Khumbu Trekking Part 1: Lukla to Gorak Shep
Trip Start
Feb 19, 2008
1
5
6
Trip End
Apr 22, 2008
Kathmandu,
Nepal
Monday, April 14, 2008
Writing this after enjoying our first non-walking day for two weeks. Good to get back to Kathmandu's tourist ghetto (despite the noise, pollution and traffic!) and all its creature comforts - hot showers, beer and decent steak - after a fantastic but pretty tough trek in the Khumbu region; home to the Big Daddy, Everest / Sagamartha and a bunch of other 6- 7- and 8000 meter peaks.
Compared to our previous trek in the Annapurna, Khumbu was very different. For a start it was harder, mainly due to the altitude: we reached a maximum of 5500m and surpassed 5000m several times, as well as many nights spent at over 4000m. It was also much less picturesque. The pretty rhododendron forests were replaced by more stark silver birch and stunted juniper bushes, although at the high altitudes a non-flowering but sweet-smelling dwarf rhododendron covered the valley's sides. This trek was also much more mountainous, following Ama Dablam and Thamserku up the valley and getting close-up panoramic views of countless giant peaks such as Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyo.
The trek actually had two destinations. First, the highly popular slog up to Gorak Shep and the nearby Everest Base Camp and panoramic view from Kala Pattar. Second, the Gokyo region: home to a number of beautiful high-altitude lakes and another cracking view point at the peak of Gokyo Ri.
After a slightly hair-raising light aircraft flight to the Tenzig-Hillary Airport in Lukla, we took two days walking uphill through Sherpa villages and pine forests to reach the trekking mecca of Namche (3440m): a sprawling town jam packed with trekking lodges, shops stocked with every kind of trekking paraphernalia, German bakeries, pool halls, bars...
After an acclimatisation day here we headed North up the valley under clear skies and sunshine with views of Ama Dablam (6852m) and a few glimpses of the tip of Everest (8850m), dodging yak trains, porters and massive trekking groups on the way. We took four days (quicker than the books advise!) to reach Gorak Shep (5170m), staying at several interesting places along the way...:
The desolate, cold, and wind-swept town of Tengboche (3800m)had the feel of a frontier town and is home to a justly famous Buddhist monastery ('Gompa') which until not so long ago was thought of as being located in a sacred hidden valley. Beautifully adorned with colourful Thanka paintings, we sat in on a rather perfunctory ceremony (probably more for the tourists than anything else!). The walk to Dingboche (4350m), further up the valley, took on more alpine surroundings, with gushing rivers and pleasant forests, the trees covered with Spanish moss. As the trail climbed higher up the side of the valley, however, the surroundings changed. The sky grew larger and the trees were lost, replaced by Juniper scrub. The mountains encroached, with striking views of Ama Dablam behind, and the imposing Lhotse (8414m) - Nuptse (7861m) 'wall' up ahead. From Dingboche the weather deteriorated, making the already barren landscape feel even harsher. Much of the walking was along glacial valleys with rocks, boulders and moraine to negotiate, as well as the snow underfoot. After a night at Lobuche (4910) and definitely feeling the effects of the altitude (although nothing serious) we arrived at Gorak Shep, positioned right behind the Khumbu Glacier.
The trek to Everest Base Camp (5300m) was a difficult and -due to the near blizzard conditions- a relatively unrewarding one: 2 hours across slippery snow-laden moraine, walking parallel, and at times encroaching on to, the Khumbu glacier. As we neared EBC, the glacier lost its drab covering of rocks and transformed into a beautiful river of ice: jagged peaks and deep crevasses coloured an almost fluorescent blue that seemed to glow, despite the lack of sunshine. The interest in reaching EBC was more for novelty than aesthetics. There's no view of Everest, and on our day no views of much at all! There were, however, dozens of expeditions preparing to ascend Everest. This is the climbing season and teams of porters were busy preparing platforms for tents, cutting them out of the glacial ice underfoot. The Khumbu icefall reared menacingly behind and with a close look you could spot teams of ant-like expedition-members fixing ropes and preparing routes up the ice for the mountaineers. The walk back was seemingly never-ending; the terrain so uniform and indistinct. By the time we reached Gorak Shep we were both suffering from bad headaches, hoping they wouldn't be there in the morning for our ascent up Kala Pattar...!
The next morning our hopes had been answered: our headaches had lifted, as had the clouds of the previous day to reveal a beatifully clear 5am sky as we embarked to climb to the view point at the top of Kala Pattar (5500m). It was a tough walk in the freezing cold dawn, but punctuated by moments of rest and visual relief as the surrounding mountains emerged: Everest, Nuptse, Ama Dablam and Pumo Ri among dozens more. After a 2-hour, 400m climb I reached the top and took in the magical panorama, at its most impressive in full sunlight and deep blue skies. A stunning view, with peaks in the foreground and reaching all the way to the horizon. The hike back down was swift and enjoyable and after breakfast back at the lodge we headed down to Dzonglha, the start of the second section of the trip: across the formidable Cho La Pass and up to Gokyo...
