Hello everyone,
The following are extracts from my journal, written either on the evening of each day or on the morning after. A semi-detailed map of the trek is available here (open in new window). The details and measurements here come from a larger and more accurate map.
Day 1: Kathmandu to Monjo (1355m-2835m)
Woke up at 4.30am this morning. Caught a taxi to the airport with Lucyna and Marian and met up with the American family; Mark, Laura and Aubrey. Within thirty minutes we were sitting on a rickety twenty-seater biplane and headed for the Himalayas. The scenery was truly incredible and the stewardess was beautiful, so all in all a very nice flight. We came into land at Lukla (2840m) on a worryingly short uphill runway – the plane has to cut its engines as soon as it lands and make a handbrake turn at the end. We headed straight for breakfast at a German bakery and got chatting to an American father and son – Jerry and Evan – and an Italian bloke – unsurprisingly named Guiseppe. We had a gentle two-hour hike to Phakding and a leisurely lunch; this consists of incredibly fresh ingredients (they actually pick them from the garden to order) so takes quite a while. We continued our trek after lunch, passing increasingly impressive waterfalls, and finally arrived in Monjo (2835m – we’d lost five metres!) Evan tried to teach me how to play cribbage for two hours then gave up and went to bed. I had decided yesterday not to pack my sleeping bag, as it’s too heavy to carry, but immediately regretted the decision with a cold and restless night.
Just realised I left my sunglasses in the permit office. Bugger.
Day 2: Monjo to Namche Bazar (2835m-3440m)
It was a difficult day today, but thankfully quite short. We left late at 9.15am and only trekked for three hours, but it was really tough going. From Monjo we dropped over 150m, crossed a long, high suspension bridge over river rapids, then climbed a very steep 750m. Namche Bazar is, well, bizarre – an odd kind of mini-town at 3440m, complete with supermarkets, banks and Internet access. We arrived about 12.30pm on the outskirts and had a drink. I left without paying and the poor café owner had to chase me up a very steep climb for his 150 rupees. I’ve developed a habit of forgetting to pay for drinks in Nepal that could get me in a lot of trouble. When we arrived we had lunch and did a little shopping. I bought a cool bandana and North Fake cap (I left my normal cap in Kathmandu) and enquired about hiring a sleeping bag. At close to 90 pence per day, I decided to brave the trek without one. Well, I’m British aren’t I?
After dinner Evan, Guiseppe, Lucy and I went to a pool bar. The guy had to open it specially, which made us feel guilty when we played one game, without even buying drinks, and felt the need to head to bed. We’re not even going anywhere tomorrow.
Slept in my down jacket and three pairs of trousers.
Day 3: Namche Bazar Acclimatization Day (3440m)
On acclimatization days, the general idea is to climb a certain height (somewhere around 500m) to prepare your body for what is to come, then descend again to sleep. However, when we woke up at 6.30 it was tipping it down, so we went back to bed for an hour. After another eggy breakfast (not sure how many more eggs I can take – I might get daalbhat tomorrow) we set off up the mountain to Khumjung. I was arsing around with different breathing techniques and consequently strained my chest. On the way down I saw a very obese woman waddling up the hill. God knows how she got so high; mind over matter I guess (she must have one hell of a mind). I also saw several yaks grazing; the yaks here are half-breeds – part yak and part cow – but they bleat like sheep. If cows are Gods, why aren’t these yaks Demigods? Spent the evening talking and playing cards then headed to bed.
Day 4: Namche Bazar to Mong (3440m-3973m)
Up at 6am with the intention of an early start, but it was clouded with fog and tipping it down. We sat around drinking milk tea until about 10.30 then decided we would just have to get wet. We said goodbye to Guiseppe as he was waiting for his girlfriend to join him and headed off. After the initial climb out of Namche we hit a flat, easygoing jaunt along the mountainside. The views were stunning (we could see the suspension bridge we crossed on day two far below us) but it was raining too heavily to take out the camera. Once we reached Kyangjuma we had to set off in the direction of Gokyo, as a falling boulder destroyed the bridge between Kyangjuma and the amazingly named Phunki Tenga. The walk from here was tough, wet and miserable, along rocky paths that dipped up and down. I finally arrived at Mong, the agreed lunch stop, and they lit a fire for us to dry our clothes. We ate eggs and waited for the American family to arrive. Our plans of continuing to Phortse were scuppered when the family arrived at nearly 4pm (over two hours after the rest of us) and the fog had returned in spades. We had no choice but to take a room in the smelly, shabby hostel and we'll just have walk hard tomorrow.
