By Keith Stanley Malcolm - 67 yrs old
From Ireland
April 3 to 17, 2011
Accompanied by Mr. Dil Gurung, 12yrs experienced Mountain guide
Sunday 3rd April.
Taxi from my airport hotel to airport for early flight to Kathmandu, taking 1 ½ hours from 08.05. Visa procedures were completed and arrived by taxi at my Marsangydi Hotel in Thamel c. 10.50. Binod and my guide Dil briefly at noon. Took a walk around Thamel in the afternoon, more crowded and chaotic than I remember it before. After tea did a rushed repacking job for my trek tomorrow, and got to bed about 10 p.m. as I have to get up at 5a.m. tomorrow. There was a thunderstorm with heavy rain over the city during the night.
Monday 4th April.
Up at 5a.m., taxi with Dil to the airport at 5.45. Very busy and basic, we flew in a “Dornier 22” for 30m. to Lukla alt.2800mts. – a scary landing on a short (500mts) steeply uphill runway. The plane was like a Shorts Skyvan, two columns of 11 seats each, rucksacks at the back. Piled out into Lukla villageand had a long breakfast in a Lukla hotel – talking to a chatty u.s. guy. Weather cold and sunless. We have a comparatively short walk today to the village of Phakding at 2650mts., taking 2 ¾ hours. Isolated flowering magnolias and rhododendrons along the way, other trees mostly conifers. Numerous pack animals, mostly dzos (cross between Yak and cow), and numerous trekkers. Our guest house in Phakding is spacious but modest, with a good view across the village.
Tuesday 5th April.
Left after breakfast 8.45 for the long slog up to Namche Bazaar 1,200ft., planned to arrive teatime. However we made excellent progress on a glorious sunny morning arriving Jorsale further up the Dhud Koshi river valley after just 1hr.40m Then the steep long uphill slog to Namche Bazaar,
high up the steep side of a very deep valley. Crossed maybe half a dozen well made suspension footbridges, 450 feet long in some cases, most of the same modular construction, of steel plates suspended from multiple 1 in. diam. multi strand cables. Some lovely flowering magnolias and rhododendrons on the way, we had to pass numerous groups of dzos passing up and down the track (apparently impossibly steep for them). So arrived Namche Bazaar about 13.30. Others I had seen leaving Phakding were still arriving 3 hours later.
Namche Bazaar is picturesque; it’s neat streets of pastel buildings with blue rooves set in a small bowl near the top of the ridge, and is still being developed. Full of trekking gear shops, there is a monastery whose bhuddist monks with maroon robes. There is a tented campsite above the village. In the afternoon it became overcast with light but persistent snow, turning to rain at teatime. Walked around most of village this p.m. Very cold tonight.
Wednesday 6th April.
Brilliant cloudless skies to start but bitterly cold, clouds gradually appeared around the peaks and completely overcast by 4p.m.. This is my “acclimatisation day”, so with Dil I took a long hike westwards from Namche Bazaar along the north side of the Thame river valley, gradually gaining a little altitude while we passed through the villages of Phurte, Mende and Thamo. Stopped short of Thame on the far side of a distant low hill – would have involved too much up and down both ways after crossing the Thame river to the south side of the valley. We passed some yak caravans – Dil tells me some of these stop ion Thame for the night and tomorrow will cross into Tibet thru a pass at an altitude of 6000 mts.! The animals were decorated with thassels and had long fine woolly coats. Fine mountain scenery before the clouds closed in. The tiny village on the lower slopes across the valley was surrounded by stone-walled fields. Generally the valley was colourless, in complete contrast to the Annapurna Circuit route in October 2000 – at least at this time of year just after the Himalayan winter and before the monsoon rains – the fields bare and tilled waiting for the monsoon’s warmth and rain. Probably because of altitude I found the going (and no pack) uphill hard today. Had lunch in Thamo village on the way back, and saw three large brown mountain goats on the hillside above us.
Thursday 7th April.
Namche Bazaar to Tengboche. Sunny a.m., clouding over in afternoon. Today’s walk took us 4h 20m altogether, one of maybe 100 walkers moving gradually from Namche Bazaar to the village of Phumki-Tenga, then across the Dhud Kosi on a long suspension bridge and a steep uphill climb of 1h40m to Tengboche, a small village atop a ridge overlooked by Ana Dablam soaring high above. A large terminal moraine at its base
showed where it’s glacier once reached to. There is a fine bhuddist monastery in the village, and even a conditeri, with excellent cakes. On the way up Dil spotted a danphe, a large pheasant like bird with a crest, iridescent blue back and cream tail (Nepal’s national bird):
There were a number of tents pitched in Tengbocheand some solar cookers. Also on the way saw trees uncannily like the Australian paper bark tree, but ruddy in colour instead of cream. Bitterly cold night, I’ll be glad tomorrow I brought my thermal underwear.
Friday 8th April.
