Chorten at Dingboche

The morning dawned cloudy but not overcast.  Just cloudy enough to add a bit of drama and features to the sky for photography yet also be a nice morning.  It was a bit cold when I awoke, repeating my morning routine of quietly dressing and slipping out, trying to not wake Lance.  Our lodge was situated at the far end of Dingboche, when we arrived we walk through the whole village to reach the lodge.  This morning I wandered down towards the trail back to Tengboche.  I didn’t go back through the village but took one of the paths on the hillside above, heading towards the 2 chortens we had passed coming into Dingboche.  It was there I met the Australian trekker pictured in my previous posting.  He had been coming to Nepal yearly since the 80’s, trekking the throughout the Himalayas.

Dingboche in the early morning with Ama Dablam standing a quiet watch.

Climbing above Dingboche

After spending some time photographing the early morning, it was back to the Peak 38 for packing and breakfast.  Today’s hike would take about 5 hours, climbing from Dingboche at 14,300 ft. to Lobuche at 16,200 ft.  The trail would entail 2 steep climbs, the first right off the bat as we would climb above the village onto a tundra like plateau above, the second the very steep climb through Thokla Pass, the site of multiple memorials to dead climbers including Scott Fischer’s memorial.  After we had the standard morning fare of either eggs & toast or muesli and porridge it was onward.  The trail to Lobuche climbs steeply out of Dingboche but isn’t too long before leveling out into a very gradual ascent on a tundra covered plateau above the village.  As we hiked along the plateau we would occasionally pass other trekkers, Sherpas and area residents, and several stone houses.  It took about 2 hours to reach the Yak Lodge at Thokla, at 15,100 ft., where we stopped for a snack and tea.

Trekking to Lobuche with Ama Dablam in the background

Himalayan Panorama (please click on image for larger view)

Stone house on the trail to Lobuche

Stone house on the trail to Lobuche

Sherpa carrying a heavy load on a head strap

One of our guides Bir enjoying the view 

As this point we were all feeling some effects from the altitude, some beginning to get some AMS (acute mountain sickness) to varying degrees despite being on Diamox.  AMS is funny; there is no real way to reasonably predict who will get it, other than once you have had it you are more prone to developing it in the future.  The symptoms range from a mild headache to more severe debilitating ones such as nausea, vomiting, and a severe headache.  Fitness is not a factor, everyone in our group was reasonably fit and we ranged from no AMS to a few with pretty severe symptoms as we got higher.  At this point I was feeling good, a bit winded from the altitude but otherwise fine.

The Yak Lodge and Restaurant at Thokla

Prayer flags and Ama Dablam

As we had our respite, the skies began to cloud and become more ominous.  We had been lucky so far, the only really rain to contend with was after we had already reached Khumjung and was touring the school and clinic.  The trail gods must have been smiling on us, with many threatening skies but very little rain.  After resting and warming up with hot tea, it was time for the second climb of the day, the ascent to Thokla Pass.  The trail took an abrupt upturn and was rocky and tortuous, lending to the fact that all of us suffered on the arduous climb to some extent.  The top was a welcome sight and, as I crested the summit, I was somewhat taken aback by the sheer number of various-sized monuments scattered throughout the pass.  We took another break in the pass, a time for a group photo and for everyone to rest of explore the monuments.  After a bit, it was onto Lobuche, with the rest of the trail fairly flat as it followed the Khumbu Valley next to the tail of the Khumbu Glacier although, with so much debris brought down by the glacial movement, it was virtually impossible to see the ice yet.

Climbing Thokla Pass

Scott Fischer’s Memorial

Stokol Monument, Thokla Pass

Trekkers in Thokla Pass

Group photo in Thokla Pass

Babu Chira Sherpa Memorial

Burkhardt Memorial, Thokla Pass

Thokla Memorial 

As we continue deeper in the mountains, the peaks began to loom even more impressively.  There was the pyramidal shape of Pumo Ri on the left, standing at 23,494 ft. and we began to get glimpses of Nuptse on the right, standing at 25,772 ft. above sea level.  We reached Lobuche at lunch.  Lobuche is mainly a collection of lodge for trekkers it is too high for any agricultural  One of the interesting things was that we had continued cell phone coverage on the trip.  In fact, this was the first year that there was cell coverage all the way to EBC.  At the Eco Lodge it was time to shed the pack, have some tea, and wait for lunch with today’s lunch consisting of veggie pizza.  Most of us were quite hungry and anticipating lunch but a few were fairly ill and weren’t very hungry.  Ultimately about a third of the group would get AMS and/or gastroenteritis on the trip.  After lunch it was an afternoon to relax as tomorrow would be a long day, leaving before breakfast on our EBC day.

