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 2011-15th day-Phortse Tanga

READ HERE about yesterday 

15^th day of trek, 27th of December 2010

Gokyo (4.790 m alt) – Phortse Thanga (3.675 m alt.)

7 hours

Leaving Gokyo was sad

Gokyo Area meant ecstasy and exhaustion, and probably the peak of my sickness, because the apparently simple cold I cough aggravated and become much more than a cold. I had to leave Gokyo earlier than I thought because of my sickness, so, up there, at almost 6.000 m, I left behind two corners I did not explored. Which it means I will return. Which it means I have to forget about the sadness I felt leaving Gokyo Area ….

 Yesterday evening I went earlier to bed and I slept from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., when unfortunately I had to go out. From that point it was impossible anymore to fall asleep because of the stuffy nose and I had to clean my fluid bloody nose every ten minutes, it was terrible bad. Additional I had an awful headache which obsessed me the entire day. After 7 a.m. I started to pack, it is so much more easier to pack your backpack when you have only 5-6 things to put inside. Before 8 o’clock in the morning I entered the big dinning room. The big Australian group was already on the way to Gokyo Peak, I could see very clearly the long line of red jackets going up on the mountain on the opposite side of the lake. A wonderful, sublime day again, cristal clear sky. It was still warm inside from the fire. When they have big tourists groups, the lodges owners take care to make fire early in the morning. If there are only few  tourists, one ore three persons without any local guide, they do not bother for it. It is not about costs involved, because the yak shit doesn’t cost them money, but it’s easier not to bother about doing fire for one or two persons. This matter can be managed before you decide to overnight in that lodge, but you have to know about this aspect and to openly discuss with the owner from the first moment. Otherwise you will be surprised to come in the dinning room in the morning and to see that they don’t even intend to make fire or you also can be surprised in the evening, when no fire will be start.  Anyway the price for the room and food is the same, doesn’t matter if you get fire or not. This doesn’t influence any costs’ level.

 I left Gokyo at 8:25 in the morning, following the same path as two days ago when I came to Gokyo. But this time I enjoyed walking alone. I was sad because I had to leave the area and because I knew that in 2-3 days I will leave the mountains for a long time, returning back to Europe. I hate byes. I walked very, very slowly just to delay the separation and I looked very often behind, stopping, turning around, taking pictures, sitting for few minutes. On the first lake it was a ducks family. I delayed there probably 15-20 minutes. From that point, steepy going down, the landscape was going to change totally. 

follow the link and read about some emotions on the way 

I reached Dhole only after 4 and half hours. I recovered the stuff I left there, I had a small lunch, I had a chat with the Sherpa owner who was alone with the small white sweet dog. Her man was away in Khumjung, so she was alone and the small dog was her joy.

Now, with my heavier backpack, I went further. It was 2 p.m. and I knew that it wasn’t possible to reach Khumjung. I also knew that I had that forest segment with ice falls on the way and I fell twice. Once I almost lost my camera, but I could recovered it. It was a little bit strange that I met very few people and only two tourists groups going up.

I finished my trek today at 3:30, after 7 hours. I discovered only one hidden lodge somewhere steep down close to the river, so I had to leave the high narrow path in the forest and to go down. I didn’t like the place, but apparently I had no choice. It was a deep buried valley along the river, very cold, of course. Unexpected colder than expected. The host was a boy about 17 y.o. who wanted 100 rupies for the night. I asked if any other tourists inside. It was a lady from Holland with his guide. He didn’t want to start fire before 5 p.m. so I said I have to go outside and walk for a while instead to freeze inside. And I explored the area for about one hour. I was bored and sad. I stopped here because I knew the next segment of the trail will be one of the longest climb to the next settlement and as I was alone, I didn’t want to risk about trekking alone in the dark. I needed at least 2 hours longer of sun light and it was to late for that.

Above Dhole at 1 p.m.

The guy did the fire after 5 p.m. and after ten minutes I went inside the lodge, I knocked on the door of the Dutch lady, even I didn't see her before. I just wanted to let her know that it might be much nicer in the dinning room instead to lay alone in her frozen room. She appeared after 10 minutes, was very surprised that somebody thought about her and we spent indeed a nice evening. She actually belonged to a bigger group, but she was one day later in Kathmandu, so now she tries to catch her group.

