Himalaya reloaded - SOLITAIRE trail of Everest and Gokyo

LONG TREK IN DECEMBER 2010 – 18 days – 
by myself, 19 kg backpack - aprox. 150 km

LUKLA – TOK TOK – NAMCHE BAZAR – KUNDE – KHUMJUNG – THAMSE - TENGBOCHE – DHOLE – DINGBOCHE –CHHUKHUNG – ISLAND PEAK B.C. - LEBOCHE – GHORAK SHEP – EVEREST B.C. – KHALA PATAR PEAK – PERICHE - UPPER PENGBOCHE – PHORSE -DHOLE - GOKYO – GOKYO RI PEAK – DHOLE – PHORTSE TANGA – KHUMJUNG - NAMCHE BAZAR - LUKLA

01. Kathmandu (1.300) – Lukla (2.840) - flight of 45 min., 

      from 1.300 to 2.840 m alt.

      Trek from Lukla to Tok Tok (2.710), 3 hours of descent 

      (mostly), from 2.840 to 2.710 m alt.

      Crossing through the following Sherpa villages: …..

02. Tok Tok – Namche Bazar (3.440)

       Trekking, 5 hours, some descents, mostly very steep 

        ascent, from 2.710 m to 3.440 m high.

        Crossing through the following Sherpa villages: …..

03. Namche Bazar – Syangboche (3.720) – Khunde 

      (3.8400) – Khumjung (3.780) – Namche Bazar

      Trekking, 7 hours, ascent and descent, acclimatization 

       day. My insomnia started last night and I suffered 

       about it for 14 nights. Terrible times.

04. Namche Bazar – Thamo (3.493) – Thame (3.800)

      Trekking, 7 hours, ascent and descent, acclimatization 

       day.

05. Namche Bazar – Tengboche (3.860) - cold over night

      Trekking, 7 hours, no break, one of the most difficult 

       days: long, dusty and steep trail.

06. Tengboche – Dingboche (4.410) - much too cold, 

      -10 degrees C inside.

07. Dingboche – Chhukhung (4.730) – to Island Peak 

      Base Camp-back to Dingboche.

08. Dingboche – Thukla (4.620) – Thokla Pass (4.830) – 

       Lobuche (4.910).

       Another difficult day, very steep and rocky from 

       Thukla to Thokla Pass - mirific place.

       The day I had the feeling I lost the right direction, 

       as I met nobody after the Pass.

09. Lobuche – Lobuche Pass (5.110) – over Kumbu 

      Glacier to Ghorak Shep (5.140) – to Everest Base 

      Camp (5.364) – Ghorak Shep – Lobuche.

      About 6 hours, very slowly, thin air, I was sick.
       Sicker, since today I started to bleed every time I 
       blow my nose, this is meaning every 10-15 minutes, 
       day and night.

10. Lobuche – Lobuche Pass – over Kumbu Glacier 

      to Ghorak Shep – Kala Patthar Peak (5.643 m alt.) – 
      Ghorak Shep – Lobuche

      - 7 hours, slowly. Ghorak Shep – Kala Patthar Peak

      took 2 hours ascent and 30'descent, almost wiped out 

      by the wild wind!

      In Lobuche there were -15 degrees C inside. 

      This cold steels a lot of energy ....

11. Lobuche – Periche (4.240) – Periche Pass (4.270) – 

      Orsho (4.190) - Upper Pengboche (3.930) - Phorse 

      (3.810) – again, one of the most difficult and long 

      days, 8 hours trekking.

12. Phorse – crossing Dudh Koshi River – Tenga (3.950) 

      – Dhole (4.110)

      Shorter day, only 4 hours trekking, but very-very steep.

13. Dhole – Gokyo (4.790) - much too cold, much too 

      sick, strong cough, I cannot breathe.

      Terrible long and difficult day, long ascent, partially 

      steep, the last 3 hours very cold, crippy and no people. 

      Almost terrifying, I reached Gokyo and collapsed in 

      tears for 10 minutes. I was too sick, fever, strong 
      cough, could not breathe.

14. Gokyo – Gokyo Ri Peak (5.550) - just incredible 

      to be on trail today!! Strong cough, pretty bad.

15. Gokyo – Dhole (4.110-) Phortse Tanga (3.680)

      - 4 icy water crossing, I fall twice.

16. Phortse Tanga – Khumjung – Namche Bazar – again a 

      terrible difficult and long day, starting with a wild 

      steep climb for 2 hours before sun rise, having 

      breakfast in Mong. Very few people met. 

      Hurrrraaaa, I could sleep again, it was the most beautiful sleep I remember!!

17. Namche Bazar – Lukla – terrible long and difficult day, 

       especially the last hours. 8 hours, I reached Lukla on 

       darkness. Do not plan your descent to Lukla for only 

       one day, people, it is crazy and senseless!!

18. Flying back to Kathmandu. Sick, but happy. 

      Happy, but tired. I lost about 5 kg. 

      I dream about sleeping, then eating. 