Trek this a.m. from Tengboche to Dingboche (4400mts. 14400ft.), took 4h40m including rest stops, on a glorious sunny morning. A steep and difficult uphill at the end to Dingboche, overlooked by peaks towering high above. The route passed through Durboche and Pangboche, then across theDudh Koshi and steeply uphill. My room was spacious and actually warm when we arrived, from the sun beating down on the steel roof. Dingboche is very
spread out, buildings divided by dry tone wall fields, on flat land overlooking the river. No useable internet. After an hours rest and lunch went for a 2 ½ hour walk up the nearby ridge to maybe 15500ft., then along the level upper valley running west from Dingboche, getting back about 17.30. Then I had to change rooms because the light wouldn’t work, and after an OK dinner found there is only one small washbasin for the whole place. Well at least the dining room was warm, heated by the stove in the middle of the room, but everywhere else was freezing. Earlier today, near Pangboche, a slim tall European in running clothes ran along our path in the other direction, uphill and down as if he was fell-running in the lake district, but at 13000ft.! When he eventually disappeared from our sight about a mile behind he was still running.
Dil tells me that if we took a yak down to the altitude of Lukla (2700mts.), it would die because the climate is alien to it. Hence the reliance at lower altitudes on zhoppes (one of many names for the sterile cross between a yakand a cow), but this must require frequent transhipment of loads one animal to the other.
Saturday 9th April.
Trek from Dingboche to Lobuche 4950mts. Woke up to a glorious sunnay day and a fresh covering of light snow on the ground, maybe 1 in. Left our awful hotel about 8.20 for the long steep hill overlooking Dingboche leading to the level upper valley leading westwards which overlooks the Dhud Kosi. The land was sandy, nearly barren, but with numerous say-one-yard-wide patches of 6-inch high cypress leylandii – or at least a stunted plant with an uncommon resemblance to it. Walked about three miles to the end of the high valley and the small hamlet of Tuglac, reached after 1h 50m of slow walking. After a snack there came a steep 55m ascent followed by another hour on a fairly level track to Lobuche, a tiny hamlet, but the guest house here was much better. After a rest to recover and lunch, walked slowly maybe another mile up the valley, under overcast skies and against a freezing ravine wind on the way back. Almost no plant life here, just small patches of lichen and small white rosettes on the stony earth clinging on for dear life.
One of the numerous porters accompanying us trekkers on the upward leg from Dingboche to Lobuche, was a tiny slip of a girl, Nepalese maybe 20/22 y.o., dressed in loose blue clothing and a child’s soft shoes, carrying quite a big load on her head sling.
Sunday 10th April.
Trek Lobuche to Gorak Shep. Weather today very mixed. Sun from a cloudy sky as we left Lobuche at 7.20, it started snowing heavily for a while shortly after we arrived at Gorak Shep at 9.40. G.S. is at an altitude of 5180mts. (16,800ft.), but there are still a few birds around, including choughs and flocks of small seed-eaters who feast on the fodder brought up from the lowlands for the pack animals. Even though G.S. is only 230mts. higher than Lobuche every steep uphill rock scree was tough going. I lost my UV sunglasses and case out of my backpack today. My single room on the first floor of the “Buddah hotel” in Gorak Shep benefitted from the heat radiating from the metal chimney of the stove in the middle of the dining room below, where it passed through the upper corridor and out the roof. After a rest and
an early lunch left the hotel at noon for the long 2 hour trek up to Everest Base Camp at 5250mts (17250 ft.), and went on for another ½ hour nearly to the other end of the site. The weather had closed in at this stage with numerous snow flurries in the afternoon, but nevertheless got an excellent view of the Khumbu icefall, with fine views too of the lower snowfields and search level with E.B.C. After a tiring afternoon arrived back at Gorak Shep at 16.20. The snowfall became persistent and heavy about 17.30, and must threaten tomorrow’s activities for everyone.
Monday 11th April.
Rose early at Gorak Shep 04.25 in the hope of seeing the stars but the sky was already brightening in the east. But after heavy snow early in the night the whole sky was cloud free, the remaining stars set off by a white winter wonder landscape all around.
Bitterly cold with temperature reported at –8 degrees. Left c.5.35 for ascent of Kala Pattar summit at 5600 mts.(18200 ft.), made much more difficult by fresh snow. The sun lit up the surrounding peaks one by one as we ascended, and 5 minutes after reaching the summit (ascent took 1h 50m), the sun rose by apparently running upwards along the western (left-hand) flank of Everest’s dark summit pyramid.
The sky above was colouring indigo tinged with green. Because of the angles sunlight very quickly flooded the southern upper slopes of Kala Pattar which we had laboured to get up. The views all around were unsullied and
spectacular, dominated by the towering massifs of Pumori and Nuptse. After half an hour we slipped and slithered down again reaching Gorak Shep 1h 15m later - I was very glad of the extendable snow pole I had bought in Kathmandu a week before.
At 9.55 we started the long return journey to Lukla and Kathmandu across a dazzling snow covered landscape, and as the western cwm of Everest receded behind us some clouds appeared around the walls. Where we got our last glimpse the snow cover cleared and we began the long descent for a lunch break at Tuglac (4860mts.), 3 hours after leaving Gorak Shep. Most of the path in this area is surfaced by boulders and stones which makes it accident prone and very uncomfortable to walk on. After a half hour commenced our last descent of the day for 1h 10m to our overnight stop at Periche (4270mts., 12870ft, 5300 ft. below K.P. summit), by which time a strong very unpleasant cold ravine wind had developed and was blasting against us the whole way, under what had now become a grey overcast sky.