Trekking to Lobuche with Pumo Ri in the background

Trekking the EBC trail to Lobuche

Trekking the Khumbu Valley to the village of Lobuche

Trekking to Lobuche

Lance and I went to our room to relax and read when he looked out the window and said “that guy doesn’t look too good.”  I looked out and saw a man being assisted by two others up the steps of the lodge next to use and sitting down outside.  I went to check on him and a found a mid-20 year old Russian there with 2 friends.  He was sitting in a tripod position, breathing very rapidly, with cyanotic lips.  They were on their way down, trying to get him lower and didn’t have a lodge there so I took him back to ours.  Once there we checked his pulse-ox (the amount of oxygen in one’s blood) and he was 56%.  In comparison, ours had ranged from 78-85% when we checked them earlier and normal not at elevation is above 95%.  He was clearly in pulmonary edema, a more serious, life-threatening form of altitude illness where the capillaries in lungs start to leak fluid into the lung tissue.

The collection of lodges known as Lobuche

A trekker being evacuated by helicopter from Lobuche

We treated him with the bronchodilator albuterol, started him on oxygen, and gave him verapamil, a calcium-channel blocker the helps with pulmonary edema.  He didn’t look ill enough to require a helicopter evacuation but he likely couldn’t continue to walk much further.  The cost of hiring a horse was 8000 rupee (a little over $100) but the cost of hiring 2 Sherpas was quite a bit less, only 2000 rupee, so rather than pay for a horse they hired the Sherpas.  We learned later on our way down that they went to the Himalayan Rescue Association clinic in Periche where he was still quite ill and the physician wanted to helicopter him out but the Russians didn’t want to pay for a helicopter so they compromised and paid for a horse instead.  Quite different situation from the US or Europe where they would just chopper you down and deal with the bill afterwards.  While treating him, we found out that he had been feeling badly 2 nights before when they were in Lobuche on the way up but continued up anyway, not recognizing how ill he was.  They went to EBC and then spent the night in Gorek Shep at 17,000 ft.  By the morning he was so ill they basically had to carry him down the next day.  He was lucky he wasn’t the second death at Gorek Shep that week, the first being the 23 year old girl I mentioned earlier.  One of the things I noticed is the number of people who going trekking at elevation in the Himalayas that don’t learn about altitude illness, how to recognize it, and how to treat it.

Russian trekker being treated for pulmonary edema

Russian trekker with pulmonary edema being carried down by Sherpas

That night I took a small dose of Diamox, 62.5 mg, to help me sleep.  I had been having restless sleep for the past few nights and wanted to get a good night sleep before the hard, long day coming tomorrow.  The prophylactic dose for AMS is 125-250 mg twice daily, but a small dose can help you sleep better at night.  Above 10,000 ft. people start to have Cheyne-Stokes breathing, also known as periodic, breathing while they sleep.  This is basically increasingly rapid respirations interspersed by periods of apnea, or lack of breathing.  In some people apneic episodes of a minute have been observed.  Diamox works by causing a relative acidosis in one’s blood.  To compensate for this acidosis, your respiratory center is stimulated to increase ventilations and blow off more CO2 thus decreasing the acidosis caused by the Diamox.  The main side effects are parasthesias, or tingling of the hands and feet, increased urination, and your beer and sodas taste flat since it inhibits the enzyme that allows us to perceive the carbonation.  With a low dose for sleep you avoid the side effects while still getting more restful sleep.  The next day was the culmination of a long-time dream, to see Everest Base Camp and view Mount Everest up close, with my own eyes.

Spartan accommodations that were common on the EBC trail

Spartan accommodations that were common on the EBC trail

Solar cookers used to heat water

Burning Incense greets the morning at the Rivendell Lodge in Deboche

The old with the new. The new suspension bridge looks much safer than the old one!

The day started with short, steep decent to the bottom of the valley, the term valley being used loosely, as the surrounding slopes were quite steep.  Once at the River, we crossed on a new steel bridge, with a good view of the old, rickety suspension bridge below us.  I was quite happy for the new bridge, as the old one didn’t look too stable.   I could see the headlines in my mind, “Trekkers die as Suspension Bridge Collapses in Himalayas.”  After crossing the bridge it was rapidly into switchbacks as the trail climbed steeply up towards the village of Pangboche.  I hope you notice the regular use of the word steep as it is an apt description for much of the trail.  As we continued up the valley, the stunning massif of Ama Dablam (22,493 ft./6856 m.) began to loom, more impressive with every step.  Ama Dablam is easily one of the most beautiful peaks in this region of the Himalayas.