      And yes, the first 2 days in Kathmandu I ate nothing at 

      all, it was a strange experience after all ..... then I ate 

      only stupid stuff as beer and tortillas and some 

      biscuits and chocolate. 
      Nose bleeding stopped after 3 days after my returning 
      to low altitude.

for the story in pictures click here

Read here about the 1st day of the trek

P.S.

I don't know how other people are, but for me, doing this trek alone, getting quite sick on the trail, carrying my own backpack, going forward and never giving up, keeping my daily diary and costs overview, taking care of myself and my stuff, following the right path, taking decisions, knowing when to say "stop" or "start", packing my backpack every morning, fighting not only with the cold and thin air, but also with my sickness - it was a big, very big challenge I assumed before. I assumed it as I already had an idea about the trekking conditions in Himalaya. 

It is worthy to hire the services of a porter, through a local travel agency. If you are several persons, hire even a local guide, use the services of a good travel agency, the costs are really worth and you can enjoy your holiday 100%, you do not have the stress of choosing the right path, the right start hour, calculating the duration of a trekking day, finding the right accommodation and negotiating the room price. The only stress you have, is to walk, make pictures, filming, eating, drinking, resting and enjoying everything, because this is the reason you came to Himalaya after all, right?

I didn't hired a porter from three different points of view, which I cannot put in a particularly order:

- I didn't had the money;

- I would probably could not accept the idea that another human being  is carrying my own luggage on such of .... not easy trail, even if I pay him and even he wants to do this for money;

- I didn't feel in the mood to have company all the time and to hire somebody and treating him only just someone who has to carry my stuff, is not my style. You should socialize, talk and share almost everything with your companion. I wasn't in the mood to do this, as it were been an absolutely stranger for me.

In these conditions, the 18 days were a special experience for me, a very different experience as the one I had two years ago doing Annapurna Circuite and having a local guide. Annapurna is very different from all points of view, is much easier and relaxed. Everest Area offers a total different landscape, a different local language, other lodges and facilities. Both areas offer you great emotions and December/January are actually very good periods for trekking, as the sky is always cristal clear and you can admire all the details. If you come here during the summer, you can have such a cloudy sky, that you have no chance to see the Ama Dablam or Everest of Pumo Ri or what ever - I was told from people who were here in June, for instant.

Do not forget to appreciate everything the human being did on high altitude, do not forget to give priority on the trail to the carrying animals caravans, as they assure your meals and beverages, when you find a very simple lodge, do not forget to appreciate the fact it was built in that wild place, for you, the tourist, as for instant the big and heavy doors are carrying by human beings, on their back (see on my pictures) ..... the entire infrastructure on the trails of Himalaya supposed a difficult to imagine human effort. Do not expect to be served like in a hotel or 3* or 5*, you should be able to bring your empty cup or plate to the kitchen, when it looks like. Do not treat the owner or the employees of your lodge as being your personal servants, as I saw some tourist are doing, considering that they pay for their missing education and common sense. Do not waste the water, if any. Do not expect toilet paper or serviette on the table. Be happy if you get some fire in the dinning room, early in the morning. Take some extra amount with you and budget your daily costs including some tips for the places you are eating, drinking or spend your nights, to let 2-3 dollars more should be a thing everyone can do, really. As I did Annapurna, due to some false information, I had almost no extra amount to let behind me and I have to tell you that is was a bad feeling during the last two years, believe it or not. Now, I let always some money and I carried toys and bonbons for the children of my host and I have had a nice feeling all the time.
When off season, accommodation price can be negotiated, but never the meals and beverages prices.

Let me know about your decision and experience!  
2011 is the year of tourismus in Nepal!

 Total costs (without international flight): 1.100 EURO
Flight with AirArabia from Istanbul to Kathmandu via Sharjah and return: 400 EUR
Value of the entire experience: no value you could translate in numbers!!!


Read here about the 1st day of the trek

N.B.

Prima mea poveste himalayană se regăsește redată pe blog, pe episoade, la nivelul anului 2009, martie.

 

Himalaya reloaded 2011 - 4th day-Thami

READ HERE about the day before 

4^th day of trek,16^th of December 2010 / SOLO LONG TREK THROUGH THE HIMALAYAS

Namche Bazaar (3.440 m) – Thami (?3.750 m)

7 hours slow trek, no backpack today
acclimatisation walk

 As being sleepless was a relevant and less explicable fact during this adventure, I will probably start the daily story not talking about weather conditions, but about how many hours I slept or counted sheep last night. So, I had a remarkable victory, as I successed to have a nap for about three hours, including twice night walks to the toilett (you shouldn’t laugh about details until you don’t experience yourself their meaning in those circumstances).

