the legs quick enough to move! Got to the top and sat in a small sun trap out of the wind and enjoyed the views though.
Day 9:
Chhukung over the Khongma La pass to Laboche
Time Walking: 7 hours
Altitude: 4710 to 5535 to 4950
Wished we’d rested yesterday! That was hard going, beautiful and very cool to go over the pass though. We sat perched on the top edge which was about 4 foot wide with 700m odd drops either side of us and tried to eat lunch while sucking in what air there was. Got down to Lobuche and could only get a room in the worst place in town and that was bad as even the best place isn’t good!
Day 10:
Lobuche to Gorak Shep plus Base Camp
Time Walking: 5.5 hours
Altitude: 4950 to 5130 to 5350 to 5130
Thankfully left the grim Lobuche behind and headed to Gorak Shep, the town before Base Camp. Dumped bags and then headed straight to it. Was a nice walk following the Khumba glacier with views of Everest the whole way up. Crossed the glacier and got to base camp….unfortunately its the wrong time of year to be climbing Everest so there was no activity what so ever just a few left over tents and empty oxygen canisters. Played cards with the Irish guys all afternoon which Shona somehow like a cardshark won perhaps we should stop at hell on earth vegas on the way home!
Day 11:
Ghorak Shep to Kala Paatar to Periche
Time walking: 7 hours
Altitude: 5130 to 5550 to 4240
Kala Paatar for sunrise is one of the must do things on Everest, it starts in the dark at around 5am and involves a stiff and bracing climb up Kala Paatar – our water bottles actually froze while walking! But from the top you are greeted by views across the Everest range as the sun rises slowly above it…quickly blinding you as it thaws you out. We were due to stop back in Lobuche but there was no room anywhere, which wasn’t a massive shame but meant that we couldn’t do the middle pass (Cho La) as we needed to start from here! So we headed further down the valley to walk the long way round.
Day 12:
Periche to Dole
Time Walking: 7 hours
Altitude: 4240 to 4090 but down to 3650 in the middle!
The Cho La pass was meant to be very hard and we’d had doubts about doing it as a porter had been killed a few days before and everyone kept saying we would have been doing it from the hard side, but walking all the way down the valley to come back up the other side was a bit demoralising – still beautiful though and not dangerous so can’t complain! Met up with Flavio again.
Day 13:
Dole to Gokyo
Time walking: 4.5 hours
Altitude: 4090 to 4750
Left Flavio as he was unwell. Quite a nice easy walk today but got to Gokyo and I didn’t feel 100% so spent a lot of the afternoon moaning and being wrapped up in my sleeping bag! Met an English guy called Andy (and his trekking friend Andy!) who nearly killed himself on a days trek up to the 6th lake viewpoint with only a mars bar and looked worse than I did when he walked back through the door 9 hours later.
Day 14:
Rest Day
Time Walking: 4.5 hours (well for Shona, I managed about 2.5!)
Altitude: 4750 to 5360 to 4750
A night spent visiting the toilet would explain me not feeling too good yesterday! Started the ascent of Gokyo Ri but left Shona to it about 2/3rds the way up and perched myself on a rock waiting for her return. Really not feeling to good, eating is now very difficult! Shona said the top was amazing.
Day 15:
Gokyo over the Rhenjo La pass to Lungden
Time Walking: 6 hours time spent moaning about walking 5 hours!
Altitude: 4750 to 5416 to 4350
Made it up and over the pass somehow, Shona’s pep talks and motivational skills probably! It was a lovely walk and we were up and in the snow for some of it which was really cool. Slipped and slid our way back down the other side of the pass on the icy rocks and finally to Lungden where the only accomodation we could find was in an old canvas tent – shared with the 2 Andy’s which must have been fun for them as I was up and down all night to the toilet.
Day 16:
Lungden to Namche (just!)
Time walking: 6.5 hours
Altitude: 4350 to 3440
Ahhhhh back to the comfort and ease of Namche…..drugs please….found a chemist and quickly got some antibiotics to see if I can stay off the toilet for more than 1 hour and start eating again!
Day 17:
Rest Day….and I mean an actual rest day
Time walking: 0 hours….yep a rest day…..well Shona went for a small 2 hour walk!
Altitude: 3440 and I stayed there all day, horizontal for most of it as well
Day 18:
Namche to Lukla
Time walking: 6 hours
Altitude: 3440 to 2860
Feeling better, managed to eat very small amounts but the day’s rest has helped…..discovered that Pringles go down well when ill – plain for brekkie, pizza flavour for lunch and bbq for dinner, staple diet
Day 19:
Lukla to Kathmandu
Flight back was as cool if not better than the flight here….full throttle on the plane with the handbrake on before letting go, off down the hill….it has to be the only flight where with out actually taking off as such you are suddenly airbourne 1000 or so meters above the ground!