Day 5: Mong to Dingboche (3973m-4410m)
Today seemed to go on forever. Up at 5.15am and gone by 6.30 (girls). We left the American family in Mong as we were going all the way to Dingboche and they (rather sensibly) didn’t want to go so far in one day. So we set off, initially descending 300m to Phortse Tenge, then ascending 150m to Phortse. We weaved up and down for two hours to Pangboche. Everybody stopped for lunch but it was too early for me (barely 10am) so after a cup of tea I set off. A Nepali man informed me it was four hours to Dingboche, and I made it in two. My legs felt really strong and I’ve really got to grips with my breathing; Jerry showed me a cough to shift the layer of carbon dioxide that settles on your lungs. The others arrived around an hour after me and we decided to climb to the highest lodge in the village to acclimatize. I didn’t eat lunch and really struggled to finish my dinner, but I made myself as I knew that loss of appetite is a sign of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness).
I’ve just been given a cup of tea in a mug that reads ‘Hao aer you?’
Day 6: Dingboche Acclimatization Day (4410m)
Lucy, Marian and Evan went for a long hike today, but Jerry and I thought we’d relax in the morning and climb to the top of the hill overlooking Pheriche in the afternoon. I say ‘hill’ as my sense of perspective has changed slightly – it’s well over three times the height of Ben Nevis, there just isn’t any snow. The others returned from their walk in the late afternoon and Lucy was feeling rough. In the evening, three Americans arrived with news that our American family have descended as Laura was unwell. I’m starting to feel pretty grimy, so paid for a small bowl of lukewarm water to dab at the necessaries before bed.
Day 7: Dingboche to Dhukla (4410m-4620m)
Lucy still isn’t well. We decided that the 500m climb to Lobuche is silly today if we’re not all feeling 100%, so instead we set off at 11.30am for Dhukla (less than halfway). It was a beautiful walk – there was mist everywhere and you could barely see what was happening ten feet in front of you, but it was so refreshing. Very Scottish. We also passed some yak herder huts, which consist of four walls of precariously balanced rocks. We arrived by 1pm and spent the rest of the day playing cards with two German guys called Janko and Karsten. Although I wasn’t especially tired, we were kicked out of the communal room at 8pm so the Sherpas could get their kip.
Day 8: Dhukla to Lobuche (4620m-4910m)
Today it was Evan’s turn to feel ill. We woke up early, but as it was snowing we hung around for a while. Incidentally, while the snowfall was pretty minimal, it was the first time I had seen such incredibly defined snowflakes. We finally set off about 11am and arrived in Lobuche little after 12pm – our shortest day yet! I arrived fifteen minutes before everybody else; compared to my pathetic first few days I am flying now...I just hope it lasts. We found the only accommodation with space, which is constantly stunk out by the toilet or by plastic burning on the stove – I spent the evening with my head out of the window like a dog. It’s odd to see so many other trekkers around – we’ve obviously passed others while trekking but never shared a lodge with more than a few other people. One of the groups – a joint Malaysian and Chinese outfit – randomly began to sing traditional songs in the evening. It was really pleasant and left me with a big grin on my face, but everybody else was trying to ignore them. One of the songs reminded me of Auld Land Syne, which reminded me of Christmas, which reminded me of Christmas dinner; turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, the obligatory Brussels sprout, stuffing, gravy – at which point I was interrupted by a boy plonking a plate of runny egg and half-cooked potatoes in front of me. Oh well.
As a side note, one of the Chinese men began a passionate rendition from the Chinese score of The Phantom of The Opera, complete with increasingly emphatic gestures, and his poor wife had to keep ducking out the way of his flailing extremities. She timed her dodges perfectly – it obviously wasn’t their first time.