The expected 76 monks started really to arrive about 7 a.m. and .... surpriseeee!!! They began to sound in their long and heavy telescopic trumpets (a sort of alphorn, called in Romanian “bucium”, but very different and made from metal. Check a very interesting web site about these tools here http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Tibet/TibetNepal.html)

Certainly that not only my tired morning brain vuit, but the entire valley and the surrounding mountains have been invaded with those non-earthy bass sounds! It is beyond your acoustic imagination! The feeling you get, especially when it comes so unexpected and the air is suppressed of something you cannot define. I remember an almost similar feeling as I was in Tanzania and I deeply slept in Arusha. At 5 a.m. I was awakened by a very strong call to prayer, which were transmitted through giant loudspeakers of a nearby mosque. The air is suddenly shaking..... the particles turns into something like crashing your thinking and feelings. There is something in these fascinating human events I cannot describe, unless you are already used to its. The very low tones are monopolizing your entire being and all pores you have. This is all I am able to describe and suddenly I have to see how poor my vocabulary is, in any language I try (I know only three).

At 8 a.m. I was in the dinning room. I asked the owner if I can have my breakfast in the big dinning room, where the monks were and he surprisingly said yes. So I took my heart with me and I entered the big room ..... there were about 30 monks, all lined up, perched on the benches behind the tables, the space was U-shaped and behind them were the large windows. The morning sun flood the room. So it was an impressive game of lights, shadows, steaming cups of tea, faces hidden by formed shadows, gestures, hands movements and, above all ..... that collective mumbling that can soften your knees ...... The Tibetan monks don’t sing, they chant their mantas and prayers. You just have to listen to them, how it sounds. It is like mumbling, but not really mumbling.

Do you have any idea if I stayed there for my breakfast? Alone among so many monks? Or if I left the room and went to the small dinning room?

I knew it is or actually only seems to be a weird experience. I terribly wanted to make detailed pictures but I hadn’t the nerve for that. I just felt my place is not there. Not that I didn’t belong there, only that it wasn’t my place. In an usual situation I leave the issue, but then I couldn’t left, the attraction was to strong. So, I found a place at one end of the U-shaped bank's row and I took a seat, ordering my breakfast. I had a short breakfast, I stayed there no longer than 40 minutes, but no other tourist had entered the space, I was the only one. I tried to register the mumble, that vocal collective sound of the monks, as they already prayed, due to their ceremony ritual. They had a cup of tea in front of them and were mumbling in that yoga position. Some discussed to each other. Very young faces and also some older monks together. The very young monks looked to me or to my yellow hair. Some of them wore dawn jackets. It is strange to see the monks with dawn jackets, but such of things penetrated high Himalaya in the most isolated corners of the human settlements and it is strange in the same way to see porters having and using their mobile phones.

I couldn’t tell it was a holy atmosphere, it was only very unusual. As I started to feel as an intrus there, I started to feel also uncomfortable. Not rejected, just not suitable. As I have no religious believes, of course that my perceptions are different and there was a very strong religious ceremony. I was curious to see and to feel, but I didn’t feel involved in any way, at any level. It was mystical and I was conscious about the place I was: somewhere in the Himalayas, near Tibet, in the midst of a population where Dalai Lama is the supreme authority. On that early morning I stopped to be on the footsteps of Edmund Hillary, but in front of the gates of a culture and religion I didn’t know. I had sometimes have read about it, but never approached it in such a close manner.  I was there! It is like you try to make the difference between “to live” or “to survive”. I didn’t feel myself in a way, it was like I was an invisible entity in a performance hall where it was myself. I was looking to myself, there, in the room and to the things myself I was looking at. Myself I was a hidden eyewitness. (The feeling of being just the invisible eyewitness of yourself and your life segment came again along of this adventure, when I was alone in the highlands, including today.).

After about 15 minutes the people from the lodge staff began to come into the room carrying some heavy things. Each of them carried 3 pieces of some things covered in colored textile. Yellow background, orange, red, blue, green lines. Every monk had got one piece and began to unpack it from the textile cover. Softly, but decided gestures. They took the long wooden board on the top, put it in front of them on the table and began to chant the mantras written  or drawn on those long pieces of paper. I suppose it was a special paper. I suppose those books are very old and kept under special conditions.They look special. Very special.

After a while, you feel lost. If you let to be lost. Pragmatic as I am, I just thought I should leave the ceremony. Nobody invited me there and I didn’t feel completely welcomed, so I left the room. From that moment, I left everything in my mind which could have any connection to that morning.

At 9,30 a.m. I started my trek to Thami, it was the second acclimatization day over 3.500 m and I was alone this time, entire day. I met not any single tourist on my trail. The trail starts from the Namche Gompa. Yesterday was to the right, today was to the left, it leads west past a large array of prayer flags, mani stones and a chorten. 

 

Due to the information in Lonely Planet Guide, the carved mani stones all the way to Thami are some of the most complex and picturesque in Kumbu area. After crossing the open dusty and dry plateau the route passes through shadow forests and I stopped once on the very narrow path to take a picture of the funny ice shapes formed over last night. You reach than the settlement of Phurte and at the end of a long mani stones wall – you should take the lower left side – you see a forest nursery that was established by Hillary’s Himalayan Trust. 

