Namche to Namche - 3 passes, 3 peaks, and Everest Base Camp

We've had no internet service, so it's been a little while since my last update.  We've done an  incredible amount of hiking in the past week.  We slept above 15,000 feet for 7 nights in a row.  We also climbed above 17,000 feet 4 times and above 18,000 feet 3 times.


Another great day.

The first section was from Namche Bazaar to Pangboche. This was a really nice hike through a lot of forest. The next day took us to Chuckhung, where the high elevation began.  From here, we climbed up Chuckhung Ri.  It was the highest elevation we would reach for the trip, 18,238 feet.  The climb was tough.  We ascended 2600 feet in 1.5 miles.  For those in Fort Collins, that's about double the elevation gain of horsetooth in half the distance and at 18,000 feet.  Needless to say my legs were burning.



Ryan on Chukhung Ri - 18,238 feet.

The next day we left Chukhung for Lobuche.  Tom and I took different routes.  Tom was feeling tired and went down and around.  I took the Kongma La route which took me over 18,000 feet for the second day in a row.  This ended up being the toughest hike of the trip.  Especially since I had done the Chuckhung Ri the day before.

Ryan on the Kongma La - 18,159 ft.

Lobuche was the coldest night yet.  It was -7C in our room.  The walls were also 1/8" plywood, so you could here everything.  The guy in the next room snored all night and I barely got any sleep. 

From Lobuche we headed up to Gorak Shep.  From here we set out to Everest Base Camp.  I thought this was a very nice hike.  Great views along the whole stretch.  Everest Base Camp itself is empty this time of year, because all the Everest attempts are made in the spring when there is good snowpack.

Ryan and Tom at Everest Base Camp - 17,721 ft.

 From Gorak Shep, we also summited Kala Pattar.  This would be the third time above 18,000 feet.  It was also cloudy that morning.  It was the only cloudy morning we had in over 30 days of trekking.  Even though the views weren't great, the clouds made for an interesting feel.



Ryan and Tom on Kala Pattar - 18,223 feet.

After Gorak Shep, we hiked to Dzonglha to prepare for the Cho La.  Dzonglha was completly packed.  We had to sleep in the dormatory with about 12 other people.  It worked out OK because no one snored.  The following morning we headed out to hike the Cho La.  This was the shortest of the 3 passes, and also the most traveled because it connects the Everest region with Gokyo. 

The trekking crew on Cho La (17,782 ft) - Ryan, Govinda, Tom, and Nima

The final part of the trek to Gokyo was very different than our normal treks.  You cross the Ngozumpa Glacier.  It felt like being on another planet.  It's also hard to tell you're on a glacier because it's covered in gray dirt and rocks.



Crossing Ngozumpa Glacier.

The Gokyo region was very nice.  Gokyo has a very large blue lake at the base of the town.  From here, we summited the Gokyo Ri.  This was another tough hike that was straight up a steep hill.



Ryan and Tom on Gokyo Ri with Everest in the background - 17,519 ft.

The next day we set out for Renjo La.  This is the third and final pass.  It also turned out to be the nicest.  Very few people do this pass, and we only passed one trekker on the way down.  The hike really felt like you went back in time, to how trekking in the Himalays probably felt 20 years ago, before there was more development and tourists.  It was a great hike to end our trip with.



The trekking crew on Renjo La (17,772 ft.) - Govinda, Ryan, Nima, and Tom

After completing the Renjo La, we spent a night in Thame.  It was a nice quiet place with a good lodge.  The lodge is owned by Aba Sherpa who climbed Everest a record 21 times.

Today we reached Namche Bazaar, which takes us back to where we started this loop.  All that's left is to hike to Lukla and get a flight to Kathmandu.  We've done so much it's hard to process everything.  Everything went very well with no weather delays or major illnesses.  To say this was the trip of a lifetime would be an understatement.  It was an absolutly incredible experience, from the hiking, to the people, to the culture, to the mountains, to the lack of media/news/technology.   Like any trip this long, there were some frustrating moments.  This is somewhat expected since you are pushing yourself physically very hard every day, often with very little sleep.  It does feel nice to be going lower and feeling a bit warmer as we head out.  I will definatly need to spend some time reflecting back on the entire trip when I get home. 

Ama Dablam.