Multiple groups of trekkers resting below the village of Pangboche

An old chorten below Pangboche, on the EBC trail

Looking back at Tengboche

Trekkers on the EBC trail, below the village of Pangboche with Tengboche visible down valley

Trekkers passing a chorten as snow-covered peaks loom in the background

Once in Pangboche, it was time for a tea break and shopping for trinkets from the trailside vendors then back to hiking.  After reaching Pangboche the trail leveled out a bit, relatively speaking as we continue on to Shomare before stopping for lunch.  As we trekked, we passed by chortens and memorials of mani stones.  When approaching one of these shrines the trail will usually split and one should pass on the left or walk clockwise around although I can’t tell you why.  Shortly after we entered Shomare it was time for another break and lunch.  Today’s lunch was quite memorable, with pasta and fries with a yak cheese sauce for both.  Have to say, those were some of the best cheese fries I have ever had.  I highly recommend them the next time you are passing through Shomare.  After a nice respite it was time to hike again.  The weather had been somewhat cloudy throughout the morning but now was overcast and threatening rain so I packed my cameras away for the rest of the day’s trek.   The rest of the hike consisted of a gradual incline for about an hour as we climbed above the tree line, then a very steep ascent to a ridge overlooking Dingboche, then a short descent into the village.  The Peak 38 lodge that would be our home for the next 2 nights was on the other side of the village was typical of the lodges we had previous stayed in; small rooms with plywood walls with a dining/socializing area with a yak dung burning stove to help warm it at night.  The village of Dingboche mainly consisted of stone houses surrounded by rock-walled fields with several trekking lodges mixed throughout.

Shopping for bead work in Pangboche

Samples of Sherpa bone carving and bead work

Buddhist rock paintings on the trail to EBC

Buddhist rock paintings on the trail to EBC

Imagine my surprise at seeing the Hotel Ari Zona (I am from Oro Valley, Arizona after all) in the middle of the Himalayas

We would spend the next 2 nights here acclimatizing, with the next day having an option of resting or hiking up the Imja Kosi River Valley to the small village of Chhukhung at 15,500 ft. and back.  Most of us did the trek, a pleasant 5 hour day with only a gradual ascent to the turnaround.  That night we had a second meal of the trek that included meat for those wanting to try yak.  Yak is a bit tough, quite lean but has a good flavor.  Also at Peak 38 Lodge was our first experience with toilets that didn’t flush.  The bathrooms had a toilet and a large barrel of water with a small bucket in it the fill the toilet bowl and get it to flush.  By this time most members of the group were taking Diamox in a hope that it would stave off Acute Mountain Sickness.  So far we had only had a few headaches, nothing severe.  Other than not sleeping great and getting up quite earlier, still about 5am, I was feeling good without Diamox.

The next morning would find us with a difficult as we would trek for about 5 hours, climbing towards our next night’s lodging at the Eco Lodge in Lobuche, at 16,200 ft.

A closed tea house on the trail to Chhukhung

A memorial on the trail to Chhukhung for climbers that perished on Lhotse

Chips fly as men hand cut rocks for a wall

Ama Dablam (22,493 ft./6856 m.) stands watch over a stone farmhouse in the village of Dingboche

Looking back down the Imja Khosi River Valley from the village of Dingboche

An Australian trekker passing a chorten and prayer flags near the village of Dingboche

An Australian trekker passing a chorten and prayer flags near the village of Dingboche

Leaving Khumjung on the trek to Deboche with Ama Dablam dominating the view. Tengboche is visible of the small plateau in the distance.

Starting the descent into the Dudh Kosi Gorge.

As we descended to the Dudh Kosi River blooming rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal, began to dot the hillside lending a colorful air to the day’s trek.  We passed through several smaller villages nestled on the hillside as we descended, many with locals out and about on their daily activities, giving a small view of life for the Sherpas in this part of the Himalaya. As with previous days, the group split into smaller group, with our guides Bir at the front with our lead group and Karke playing the role of sweeper, making sure everyone made it.  The other guides were spaced out with the different groups as they all went at their own pace.  The day was the opposite of the previous day’s foggy cold trek, with the sun shining, the temperature tending towards warm, and clouds lending a dramatic edge to the skies.

Posing on the trail with Ama Dablam in the background.

On the trail to Tengboche in the Dudh Kosi Gorge.

Suspension Bridge across the Dudh Kosi River.

Once at the suspension bridge crossing the river, it was time to shed the pack for a rest before the steep climb to Tengboche, with its seemingly endless switchbacks.  The climb was about 1hours of lactic acid-producing/lung-searing steepness that really started to make me appreciate the altitude we were gaining (and we still had 6000 ft. more to gain before we would top at Kala Patthar at 18,500 ft.).  Pink rhododendron dotted the trailside, adding color to the dramatic scenery as we climbed higher into the mountains.  Most of the groups took breaks on the climb but, for me, I tend to do better by just keeping a steady constant pace and was the first to top out at Tengboche.  The gate leading onto the small plateau that Tengboche nestled on was a welcome site and as I walked through it I was treated to majestic sight of Mount Everest towering above the clouds farther up the valley.  It was time to shed the pack, relax, and wait the rest of the groups to arrive.