High on the hill there is Lawudo Gompa, where a few westerners study and meditate under the tutelage of an English-speaking lama. A isolated place. A girl was swinging in a simple swing, a thick rope hanging from a tree branch and a piece of wood as seat and nothing seemed to bother her and her world around. Such a silence. On trails like this you usually are surprised by existential questions and it is partially your choice if you enter a sort of existential crisis or just accept that ..... we actually live in such of different and diverse realities, that the effort to debate and argue is completely useless and stupid!

On the right side it can be seen the Thamo village and down there, the river 

I try to imagine this area being flooded, under waters .....

After crossing a ridge marked by a chorten and trekking into another side valley, I entered the large village of Thamo, the headquarters of the Khumbu electricity project. The original power-house was built below Thamo, but the site was destroyed in the 1985 flood and the generating plant was moved far upstream to the village of Thami. Looking to the Bhote Kosi River along the valley it is difficult to imagine it can become such dangerous, because now it was just a normal river far away down in the large valley.

Entering Thamo, on the right side I saw some small stone builings serving as local school. One of its were a donation from Austria. As holiday time, everything was close and empty.

Entering Thamo, 11:30 (2 hours from Namche, very slow). When you enter, follow the left side of the mani wall. When you come back, also the left side of the walk direction. If you do not respect this, it's suppose to have bad luck. Local people respect this very strictly, but not all porters and guides which accompany tourists.

The locals were working to a construction, they were busy to break a rock with empty hands. One had a sledgehammer and the other held a pipe in a fixed point of a boulder. As my return, after about 4 hours, they were in the same place, doing the same hard work in the sun.

 I followed the left side along the mani wall, closing to the village on the hill in front of me. On the top of the village was a proeminent gompa, but the way to that point was still long, through the village. Very sunny, very few people, no tourists. A police man was hanging out on a stone fence and he spoke to me. I stopped, I thought he wants to see my permit, but he just wanted to change some words with somebody. The same question came also from him, if I am travelling alone. I said, others are following me later, but I stayed 5 minutes for a short chat with him. It was 11:30.

The way to Thami was long, but offered exceptional landscape!! Very nice route indeed. I climbed past Khari monastery at the top of Thamo and treked above the fields of Thomde to a few teashops at Somde (3.580 m). From the fields on my left side some men called and whistled to me, it is difficult to give an interpretation to such of behaviour, either positive nor negative one. The scenery became quite dramatic after a while and there is a good view towards Tesi Lapcha and the peak of Pharchamo (6.187 m) above it. On the trails of Himalaya, on these long and narrow path, there are from time to time places which give you a very special feeling of reaching the legendary Shangri La Land (see the movie “Lost Horizon”). Imagine a long, narrow, dusty and dry path, walking alone, no wind, no soul, the sound of the air and sun. The scene is more intense if you have a strong sound of a river, as in this case. 

Then, a very steep and relative long series of stone stairs. You cannot distinguish anything at the end of the stairs or on the top of it. You have absolutely no idea if the path is going further or you will reach the top and you will see just an abyss, a void, a nothing more. It can be a lake, a very steep descent, it can be ice or snow, sand or water. You see only the line of the last stair and the blue of the sky. Like you will step directly on the sky, you see? In this case, the additional element it was a range of snow mountains. 

But I remember about Annapurna trek: I was climbing on an endless series of stone staires for two hours through a shadow dry  forest. Narrow area for two hours, path and stairs alternating. I was tired. Then it come a new series of stairs, but much more wider format. The top of the stairs was between two large rocks, a very special rock on the right side, senzational colors and lines, white and rusty brown. Senzational. 

Coming from the shadow, at the top of those stairs the sun was very strong. I could see the last line of the stairs, but nothing further. I was thrilled of suspans and surprise as I reached the last stair and in front of me stretched an incredible generous large valley filled with an absolutely dazzling-green! I suddenly felt the need for taking a sit on the stairs for few minutes. The change of the scenery was too incredible.

 That moment remembered me about the legend of Shangri La and every time I think about it I feel an internal weight due to an emotion which I don’t know to describe and I don’t know to explain where it is coming from.

Today I felt all these again. I was curious what it will come behind the line of the last stair, but I took a break for trying different shooting of pictures at the feet of the series of stairs. It was like an extended prelude, even it sound silly. Someone who is deeply passionate about sceneries, mystical places, dramatic landscapes, mysteries and new sensations will get the idea, no doubts.

From Somde the trail traverses high along the side of the valley, then makes a sharp descent to a bridge high above the Bhote Kosi River.

Here it was a segment of the trail when I felt ..... how could I say? That mixture of fear due to a stormy water sound that somewhat paralyzes your senses, due to the fact you realize that you are alone somewhere in a fairly isolated wilderness. And one more thing, I don’t know if I manage to describe it: it is not fear, it is a strange feeling that occurs when the scene in front of your eyes is suddenly beyond your previous imagination or expectations. I mean, you go on a path or way and after a bend you land suddenly in a totally different landscape. It is too sudden, but different from what I described above in this chapter. 

 This picture I took from the other side of the river. You can see the small path coming from the right down to the bridge along those painted rocks.

  At 1 p.m. I saw the village in front of me, but I decided to return. It was a very sudden decision, I cannot explain the reason. Maybe I am still not so curageous for such of adventures in the wilderness, I cannot say.

