I have some sad news to pass along. You may remember in my post about the Annapurna circuit trek I talked about A man named Frank. He was a German living in Calgary. He was over in Nepal to climb Mt. Everest, but his trip to Tibet, where he would start his climb had been delayed for a few days, so he decided to do the Annapurna circuit for some training. My Dad and I, along with the rest of our trekking gang, met Frank In Thorung Phedi and we trekked up to, and over Thorung La, the high point of the circuit. He then carried onto Jomson, and then was heading back to Kathmandu to get ready for his climb.
Unfortunately Frank's climb ended in tragedy. He made it to the top of the highest mountain in the world, but he was unable to safely return to his camp and he died on the mountain. I now remember Frank telling me that 85% of the deaths on Everest occur on the descent, that now seems to be very eerie.
I only knew this man for a few hours, and I've never been influenced by someone so much in such a small amount of time. He was so humble, driven and kind. He carried my dad's heavy pack to the top of the pass for him. He said he just wanted some extra training, but I thought it was pretty damn nice to offer. For the rest of my time in Nepal I was telling stories about Frank. About eating garlic and peppers to stay healthy and warm at elevation. How Viagra was great for altitude sickness. All of this I learned from Frank. His adventurous spirit will be missed by all the people that crossed paths with this man.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Once again there has been lots of activity and enjoyment for me and I have been neglecting updating the blog. But part of that was due to the fact that parts of Pakistan have closed all the internet cafes. Partly because they are a target for terror attacks, and the Taliban aren't fond of such modern tools.
I have been here for about 10 days now, and I have really enjoyed my time here. It compares very favorably to it's neighbor and rival India. It seems a little cleaner...the ground at least, I can't say the same about the air, full of filthy rickshaw pollution. There are much fewer beggars. The roads and buses are luxurious compared to India. The people don't have that gleam in their eye that says'"There's a backpacker, lets see how much money we can squeeze out of him." They don't stare at you like in India either, I feel much more anonymous, especially when I'm wearing my Shalwar Kameez. Which is the shirt pant/combo that most of the men wear over here.
These are a few of the reasons I decided to come to Pakistan. I had heard such good things about the people. On the news and in the paper all you hear about are the Taliban and the terrorists up in the Swat Valley. And I think all the Pakistani people get painted with the same negative brush. I am hear to tell you that they are very generous and helpful. I barely ever pay for a cup of tea, and a couple times I've had my whole meal paid for by strangers that I had just met moments before.
My Pakistan journey has taken me to three places so far. I stared in the Punjab, in the city of Lahore. Then I traveled over to the Northwest Frontier Province...what a name, eh? And presently I'm up on the Karakorem highway in Gilgit, which is a bascamp for exploring the endless pssibilities of the northern area.
Lahore was a great city, except for the heat and pollution. It was 43/110 degrees everyday. Coming from India, which I passed through briefly on my way to the border, it as organized treat. There are stoplights, sidewalks and a bit of organization. They had nice parks all over town, and they weren't full of people sleeping in them, or cutting down trees for fuel. The first couple day there I traversed the city, visiting mosques and markets. But the next couple days were spent watching parts of movies at the hostel with other travelers. We could only watch parts of movies because of the hourly power cuts. When I wasn't watching movies I was most likely drinking fresh mango, peach or banana shakes at one of the many cheap juices stands surrounding the hotel.
Peshawar was the next stop. It is a few hours west of Lahore on the smooth highway. Compared to Lahore, Peshawar is much more conservative in their Muslim beliefs. Much of this is due to their Pashtun ethnicity. In Lahore there would be trannies cruising the streets at night. In Peshawar all you'd see is bearded policemen. In my 2 days in Peshawar, I only saw a handful of men without a Shalwar Kameez. Most of the women were in Burka's, which covered their whole face. Women were allowed out on their own though, and there are woman's schools. The Taliban hasn't had that much influence on the people here. Even though they aren't too far away. Afghanistan is just 60km's west and all the fighting in the Swat Valley is a few hours north of here. You can feel the fear when you talk to the Peshawar people. People would say, "You shouldn't walk down that street," or "You should go back to your hotel at night or you'll get kidnapped." I never felt in any danger there, but the fear that the locals had of fighting and bombs was very real. what was also real was the car bomb that exploded hours before i arrived in town. Very sadly it killed atleast 10 people. We saw all the coverage on the new when we ( me and a Brazilian fella) arrived in the evening. The next day, walking around, we discovered the blast at the cinema was just 10 minutes walk from hour hotel. So there is some definite action gong on there. I really did meet some great people though, and drank lots of delicious green tea. The smartest people I met were all 18 year old students. they spoke great English and we talked much of the political situation of Pakistan.
I would have liked to say longer in Peshawar, but with the current situation, didn't feel comfortable traveling alone in the surrounding area and villages, plus with the continued heat, I chose to head north, to my current location of Gilgit. It was another epic journey on the NATCO bus. 20 hours in the back of a bus with shocks that were shot, and a bumpy, windy Karakorum highway. I'm glad it was night for half the journey so I didn't have to look at the precipitous drops down to the Indus river. It was a scenic journey though, stunning view of the 7500m peaks in the background. I'll be up in the north, exploring mountain passes and river valleys, avoiding Afghan, Chinese and occupied Kashmir (India) for 3 weeks maybe. I don't have much of a plan. But it takes more organization than anything in Nepal. I can't just show up at a trail head and have everything laid out in front of me for 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to being one of the few tourists in this Shangri-La. There are dozens of mountains and villages that are calling my name. It's very exciting to have all these adventures ahead of me.