Looking back down the Dudh Kosi Gorge from the trail climbing to Tengboche.

Rhododendron, the Nepalese national flower.

The gate leading into Tengboche is a welcome sight after a steep climb.

Prayer flags add color in the village of Tengboche.

Tengboche Monastery is the gateway to the high peaks of the Himalaya, hidden in the clouds up valley.

While waiting for the rest to arrive, I sat gazing farther up valley at the majestic peaks rising through the clouds.  There was Ama Dablam, Lohtse, and Everest, of course.  The plateau of Tengboche is where I really began to feel I was in the Himalaya of my imagination, as the peaks began to tower above.  At Namche Bazaar, they were still distant, more like looking at a photograph but at Tengboche, the immense size of these massifs became more apparent.  Resting near the monastery, I was also able to appreciate the colorful, detailed carvings of the entrance, and feel the reverence there.  There were also some lodges there and a small bakery/café where we would be eating lunch.  The rest of the group began straggling in as my hunger increased, lunch time was approaching.  Once we were all accounted for, it was time for lunch and pastries, a welcome respite after a strenuous morning.  Lunch was pretty basic, soup and peanut butter and jelly, if my memory serves me right, but the highlight was the pastries and cakes, freshly made at the bakery.  I highly recommend grabbing a treat there when on the trek.   Many trekkers go from Namche to Tengboche and stop there for the night; we were going about 45 minutes farther to Deboche after lunch.  We all were beginning to feel the altitude a bit, some more than others, but everyone was still doing well.

The gateway into Tengboche Monastery.

Relaxing before lunch.

Sherpas leading yaks at Tengboche. Mount Everest (center) and Lohtse (right) stand in the background.

Lunchtime.

When lunch was finished we were able to visit the monastery and photograph the stunningly detailed carvings.  There was no flash allowed, nor were tripods so the shooting was handheld at high ISO but I was still able to get some good examples of the colorful centerpiece.  After the brief visit, it was a short downhill hike to our night’s resting place, the Rivendell Lodge, named after the mythical home of Elrond and the elves in Tolkien’s Middle Earth.  The rooms were standard tea lodge rooms, small cubicles with painted plywood walls, but the lodge was cozy with a warm dining/commons area to hang out for reading and relaxing.  The highlight of the stay was meeting climbers from Everest Base Camp who had come down from the elevation for a bit and were heading back up to ready for their final assault on the massive summit.

Entering the gates of Tengboche.

Carvings on the Tengboche entrance.

The centerpiece of Tengboche Monastery.

Carvings in Tengboche Monastery.

More carvings in Tengboche Monastery.

Home for the night.

On that morning, we gathered in front of the Hotel Namche in the blanket of mist, the cool fog dampening the sound and lending to a spiritual or mystic atmosphere ( I’m more of a mystic, less of a spiritual person myself) as we readied to start our day.  That day we would have a shorter hike, about 3 hours hiking time, to the village of Khumjung at 12,400 ft.  Most trekkers go to Tengboche or Deboche (where we would be trekking to the next day) but our itinerary was to spend an extra day ascending to help with acclimatization.  Everyone in our group was taking Diamox about this time except for myself (I’m lucky enough to not have problems with altitude illnesses, at least up to 19,000 ft.) and our group leader, Sheryl.  Of course our Nepali guides weren’t taking it either.  Diamox is a diuretic that has been shown to reduce the risk of altitude illnesses when taken as a prophylactic.

Prayer Wheels on the trail climbing out of Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar is seen through the fog from the trail to khumjung as we climbed steeply up the mountainside

While in Namche Bazaar it was driven home that this is a serious undertaking.  We had learned a 23 yo female had just died at Gorek Shep (17,000 ft.) of pulmonary edema, an altitude related illness where the capillaries in the lungs leak and the lungs fill with fluid.  The shame of it was she didn’t need to die, had she and her companions been prepared.  Their first mistake was not learning the signs and symptoms of altitude related illnesses so when she got sick they didn’t recognize how sick she was, just thought she was dehydrated, and put her to bed without anyone watching her.  In the morning they found her dead.  Their second mistake was not asking for help at the few lodges there.  All Gorek Shep is really is a collection of a few lodges next to the Khumbu Glacier below EBC for the trekkers.  Sheryl had solicited donations earlier to buy 4-5 pressure chambers for the region.  The most well-known pressure bag is the Gamow Bag.  The bags are essentially a sealed chamber with a foot pump.  You place the patient in the bag and inflate it with the foot pump to a psi of ~2.  Depending on your elevation you can lower a person up to several thousand feet.  The chambers are a way to improve someone enough so they can either walk out themselves, be able to sit on a horse for evacuation, or wait until a helicopter can arrive.  Just so happened that Sheryl had place one of her bags in Gorek Shep.

