Trekkers day - by Sonal Amin

Crimson dawn wakens sleepy trekker

Yak bells lull slowly, broken by sharp cries of cockerel call

As he unfurls himself gathering and packing for another day

He walks, he walks, he walks

Head bent low, step by step he walks

Occasionally he pauses and breathes in the vista

High and low the mountains unfold, deep valleys and gorges, rivers and 

dotted farms

Onwards he follows the Yak trail, pass the Sherpas, Porters laden with 

their business

They gather by the stove, tales and stories shared

Each evening they merge, adventures told in the heat of the stove.

Hearty tales and hearty food, all retire cocooned in their bags for 

another day...

Celebrating Sonal's birthday at Gokyo

Trek Day 07 & 08 - Gokyo & Gokyo Ri "Peak" 5,360m

Google Earth Gokyo: N27 57 15.0 E086 41 39.7
Casual start to climb the 5,360m "hill" above the "resort" of Gokyo.
Clear skies, freshly snow covered hills from previous night.Couple of
groups ahead of us so trail easy to spot.Quite a struggle going up even
though pack only has necessities in it - reminds me of the forthcoming
slog up from Depot Camp to Camp I on Shishapangma! Oh boy and its all
voluntary...Funny how thoughts of just giving up creep in, but one has
to fight them and persevere through the negativeness.
Luckily there are distractions - the magnificent view!
Due East I spot on the horizon some plumes of white cloud which seem
familiar. Each step upwards reveals a little more and eventually the
tiny triangle of Mount Everest summit appears. It's certainly blowing a
gale up there, what with its top protruding into the jet stream -
certainly a spectacular sight! I wonder if I will ever stand on the top,
or will Shisha's summit satisfy my quest for standing above 8,000m?

At Gokyo Ri's summit we have clear visuals of 3 of the worlds eight
thousanders - Cho Oyu, Everest and Makalu, plus a "what" of other high
peaks. Anyone know the collective noun for mountain peaks/summits?
Sonal did an amazing job and soon was also at the top - I know it was a
hard slog but the views were well worth it.

I took it very easy the next day as was feeling a little lethargic -
probably due the high altitude. Sonal took a walk around the 3rd lake -
Dudh Pokhari.
In the evening, as Sonal was departing the next day, I organised some
Sherpa singing and dancing for her immanent birthday on the 11th. It was
a great success and enjoyed by all the lodge guests!

Trek Day 06 - Luza (4,360m) to Gokyo (4,790m)

Yep getting some height now - almost as high as Mont Blanc!
Google Earth for Luza: N27 53 36.5 E086 43 09.5
Short walk from Luza to Machermo but its in a valley so have to drop
down and then climb back up again. Stop at Phang (4,480m) for nice hot
drink - Mother with her little son relaxing on mattress in the sun...
Then about 6km up to Gokyo. Fantastic views and weather. Caught up with
Sonal at 2nd "Gokyo" Lake. Had just been up a staircase to heaven" -
very exposed as one climbs just next to the glacier snout - more rock
quarry like than ice.
Lakes lovely blue colour but as early spring still
covered in ice - move around and create little "floes".
Not clear whether Tibet open for any climbing at this stage! Also seems
to be a requirement that members on same climbing permit need to enter
Tibet together - not going to be possible as I will still be Khumbu
region trekking - hopefully not a show stopper.

Trek Day 05 - Mong La (3,940m) to Luza (4,350m)

Another 9:20am start. This after the most spectacular amphitheatre of
mountain views. Dropped down to the Dudh Koshi river at the junction to
Phortse.Have now rigged my solar panel to the back of my backpack so now
have a electric 4x4 powering me up the hills. So far the equipment is
all working well. I just need to refine the use thereof. i.e. how to get
the most out of the power I generate from the sun - split this between
the notebook and Bgan satellite receiver/transmitter.
Now walking through the last of the Rhododendron forests that we will
see for a while. The next section around Tenga is really beautiful, with
waterfalls and springs coming down the mountain side. As we are here
early spring these waterfalls were all frozen, and if I had had my ice
tools with me would have presented some exiting challenges. The route
meandered up and down through Dole (4,110m) where we had lunch and
Lhabarma ( (4,330m). Luckily the last section follows the contours and
soon we were at Luza. Again a sign of the times (altitude), a helicopter
approached and took a sick trekker back down the hill.
Copy paste into Google Earth
Luza - N27 53 36.5 E086 43 09.5

Trek Day 04 - Namche Bazaar (3,440m) to Mong La (3,940m)