I went to sleep about 8 p.m. I still didn’t feel better, terrible strong headache and very tired. As I already told several times, this cold consumes a large amount of energy for human body. Tomorrow will be another long and not easy day.

READ about tomorrow here

Himalaya reloaded 2011-14th day-Gokyo Ri

READ HERE about yesterday 

14^th day of trek, 26th of December 2010

Gokyo (4.790 m alt) – Gokyo Ri (5.550 m alt.)

A sort of rest day

So, yesterday evening was probably not a very happy one, but all these belongs to any adventure in the wildness. Somebody asked me once, if I am not afraid of going alone. The first thought I had and the reply I gave: “If you start being afraid of something it could occur on your way, you better stay at home. You have to be mentally prepared for everything, to give and to get everything is possible. All or nothing! You are in places where you cannot negotiate, so simply is that.”

As I entered the dinning room last evening there were five persons inside, sitting around the big warm ancient stove. I entered the room and I went straight to a corner and, looking on the large window over the big dark lake, with my back to all others, I cried and I cried and I cried and cried so intensively, until I was too tired for crying. Nobody said anything. I felt lonely. I felt safe. But lonely. I suppose all of them were shocked or something, otherwise I cannot accept the idea they were simply indifferent. After I stopped, I asked somebody to take a picture of me in that bad position, all face only tears :-). So, this was already a sign that I actually felt pretty well or taking pictures doesn’t matter under which circumstances is just a reflex of mine when I am traveling (?). Even if I ‘d feel I die in the next 5 minutes I will think about being captured in a last picture.The idea is to remember also about the tough moments, because life is a big tough moment actually.

I calmed down after short time and I joined the others near the hot stove. After a while I began to get off my dawn clothes.  I ate a tasty Sherpa stew, I ordered a small pot of ginger tea and the dinner. I had a bad idea ordering lasagna, I couldn’t eat it, I didn't like it, so I paid 500 rupies for nothing. I was very sorry for their effort to prepare that lasagna, but I really couldn't eat it. I wonder they offer such sorts of meals which they even cannot prepare. I ordered it from curiosity and I ended the day going to bed with an empty stomach. My choice, my mistake, that was the price for it.

Namaste Lodge is the first lodge on the left after you enter the small settlement on the right side of the 3^rd Lake. It’s a quite large building on two levels, horrible dirty toilett inside, without any electricity and, as almost all over the places, the dinning room is the best place because you get some heat from the stove there, but only in the evening for 4-5 hours. I’ve got a small, dark and frozen room, being the only guest on that part of the entire building. I could probably choose a different room, but it wasn’t so important to me, all of them are similar cold actually and you stay in the room only for the night sleep.

This is Gokyo Ri - 5.550 m. The way up is not easy at all.

I could sleep pretty well last night and although I had to go three times outside to pi, it wasn’t so terrible cold as I expected, I mean ... maybe -15 / -20°C.  I left the bed only after 9,30 a.m., going in the dinning room. The lodge was empty, all tourists were already on the trail. Very sunny at ten in the morning and the large Dudh Pokhari Lake streched out with a fantastic combination of colours, turquoise-blue and white from the icy cover. The heavy ice mass moves permanently and the sounds are so unreal ..... on the dark giving you an unearthly feeling.

Rattle and freating ice, squeaky and creaky ice, wavy echoes, clouds covering and ”discovering” the strong sun, offering the lake a permanent game of shadows and shades. I have the feeling of being in another universe, totally weird in the good sense of the word. I watch to myself and to my fascination. I just observe myself as I would be a different person, not myself. Then I see how I decide to go out, anwering to that call to the highlands. I can’t remain, I can’t stay, I can’t sit near the sun heated large window, enjoying the rest of the day, a fantastic panorama view and a good book. I can’t imagine myself sitting inside all day, although I am sick. I gotta move, go out, take pictures, touch what can be touched. I simply have to touch the air there, up on that brown mountain. I could go to the upper end of the village, over Ngozumba Glacier, the apparently longest glacier in the Himalayas – 24 km of huge outflow of ice masses – or I could go to the highest point of this area, the Gokyo Ri. From there it can be seen the spectacular panorama of the Himalayan summits: Everest, Kangchenjunga, Cho Oyu, Makalu, Renjo Pass and so on.