I have been here for about 10 days now, and I have really enjoyed my time here. It compares very favorably to it's neighbor and rival India. It seems a little cleaner...the ground at least, I can't say the same about the air, full of filthy rickshaw pollution. There are much fewer beggars. The roads and buses are luxurious compared to India. The people don't have that gleam in their eye that says'"There's a backpacker, lets see how much money we can squeeze out of him." They don't stare at you like in India either, I feel much more anonymous, especially when I'm wearing my Shalwar Kameez. Which is the shirt pant/combo that most of the men wear over here.
These are a few of the reasons I decided to come to Pakistan. I had heard such good things about the people. On the news and in the paper all you hear about are the Taliban and the terrorists up in the Swat Valley. And I think all the Pakistani people get painted with the same negative brush. I am hear to tell you that they are very generous and helpful. I barely ever pay for a cup of tea, and a couple times I've had my whole meal paid for by strangers that I had just met moments before.
My Pakistan journey has taken me to three places so far. I stared in the Punjab, in the city of Lahore. Then I traveled over to the Northwest Frontier Province...what a name, eh? And presently I'm up on the Karakorem highway in Gilgit, which is a bascamp for exploring the endless pssibilities of the northern area.
Lahore was a great city, except for the heat and pollution. It was 43/110 degrees everyday. Coming from India, which I passed through briefly on my way to the border, it as organized treat. There are stoplights, sidewalks and a bit of organization. They had nice parks all over town, and they weren't full of people sleeping in them, or cutting down trees for fuel. The first couple day there I traversed the city, visiting mosques and markets. But the next couple days were spent watching parts of movies at the hostel with other travelers. We could only watch parts of movies because of the hourly power cuts. When I wasn't watching movies I was most likely drinking fresh mango, peach or banana shakes at one of the many cheap juices stands surrounding the hotel.
Peshawar was the next stop. It is a few hours west of Lahore on the smooth highway. Compared to Lahore, Peshawar is much more conservative in their Muslim beliefs. Much of this is due to their Pashtun ethnicity. In Lahore there would be trannies cruising the streets at night. In Peshawar all you'd see is bearded policemen. In my 2 days in Peshawar, I only saw a handful of men without a Shalwar Kameez. Most of the women were in Burka's, which covered their whole face. Women were allowed out on their own though, and there are woman's schools. The Taliban hasn't had that much influence on the people here. Even though they aren't too far away. Afghanistan is just 60km's west and all the fighting in the Swat Valley is a few hours north of here. You can feel the fear when you talk to the Peshawar people. People would say, "You shouldn't walk down that street," or "You should go back to your hotel at night or you'll get kidnapped." I never felt in any danger there, but the fear that the locals had of fighting and bombs was very real. what was also real was the car bomb that exploded hours before i arrived in town. Very sadly it killed atleast 10 people. We saw all the coverage on the new when we ( me and a Brazilian fella) arrived in the evening. The next day, walking around, we discovered the blast at the cinema was just 10 minutes walk from hour hotel. So there is some definite action gong on there. I really did meet some great people though, and drank lots of delicious green tea. The smartest people I met were all 18 year old students. they spoke great English and we talked much of the political situation of Pakistan.
I would have liked to say longer in Peshawar, but with the current situation, didn't feel comfortable traveling alone in the surrounding area and villages, plus with the continued heat, I chose to head north, to my current location of Gilgit. It was another epic journey on the NATCO bus. 20 hours in the back of a bus with shocks that were shot, and a bumpy, windy Karakorum highway. I'm glad it was night for half the journey so I didn't have to look at the precipitous drops down to the Indus river. It was a scenic journey though, stunning view of the 7500m peaks in the background. I'll be up in the north, exploring mountain passes and river valleys, avoiding Afghan, Chinese and occupied Kashmir (India) for 3 weeks maybe. I don't have much of a plan. But it takes more organization than anything in Nepal. I can't just show up at a trail head and have everything laid out in front of me for 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to being one of the few tourists in this Shangri-La. There are dozens of mountains and villages that are calling my name. It's very exciting to have all these adventures ahead of me.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The travelerers worst nightmare.
Today had my first experience...surprisingly, of the travelers worst nightmare. It all started, unbeknown to me, at 11am when I went to an ATM to get a little cash out, that ATM didn't work, so I went around the corner to an other. This time it worked and I had 5000 rupees in hand. Every time I use an ATM, especially in a foreign country I tell my self, "make sure to grab your card when you're done." well this time, if I said it, my brain and ears didn't listen. At 6pm I looked in my wallet for some cash, I glanced at the card section and notices one missing, I frantically threw everything out of the wallet, nothing. I searched through all my pockets, nothing. I looked through my day bag, nothing. I figured it could be back at my hotel room, so i hoofed it back to the Annapurna Guest House, knowing full well it was not there, it was floating around Kathmandu some where. I looked around the room like an investigator would, glancing at both tables and the bed in 2 seconds, in that time I knew it wasn't in there. By this time I had deduced that I was 99% sure I left it at the ATM, breaking one of the cardinal rules of travel, don't lose your shit, especially an ATM card when you are with hours of flying out of the country.