Day 9: Lobuche to Everest Base Camp...nearly (4910m-approx. 5250m)
It was my turn to be ill today. We left a snow-covered Lobuche at 7.30am. I felt really rough and pathetically weak – it took me over two-and-a-half hours to get to Gorak Shep (5140m), twice as long as I had anticipated. I managed half a bowl of chicken soup (sans le chicken) before we set off for Everest Base Camp. Big mistake. I struggled slowly on for an hour before realising that I was less than halfway there, and would die trying. The Nepalese clearly never got to grips with the term ‘base’. I was showing signs of severe AMS (loss of appetite, headache, nausea, dizziness, walking drunkenly with no kebab in hand) and knew I needed to descend. However, I blacked out and descended a lot quicker than I had intended. I fell from the path for about twenty metres before managing to wrap myself around a rock. I initially found it very funny, but when I tried to move and simply slipped further, I started to panic. I was on a scree slope (broken rock with no attachment to solid mountain) so had absolutely no grip. When I grabbed a large rock, it simply came out and went crashing down the mountainside. I decided I would have to descend onto the glacier below and started to do so (with very little control over how far I was slipping), but finally spotted some solid rocks that I managed to clamber over. Finally, after half an hour, and with only a twisted knee and a swollen ankle to show for my ordeal, I made it back to the path. The adrenaline left me and the illness returned with a vengeance. I staggered back to the teahouse in Gorak Shep and went to straight to bed. I slept a little and awoke to discover that Mark had arrived. Laura and Aubrey had returned to Kathmandu but he had climbed back up from Namche in record time (and with no acclimatization) to meet us. Everybody else returned from Base Camp feeling sick, especially Lucy. Mark shared a room with me and kept me awake with his ridiculously loud snoring. Interestingly, he sounds just like my dad. Why don’t people snore with an accent?
Day 10: Gorak Shep to Dhukla (5140m-4620m)
Woke up at 4.30am and popped outside to fill up my water bottle. I stopped in my tracks at the stunning view. It was dark, clear and silent, and the moon and stars lit up the mountain range. It was one of the most serene moments of my life. We set off up to Kala Patthar at 5am and I was feeling ill again. Kala Patthar is a peak with clear views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse (most shots of these mountains are taken from this peak), and we planned to get to the top for sunrise. I was really struggling but wanted to get a good view of the mountains and at least get higher than Base Camp. I managed around 5400m (Base Camp is 5360m) and some amazing views of Everest before I had to turn around. Although it would have been nice to get to Base Camp, I managed to get to the same height, which is really the only claim that Base Camp offers you (being many miles from Everest itself). And I did it all without a sleeping bag! Lucy also turned back and when the rest returned we decided that we desperately needed to descend. We all went down to Lobuche, where we said goodbye to Jerry and Evan. They wanted to go to Gokyo as planned, but we had considered that crossing the Cho La Pass (which required two days above 5300m) wasn’t plausible in our conditions. Instead we descended all the way to Dhukla and slept there. Superman Mark went from Kala Patthar to Base Camp, then arrived in Dhukla in the early evening. Just in time to keep me awake with his bloody snoring!
Day 11: Dhukla to Pangboche (4620m-3930m)
Woke up at 6.30am feeling much better. Lucy was also feeling better so we set off at 9, aiming for Pangboche. I steamed ahead, feeling really good, and stopped to wait for the others in Pheriche (4270m). I ordered tea in a guesthouse and sat in the garden. I got chatting to the owner and soon discovered that it was his family home, and not a guesthouse at all. I apologised but he was really sweet, and gave me some Hobnobs (!) with my tea. It turns out that he owns the lodge we stayed in at Gorak Shep. The others caught up – Marian was now feeling ill – and we commenced down past Orsho and Shomore to Pangboche. We found a great teahouse with Western toilets and sinks to wash in. Compared to the last week or so it was like a 5 star resort. There are also great views of Ama Dablam, which was obscured by cloud on the way up. It’s the most beautiful mountain, with a huge slab of ice on one face that looks ready to avalanche at any minute. Marian spent the rest of the day throwing up and Mark spent it snoring. I couldn’t sleep again so went for a midnight walk. I tripped over a Buddhist chorten in the dark and narrowly avoided falling off the path again.