At the point I returned I had on my left another river and you could cross it if going down to a small bridge. On the other side I could see a long narrow path and I suppose it is a path used only by local people and leading to Tibet. In Thami there is a police station that doesn’t allow trekkers to travel further – I wonder why not?! - north on the trade route between Nepal and Tibet. That trail leads to Nangpa La, the 5.740 m pass crossed by trains of yaks carrying goods between the two countries. The pass is still a major crossing point for Tibetan refugees, and is also used by both Sherpas and Tibetans for the trade of yaks, wool and Chinese goods.

I returned also on the same trail, enjoying the day. It was very warm and very sunny, as usual on highlands. I didn’t stop for lunch, I was late because stopping for pictures to often, I had an extraordinary sunset, the cold embrace seized me after the sun slowly disappeared, so I increased my speed. Cold, darkness and silence give the strong feeling that the lonely desert around you becomes deeper and deeper.  

 At 4 p.m. I reached Namche again, in the lodge was crowded, the 76 monks were everywhere and a big trekkers group checked in with their porters and guide, so I choose to have dinner somewhere else.
But before dinner, I could visit the special religious room of the lodge and I also inspected more detailed the settlement of Namche, going all around. (...)

Some pragmatic info of the day:
 Breakfast: 520 NRP, dinner: 510 NRP, 
 accommodation: 100 NRP                                READ HERE about the next day

read here the daily schedule of the entire trekking

and click here for the story in pictures

N.B.

My first adventure in Himalaya can be read on March 2009

CLICK ON  follow  AND YOU'LL KNOW WHEN THE NEXT POST 
IS READY TO BE READ :-)

Himalaya reloaded 2011 - 3rd day-Sherpa Villages

READ HERE about the previous day

3^rd day of trek, December the 15^th, 2010,

Namche Bazaar (3.440 m) – Sherpa Villages of Khumbu: Khumjung and Khunde (3.870 m)

5 hours slow walking, 430 m ascent, acclimatisation walk

Wow! What a wonderful morning after a sleepless night!! Pretty cold in the room by night. I put the blanket over my sleeping bag and it was very warm inside, but don’t dare to get out your arms or nose! It was the first night when I couldn’t sleep at all, at least 10 minutes. What are you doing when you have to confrunt this situation? Nothing. Yes, I know, it sounds stupid, but every single minute you just hope that in the next minutes you will fall asleep. You are tired for doing anything else. It is too cold and the light you have is not enough for reading. You don’t want to use your batteries at the beginning of a long trek, this would be much more stupid. So, you just lie in your warm, but limited sleeping bag and struggle with the strong wish of sleeping. You start to count elephants, then sheeps, as they are easier :-)), then stars. And if the number of the elephants or sheeps is a finite one, the number of the stars is infinite ...... So, in the morning, you are really very tired. To my total unfortune, I also had to go to the toilett three times. But still lucky, the toilet is inside house, even the same level as your room :-) And I had big breathe problems, coming from my cold. I had a stuffy nose and nothing to help me, because I had been so smart in the last moment and left the tiny Chinese wonder box home, please, please don't ask me why!!!!

Very quiet in the night, I have the feeling we are actually the only 3 guests in this huge building (OK, don’t make the comparison with the Pentagon size, please! Or with a Marriott Hotel! Huge for this area, for this altitude, for this general conditions, after all you are almost close to an end of this World, just some days of walking apart, right?)

I had a small standard breakfast: 
2 fried eggs (excellent taste!), 
6 slices of fried potatoes, 
2 toasts and 
a cup of coffee. 
The coffee in Nepal is terrible tasteless, they don’t want or they don’t know how to prepare it and I have no doubts they do it so weak just for saving the coffee. The standard breakfast includes a tiny fragment of butter and jam/honey, but they forget to bring it and I just wasn’t in the mood to ask for it. I knew the portions are so incredible small, that you don’t feel the lack of it, only the feeling you are cheated in some way.

In the nice big dinning room there was a lot of activity. About ten people were discussing and arranging and rearranging the pillows or other kind of details. The owner’s family is expected tonight a group of 76 monks. They are coming down from Khumjung for a special private religious ceremony, which will take one week long! They will be welcomed, have accommodation, meals and beverages for free. Seventy-six monks! Their role is to read about 80 religious books for the welfare of the family and their business, to bless the entire area. It is a big, long and for sure complicated ceremony, hold once per year. Now, that it is off season and very few tourists, the owners have the time and possibilities to do this. They have also a special religious room, which we had the honor to visit later in that evening. They keep there all the tools, all those mysterious books, some monks – probably the most important of them – are spending their time inside that room, talking, drinking tea, eating, debating.

This is a crop from a picture I could take about 10 days later in an isolated village. I didn't had the nerve to ask for permission of filming or doing pictures. The long orange thing on the table is the form of the book. To be very honest, I had 3 different occasions to take real pictures of all these things, but in a strange way I just felt there are to holy issues and I am sure the locals are so tired about simple tourist asking stupid questions and photographing everything, doesn't matter what. I call this a sort of old fashion common sense, but next time I will leave it back home (!)