It was now 6 o'clock or so, obviously well pass bankers hours, whatever those are in Nepal. But I decided I needed to at least make myself feel better by going to the bank and having a look around. I knew there would be a security guard there who spoke 3 words of English and he could give me some info of when I could speak to someone who could actually do something to fix my problem. Another issue was this wasn't the bank around the corner, this time it was the bank 3 miles away. So I tracked down a cab and directed him in the right direction towards the Nabil bank, across from the US Embassy. 15 minutes adventurous minutes later we were at the bank. The first man I saw was the security guard. I spoke slowly and clearly, and used my hands to express to the guard that my ATM card was left in the machine, and hopefully was still there. He told me to wait and "Sit," meanwhile he went into the unlocked bank, he quickly came back with an employee, who was actually working at 6:20! I told him my situation, that I left my card in the machine. He assured me he would get it. 30 seconds later I looked over at the ATM attached to the building and noticed the screen being removed from inside and replaced. I figured, "that's it, he's got my card." I felt so relieved that it had been resolved so easily, and at such a late time. But when he arrived back at the door and showed me the card, my heart sank. It wasn't mine, I wasn't LGovinda Singh, or what ever name was on the card. After a moment of elation, I was shattered again. I quickly started thinking of all the horrors that would occur. I would have to order a new card, they would have to send it my parents house, because they couldn't trust who I said I was, just a guy in Nepal who lost his card. So my parents would have to send it to where ever I was going to be in 2 weeks. In the meantime I'd have to get cash advances on my credit card, or use western union, or go back to India and besome a Shadu, begging for ll my needs.
But, something else happened instead. I told him I lost it this morning, not just within the hour. He told me to wait, have a seat and he would have another look. This time when he returned, he had my card, a nice shiny silver Visa. Disaster was averted, and I was able to get the card back less than an hour after I discovered I had lost it. And most amazingly I found the latest open bank in the hemisphere.
I shutter to think of how much a stress it would have caused, loosing an ATM card in Nepal, just hours before you are supposed to get on a plane to leave the country. And getting it back in the evening saved me a night of stress. Your last night in a country is supposed to be a celebreous occasion, not stressful. Now I can actually eat, enjoy my food, and pay for it when I'm done.
It was now 6 o'clock or so, obviously well pass bankers hours, whatever those are in Nepal. But I decided I needed to at least make myself feel better by going to the bank and having a look around. I knew there would be a security guard there who spoke 3 words of English and he could give me some info of when I could speak to someone who could actually do something to fix my problem. Another issue was this wasn't the bank around the corner, this time it was the bank 3 miles away. So I tracked down a cab and directed him in the right direction towards the Nabil bank, across from the US Embassy. 15 minutes adventurous minutes later we were at the bank. The first man I saw was the security guard. I spoke slowly and clearly, and used my hands to express to the guard that my ATM card was left in the machine, and hopefully was still there. He told me to wait and "Sit," meanwhile he went into the unlocked bank, he quickly came back with an employee, who was actually working at 6:20! I told him my situation, that I left my card in the machine. He assured me he would get it. 30 seconds later I looked over at the ATM attached to the building and noticed the screen being removed from inside and replaced. I figured, "that's it, he's got my card." I felt so relieved that it had been resolved so easily, and at such a late time. But when he arrived back at the door and showed me the card, my heart sank. It wasn't mine, I wasn't LGovinda Singh, or what ever name was on the card. After a moment of elation, I was shattered again. I quickly started thinking of all the horrors that would occur. I would have to order a new card, they would have to send it my parents house, because they couldn't trust who I said I was, just a guy in Nepal who lost his card. So my parents would have to send it to where ever I was going to be in 2 weeks. In the meantime I'd have to get cash advances on my credit card, or use western union, or go back to India and besome a Shadu, begging for ll my needs.
But, something else happened instead. I told him I lost it this morning, not just within the hour. He told me to wait, have a seat and he would have another look. This time when he returned, he had my card, a nice shiny silver Visa. Disaster was averted, and I was able to get the card back less than an hour after I discovered I had lost it. And most amazingly I found the latest open bank in the hemisphere.
I shutter to think of how much a stress it would have caused, loosing an ATM card in Nepal, just hours before you are supposed to get on a plane to leave the country. And getting it back in the evening saved me a night of stress. Your last night in a country is supposed to be a celebreous occasion, not stressful. Now I can actually eat, enjoy my food, and pay for it when I'm done.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Trekking in The Khumbu
I just returned from a glorious 20 days up n the Khumbu region of Nepal. The land of high mountains, beautiful valleys and the famous Sherpa people, all of which were a highlight of my trip.