I ordered a jasmine tee, an omelet with cheese and two slices of bread, then I finally left the lodge going to the lake. It was very late, 11 a.m. Too late for seeing other people there, in December there are only very few tourists. I wonder how the both Polnish guys are feeling today (one of them seemed to be altitude sick yesterday, pretty bad), because they wanted to go to  Cho La Pass and cross to Island Peak, dangerous route because of the massive ice fall on the pass. Their guide told us yesterday evening that already in October some tourists died there, sliping down. This is actually why I had to find another solution for reaching Gokyo from Lobuche, avoiding the Cho La Pass. Being alone, Cho La Pass was no option for me.

I cannot stop to repeat how glamurous the day is, the light sun and its reflection in that big surface of turqoise water, all the colours around me: brown, some dark red coming from sporadic vegetation, grey rocks covered by white snow, magnificent blue sky patched with some white clouds looking like the fur sheep :-)

Totally different scenery comparing with Gorak Shep. I compare Gorak Shep with Gokyo because from these two different points the perspective over the highest summit in the world, the Everest, is almost the same. But from down here you can’t see the summit of Gokyo Ri (5.550 m), you start your slowly climb and have to pass over 3 levels until you finally reach the summit. Every 10 meters you climb up and gain higher altitude change the view over the area and because of this I took a lot of pictures, surprinsing different shades and shadows over the frozen lake.

About 12 o’clock I met the British couple coming down very fast. They were tired, they didn’t reach the summit, they wanted to have a quick lunch and leave Gokyo, trekking back to Lukla as fast as possible. They were generally tired and not in the mood anymore to enjoy the time in the highlands. They hopped to reach Dhole today, but I doubt they can do this, it was to late for today, you need at least 4 hours to climb down and overnight in Dhole. So, we official say “good bye”. Claire promised to let me some medicine for my bad cold. Half an hour later, I did the same with the Danish guy, who did reach the summit and run down to catch the British couple. So, although I knew I am alone, I felt a sort of being “more intensively alone”. It sounds stupid? I was alone and lonely in the high Himalayas and my soul was to sick and to small for such a marvellous experience which I will never be able to describe ..................

look how small is the tiny village at the feet of the longest glacier of Himalaya. How the people nestled here .... isn't ut amazing? Is this not one of the unforgettable places on the Earth, you could touch?

About 3 o’clock o relevant side of the lake was free of ice and on the icy part of it were various lines drawings due to the water movement under the thick ice blanket. If you stop and sit down for a while watching the landscape stretched to your feet, you can surprise violent wind crises gambling the tones of dust, sand, pulver snow and water waves. It is the spectacular show of the nature and the background is the permanent dialogue between the ice, wind and the echos flying up to the blue sky.

As I reached again the lake shore the sun was almost gone and it was terrible windy in the valley. I crossed again the water jumping over the stones arranged like a ground bridge to the village and I went inside again.  I was surprised that Claire let me some medicine indeed. It was a terrible dark and windy evening. A big Aussi group, wearing red Peregrine Jackets, populated the big lodge, so it was an active evening around the warm stove. We all, including the Sherpa woman owner of this lodge looked a little bit worried because of the wind, as the dinning room was very exposed out of the building, on the way of the winds coming from all directions. We often felt we all could be blown in the air and windows could be violent broken by the winds.  But nothing happened to the end and we spent a very nice evening. I ordered a Dal Bhat and I was very happy with this choice, it was the best, the tastiest and the biggest Dal Bhat I ever had in Nepal (the smallest was in Namche Bazaar, shame of them, really!). I also had a big cup of hot orange and hot greppfruit, a delicious combination. I observed that some requests are difficult to be understood by the locals, they are not used to be asked for new things. For instant, the normal request is a cup of hot orange and a cup of hot greppfruit or lemon, what ever. If I said that I wish a small pot of combination, orange + greppfruit, it was too confusing. You have to explain how they have to do it for delivering the final product. Not because the locals would be stupid, but because they are not use to think further than they normally do. I was for sure the only person who ever wanted a combination of those drinks, I don’t have other explanation.

I think about going to the 5^th lake tomorrow, but it really depends how I sleep and how I wake up in the morning. If I feel worse, it’s clear that I have to leave Gokyo and go down.

Speaking about the breathtaking panorama of today, looking from Gokyo Ri over Ngozumba Glacier and all those mammuth summits of this planet, I looked for more information which I want to write down, as myself I find it very interesting.