Anyway, it will be something important, for sure something very interesting to see or to feel. I don’t think we will be allowed to stay with the monks when they pray. Those books are not looking like a book at all. Between two wooden boards there are 780 pages. Sizes I appreciate 50-60 cm x 10-15. So, 76 monks will come here and for one week long they will read and sing and mumble as special prayers about 62.400 pages.

So, this morning, the entire staff here was starting to be excited about the big event, but we were allowed to stay for 2 nights longer. It was funny in a way to see how worried the 10 persons in the morning were, in the big dinning room, about arranging the improvised banks and to move their position for some centimeters and then to move it again and again and again, looking for total perfection in such an imperfect world....

I was surprised to see bottles of wine for tourists. White wine, red wine, cheaper or more expensive. To carry wine up to here .... impressive! Costs between 1.000 and 1.400 NRP (13-16 USD)

As the British couple agreed I accompany them on the today’s trek, we left the lodge at 10:10, going for the higher circuit of the Sherpa Villages of Khumjung and Khunde. This area was very loved by Edmund Hillary and he invested here a lot of work, so the area has even an airstrip in Shyangboche at 3.790 m, a big school in Khumjung, a hospital. Impressive work! They have power all the time, much better than in the big cities of Nepal, Kathmandu or Pokhara!!

The walk we did today is a circuit from Namche Bazaar that climbs over 400 m to Khunde and Khumjung, then returns to Namche.

      Airstrip in Shyangboche

To leave the teardrop formed Namche to Shyangboche we followed the stairs to the Gompa uphill the village, followed the narrow road and then went to the right. It is partially a chaotic amount of path which steeply leads you after about one hour and half of uphill to the Shyangboche airstrip (3.790 m). I say “chaotic” because there are many paths on a large plateau, on very, very dusty and dry ground (I recommend to protect your boots by wearing leggings, I was happy having mine all the time), which meet to a single path when you reach Shyangboche. The airstrip there was built to serve the Hotel Everest View and is meant only for cargo, no persons transport by helicopter. It is – like Lukla airport, actually – just a tongue of land, arranged in the middle of a partially forested small area. The difference is not the space, but the fact that the airstrip in Lukla was paved. This one here seems to be even longer and not so dangerous. Here are coming only helicopters, so asphalt is not needed. But in a way it is impressive to see the place (picture above).

A segment of large rock stones road, climbing up to Khumjung, if you follow it to the right. Heavily loaded yaks, basis of commercial activity in this area. The yaks feel better over 4.000 m, but some local people are keeping them lower, for using them for such of activities. The human being generally make the rules .... up to a certain moment, when the mother-nature says "stop, it's enough now!".

There are also two lodges and even an (closed) office of Yeti Airlines. The trail crosses the west end of the runway towards a telephone relay tower and the intersection of three trails. The schoolchildren will follow the direct route to Khumjung, climbing past a chorten atop the ridge at 3.870 m (myself I will pass by there only at the end of my adventure, so in about two weeks, when returning from Gokyo&Everest area).

The trail to Khunde branches west off the trail crossing the airstrip a short distance after it starts uphill. Once you branch off, climb to a small chorten on the ridge, then descend to a kani and a large chorten at the south end of Khunde (in the picture above, see also Khumbila Mount, 5.761 m).  
Here I saw for the first time the spectacular peak of Ama Dablam, which accompanied me by his fully majesty for the next days. If you ask me, Ama Dablam is one of the most spectacular mountains you can see in your life path (only 6.812 m - see the bump on the right side of the picture?). 

I will write more about it in another day - with more pictures -, otherwise the story for today never ends and I'd like to keep my readers awake :-).

Khunde appears in a large valley fulfilled with a lot of green roofs. Of course that the first monument at the entrance is the big white stupa and here we met an old Sherpa who told us about Sir Edmund Hillary (died in January 2008 in New Zealand), who is still very respected and loved here, somewhere on the high hill might be a memorial for him and his wife. Maybe I am too sensitive or maybe others are not at all, but on this trek I often felt I live a legend .... The old Sherpa also told us, as we asked him, that he reached Everest Top several times in his life. 

I was at the beginning of my adventure, but when you are there, already almost 4.000 m, the perspectives of sizes are changed. A lot. Yes, you feel that the particular end of the world, that far and that high point isn’t so far and so high anymore. It is very simple actually: you take your things and you go there. Slowly. But every day some steps further and higher. The time does not exist, did I told you this before, right? Not the time is here the leader, although still stay as important element, because you cannot live outside the perception of your time or at least you think you cannot live outside there. Just try it and you’ll be surprised!

There is a hospital  (see this picture) in Khunde, which serves the people from Khumbu district. It was founded by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1966 and operated by The Himalayan Trust until 1976, then supported by the Sir Hillary Foundation. Maybe I already mentioned earlier, if not, I do it now: after climbing Everest and reaching the top in May 1953, Edmund Hillary led many further expeditions to Nepal and these had a focus on improving the health and social welfare of the people of Nepal, including improvement of water supplies, building of schools, bridges and an airstrip at Lukla, and the provision of medical care and a program of vaccination against smallpox.