The trip started on the 21st of April with a little bit of chaos, which is expected at the domestic terminal of the KTM airport. The cause of the chaos was the weather, no planes were flying to Luckla; the normal starting point for treks to the Khumbu. And no planes had flown the day before either, so there was a big backlog of trekkers and tour groups looking to angle in for the next available flight. Being a solo trekker with no guide or agent on the inside made re-booking a flight a near impossibility and I thought I may be stuck in Kathmandu until the weather cleared and i could weasel on to a flight. But I ran into Jodi, who I met on the Annapurna trek, and her new trekking partner, Eva, who she met on couchsurfing.com. They had been waiting 1 day already, with another trekker named Scott. So at 9am, after waiting 3 hours, Scott, and his travel agent said there would be no flights to Luckla today, but what we could do was cancel our tickets, and re-book flights to a village called Paplu, which is a 3 day walk from Luckla, and a place none of us had heard of. So with in 30 minutes, we canceled our flights, and re-booked with Yeti airlines, had our bags checked and were on our way. we figured it was better to be walking through the villages of the solukhumbu, rather than wait for the weather to clear and to get new flights. It ended up being a great plan, we still had the mountain views, but with none of the crowds that populate the route to Everest base camp. We could really interact with the villages on the way, they don't get many trekkers down their way, now that everyone flies to Luckla. We were the only ones at our guest houses, so we could wit in the kitchen, drinking Rakshi and tea with the ladies that ran the guesthouses. By the time we got up to Lobuche and Gorak Shep, the hotels would be filled with large groups of South Africans and Japanese, so it wasn't that homey atmosphere of the Solukhumbu.
But by the time we reached Namche Bazaar and our first rest day, to let those red blood cells build up, our group was disintegrating. Jodi and I were getting along swimmingly, but both of us were having a tough time with Eva. I guess she wasn't much of a trekker. Jodi and I had already been on the trail in Annapurna for a couple weeks, so we had some fitness, as well as some common things to talk about. But what we ended up talking about, was how slow Eva was, and how much she wanted to talk about Her home country of Sweden to anybody would listen. This girl was slow, like slower than my dad when he was sick. Jodi and I would walk for an hour, then wait 45 minutes Eva to arrive. For the first couple days we left in the morning at 730, and wouldn't make it to our destination by 5pm, Jodi and I expected to be there by 2pm, rest, have some milk tea and read our book. But that wasn't the case. So In Namche, we split amicably, though a bit awkwardly. With Jodi and I heading up the Bhote valley and the Renjo Pass, while Eva decided to find a guide to trek with, instead of being alone.
On the way to Namche, in a small village we met a Belgian fella, a world famous explorer who walked across the Australian desert and around Tasmania, "nearly dying twice a day for 2 weeks straight." he was on his way to EBC to deliver 300 kilos of Belgian chocolate to all the porters and Sherpas and expeditions that were up there. He had trekked all the way from Kathmandu, to were we saw him. he was pulling a 50 pound cart and had been walking like 20 miles a day. He was doing this to raise money for mobile hospitals in Nepal, a noble cause. Here's a link to his blog if you want to read more. http://chocolate-sherpa.blogspot.com/
Anyway, Jodi and I headed up to a town called Thame, probably the most quintessential, picaresque Himalayan village. There was a river running through town, a 400 year old monastery, a new school, a hydro electric plant. It's the model town, Though most of the services have been provided by the Hillary fund, and Other NGO's, and not by the Nepalese government. We stayed at a guest house owned by a Sherpa women, who's brother is a famous Sherpa climber and now owns Alpine Ascents out of Seattle, so with that little connection she let mew charge my camera batteries up, instead of paying 200 rupees an hour. Next we cruised op to Lungden, a tiny yak herding town that is getting more guest houses because of the new popularity of this valley. Bury it was still pretty quiet. I think there were 2 other trekkers in town our first night. We stayed an extra day here to acclimatize a little more before climbing even higher. so for the "rest day' I trekked up the valley and towards Tibet, where all say for 6 hours were 8000 meter peaks, Cho Oyu, and a a bunch of yaks and migrating birds. It was one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen.
The next day was our ascent of the Renjo la pass, 5370 meters, and I felt every meter of it. Being our first pass and little did i know I had picked up a little bad food bug the day before. it was more stunning, people-less scenery, complete with alpine lakes, bright blue birds, and my favorite bird, the Tibetan Snowcock. It took us about 5 hours to make it to the pass, where looking east we could see 4 of the highest mountains in the world through the broken clouds and high sun. We took a couple hours to scamper down to the village of Gokyo, on the banks of the turquoise blue glacial lakes. Wes stayed at the Namaste lodge for 3 days, plenty of time for Jodi to explore the lakes farther up the valley, and enough time for Ben to be completely sick for 48 hours. The lodge had delicious food, I just couldn't keep any of it in my stomach. There was group of doctors at the lodge and they all thought I had altitude sickness, but i knew for the twists and turns in my belly that my problem was from some bad food. I tried to take a walk up valley, but after an hour I had to turn back, barely making it back, i felt so bad I had to lie on rocks, I've never felt so crippled and helpless, laying there in the wind and snow. But eventuality I made it back to my sleeping bag where i spent the rest of the day. By the evening I was feeling better, and thought, if i can make it up to the top of Gokyo Ri, up at 5400m I could continue with my trek, other wise i would be heading down to Namche a bit early for some R and R. Long story short, I dragged my self up the mountain, and was able to at least eat some food that day and was able to get some strength back.