That big, high and somehow crooked snow covered summit  on the left in this picture should be the 3^rd highest peak in the world: The Kangchenjunga (8.586 m alt.). 
 

The huge Kangchenjunga belongs to Nepal and India and it was climbed for the first time in May 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown from UK. 

· The name translates “Five Treasures of Snow,” referring to Kangchenjunga’s five peaks. The Tibetan words are: Kang (Snow) chen (Big) dzö (Treasury) nga (Five). The five treasures are Gold, Silver, Precious Stones, Grain, and Holy Scriptures.

· Four of Kangchenjunga’s five summits top 8,000 m.

· Kangchenjunga is the highest mountain in India and second highest in Nepal and is the easternmost 8,000-meter peak. 

·  The first attempt to climb Kangchenjunga was in 1905 by a party led by Aleister Crowley and Dr. Jules Jacot-Guillarmod on the southwest side of the mountain.

· The 1955 first ascent party included famed British rock ace Joe Brown, who climbed a 5.8 rock section on the ridge just below the summit.

·  The first ascent party and most subsequent parties stop just below the summit to respect the Sikkemese belief that the top is sacred space.

·  The 2nd ascent was by an Indian Army team up the difficult northeast spur in 1977.

·  In 1998 Ginette Harrison became the first woman to summit. Kangchenjunga was the last 8,000-meter peak to be climbed by a woman.

·  Mark Twain traveled to Darjeeling in 1896 and later wrote in Following the Equator: “I was told by a resident that the summit of Kinchinjunga is often hidden in the clouds, and that sometimes a tourist has waited twenty-two days and then been obliged to go away without a sight of it. And yet was not disappointed; for when he got his hotel bill he recognized that he was now seeing the highest thing in the Himalayas.”

  About some climbing attempts at Kangchenjunga:

In 1930, an European expedition consisting of German, Austrian, Swiss and British mountaineers made an attempt to scale Kangchenjunga, it failed. Years later a writer came across an extract from the diary of one of the climbers, who wrote:
  “Kangchenjunga (Kanchenjunga) had beaten us… we had examined every portion of the faces above the Kangchenjunga and Rathong glaciers; nowhere was there a chink in the armour of the giant. Others sceptical as to the truth-may follow… like us they will lie awake at night and tremble, even as the ground trembles at the roar of great ice avalanches that seek their destruction… their hope and optimism… ruthlessly crushed beneath the icy heel of Kangchenjunga.”

  In June, 1955 a British expedition under Charles Evans sent a telegram to the ‘Times”, it read:
  “Summit of Kangchenjunga less five vertical feet reached on May 25. All well.” The expedition stopped short of the top-they had agreed to respect the religious feelings of the Sikkimese who regard the mountain as sacred and had undertaken not to desecrate the immediate neighbourhood of the summit.
  Sir John Hunt, who reached the peak of Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norkey, has described it, a mountain more difficult and dangerous to climb, than Everest itself. 

 The Everest Summit (left)

Mighty Majesty

The people of Sikkim depend on the good humour of the deity enthroned on a summit - ‘has he not the power to destroy human habitations with devastating floods and avalanches… and ruin crops by sending terrible hailstorms’- he is portrayed as a fiery red counteranced deity with a crown of five skulls, riding the mythical snow lion, and holding aloft the banner to victory. Seasoned mountaineers hold Khang-Chen-Dzod-Nga in awe and credit it with a cordon drawn around the summit beyond which man may both enter. 

   There is an annual festival of ritual and dance dedicated to the ‘Worship of the snow range of Khang-Chen-Dzog-Nga, during the early part of Autumn. As in the classical days of Greek Gods who danced atop Mount Olympus, Lamas dressed in the impressive masks and broacades of the God, prance and whirl against the backdrop of the mountain itself. 

 

I took some information from here

SEE HERE what is happening next day 

next day --->

Himalaya reloaded 2011-13th day-Gokyo

READ HERE about yesterday

the trail - daily steps 

13^th day, 25^th of December 2010,

Dhole (4.110 m) – Gokyo (4.790 m)

7 hours

I will not describe here the diary notes of this day. It was long, I was sick, I wonder I could wake up and walk, we started the trail before 9 a.m., but I couldn’t keep close to the others, so I trekked solo again and it wasn’t funny at all for the last 2-3 hours of the day, when I practically collapsed for about 10 minutes. Solo adventure through the Himalayas in the winter is not an easy stuff. But ... gives a great satisfaction, if you survive.

