Saturday April 23, 2011
6:33PM
After 7 days out and about, Ed and I got back this afternoon, and we had a great, but exhausting, time. 2 major mountain passes with some side hikes led up to a couple of well-needed rest days before coming back to Pheriche. The scenery was beautiful and traveling for a few days really made me realize why so many people fall in love with Nepal.
We started out with a relatively easy hike up to Zhungla, which entailed a gradual climb up to the valley below the Cho La Pass. The weather was sunny and windy, but by the time we arrived at our destination the clouds had rolled in, and by the next morning an inch of fresh snow covered the ground around our lodge as well as the surrounding hills. We both wondered how much had fallen at the higher elevations we were aiming to cross later in the day. As it turned out, the light snow was helpful. There was not enough to obscure the path and by leaving slightly later than other groups we were able to follow footsteps in the snow.
The trail gradually ascended a long valley up to what appeared from a distance to be a vertical rock wall. As we got closer to the steeper terrain ahead, we realized that there was a blocky trail that led up the rock face. After climbing a few thousand feet up the difficult trail we again found ourselves at the bottom of long valley, only this time one covered in snow. A short distance later the snow turned to ice, thankfully covered with a thin coating of snow which aided traction, and the valley became a glacier. To our right large crevasses and glacial tarns littered the landscape. Soon the horizon opened before us giving us wonderful views of the surrounding mountains, especially Ama Dablam and Cholatse among others.
It only took 3 hours or so to get to the top of the pass, but because of our late start we had to share the view with at least 25 of our closest friends. Ed and I shared a Mars bar I had saved for the occasion, took a few pictures and then made our way down the west side toward Thaknak. A short while later the clouds obscured the mountain tops making us realize that we had just barely made it in time to really see what makes the climb so worthwhile.
The remainder of the day was relatively uneventful, just the standard snow storm to make the last hour a little less pleasant. The thunder accompanying the snow, a rare phenomenon in the eastern US, made things a little more interesting. In contrast to my last attempt to cross the glacier separating Gokyo and Thaknak, the way was straightforward and easy to follow. After the difficulties of last time, I kept waiting for the path to fall off into the lakes below or to suddenly end at a deep river crossing. Luckily, that didn’t occur and as we climbed over the final hill into Gokyo, I couldn’t help but feel a bit satisfied to have finally completed this route.
The Namaste Lodge in Gokyo is one of my favorites thus far in Nepal. The food is good, the dining room is warm and the sleeping areas are clean. It has also proven to be a nice place to whether a snow storm, which is what we did.
The following day a few inches of snow had fallen and Ed and I decided to stay in Gokyo another night and do a hike in the area for the day. There is a string of 6 glacial lakes leading up to Gokyo and then onward to just below Cho Oyu. We left the banks of the third lake, on which the village lies and aimed upward, as usual. The sun was shining and the winds calm all the way to the fifth lake. From there we had great views of Cho Oyu, Everest and many of the other smaller mountains in the range. We continued on to the final lake but by the time we arrived an icy breeze was blowing and the clouds had arrived. There was nothing to do but hunker down behind a rock, out of the wind, and enjoy a Twix and a Clif Bar. As per my usual arrival in Gokyo, we puts our heads down through the blowing snow that greeted us, thus making 4 entries into the village in a snow storm.
The day’s efforts hadn’t been overly difficult, but when added to the effort required to cross the pass on the previous day, we were starting to feel a little tired. When we set out across the Rhenjo La Pass the next day, our legs were not quite as energetic as they had been at the start of the journey. We plodded out of Gokyo for the final time and crossed the base of the Gokyo Ri which lies opposite the village on the banks of the third lake. Excellent weather was upon us and persisted for the entirety of the day, an experience that I believe I had not yet had in Nepal.
Maybe we had built up the Cho La’s potential difficulty in our head due the reports from other trekkers, but it didn’t really seem too bad. In comparison the Rhenjo La was, plain and simply, hard. The ascent was long, stair-stepping up steep sections which led to large glacial cirques ringed by mountains higher than those we had already crossed. The route finding was also more difficult and it wasn’t until we were a few feet from the last steep section that I saw where the path led and that it was possible without technical equipment.
The 3 hour slog was well worth the effort as the views were the best I have encountered in Nepal and, for a change, the weather cooperated long enough for us to take in the dramatic vista in the distance. I snapped a few pictures, took a rest and enjoyed one of the best Snickers bars I have ever had before we packed up and ventured down the western side of the pass. Of course, we expected to find similar difficult terrain down the opposite side but instead there was a beautiful staircase extending several thousand feet down the side of the mountain. Why one side was so rugged and the other so polished I have no idea. Maybe the king of the Nepal came to the area and found the terrain too difficult and so mandated that stairs be built? Regardless, it made the way down quite easy in comparison to the ascent.