Even though I was feeling ill in Gokyo, I still got in some great people watching. You see all types up here. Most people are geared up to trek, really get into it, they want to meet the locals and get the full experience, and you have other people like the Russian couple that showed up at the lodge one evening. They had the complete kit. The guy, dressed in camo sweat suit, had the satellite phone, laptop, crazy euro, "I have too much money" sunglasses. He spent most of his time on his satellite phone, calling Russia, and his trekking friends who had to go to lower elevation because they weren't feeling well. The rest of the time was spent smoking cigarettes, flicking them onto the ground, and sending food he didn't like back to the kitchen, saying, "Izz no ghud" in his Russian accent. All the rest of the trekkers at the lodge thought he was hilarious, but would never laugh in from of his face, fearful of KGB retaliation. He did have a cool guide though, who told me they flew to KTM on a private jet from Moscow, and were helicoptering out from Periche in a couple days, which costs about 5 grand.
Again, carrying on with the trekking, There must have been some mountain magic in the air, because I had a miraculous recovery as the day of the Cho La pass approached. Our new trekking group that had formed headed out around 630am, to be able to cross the pass before the daily bad weather moved in by 11am. I started slowly, just to be sure I was OK, but in a few minutes, I was feeling back to my old form. The sun peaked over the mountains and warmed up the chilly valley, in front of me Cholatse dominated the horizon, while on my left 8201 Cho Oyo rose up in the Distance. I was back in the hiking zone, as I reached the half way point of the pass, I looked back a and realized I left the rest of the group way back in the valley. I waited for 40 minutes for them to arrive. When Glen, Sheila and Jodi and their guide made it, I told them I was feeling great and was going to set off on my own pace to cross the pass. Jodi decided to stay with the group and do the feasible thing and cross with a guide. Little did I know that was last time I saw our friends Glen and Sheila. In the way up to the pass, Glen, who already had a gamey knee, complained of chest pains, and they decided to turn back, leaving Jodi on the top of the pass, with no clear marked trail across the trail. She waited their in the wind in the snow, until the Russians, KGB and Natalia arrived with their guide to lead Jodi and his clients across the glacier and down to safety. (If you want to read about what really happened to Glen, and his subsequent heli-evac, you can read it on their blog...he 's ok, and lounging on a beach in Thailand at the moment...www.spicetrek.blogspot.com) Jodi also made it down the hill, but after this day we were on different schedules, even though we did bump into each other a couple more times in Gorak shep and Chukung.
This rest part of the trek is where it went from great, to wow...amazingly the most beautiful and stunning place I have been. I felt great again, I was acclimatized to the high elevation, the weather turned around and was sunny all day. The Khumbu valley is amazing, at the end of teh valley is Everest base camp, and along the way if you just stop and do a 360, you'll be surrounded by mountains and glaciers at all time. when you get to Gorak shep, you can climb up to Kala Pather, which has the best views of mountains you can ever see. looking east you have an amazing view of Everest, Lhotse and Nudge. To the north is Pimori, which is a beautifully shaped pyramid of a mountain. behind you is Cho Oyu, and down valley is the stunning Ama Dablam. I climbed up here in the mid morning and stayed up here, amongst the views and prayer flags that reside at the top of any pass and view point. The next day in the morning I went to the circus of EBC...Everest Base camp, which is kind of like India, something that should be experienced once in your lifetime. It is sooo big, there are tents everywhere, literally over 1000 tents. cook tents, sleeping tents, social tents. Logistic tents, all different size and color, and they are always moving, since base camp is located on a living, moving glacier tat move up to 2 feet in one day. One of the crazy things at base camp is trying to find some one who can tell you what's going on, since you don't want to wander into a camp and get told to get the hell out of here. What i discovered by talking to a couple of Taiwanese climbers, was that ten Sherpas had just set the ropes at the top of the mountain, and the climbers that paid 100,000 dollars should be reaching the summit some time in about 10 days. but it's a hell of a nasty climb, where only 10% of climbers make it to the top. If you want to learn more about the specific camps and elevations and all that here i some info on the Taiwanese expedition. http://www.everestnews.com/everest2009/atunaseverest2009.htm
It was now time to leave the Khumbu valley, I was heading up and over the Kongma La, el. 5550m. One note, In Tibetan, "Kongma La" means pass of the Tibetan snowcock. So not only did it have the best views, it also has the best name. I didn't think the views and mountain scenery could get any better but as I climbed through the chilly sunless rocky gulch to the top of the Kongma La, the views just exploded in my face, you had Ama Dablan directly in front of me , as well as my first views of Makalu in the background. Behind me were a dozen more mountains basking in the glow of the morning sun. Below me were beautiful, crystal clear alpine lakes, perfect for a night of camping...which I wasn't prepared to do. As I walked down to Chukung and the bottom of the Imja Valley a few time the views stopped me in my tracks and I just had to smile at the natural beauty that was surrounding me. I finally made it down to Chuking 6 hours after I left from Lobuche on the other side of the pass.
The next morning topped of the trip with a perfect ending. The normal thing to do from ti Chuking, it to climb up to Chukung Ri at5550 meters for stunning vistas of the valley and surrounding valleys. But u wanted to do something a little more memorable. when i reached top of the Chukung Ri, the views were amazing, similar to the day before at the top of the Kongma La. But i wasn't satisfied with this elevation as my high point of the Himalayas, So I set off across a loose ridge of slate, headed up to the higher Chukung mountain, elevation 5833 on the map. After an hour of keeping my balance scrambling across loose shale I was almost there, I just had to climb nearly vertical up millions of years of geologic time. The last part was the hardest. I had to climb up the biggest rocks I could fund, on the small rocks I would just fall back to where I started that step. But the bigger rocks are more prone to bigger rock fall, needless to say I reached to top a few minutes later and glanced at the altimeter on my watch, which read 19,150 feet! Once again the views of Makalu and Ama Dablam screamed with beauty, and the south face of Lhotse, which shoots vertically from the earth for miles looked like it could be touched by human hands, it was so close.