The main difficulty was my stuffy and bleeding nose and the cough, because you are so high above the sea level and you need your entire respiratory system in order to breathe freely.

I could leave here in the lodge some stuff, alleviating my backpack, this was the best idea. Now I knew I have no choice to return on different route to Namche, I had to reach Dhole again. Normally I always avoid to return on the same route.

The breakfast at 8 was rather poor – 2 fried eggs on a chapati and two cups of lemon tea -, not much choice in this lodge and for a Sherpa Stew I’d had needed to wait to long, at least half an hours. I didn’t want to miss the start with the others, this was the reason, because I had the feeling it will be a long difficult day. The lodge’s owner said, we could reach Gokyo in about 5 hours, this is meaning seven hours for me. And I wasn’t wrong, I was pretty exact about the time estimation, as I always am.

The trail begins very steep behind the lodge. But the sun was already arised and this was exceptional good. After about half an hour you reach the top of that hill and in front of you streches a large valley, but you have to follow a narrow path cutting the mountains and after another 30-40 minutes you reach Lhabarma at 4.330 m, a small settlement built against a huge rock. Here, several porters, heavily loaded, took a break and had a chat. Half an hour later it comes Luza (4.340 m), on the banks of a large stream, having a year-round water supply. All the kharkas (small villages) on this side of the valley are owned by people from Khumjung. Families have houses in several settlements and move their herds from place to place as the grass becomes overgrazed and the snows melt. I reached Luza about 10 minutes later than the other 3 and the Danish guy was the one who asked in a sort of nervous way what am I intend to do today, because they are not willing to wait for me every time. I reacted very prompt: “OK, just go without me. If everything is all right, we meet tonight in Gokyo. I cannot walk faster. Go and don’t look behind after me!” I could not judge them after all. Their holiday, their money, their time ..... we were strangers, why to take care about somebody you just meet on the trail?! Everybody is on his/her own risks in the Himalaya, pay attention to this if you decide to go there trekking alone on high paths. The people you might meet on the same path do not bother to look behind after you and to spoil their vacation.

I lost them shortly because I stopped for some pictures and a loaded yak passed in front of me, having other two yaks behind. Normally they are going faster, but not today. The path was much too narrow, so I was blocked between the animals and only after about 20 minutes I found a spot to pass in front of the first yak and to follow my trail without any obstacles. But then I met a local Sherpa man having some troubles with the loading on his yak and I stopped in order to try to help him. As I didn’t was so strong even to move the heavy load, I just tried to encourage him and I walked further after I saw he succeded somehow to arrange the load on the animal back and to continue his way in the opposite direction.

The trail continued to climb along the side of the valley, high above the river, crossing sandy spurs to Machhermo at 4.410 m. It was in Machhermo in 1974 that a yeti killed three yaks and attacked a Sherpa woman. This is the most credible yeti incident ever reported in Khumbu, so the people mean you should be watchful as you visit this region.

In Macchermo I reached the other 3 guys again, they stopped there for lunch and I did the same. The soup wasn’t good, but it was fluid. The Sherpa stew was also very late and poor, so the person who is cooking is very important, because after all they have the same ingredients.

I was already tired, having the mouth and the nose covered all the time and struggling to breathe is not an easy task over 4.000 m altitude. But you cannot have other expectations from the thin air, when you normaly live close to the sea level, of course. A perfect acclimatisation needs longer time and no other health handicape. If you already caught a cold in Kathmandu, it isn’t a very good idea to go very high. But I was there and very decided to enjoy my experience, doesn’t matter if alone or with others. I started alone, so I took all the risks on me. Don’t expect much from people you are occasionally meeting on the trail, you could be very disappointed when you have expectations. Yes, it is a place for human ethic, but as I tried afterward to find out several opinions, nobody so far agreed that I should have been helped by others, because it was my own decision to go through this adventure alone and nobody has any reason in the world to be worried about my status there. I am my own responsability.

Maybe a good idea would be to overnight in Macchermo, but I didn’t think about it in that day. To have such a short day, only 2-3 yours on the trail, wasn’t my style, especially after the short day of yesterday. Descending into the valley, you need to climb up again. So, beyond Machhermo the trail climbs a ridge for an excellent view both down the valley to Kantega Mount and up towards Cho Oyu. Beyond the ridge, the valley widens as the trail reaches Pangka at 4.390 m. In November 1995 an entire trekking group was killed here by an avalanche and the three lodges in Pangka are located well away from the old avalanche path which I was walked on.