Day 12: Pangboche to Tengboche (3930m-3860m)
Mark left for Namche Bazar about 8.30am as he plans to join his family in Kathmandu the day after next. I spent the morning washing and experimenting with bandana techniques that appeared unfailingly ridiculous. My head is simply too big for such an average-sized piece of cloth. My ginger mess of a beard is quite long now as well so I look like a hippy – I think I’ll go for a shave when I get back to civilisation. We left late in the morning with the aim to go to Tengboche – we were reliably informed that the bridge between Phunki Tenga (such a cool name) and Khumjung was repaired. I steamed ahead again. My knee was troubling me, the blisters on the balls of my feet (which had developed on descent) were painful and my left ankle kept inexplicably collapsing, but I was enjoying this new, untrodden route. It was nice to go through the forest for a change, and the views of Everest and Ama Dablam were superb. Whoever said that coming downhill was more difficult than going up was an idiot. It can be painful (especially if you fall down) but I know which one I’d choose. Perhaps they meant with regards to concentration; apparently nearly 10% of people who make it to the Everest summit don’t make it back down again.
In Tengboche I fell in love with a mountain called Thamserku, which was visible high above our lodge. In the afternoon we went to visit a Buddhist Monastery – the largest gompa in Nepal and the highest in the world – where they had an hour’s chanting. It was very relaxing, but I think my monks in Baneshwor are better chanters (perhaps I could arrange a chant-off). In the evening I had a ‘Mars Pie’ – a melted Mars Bar in pastry – and felt very sick. I spent the evening tolerating the conversation of two strange Yorkshiremen called Richard (that’s both of them) who told me all about their amateur dramatics society. Incidentally, Richard 1 began the conversation in your average, civilised way – he leaned over my shoulder while I was writing some private notes and began reciting them out loud.
Day 13: Tengboche to Namche Bazar (3860m-3440m)
Got up at an extremely leisurely 8.15am today. I walked down a very long steep slope to Phunki Tenga (finally!) It’s a tough climb and made me glad we’d come the other way – though perhaps I’m forgetting how tough Kyangjuma to Mong was. Had a quick coffee in Phunki – bit of a non-event but an essential stop – then continued down the hill. I saw a girl walking up with her back bent awkwardly over and advised her to “stand up straight, you’ve got a long way to go”. It was only afterwards that I realised what a cruel thing that was to say – I’m sure if she had the energy she would have thumped me! I crossed the new, temporary wooden bridge (you could see the remains of the old one still flapping in the river rapids) then had a long climb to Kyangjuma, where I treated myself to three bottles of Sprite. I also saw my first genuine 100% yak and set off for Namche. It was quite an easy trek but with one-and-a-half litres of fizzy sloshing around my belly, resulting in three stitches (one in each side and particularly bad one in my forehead) and the innumerable blister clusters on my feet, it felt quite tough. I eventually arrived about three, had a lie down and a poo on a toilet seat (aah!) then Lucy and Marian arrived. We went for a cake and bumped into a Spanish guy called Javier, who had descended from Gorak Shep to Namche in a single day (which is ridiculous), and is now off to climb Ama Dablam. Since my usual sense of irresponsibility was now coupled with access to a bank, I ordered pizza, chips and my first beer of the holiday for dinner. I needed to go back to the bank. Lucy and Marian got talking about girly things in the evening so I toddled off to bed.
Day 14: Namche Bazar to Toktok (3440m-2600m)
I woke up late and had a very lazy morning – I could get used to this. I went with the girls to bring our flight date forwards two days (we didn’t do Gokyo as planned) then we split up; they wanted to climb a nearby peak while I was reluctant to stop going downwards. I set off about 12.30pm, expecting to find the down from Namche much easier than I had whinged about on Day 2, but I was impressed how legitimate my tiredness had been. It was also slow as I got stuck behind a herd of yaks with no room to pass. I stopped for lunch in Monjo (where we spent our first night) and pushed on to Benkar, which my map informed me had hot springs. I asked a local about these and he said that there were no springs in the entire Solokumbu region, and that the mapmaker was “an idiot”. I advise anybody to travel to South Asia purely to hear a Nepalese man say the word ‘idiot’. I was disappointed but decided to walk for another twenty minutes to Toktok and stay in a lodge by a waterfall that I remembered from the way up. The only other guests were a group of Germans, who spent the evening drinking local beer and listening to Pink Floyd.