Depart 9:20 and decide via majority vote to take the long route to Mong
La via Khumjung (3,780m). Instead of a gentle contour path, this route
consists of a steep track upwards at the back of Namche.
Today was
market day, but the Tibetan influences normally found at the market are
missing due to the lack of traffic through the Nangpa La. Major Hume was
meant to be at Namche today but unfortunately due to flight delays into
Lukla he is not with us. By the way La means pass.
Climb up past the hardly used Khumjung runway, through yak pastures and
then down steep stone steps into the village. Its always the case, down
to go up, but that's life in the Himalayas.
New altitude records of 3,830m for most of the group!
Dad found the ascent hard going, but this is to be expected when
entering the high Himalayas. Aclimitising is not always easy and one
never knows where ones own limit is. The past also does not predict the
future and even having been high is no guarantee that one will be able
to go back. In Sir Hillary's later life he was not able to return to the
places he so influenced. As a note its one of my objectives of the climb
to Shisha's summit - to see how I can can go. So far I've only been to
6,500m (camp I on Shisha and camp II on Koskulak).
With hindsight now it seems Raymond's limit was around 3,400m. This
though for an 84 year young man is incredible. When we entered the
National Park, they record all entrants including their ages and other
than Wendy, he was by far the oldest by 25 years.
Wendy was the surprise, but thinking a little about it why should she be
such a surprise. She stoically strode step by step upwards, with never
any sound of compliant. Nima was a star and was always by her side, they
were often hand in hand. I must mentioned that Mumsies vision in her one
eye is very poor, in fact she does not have much depth of field at all.
This makes walking up and down rough terrain very difficult. I can't
even walk upright on one of the largest trails in the Peak District!

I have the most utmost respect for my folks in attempting this challenge
so late in their lives. They can be very proud of what they have
achieved and I can guarantee they will never forget the sights they saw
and experiences they partook in. I am also very pleased that they have
now shared with me this wonderful country Nepal. Well done guys, 10 uur
and 12 uur will never quite be the same again!

So where is this all going. Well Wendy and Ray decided to go back down
to Namche Bazaar. Sonal and I continued to Mong La. Yes as the name
implies this is on the top of a pass, so its a long haul upwards. Major
Hume and I stayed here back in 2007, and I remember the steep ascent on
the other side. In fact I had to bribe the Major with a hot Thermos of
tea to get him up to the top, which he did admirably. Its a beautiful
spot and when I get the photos uploaded you will be able to join in the
experience.

Google Earth:
Mong La - N27 50 23.5 E086 44 09.3

Along the trail

Trek Day 02 - Benkar (2,630m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440m)

This was likely to be a challenging day as we all live below 150m. Climbing 800m when one is already at 2,600m was going to be hard work. How would Wendy and Ray do? Sonal had been gyming and hiking around Stanmore but would Mum & Dad's hikes in Sellendam be sufficient to get them up the Namche hill? Luckily there are a couple distractions before the long climb at the end i.e. the entrance to Sagarmartha National Park and five exiting suspension bridges. Well four exhausting hours after departure Sonal and Ray arrived at Namche Bazaar - a superb effort!

I was following Mum who was hand in hand with Nima. The reason for following was that I was bringing CTU up the valley with me, and was suffering under the load due to the lack of training caused by my broken arm back in January. Wendy was doing a sterling job, one step at a time and an hour later arrived to meet Sonal and Ray in Namche. The killer news was that our lodge was at the top of Namche another 150m higher....

Trekking scenes - lower valley

Trek Day 01 - Kathmandu to Lukla (2,840m) to Bengkar (2,630m)

Early 5:00am start from Thamel to drive to Kathmandu domestic air terminal as we were booked on one of the first flights out. But as with anything in Nepal other forces often influence ones plans.

There was a low slightly smoggy cloud over the valley hence likely that our flights would be delayed. The airport was a buzz of exited travellers all looking forward to leaving the smoky noisy hectic pace of Thamel, the tourist area. And yes an announcement that the flights would now depart around 8:30am. We all nestled down and sat people watching.

I had been very fortunate to have been able to organise that Nima would join us as our trekking Sherpa. I had met him back in 2007 one my second attempt at Shishapangma. He was one of the Sherpas supporting Jamie's (Project Himalaya) commercial expedition. Unfortunately I was stopped by bad weather and only got to camp I at 6,500m.

Just after we had organised a hot cup of coffee, there was a rushed announcement that our flight was boarding! Typical, but I was actually very relieved as it is always touch and go whether one gets out to Lukla airport on ones first attempt.

Soon we were all boarded and charging down the runway through the mist. Obviously it had been the Lukla side which had delayed us. They don't fly when there are clouds as "there are mountains" in them...

It was really clear and we had uninterrupted views of the Himalayan range. Soon we were changing course and diving down with mountains very near on either side of us. It is one of the most exiting and sometime nerve wracking landings in the world. With a loud bump we "landed" and were hurtled towards the stone wall at the end of the short runway. The reason for the wall is that the runway is actually carved into the side of a mountain. The loud noise of the air brakes thankfully slowed us and we veered right into the small taxi area. They perform remarkably fast turnaround times and we were ushered of with whistles blowing to collect our baggage. Relative peace and quiet AND lovely clean fresh mountain air, what a change from Kathmandu. Within minutes the next flight arrived and it was noisy pandemonium again.

Nima was able to organise a porter for us who lived in the same village and soon after a little admin our merry band took of down the streets of Lukla.

This consisted of Wendy & Ray (Mum & Dad) and Sonal Amin a friend of ours from London. Claire unfortunately was unable to join us. Her recent appointment of COO of Garrard Webster required her full time attention and even though it meant missing the trip, she was thoroughly enjoying the challenges.


I'll let a couple of photos describe the rest of the 6 hour trek to Bengkar...

In and around Kathmandu