The next day was my final day in the mountains, I departed Chuking early in the morning, with the sun rising at my back over Makalu and between Lhotse and Ama Dablam, melting that nights fresh layer of snow. I walked through the Sherpa villages of Dingboche, Periche and Tengboche on my way back to Namche Bazaar, where I could find an affordable hot shower, (my first in 16 days.)and a hot cup of fresh coffee which I could sip on and recollect the recent adventures.
I will definitively be returning to this area, I would love to take some people her and show them the beauty of this area. There is just so much to see, valleys to explore and mountains to climb. The khumbu is just one region. Next time I may want to go out on a camping and trekking expedition, with more local villages and less trekkers. Let me know if any one is interested and we can put something together so other people can share the joys of the Himalayas and the Sherpa people.
The trip started on the 21st of April with a little bit of chaos, which is expected at the domestic terminal of the KTM airport. The cause of the chaos was the weather, no planes were flying to Luckla; the normal starting point for treks to the Khumbu. And no planes had flown the day before either, so there was a big backlog of trekkers and tour groups looking to angle in for the next available flight. Being a solo trekker with no guide or agent on the inside made re-booking a flight a near impossibility and I thought I may be stuck in Kathmandu until the weather cleared and i could weasel on to a flight. But I ran into Jodi, who I met on the Annapurna trek, and her new trekking partner, Eva, who she met on couchsurfing.com. They had been waiting 1 day already, with another trekker named Scott. So at 9am, after waiting 3 hours, Scott, and his travel agent said there would be no flights to Luckla today, but what we could do was cancel our tickets, and re-book flights to a village called Paplu, which is a 3 day walk from Luckla, and a place none of us had heard of. So with in 30 minutes, we canceled our flights, and re-booked with Yeti airlines, had our bags checked and were on our way. we figured it was better to be walking through the villages of the solukhumbu, rather than wait for the weather to clear and to get new flights. It ended up being a great plan, we still had the mountain views, but with none of the crowds that populate the route to Everest base camp. We could really interact with the villages on the way, they don't get many trekkers down their way, now that everyone flies to Luckla. We were the only ones at our guest houses, so we could wit in the kitchen, drinking Rakshi and tea with the ladies that ran the guesthouses. By the time we got up to Lobuche and Gorak Shep, the hotels would be filled with large groups of South Africans and Japanese, so it wasn't that homey atmosphere of the Solukhumbu.
But by the time we reached Namche Bazaar and our first rest day, to let those red blood cells build up, our group was disintegrating. Jodi and I were getting along swimmingly, but both of us were having a tough time with Eva. I guess she wasn't much of a trekker. Jodi and I had already been on the trail in Annapurna for a couple weeks, so we had some fitness, as well as some common things to talk about. But what we ended up talking about, was how slow Eva was, and how much she wanted to talk about Her home country of Sweden to anybody would listen. This girl was slow, like slower than my dad when he was sick. Jodi and I would walk for an hour, then wait 45 minutes Eva to arrive. For the first couple days we left in the morning at 730, and wouldn't make it to our destination by 5pm, Jodi and I expected to be there by 2pm, rest, have some milk tea and read our book. But that wasn't the case. So In Namche, we split amicably, though a bit awkwardly. With Jodi and I heading up the Bhote valley and the Renjo Pass, while Eva decided to find a guide to trek with, instead of being alone.
On the way to Namche, in a small village we met a Belgian fella, a world famous explorer who walked across the Australian desert and around Tasmania, "nearly dying twice a day for 2 weeks straight." he was on his way to EBC to deliver 300 kilos of Belgian chocolate to all the porters and Sherpas and expeditions that were up there. He had trekked all the way from Kathmandu, to were we saw him. he was pulling a 50 pound cart and had been walking like 20 miles a day. He was doing this to raise money for mobile hospitals in Nepal, a noble cause. Here's a link to his blog if you want to read more. http://chocolate-sherpa.blogspot.com/
Anyway, Jodi and I headed up to a town called Thame, probably the most quintessential, picaresque Himalayan village. There was a river running through town, a 400 year old monastery, a new school, a hydro electric plant. It's the model town, Though most of the services have been provided by the Hillary fund, and Other NGO's, and not by the Nepalese government. We stayed at a guest house owned by a Sherpa women, who's brother is a famous Sherpa climber and now owns Alpine Ascents out of Seattle, so with that little connection she let mew charge my camera batteries up, instead of paying 200 rupees an hour. Next we cruised op to Lungden, a tiny yak herding town that is getting more guest houses because of the new popularity of this valley. Bury it was still pretty quiet. I think there were 2 other trekkers in town our first night. We stayed an extra day here to acclimatize a little more before climbing even higher. so for the "rest day' I trekked up the valley and towards Tibet, where all say for 6 hours were 8000 meter peaks, Cho Oyu, and a a bunch of yaks and migrating birds. It was one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen.