Day 15: Toktok to Lukla (2600m-2840m)
Had a very greasy breakfast this morning – a hash brown, translated as a single flat blob of potato, with an omelette on top. I set off at 11am and around the first corner I saw conjoined dogs. I initially thought somebody had tied their tails together, but on closer inspection I saw they were actually fused at the buttocks. Two little boys were chasing them as they crabbed along the path. All my blisters popped yesterday so I powered up, then down, then up again, and made it to Phakding (2610m) in record time. As I was climbing out of the valley on the other side I saw an extremely English gentleman who, instead of a walking pole, was using an antique umbrella. He sat down in a tiny café and I decided that I’d have to join him. When he asked if the lemon tea was Twinings I nearly wet myself. I continued on and up (shouldn’t I have done all my climbing?) and passed a heavily pregnant woman heading to Base Camp – that can’t be a good idea. I finally arrived in Lukla and waited for Lucy and Marian, who arrived a couple of hours later with a Canadian guy called Ian, who looks incredibly Irish and has a Gaelic twang...despite never having set foot in Europe. I hadn’t had lunch so to compensate Ian and I both had two dinners. The restaurant was the nicest we’d seen on the trek but unfortunately had a Vengaboys album on loop. The word ‘venga’ must have popped up at least a hundred times. The two Richards poked their heads around the corner and asked to join us, so we promptly left. Strange day.
The flight is booked for 7.30 tomorrow morning.
Day 16: Lukla to Kathmandu (2840m-1355m)
The flight took off at 9.15am. After learning that Gorkha Airways weren’t flying we were transferred, after much fuss, to Yeti Airlines. We watched for two hours as planes from Yeti Airlines, Sita Air, Royal Nepal Airways and Gorkha Airways (what?) landed, until there was finally a plane for us. There are so many tourists showing up now and I have no idea where they’re all going to sleep. I noticed a significant increase in traffic when we were heading down – I’m so glad we did it on the cusp of tourist season.
The scenery from Lukla to Kathmandu was just as beautiful as on the way – I guess it was unlikely we’d change routes and go via Tibet – but the stewardess was disappointing and flight was very rocky. We came into land very steeply (so much so that my stomach lurched) and the plane was swaying from left to right. We touched down, were momentarily airborne, then touched down again.
Smooth.
The Rest: Leaving Nepal
So that was it. Everest Trek over...and I didn’t even make it to Base Camp.
We returned on Sunday and went straight for Thamel (the tourist region, complete with Western toilets, showers and juicy steaks). I went for a haircut and a scary shave with a huge blade, and spent the day in a rooftop café sipping filter coffee. In the evening I watched some Rugby – I left for the trek assuming that England were out of the World Cup – ate a huge dinner and drank several local beers.
Since then I have collected my things from the family in Lokhanthali and just relaxed – a bit of shopping, some sightseeing, and lounging around on scatter cushions. I’ve really got into reading ‘The Himalaya Times’ – Nepalese news in English for the tourists. It’s use of language is peculiar, using very informal words such as ‘cop’ and ‘jailbird’ in deadly serious articles, and the least informative and evocative headlines imaginable; some good examples are “Man Arrested”, “Woman Outraged” and “Rocket Fired”. One page sported the headline “Man Injured in Mishap” and the following informed “Mishap Victim Dead”. I was shocked by such a sudden downturn in fortune, but it turns out they’re unrelated ‘mishaps’...I put the word mishap in inverted commas as one reported a car colliding with a train, and the other was a man “mowed down” by a speeding bus.
As an aside, I have also discovered that Milan, my mentor and language teacher, has been sacked from VSN. It transpires that everything I paid for in my orientation week – bus rides, entrance fees, lunch – should have been taken from my volunteer fee, and was instead pocketed by her. Cheeky cow.
And so tomorrow I head to Osaka. I shall post again sushi-side.
Joe x