Ed had talked with a guide in Gokyo who recommended that we stop our descent in either the village of Lungden or, if we were fast, Thame further down the valley. He went on to say that it just wasn’t possible to get all the way to Namche in one day after coming over the pass from Gokyo. That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say to Ed who was now bound and determined to make it all the down. The challenge intrigued me, but I have to admit I was even more motivated by the potential for chicken dahl-bat, warm weather and the two German bakeries in town.
Once we got down into the less steep terrain we turned up the pace significantly. Lungden, Maralung, some other village I can’t remember and then Thame came and went without even a short break. Once you’re down a few thousand feet it is much easier to maintain a good pace but the lack of food and water started to slow us down. Ed is part camel and only drank 1.5 liters for the whole day and I managed only 1 liter more. The difference was that he didn’t finish what he had and I ran out 3 hours before we arrived. We also only consumed a couple of bars and a snickers before arriving in Namche, so the lack of calories didn’t help us out either. The last hill leading up to the Panorama Lodge nearly broke us, but we made it. The dahl-bat was exceptionally delicious that night as was the popcorn, hot chocolate, lemon Tang, chocolate cake .....
After spending 10 hours in mountaineering boots the day before, neither of us was up for walking anywhere, and Namche is an excellent place to pass a leisurely day or two. We started the day with a very large breakfast at the lodge before establishing camp on a local coffee shop’s sun-drenched deck. That is where we spent the next 4 hours drinking cappuccino. Once the breeze picked up a little we made the long walk across the street to the bakery to have a salami, cheese, cole slaw and fried egg sandwich on homemade brown bread. It was the strangest sounding club sandwich I had ever seen but it was excellent. The remainder of the day was spent wandering the streets checking out the shops. Ed bought a pair of down pants to take to Denali in a couple of weeks and I tried to haggle with a shopkeeper over a grossly overpriced Camelbak. The shopkeeper tried to argue that the extra cost was due to the expense of a porter carrying the bag up to Namche but I feel quite certain that no porter has ever gotten paid $50 for carrying anything, much less a 2 pound backpack. Despite all the effort all I came away with was a few pieces of chocolate to take back to Pheriche.
The most interesting event of the day came in a small bar which housed the only pool table in town. We decided to treat ourselves to a beer which was a great idea. The bartender had a great musical selection on his Ipod which he plugged into the stereo and blasted. When I asked to hear Pink Floyd, he got really excited. As it turned out, he learned to speak English by listening to Pink Floyd, and knew much more about the band than I ever did. With good music and a pool table (not so good but useable), we definitely stayed for a second round but then went back to the lodge to gorge ourselves again.
Through the course of the evening I felt a cold coming on, so the next morning we used that as our excuse to lounge and eat for another day. I debated getting a haircut at “The World’s Highest Hair Salon” but better judgement steered me away. Day 2 was essentially a repeat of day 1, minus the beer and pool, and it was equally as good as the previous. The one downside was getting a sunburn on my ankles when I took my socks off.
Today’s hike back to Pheriche was a little long but not too bad. After leaving the sun in Namche, I can’t say I was particularly excited to come over Pheriche Pass and walk down into the usual icy wind-tunnel that we call home. Whenever we ask Ang Rita about the weather his standard response since early March has been “It’s not usually this cold, I think warmer next week”. I don’t believe him anymore.
As for the remainder of my time here, I have been making a list of things I want to do before returning to Kathmandu. The first couple of things will be accomplished within the next week, but the others are going to be tough with only 28 days remaining. Tomorrow I’ll be staffing the clinic alone again while Alun and Lauren go for a hike. The following day I’m walking up to Lobuche before continuing on to Everest base camp to spend 3 days in the clinic there. Ed’s wife Jen is swapping with me so they can see each other before he departs for Denali. From base camp it’s back here for one day to do a bunch of laundry and then back up to Chukkung on the opposite side of the ridge. There I’m meeting a few people to climb Imja Tse (Island Peak but I prefer the local name) which should take 2-3 days. By that time there will be less than 3 weeks left here. The list of things to do in that remaining 3 weeks is long but I should be able to work something out with Alun and Lauren.
At the top of the list is to leave Pheriche, cross the Cho La Pass to Gokyo and descend Gokyo valley before returning up through Phortse and Pangboche to Pheriche all within 24 hr. After crossing the pass this week, I think it is very doable, but will be a hard day. The second on the list is to do the Kongma La Pass and likely spend one night up there to climb Pokalde. Lastly I would like to climb up to the base of Tabuche and scope out some of the routes. I have not intention of climbing high but the mountain is beautiful and close by, so it seems a shame to not take a closer look. I suspect that if I can get one or two of those done in my remaining time it will be a success.
Lastly, a few days on the road has allowed me to do some good reading. The book total is up to 12. I never thought I would get into the Harry Potter series but the first four were here in the clinic and since I have run out of most everything else with the exception of the last book in the Twilight series (I saw the first two movies), it seemed like the next most viable option. I knocked those out and now don’t have the fifth book. I checked on Amazon and was amazed that Harry Potter is not available electronically. I guess I’ll have to wait until June to find out what happens next, unless I happen to find a trekker who has and is willing to trade for something else......Twilight.