Worn mani stones on the trail above Namche Bazaar

Trekking through the mist

As Namche is nestled part of the way up the valley slope, the hike started with a steep climb right off the bat.  The trail led steeply up the mountainside, past prayer wheels and mani stones, passing into a sparsely vegetated, almost tundra like terrain, leading to some stunning views of Namche Bazaar through holes in the clouds below.  The trail topped out after about an hour of hiking near a small gravel airstrip that serviced Namche, with several memorial chortens and the remains of a small bulldozer and front-end loader visible nearby in the surrounding whiteness.  After this the trail became a more gradual ascent up the valley to the Everest View Hotel, with occasional glimpses of the valley below through the mist and none of the surrounding peaks.  Our first few days on the trail had been sunny, warm, and humid; now we were experiencing the unpredictable nature of Himalayan weather with the cool mist making us feel isolated and alone on the trail, as the surrounding mountains and valleys were mostly hidden from view and all sound dampened.

Stairs to tea and coffee-The Everest View Hotel

A wide stone staircase marked our arrival at the Everest View Hotel, perched on a ridge above the Dudh Kosi River.  Below the hotel is the more popular trail to Tengboche as it follows the river ever upwards.  Khumjung is located higher up and away from the river and uses a separate trail.  The Everest View is situated by itself, partway between Namche Bazaar and Khumjung and has stunning views of the surrounding mountains.  Unfortunately, it did not live up to its name that day due to the clouds but was still a welcome break for tea and coffee.  The hotel itself was beautiful, with immaculate stonework and stunning images of the surrounding mountains photographed by a Japanese photographer decorating the lobby walls.  After a nice rest and drink, it was a short, downhill hike to the village and the Khumjung Lodge, where we would be spending the night.  Khumjung houses the school started by Sir Edmund Hillary and there is a small clinic in the neighboring village of Kunde that people would walk for miles to visit.  The clinic had 3-4 rooms, a small procedure room, an old xray machine, and, surprisingly, an ultrasound machine.  There is also a donation box in front of the clinic to help buy supplies and medicines, so please leave a small amount if you are able.

The trail into Khumjung, Nepal

Sherpa worshippers in the village of Khumjung on the trail to Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas of Nepal

As the day’s hike was fairly short we had some time to visit the school and clinic (although school was out, so we really only walked through the yard) and, after a rain, explore the village and meet some of the locals.  Children were out in force in the central square, playing soccer or marbles.  After lunch and a relaxing afternoon, we spent some time on education, dinner, then rest and sleep.  The next day was a moderate day, with a steep 1 1/2-2 hr climb from the Dudh Kosi River to the monastery at Tengboche.  The rooms were spartan, although larger than what we would have farther up the trail and there were 2  clean bathroom just down the hall.  We were still where the toilets flushed (that would change farther up also) but showers were now several dollars for 2 pots of hot water and a quick shower the rest of the way, when they were available.  Glad I brought large bath wipes.

An impromptu soccer game with trekkers and the children in the village square

Boys enjoying a game of marbles in the late afternoon

I awoke early and spent some wandering the empty village streets at dawn, in the morning fog.  The central square is a large open dirt patch where the impromptu soccer game took place the previous afternoon, bounded on one side by the Khumjung School, another by a large pair of chortens surrounded by prayer wheels, and lodges on the others.  The streets were often bordered by walls of old, worn mani stones that lent an air mysticism and reverence.  After some photographing it was time to pack, eat, and ready for the day’s hike to Deboche, which would turn out to be a warm sunny trek.

A single prayer wheel spins in the central village square in Khumjung

A wall of mani stones and a chorten at dawn in Khumjung

Arriving at Namche Bazaar

A chorten at Namche Bazaar

Having stayed in the deluxe room on the trip up and the standard room coming back down, I can definitely recommend the deluxe rooms.  There are housed in a new building next to the original lodge and are roomy and bright with beautiful hardwood floors and a large bay-type window.  Like all the lodges, the rooms have no heating but the deluxe rooms have electric heating pads on the mattresses for a warm welcome bed.  The standards rooms are in the older building and, while they have an in room shower, the rooms are much dingier and darker.  The beds had the heating pads but no place to plug them in.  Go for the deluxe if you can.  On the top floor of the new building is an excellent bakery to have a cup of coffee and a pastry at while enjoying a break from wandering through the village.