Leaving Pangka the trail drops briefly, then climbs to a large cave area known as Nilibuk. To be very honest, I remember the place, but I do not remember any caves around. I know that I got closer to a very different segment of the trail along the noisy river. The trail climbs steeply along a narrow, newly crafted staircase trail. Below on the right I could see the water coming from faw away on the top and joining with the glacial outflow from the massive Ngozumpa Glacier. Above the trail to the left is a 90° steep ridge that can be a dangerous avalanche area after a storm.

This segment of the trail, on the steep stairs, on a loud background coming from the river on the right, was totally in the shadow at that time – 1:40 p.m. -. I didn’t met anyone for the next 2 and half hours and because of the strong water sound it was quite a creepy time. And this feeling has been extended for the next hours until I reached Gokyo. Climbing all those stairs it takes about 20 up to 30 minutes and you become very curious to see what is next, because you cannot see any end of its. Atop the staircase the trail crosses a simple short bridge to the first small lake and from that moment you enter a total different world! 

You are at 4.650 m in front of the Longponga first lake – there are 5 lakes and the Gokyo village is at the top of the 3^rd lake, Dudh Pokhari, at 4.750 m. The first lake is pretty small, only about 1 m deep, due to the inscription there.

Entering this area is a special moment. The landscape is suddenly so different, the entire area was in full shadow, suddenly it became colder and after I filmed for a few minutes I stopped for getting out my dawn jacket and gloves. On the right side, behind that brown partially rocky ridge, was the longest glacier of Nepal (I even read about it of being the longest of Himalaya), Ngozumpa, which streches for over 24 km. 

On the first lake I saw a family of Brahminy ducks. Here starts also a different sound background. The lake surface is covered with a thin layer of ice – about 10 up to 20 cm I would estimate – and its forms change. The currents under the ice seem to be strong enough to move the mass of ice, so this doesn’t stay compact, but it cracks, breaks and all these moves ride out some echo sounds along the valley. Everything turns into a kind of movie about moaning, whining, squaling, collapse, fractures. It is like a new language, you are in another world and you want to get to meet something human as soon as possible, at least other people or even the village you’re going to. 

All around you is in a deep cone of shadow, a frozen, gray, cold and partially wet, windy shadow, the trail is running as a thread that never ends and you will not see the length of the valley. All around you are the Himalayan giants. You get close to the biggest, the highest mountains of the planet: the Everest, Makalu, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Kangchejunga (the 3^rd highest mountain with 8.586 m).

About 20 minutes later I reached the second lake, Taujung Tso, at 4.728 m, larger and much deeper than the first one (about 33 meters), totally covered with ice. I was too tired and frozen, I didn’t enjoy the place. I just wanted to reach a lodge and to feel secure in a way. 

The water was grey, the sun was gone, it was windy, no soul around, no idea about how long I had to keep it going on walking. I crawled through the shadowed, empty, cold valley and the lake kicked and moved and the path in front of me did not seem to have any end. I knew I can still walk for one or two hours, but not enjoying the time. I still could walk in a sort of mechanical move. 

When the third lake appeared and I still could not see any sign of human settlement, I felt getting very close to a collapse. And I collapsed. As I saw the small collection of the blue roofs of some lodges, far away in front of me at the top of that large and long lake, I knelt, I removed my backpack and I started to cry, hardly breathing because of the cold air, flu and because of the intensity of my emotional discharge. I was on the way only for 7 hours after all, but ....

But the collapse occurred on an inner background which terrible hurt and hang heavier than my backpack: the fact that none of the three people that started today together having the same trail and the same destination hasn’t turned their head to see what is happening with me, lonely in that wildness. The fact that, as I heard after fifteen minutes when I entered the dinning hall, they saw me through the large windows making my slowly appearance in the cold sunset and none of them was turning out to come and help me. They have arrived here one hour earlier than me. Because of this I snapped, because I expected something from somebody. It is very painful, in my acceptance, to see the lack of humanity of the human beings. I already knew, due to my life, that it is silly to expect certain things from people around you, but I will never be able to accept this reality.

next day --->