(picture above: connection "canal-street" to Khumjung, larger road)

In 1966, Hillary, with overseas volunteers and local people, built the hospital at Kunde. The hospital was initially staffed by overseas volunteers, provided through the Volunteer Service Abroad organization and later by The Himalayan Trust and the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, but since 2002 it has been wholly staffed and run by local people.

We went further on and crossed Khunde Village through the upper side reaching Khumjung. The both villages are twin and very closed connected through that sort of “canal-streets”, this is meaning .... just imagine you are on the left side of a very big amphitheatre and walk through the banks’ rows to the opposite side. So, you don’t have a large road you walk on, just a path, because the banks are higher than your foot and limit your steps. The “canal-streets” are limited by low-level walls arranged from all kind of stones, which mostly seem not to be fixed, so it doesn’t look like a masonry. You see this almost in all villages of high Himalaya. I cannot say if it is only by chance, without any purpose, if it is something which should be appreciated only from the point of view of aesthetic and desigh, or if there is anything with a certain purpose and preserved in the local architecture.

We stopped in Khumjung for lunch, at Valley View Lodge. Very nice family. Only the man seemed to know English, good English. He actually looked europenized: modern glasses, blue jeans, collared shirt, nice hair cut. You hardly could make the connection between that place and his person. Is he a local or a tourist? Then, having a longer talk with Andi and Claire, I understood he was high mountain local guide and went every year to Swiss, to a friend. I didn’t pay attention to their talk, so I am not sure if he is going to Swiss for working, making some money, but I supposed that was the main reason, in a sort of professional exchange, as his Swiss friend also came here to Himalaya on a regular basis. Summer time in Himalaya is meaning rain and no tourists, so going to Swiss is the perfect combination. Asking if he travel with his family, he said no, always alone, his wife and children stay at home. So, the wife is a specific Sherpa woman, just now having a baby to take care of and a teenager girl. She learns Nepali and English in the school built by Sir Hillary. Yes, the legend of Edmund Hillary again ....

It was a very long and nice lunch outside in the sun..... I had a very consistent tomato noodle/egg soup and a ginger tea. I also asked for a tiny piece of fresh ginger for my stuffy nose and it helped for the next hours, I could breathe again. We were honored to taste a Sherpa milk tea, having a strong taste and smell of fresh cow milk. The small child got from me a small toy I had by chance on the backpack and we left the lodge at 2:45 (yes, I noted sometimes the times in order to offer information about timing and distances on the trail). At the moment we left, the mother breastfeeded her baby, outside, in the sun, in front of her home. I took a picture of entire family and .... I left without looking back.

At a time of discussion I asked the Sherpa man: “How do you feel every time when you return from Swiss back here?” This was for sure a cruel question. He sighed. He had no reply, just the willing to have a reply. I didn’t continue with my next question about if he would change his home for living in Swiss. Finally he said only, like ending a long story which he never actually told me: “ ..... But this is our country .... and .....” Trying to alleviate the effects of my question I said: “Of course that Swiss is a special country in Europa and a lot of European are dreaming to live there, you probably know that.” Yes, he knew, he was told by others too.

Khumjung is much bigger than Kundu, has a Gompa – here should be the debated Yeti scalp -, an impressive school, being situated at the feet of Mount Khumbila, a big mountain, a little bit “lonely” in that landscape, which caught my full attention actually.

Khumbila or Khumbu Yul Lha, roughly roughly translated as "God of Khumbu" is one of the high Himalayan peaks in the Khumbu region of Eastern Nepal within the boundaries of Sagarmatha National Park. Considered too sacred to be climbed by most local Sherpa people, the mountain is considered home to the patron God of the local area. Rising some 5.761 m above sea level, the mountain overlooks the famous southern approaches to its larger neighbours including Ama Dablam and Chomolungma.

Khumbila has never been climbed; one attempt prior to the 1980s ended when climbers were killed in an avalanche, and there have been no subsequent attempts.

  We reached the down side of Khumjung and had in front of us a stupa. It seemed to be a main road of the village. Left side you could go to Gokyo or Everest, right side you could go to the school and further to Namche Bazaar. Crossing the road, a very modest path climbs the hill in front of us and we followed it. It was for sure not the right trail to the Everest View Hotel, but after about 20 minutes we found the unusual big and luxuriant hotel at 3.888 m (I’ve read about it as being the highest placed hotel in the world). You cannot see the hotel until you are almost there, it is hidden on a ridge, overlooking Mount Everest, Lhotse (very far and still very small actually), Ama Dablam, Thamserku and Tawoche. 
http://www.hoteleverestview.com

In March of 1999, the Guinness Book of Records bestowed upon Hotel Everest View the title of Highest Placed Hotel in the World. This hotel is situated 13,000 ft (3,964 m) above sea level in Sagarmatha National Park in the Southern Khumbu region of Nepal. With its luxurious accommodations, guests stay overlooking the Himalayan peaks and Mt. Everest.