Sharing the village with yaks

A painted mani stone adds color to the village paths

After lunch and a shower, it was time to check out Namche.  The village is built into the steep mountainside above the Dudh Kosi River Valley and is filled with narrow streets lined shops and vendors selling everything from outdoor gear to souvenirs of incense holders and yak bells.  Most of the outdoor gear are cheap counterfeits but there are a few shops that sell quality authentic brands.  If you need to stock up or replace clothing and gear I would recommend the Mountain Hardwear store or Sherpa Adventure Gear.  Sherpa Adventure Gear imports the material and makes their gear locally in Nepal.  They have a shop in Kathmandu and in Namche and their clothing is high quality and well made.  In addition, you are also helping the Nepalese economy by shopping there.  There is one other shop in the village that sells authentic name brands but I can’t remember the name.

Trekkers naviagting the narrow village paths

Our next day was a layover day so we spent time around the village.  In the morning we took a short hike above town to the Sagarmatha Park Headquarters where is a small museum.  The museum is pretty small and basic but does give an overview of the ecology and history of the region but the real attraction here are the first good views of Mount Everest.  The giant massif and her surrounding companions such as Lohtse and Nuptse were still miles in the distance and little did we realize just how much more impressive the view was going to get.  It is similiar to going to the Grand Canyon.  If you go and see it from the rim only, you can get an idea of just how big it is but you don’t truly understand the immensity of the canyon until you have spent time hiking and backpacking below the rim.  We wouldn’t truly grasp the immensity of the massive peaks until we were actually standing near their bases,  and could feel the sheer weight of them standing watch over us.  After spending a few hours at the park HQ learning about wilderness survival for our wilderness medicine session, it was back to the lodge for lunch and a free afternoon to explore the surrounding area, wander the paths of Namche for some last minute shopping, or taking it easy in the bakery with a good cup of coffee and a book.  There were also internet cafes scattered around that provided access to email or facebook for about $8/hr., albeit at dial-up speeds.

The first good views of Mount Everest (left) with Lohtse (center) and Ama Dablam (far right) also visible, seen from the Sagarmatha Park Headquarters above Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar's Friday Market goes on despite the morning fog

After a night celebrating our group leader’s birthday and a good night’s sleep it was up for breakfast and fog shrouded morning as we started the short day’s hike to Khumjung, a 3 hour trek the climbed 1100 ft. to an elevation of 12,400 ft. where we would be spending our next night.

The village of Namche Bazaar, a major stopping point on the trail to Everest Base Camp in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal.

Trekkers and Porters pass a stone building exhibiting the precise work of the Himalayan stone cutters along the Everest Base Camp Trail in the Dudh Kosi River Valley.

A donkey train passing mani stones and prayer flags

Sherpas taking a break along the trail

A Himalayan bath

Mani stones, prayers flags, and a Chorten on the EBC Trail as it runs next to the Dudh Kosi River

Trekkers on the trail as it steeply climbs over a ridge below the village of Monjo

Along the EBC Trail

Stoneworkers hand cutting stones for a building in the Dudh Kosi River Valley

A donkey train passes by trekkers on the EBC Trail

A Sherpa passes by worn mani stones and prayer flags

A welcome rest in the Hotel Namche

Start of the EBC Trail

Over 30,000 trekkers a year start the trail to Everest Base Camp (EBC) so the trail is shared with many other travelers, guides, and porters.  While hiking, residents’ daily lives went on around us.  We passed groups of school children in uniforms making the trek to their school, some traveling for several miles for their education.  We passed stoneworkers, hand-cutting stones for a building.  Many of the trailside businesses cater to the trekkers, with a mix of vendors selling arts & crafts, tea houses and lodges, small restaurants and shops selling snacks.  The restaurants and lodges ranged from dark, smoky, shoddy buildings catering to those on very tight budgets to light, airy, clean lodges with good food.  The Dudh Kosi river valley is a major agricultural region for the area, with many farms growing apples, plums, potatoes, and barley among others.  It was a common site to see a farmer weeding their stone-walled field on the steep hillsides.  Don’t forget to have some of the fresh apple pie for desert with your meals in the valley.  Throughout the valley we would regularly pass by Chortens or Mani Stones, many with intricately carved script, giving the whole region a decidedly spiritual feel.  When possible, it is traditional to walk on the left when passing a memorial, with the Chorten or stones on your right.