But we were lucky today ; despite the snow we summited Kala Pattar in near perfect windless conditions, and without fate in the form of AMS tapping me on the shoulder.
Talking to two (out of 3) Austrian women in their 40’s who we met several times during the last few days, it transpired the other one had succumbed to acute mountain sickness in Tuglac and they had to hire a horse at $160, to take her down to the nearest medical centre here in Periche, where she is spending tonight. This is reportedly the victim’s sixth visit to the Himalaya, without previous difficulty, and her illness seems to show how indiscriminate in its incidence AMS can be.
Tuesday 12th April.
Day sunny to start; haze building up in the morning led to a cloudy afternoon with thunder in Namche Bazaar after nightfall. The freezing night resulted in the inside of the window of my room being iced up, and the rim of my blanket being wet, from condensation of the moisture in my breathing during the previous night. Got up 4.30 to see the star clouds of the Milky Way which in the clear mountain air, are clearer than they almost ever are at sea level. - it was very cold. Left the Periche hotel at 7.30 for the 3hr. walk to Tengboche. Enjoyed a 1 ½ hr. break there in the warm sun before setting out on the long 3 ½ hour walk to Namche Bazaar, arriving 3.25. The steep downhill from Tengboche made me wonder how I had ever staggered up it with my pack some days ago. There were numerous fine red flowering rhododendron trees on this section of the route. The twisting track high above the Dhud Kosi valley seemed interminable. Spent an hour on the internet in N.B. catching up with the last few days.
Wednesday 13th April.
Last leg of trek – Namche Bazaar to Lukla. Day started sunny and fine, but incoming haze soon thickened to cloud with occasional sprinkles of rain, followed by weak sun in the evening.
Left N.B. at 7.30 for the long walk down to Phakding, taking 3 ¾ hours including 1 hour down the steep path to the bridge over the Dhud Kosi. There were numerous rhododendron trees in flower along the river, mostly crimson but some were cerise and pink. After a 40m. stop in Phakding walked for
another 2h to reach Lukla and it’s airstrip. While approaching Lukla we could hear several aircraft operating during the afternoon, which means that it is – untypically- windless this p.m., and these flights were probably Kathmandu flights delayed from their normal early morning slots. There were a lot of ups and downs on rocky paths in today’s stage and I felt tired and sore. Lukla is a lack-lustre one-street town, essentially a child of the airstrip perched on this shelf of mountain land.
Thursday 14th April.
Return to Kathmandu. Up for 5.30 for breakfast in my “Sunrise Hotel” Lukla and to the airstrip for a 7a.m. flight but – no planes due to foggy weather in Kathmandu. So my flight was delayed 2 ½ hours to 9.20, the fifth to leave after the planes started arriving about 08.25. Some remarkable turnaround speeds were to be seen, in one case less than 5 minutes from landing to take-off (they have to keep moving because there is space for only 5 small aircraft to park). The engine on the passenger side - only – was turned off while incoming passengers and baggage were exchanged for the outgoing load. The on-the-ground time of “my” flight was delayed to 7 minutes to allow the next incoming aircraft to land. Weather all this time was overcast, hazy with a varying cloud ceiling above. Our Sita Airways flight, operated by a weathered Dornier 228-200K (17 seats), took 15 seconds to get airborne from its plunge down the runway towards the cliff edge. There were numerous flowering, leafless magnolia trees on the hillsides of the lowlands below Lukla, from the plane their big white flowers appeared like star clusters against the bare mountainsides. But then what should have been a 25 / 30 minute flight to Kathmandu (which saves a 4-day walk, each way) was drawn out to 70 minutes, delayed it transpired later by security around the arrival in Ktm. of the King of Bhutan !! While circling low over the hills around Kathmandu we passed over numerous brick manufacturing plants, each with the high chimney from the kiln surrounded by stacks of cooling / distribution-ready bricks. It took 45 minutes to get my bag and get into town by taxi to my Marshyangdi Hotel in Thamel , and another 1 ½ hours to repack everything, washing and towel drying shirt, socks and underclothes, shave and my first shower for 11d. After a good lunch of Wiener Schnitzel went for a massage where recommended by the hotel receptionist, at NR1500 for the hour – my legs felt quite sore and tired after the long 3-day forced march back from Everest B.C. It was a crushing massage – nearly worse than the soreness I wanted it to cure, but when I complained my masseuse’s treatment changed and at her suggestion she spent the rest of the hour gently massaging me in the right places to relieve stress I didn’t know I was suffering from, but she was very good at that. Then after dawdling in an English-language bookshop for ½ hour I met Binod as arranged to tell him how the trek had gone for me, and then went for tea with Dil – getting back to Kathmandu a day early he has been lucky enough to land another job in the Annapurnaregion starting tomorrow and is heading for Pokhara on the 7a.m.bus. Got to bed very tired 11 p.m.