The next day was our ascent of the Renjo la pass, 5370 meters, and I felt every meter of it. Being our first pass and little did i know I had picked up a little bad food bug the day before. it was more stunning, people-less scenery, complete with alpine lakes, bright blue birds, and my favorite bird, the Tibetan Snowcock. It took us about 5 hours to make it to the pass, where looking east we could see 4 of the highest mountains in the world through the broken clouds and high sun. We took a couple hours to scamper down to the village of Gokyo, on the banks of the turquoise blue glacial lakes. Wes stayed at the Namaste lodge for 3 days, plenty of time for Jodi to explore the lakes farther up the valley, and enough time for Ben to be completely sick for 48 hours. The lodge had delicious food, I just couldn't keep any of it in my stomach. There was group of doctors at the lodge and they all thought I had altitude sickness, but i knew for the twists and turns in my belly that my problem was from some bad food. I tried to take a walk up valley, but after an hour I had to turn back, barely making it back, i felt so bad I had to lie on rocks, I've never felt so crippled and helpless, laying there in the wind and snow. But eventuality I made it back to my sleeping bag where i spent the rest of the day. By the evening I was feeling better, and thought, if i can make it up to the top of Gokyo Ri, up at 5400m I could continue with my trek, other wise i would be heading down to Namche a bit early for some R and R. Long story short, I dragged my self up the mountain, and was able to at least eat some food that day and was able to get some strength back.
Even though I was feeling ill in Gokyo, I still got in some great people watching. You see all types up here. Most people are geared up to trek, really get into it, they want to meet the locals and get the full experience, and you have other people like the Russian couple that showed up at the lodge one evening. They had the complete kit. The guy, dressed in camo sweat suit, had the satellite phone, laptop, crazy euro, "I have too much money" sunglasses. He spent most of his time on his satellite phone, calling Russia, and his trekking friends who had to go to lower elevation because they weren't feeling well. The rest of the time was spent smoking cigarettes, flicking them onto the ground, and sending food he didn't like back to the kitchen, saying, "Izz no ghud" in his Russian accent. All the rest of the trekkers at the lodge thought he was hilarious, but would never laugh in from of his face, fearful of KGB retaliation. He did have a cool guide though, who told me they flew to KTM on a private jet from Moscow, and were helicoptering out from Periche in a couple days, which costs about 5 grand.
Again, carrying on with the trekking, There must have been some mountain magic in the air, because I had a miraculous recovery as the day of the Cho La pass approached. Our new trekking group that had formed headed out around 630am, to be able to cross the pass before the daily bad weather moved in by 11am. I started slowly, just to be sure I was OK, but in a few minutes, I was feeling back to my old form. The sun peaked over the mountains and warmed up the chilly valley, in front of me Cholatse dominated the horizon, while on my left 8201 Cho Oyo rose up in the Distance. I was back in the hiking zone, as I reached the half way point of the pass, I looked back a and realized I left the rest of the group way back in the valley. I waited for 40 minutes for them to arrive. When Glen, Sheila and Jodi and their guide made it, I told them I was feeling great and was going to set off on my own pace to cross the pass. Jodi decided to stay with the group and do the feasible thing and cross with a guide. Little did I know that was last time I saw our friends Glen and Sheila. In the way up to the pass, Glen, who already had a gamey knee, complained of chest pains, and they decided to turn back, leaving Jodi on the top of the pass, with no clear marked trail across the trail. She waited their in the wind in the snow, until the Russians, KGB and Natalia arrived with their guide to lead Jodi and his clients across the glacier and down to safety. (If you want to read about what really happened to Glen, and his subsequent heli-evac, you can read it on their blog...he 's ok, and lounging on a beach in Thailand at the moment...www.spicetrek.blogspot.com) Jodi also made it down the hill, but after this day we were on different schedules, even though we did bump into each other a couple more times in Gorak shep and Chukung.
This rest part of the trek is where it went from great, to wow...amazingly the most beautiful and stunning place I have been. I felt great again, I was acclimatized to the high elevation, the weather turned around and was sunny all day. The Khumbu valley is amazing, at the end of teh valley is Everest base camp, and along the way if you just stop and do a 360, you'll be surrounded by mountains and glaciers at all time. when you get to Gorak shep, you can climb up to Kala Pather, which has the best views of mountains you can ever see. looking east you have an amazing view of Everest, Lhotse and Nudge. To the north is Pimori, which is a beautifully shaped pyramid of a mountain. behind you is Cho Oyu, and down valley is the stunning Ama Dablam. I climbed up here in the mid morning and stayed up here, amongst the views and prayer flags that reside at the top of any pass and view point. The next day in the morning I went to the circus of EBC...Everest Base camp, which is kind of like India, something that should be experienced once in your lifetime. It is sooo big, there are tents everywhere, literally over 1000 tents. cook tents, sleeping tents, social tents. Logistic tents, all different size and color, and they are always moving, since base camp is located on a living, moving glacier tat move up to 2 feet in one day. One of the crazy things at base camp is trying to find some one who can tell you what's going on, since you don't want to wander into a camp and get told to get the hell out of here. What i discovered by talking to a couple of Taiwanese climbers, was that ten Sherpas had just set the ropes at the top of the mountain, and the climbers that paid 100,000 dollars should be reaching the summit some time in about 10 days. but it's a hell of a nasty climb, where only 10% of climbers make it to the top. If you want to learn more about the specific camps and elevations and all that here i some info on the Taiwanese expedition. http://www.everestnews.com/everest2009/atunaseverest2009.htm
It was now time to leave the Khumbu valley, I was heading up and over the Kongma La, el. 5550m. One note, In Tibetan, "Kongma La" means pass of the Tibetan snowcock. So not only did it have the best views, it also has the best name. I didn't think the views and mountain scenery could get any better but as I climbed through the chilly sunless rocky gulch to the top of the Kongma La, the views just exploded in my face, you had Ama Dablan directly in front of me , as well as my first views of Makalu in the background. Behind me were a dozen more mountains basking in the glow of the morning sun. Below me were beautiful, crystal clear alpine lakes, perfect for a night of camping...which I wasn't prepared to do. As I walked down to Chukung and the bottom of the Imja Valley a few time the views stopped me in my tracks and I just had to smile at the natural beauty that was surrounding me. I finally made it down to Chuking 6 hours after I left from Lobuche on the other side of the pass.