Chortens and carved Mani Stones on the EBC Trail

Our first day’s hike was from Lukla to the village of Monjo, approximately 7-8 miles and lasted in the 5-7 hour range.  As mentioned earlier, our group size was 16 so we tended to space out on the trail.  With 5 Nepali guides, we also had the lead guide, Karki, in the back in the position of sweeper and the front was usually Bir, with the other spaced out between.  This allowed everyone to go at their own pace and not have to remained grouped together.  There are 3 basic ways to trek to EBC.  One is go on your own or in a small group, carrying everything you need.  The second is solo or a small group with a guide, possibly a porter.  The third is with a larger, organized group with guides and/or porters.  An advantage of at least having a guide is having someone who can speak the language as communication gets harder the higher you go, with less and less English being spoken.  You also have someone familiar with the region and who can help get you out should anything occur.  Make no mistake, trekking to 18,000 ft. is not risk free.  While we were there a 23 year old female died at Gorek Shep and we cared for a Russian man with pulmonary edema who is lucky he didn’t die.  I will talk more about these cases later on.  If you are going to go with a guiding service, I can’t say enough about Sherpa Shangri-La (http://www.shangrilatrek.com).  All of the guides were friendly, spoke excellent English, and truly became friends on the trail.  Whether you go with a guide or on your own, make sure you learn the signs and symptoms of the altitude illnesses and how to treat them and also make sure you take the appropriate preventative and treatment medications with you.  This knowledge could save yours or someone else’s life.  At the end of this series, I’ll put together a list of the medications and supplies I take.

A small village and farms in the Dudh Kosi River Valley

The first day consisted of a gradual 2 mile descent to the river then a gentle climb following the river valley, with several crossings on suspension bridges.  Before we reached Monjo, there were a few short, steep climbs to give us a taste of what was to come but, overall, the day wasn’t too difficult.  The valley is very green and vegetated at this elevation, consisting of farms and their fields with the mountains containing dense forests.  We had lunch on the trail at one of the many small teahouses at regular intervals.  Let me make a brief digression and talk about the food in general.  While the food is good, it is fairly spartan and there is a lack of variety.  While I loved the daal bhaat (a lentil soup) with curried vegetables, after 2 weeks it got old when we would have this almost every other night.  The meals were almost solely vegetarian (the meat is frequently not safe to eat) and mostly consisted of daal bhaat, pastas, potatoes, noodles, and an occasional pizza or momos.  We had 3 meals with meat, 2 with chicken and 1 with yak steak.  Breakfast alternated between a choice of oatmeal porridge or muesli one day with eggs and toast the next and pancakes occasionally mixed in.  The first day was slightly warm and humid, but pleasant overall.  We reached the Mount Kailash Lodge, 9300 ft., near Monjo in the mid afternoon.  The dining area was open and light, with an abundance of windows.  The rooms were typical of most the lodges; small with plywood walls, hard beds, and some hooks on the wall to hang clothes.  You learn pretty quickly that almost anything above a whisper is heard by all your neighbors.  We all carried sleeping bags as many of the lodges didn’t even have blankets and even a blanket wasn’t enough.  The only heating was the wood burning stoves in the dining rooms.  Even though the lodges are very spartan, they beat the alternative of camping in the yak fields among the yaks and their dung.  The lodges we stayed in were clean, with friendly owners and staff.  For those of you more accustomed to the beach and 5 star resorts, the lodges will be pretty rough but to anyone used to backpacking, they are a luxury.

One of the several suspension bridges crossing the Dudh Kosi River

I was up early the next morning, about 5:30am, so took a short walk and some early morning photos before it was time to pack.  The mornings typically started at about 6:30am with packing, breakfast at 7:30am and on the trail about 8am.  The trail from Monjo to Namche Bazaar, where we would spend the next 2 nights, wasn’t very long, only about 4 miles, but made up for it in steepness.  We were going from 9300 ft. to 11,300 ft. with almost all of the elevation gain in the last mile and a half.  At the beginning, the trail followed the river up the valley, a gradual ascent with the occasional short, steeper climb.  It was here that we entered Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO Heritage Site created in 1976 to preserve the ecology and cultural history of the Everest region.  The first few days we were competing with a multitude of yak and donkey trains for space on the trail which would become a less frequent occurance once we climbed above Namche.  Buffs came in very handy, using them as a face mask when it got dusty.  For those of you not familiar with Buffs, they are a thin, lightweight synthetic tube that can be used for everything from a bandana or cap to a facemask, to a hair tie.

A monk sits spinning a large prayer wheel along the trail

It was on the climb as we neared Namche Bazaar that we got our first look at Mt. Everest.  While it wasn’t close to the prettiest peak we would see, it is the highest mountain on earth and is what we all had come to witness.  What a satisfying moment, to have traveled 30+ hours to get from Tucson to Kathmandu, survive the landing at Lukla, hike a day and a half, and now be seeing the highest point on our planet with my own eyes.  Better yet, knowing it was only going to get better.  Namche Bazaar was a welcome sight after the long, warm climb we had just completed.  Several were starting to feel the elevations effect on endurance already.  The altitude experience of our group ranged from never being higher than a skyscraper in Manhattan to having been above 20,000 feet.  I have been as high as the summit of Kilimanjaro at 19,340 ft. and am one of those lucky people who both do well at altitude and don’t get altitude related illnesses.  The thing about altitude illness (Acute Mountain Sickness[AMS], High Altitude Pulmonary Edema [HAPE], and High Altitude Cerebral Edema [HACE]), is that it can happen to anyone, regardless of fitness, training, or preparation.  There are things one can do to help prevent them, such as going slowly and giving yourself time to acclimatize to maintaining good hydration to taking preventative medications such as Diamox or Ginko.  While I will touch on thses and other topics on altitude illness, I’m not going to go into detail.  There are many great resources on the web that discuss these topics.