A Japanese construction company, Trans Himalayan Tours Ltd, built the Hotel Everest View in 1968. In October of 1973, the hotel opened its doors for the first time. The hotel was built with the intentions of attracting wealthy Japanese tourists seeking luxurious getaways that offered a breathtaking view of Mt. Everest. In order to accommodate tourists, the Shyangboche airstrip was built to receive private plans and helicopters.

Unfortunately, the Japanese tourists encountered some difficulties adjusting from a lower altitude to 10,000 ft above sea level. Tourists flying into the Shyangboche airstrip from Japan experienced horrible motion sickness, including nausea and vomiting. Even though Hotel Everest View offered a beautiful view of the surrounding peaks and high-quality accommodation, guests were unable to enjoy themselves.

Hotel management tried desperately to resolve the issue by supplying guests with oxygen tanks, but the problem still remained. It was after several deaths were reported that the government finally took action and forced the Shyangboche airstrip to shut down, leaving Japanese tourists to fly into Lukla and walk three-days up the mountainside.

Elimination of chartered flights into Shyangboche airstrip caused a devastating affect on tourism for Hotel Everest View. Very few tourists would endure the three-day hike up the mountainside to enjoy the amenities of the hotel. Business declined rapidly and left the facility bare. Since than, the Shyangboche airstrip has reopened to transport gear and supplies to Mount Everest. Tourists that are accustomed to the altitude fly into Shyangboche airstrip to visit the Hotel Everest View.

Tourists still climb up the mountain side from Namche Bazaar, in the Himalayas, to stay at Hotel Everest View. Although the menu has changed from ravishing meals to light food and hot and cold beverages, this Japanese run establishment's accommodations are still breathtaking. For a reasonable rate ($170 - $270 per night), guests can enjoy a luxurious room overlooking the surrounding peaks.

Hotel Everest View is staffed with Sherpa people, who are natives to the Mt. Everest region. 'Om mani padme hum', a Tibetan Buddhist mantra, is inscribed on the hotel interior walls. These ancient stone carvings serve as a constant reminder of the Sherpas' deep religious beliefs. A Sherpa tour guide is on hand for guests. (I'm sure you see the thermometer on the wall and want to ask me about the number :-) It was 5 degrees C at 3,30 p.m., shortly before sunset. I supposed it provides the guests motivation for sleeping inside :-)) But it must be a true wonder during the summer and I will never know, as I will probably never have such of amounts for spending there).

Plane or helicopter charters are available for guests that desire a more direct flight to the hotel. Guests may also take advantage of a 50 minute flight over Shyangboche from Kathmandu and walk 45-minutes up the mountain trail to Hotel Everest View.

Reservations and transportation can be arranged through:

Hotel Everest View, P.O. Box 162, Durbar Mar, Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel: 977-01-224854

Shyangboche: 977-038-40118

Fax: 977-01-227289

Source: www.frugalfun.com

We visited only the front side of the large hotel and the restaurant. It was empty, no guest. Two people from the hotel staff appeared, one of them with the menu in his hands. But we were such in a rush, it was 3:30 p.m. and the sun was almost gone and we still had at least one hour to reach Namche on day light.

Empty space, cold, stone and wood, colorful manufactured carpets, peace and quiet, a lot of big pictures everywhere on the walls showing different spectacular Himalayan peaks and flowers. A place like that, in that particular location, gives a weird feeling. I cannot explain why, but I felt much better leaving the place. It was just to much to see such a great building at almost 4.000 m in the middle of that cold and almost dark isolation, between such of high mountains.

The path meanders ahead as you can see, along the hill on the left

There was the place I first saw the man carrying the door 

The way to Syangboche again and then further to Namche was a downhill march. I run to keep the rhytmus with Claire and Andi, but I enjoyed a bombastic sunset and I made a lot of pictures. The single human being we met was a poor man carrying at that late hour, a wooden door!!! A man of maybe 150 cm tall carried a wooden door of probably 230 m high! On a narrow climbing path. What a life, really!!! It was for sure a new door for the hotel uphill.

Namche Bazaar appeared after 20 minutes down in the valley and we still had to walk for at least 20 minutes. No rush actually, but the ground is so steep, that you really don’t wish to walk on the darkness, no joke. At 4:05 sharp the sun was gone, a sensational sunset. At 5 p.m. we were in our lodge, ready for having dinner. The lodge was like an anthill, the 76 monks were everywhere in their long  blood-colored robes.

Excellent day, peaceful, warm, sunny, soft, 6 hours of relaxes walk (except the last hour), long and nice lunch, emotions which cannot be described.

My advice for such of trekking trips in Himalaya: 

Buy the services of a local travel agency. 

If your backpack is over 12 kg, hire a porter. 

Think about hiring a local guide.  

READ HERE about the next day  

read here the daily schedule of the entire trekking

and click here for the story in pictures

N.B.

My first adventure in Himalaya can be read by December 2008

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