The next morning topped of the trip with a perfect ending. The normal thing to do from ti Chuking, it to climb up to Chukung Ri at5550 meters for stunning vistas of the valley and surrounding valleys. But u wanted to do something a little more memorable. when i reached top of the Chukung Ri, the views were amazing, similar to the day before at the top of the Kongma La. But i wasn't satisfied with this elevation as my high point of the Himalayas, So I set off across a loose ridge of slate, headed up to the higher Chukung mountain, elevation 5833 on the map. After an hour of keeping my balance scrambling across loose shale I was almost there, I just had to climb nearly vertical up millions of years of geologic time. The last part was the hardest. I had to climb up the biggest rocks I could fund, on the small rocks I would just fall back to where I started that step. But the bigger rocks are more prone to bigger rock fall, needless to say I reached to top a few minutes later and glanced at the altimeter on my watch, which read 19,150 feet! Once again the views of Makalu and Ama Dablam screamed with beauty, and the south face of Lhotse, which shoots vertically from the earth for miles looked like it could be touched by human hands, it was so close.
The next day was my final day in the mountains, I departed Chuking early in the morning, with the sun rising at my back over Makalu and between Lhotse and Ama Dablam, melting that nights fresh layer of snow. I walked through the Sherpa villages of Dingboche, Periche and Tengboche on my way back to Namche Bazaar, where I could find an affordable hot shower, (my first in 16 days.)and a hot cup of fresh coffee which I could sip on and recollect the recent adventures.
I will definitively be returning to this area, I would love to take some people her and show them the beauty of this area. There is just so much to see, valleys to explore and mountains to climb. The khumbu is just one region. Next time I may want to go out on a camping and trekking expedition, with more local villages and less trekkers. Let me know if any one is interested and we can put something together so other people can share the joys of the Himalayas and the Sherpa people.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Check out all the snaps.
Well I finally made it back from the mountains, I'm back in Kathmandu now, been here for about 8 hours, and it feels like I've been here for a week. But I did have a great time just going through my photos and reliving the great time and great treks of the past 3 weeks in the Solu Khumbu and Khumbu Valley. Overall I spent about a week getting up into the big mountains of the Himalayas, since I changed my flight ticket at the last minute and had to walk an extra 3 days, but it was worth it to see the villages and people of the lower hills. Once I reached the town Of Namche it was basically Mountains, passes, and valleys...and a bout of GI sickness for the next 2 weeks.
A quick summary of the trip had me crossing 3 passes over 5350 meters, and climbing up another 4 mini peaks that were all over 5350 meters. As well as a quick little visit to the circus that is Everest Base Camp, where the day I visited 5 Sherpas set the ropes to the Summit and were the first people to top out for 2009. The "highlight" of the trip was a scramble I did up Chukung Peak, up to 5830 meters, which on my watch, is 19,150 feet. It was like I could look across and touch Ama dablam and Lhotse, even though they are another world away.
For the first half of the trip I was with Jodi, a girl we met on the Annapurna circuit, so I had a trekking partner for the beginning, but our schedule and plans differed for the second half and I was rolling solo, which isn't that big of an issue, since there are guides, tea houses and lodges all over the place to answer any questions. But the trails aren't really marked, which makes me wonder where my 1000rupee park entry fee goes to...anyways.
So, check out the pictures, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them!
A quick summary of the trip had me crossing 3 passes over 5350 meters, and climbing up another 4 mini peaks that were all over 5350 meters. As well as a quick little visit to the circus that is Everest Base Camp, where the day I visited 5 Sherpas set the ropes to the Summit and were the first people to top out for 2009. The "highlight" of the trip was a scramble I did up Chukung Peak, up to 5830 meters, which on my watch, is 19,150 feet. It was like I could look across and touch Ama dablam and Lhotse, even though they are another world away.
For the first half of the trip I was with Jodi, a girl we met on the Annapurna circuit, so I had a trekking partner for the beginning, but our schedule and plans differed for the second half and I was rolling solo, which isn't that big of an issue, since there are guides, tea houses and lodges all over the place to answer any questions. But the trails aren't really marked, which makes me wonder where my 1000rupee park entry fee goes to...anyways.
So, check out the pictures, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them!
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| The beauty of The Himalayas. |
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