The village of Monjo at dawn

After arriving at Namche Bazaar we walked to our hotel, the aptly named Hotel Namche and settled in for lunch and to check into our rooms.  We were pleasantly surprised to find we had reservations for the deluxe room which included a bed warmer, and in-room bathroom and hot shower.  Heaven!  Here would be our home for the next 2 nights as we would spend an extra day there for acclimatization.

Arriving in Namche Bazaar

Climbing aboard the Sea Otter

With the luggage and ourselves loaded and our daypacks on our laps or jammed between our legs, the plane took off and started the short 35 minute flight into the Himalayas and Lukla.  Our trek would consist of 14 days in the mountains, reaching Everest Base Camp on the 9th day, trekking Kala Patthar the 10th morning, then returning to Lukla for a last night in the mountains and a flight back to Kathmandu the 14th day.  As the loaded Sea Otter climbed higher into the mountains, we began to catch glimpses of the peaks through the clouds, providing a teasing sample of what we were soon to be experiencing.  The cockpit door was open and I was near the front so was able to see us approaching the runway at Lukla Airport through the windshield.  I can assure you that you don’t really appreciate just how short that runway is until you are watching it through the windshield of your plane on approach.  Tenzing-Hillary Airport has a short 2000ft. runway the is uphill on the landing so the planes can slow down before the rock wall at the end, and allowing a downhill take-off to get enough speed to lift off before the runway ends in a drop into the valley below. The National Geographic Channel dubbed it the most dangerous airport in the world although there hasn’t been a crash there since 2008.

Improvising a sun visor

An ominous warning

The runway at Lukla

I still vividly remember Reed sitting next to me stating, “Holy shit, that runway is short! I’m having palpitations” as he held his hand over his heart.  The landing was quite uneventful (a good thing) and we got off the plane in the cool morning air to our first view of the village of Lukla and the stone construction of the area.  Storefronts catering to the trekking crowd lined the narrow stone paved streets as we walked to the Namaste Lodge for breakfast, meeting the Nepali Guides, and organizing the gear before hitting the trail.  The Namaste is where we would be staying on our return before flying back to Kathmandu.  Let me clarify something here, I use the term lodges very loosely, at least in relation to a typical western perception.  The lodges are stone buildings with a commons/dining room that is usually somewhat dark with a wood burning stove used for heating and boiling water.  The rooms are small with 2 single beds with some hooks on the plywood walls and just enough space for 2 adults to stand side by side between the beds.  You may or may not have room for your bag and pack at the end of the bed.  The bathrooms are communal and a shower costs extra.  The one exception to the above description was the Hotel Namche in Namche Bazaar.

A Sea Otter loading for takeoff

The village of Lukla

Lukla’s streets were crowded with a mix of locals, trekkers getting ready to head up the trail, and trekkers returning from their travels.  Mixed in were internet cafes and coffee shops, including a Starbucks.  The snowcapped mountains above captured our attention as we had our first taste of the majestic Himalayas.  Little did we know just how much more spectacular they would become the higher we would go.  From this point on all travel was by foot, beast of burden, or helicopter. The airports would be the last place we would see anything with wheels (other than prayer wheels) for the next 2 weeks.  It was quite a start to what became a once-in-a-lifetime trip (to use an over-used but appropriate cliche).

Constructing by hand

Near the Namaste Lodge

Trekkers and guides amid Lukla's narrow streets

Snow-capped peaks watch over the village of Lukla

Harry Potter is even popular in Kathmandu

Sweeping the streets by hand

"Why Women Live Longer Than Men"

The wiring in Nepal was either sheer brilliance or sheer insanity, frequently looking like a tangled rat’s nest.  This worker appears unconcerned that his ladder it right in the middle of the tangle and next to a transformer as he looks down the street, hence the title.

A cow eating trash in a Kathmandu street

You will occasionally see cows, which are considered sacred, wandering the Katmandu streets unmolested.

Rickshaws awaiting repair at a bicycle repair shop

Red chiles for sale

A homeless teen and companions sleep with their dogs on a Kathmandu street

Pedestrians compete with autos and motorcycles on the narrow Kathmandu streets

Street food for sale

Dried chrysanthemums for sale at a flower shop

A small shrine to Ganesha, a Hindu god, decorates a Kathmandu street

A pedestrian walks by the Yak and Yeti hotel