Lukla to Namchee Bazaar - The start of Everest Base Camp

The trip started with our flight to Lukla.  The Lukla airport is definitely a chaotic place.  We thought our flight was going to go in about 2 hours, but all of a sudden we were up and on the plane.  The flight wasn't nearly as scary as I expected.  Probably because the weather was perfect.  On a day with worse weather, it may be a pretty rough flight.  It was neat to see the small landing strip on the side of the mountain. The land was very smooth though. 

Starting the trek feels a little weird.  We are half way through the trip, but it feels like we are starting over.  Lower elevation, warmer temperatures, new people.  After our flight to Lukla, we hiked to Phakding to spend the night.  It was a nice place and quiet. The rooms are generally small with two small beds.  You only go in the bedroom to sleep though.  Most of your free time in the evening is spent in the common areas.

Our room in Phakding, which is typical of the trek.

The next day we hiked to Namchee Bazaar.  This was a pretty tough hike.  It had a lot of up and down for awhile, before it climbed about 2600 feet up.  Namchee Bazaar is unique from the other towns we've seen.  Most of the towns are a single row of teahouses and shops along each side of the road.  Namchee is built similar to an amphitheater.  I think it would be impossible to live here and not be in shape.  You constantly walk up and down to get anywhere. 

Tom above Namchee Bazaar.

For our acclimatization day, we hiked over to Khumjung.  We past a group of school girls heading the same direction.  They were probably in 4th grade.  They hike 1-1.5 hours and 1200feet of elevation one way everyday just to goto school.  Seeing what some of the Nepali people do makes you appreciate how much access we have to schools, food, safety, health clinics...

Of course, the best part is that we are finally getting views of the large Himalayan mountains we came to see.  We've had several opportunities to view Everest.  We've also been having great weather, so the views have been fantastic.  The flights to Lukla were cancelled for 7 days straight before we got there, but luckily the weather cleared and we flew.

Everest and Lhotse to the right.

Next we will trek to Tengboche where there is a festival going on.  After that, we hit our first high pass, the Kongma La (also the first time we will get above 18,000 feet), and head towards Everest Base Camp. 

Ryan and Tom with Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam.

Manang to Pokhara - End of the Annapurna Circuit

We completed the Annapurna circuit last night with our arrival into Pokhara.  The final segment had it's ups and downs.

The first part of the trek was from Manang to Khangsar.  Manang was a nice place with great views of Gangapurna and it's glacial lake.  There was an old gompa that we visited that took about an hour to climb to.  It was very interesting.  The monk there lived in rooms carved out of the rock face, similar to Mesa Verde. 

Gangapurna with it's glacial lake.  View from Monk's home in Manang.

We've had a chance to visit many monasteries and gompas.  We received several blessings for safe passage over Thorong La.

Having my luck stat increased by +10.

Following Khangsar, we had 4 tough days in a row.  First was Khangsar to Tilicho Lake and back to Tilicho Lake Base Camp.  This was a very long and tough day.  Not quite as long as Long's Peak, but we've been hiking for several days straight, carrying a lot more weight, and hiking at 16,000 feet.  Tilicho Lake was beautiful.  The left side had high snow covered mountains which came down to the lake.  In the back you could see far off snow capped peaks.  Tilicho Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world at ~16,200 feet.  The base camp there was at 13,500 feet, the highest elevation we've slept at so far.  The accommodations there were very meager.  It was a bit like sleeping in a cave, and some small rodent got into Tom's energy bars during the nights.

Ryan and Tom and Tilicho Lake.

After Tilicho Lake we headed to Yak Kharka.  It was a nice hike, but just back along the same mountain range, so not too much new to see.  It was still a very long day with a lot of up and down hiking.

After Yak Kharka we headed to Thorong La high camp to spend the night at 15,500 feet.  It was between Yak Kharka and Thorong La that both Tom and I had trouble sleeping with the altitude.  One minute you were laying fine in your bed, and the next you were gasping for air.  It was a very weird feeling and made it scary to try and fall asleep.  Since we weren't getting much sleep, it also made the treks harder.  High camp was another very basic lodge.  That was our earliest trekking start thus far, at 4:45AM.  Everyone starts that early to avoid the high winds that can start later in the morning.  The hike to Thorong La (the highest point on the Annpapurna circuit at ~17,700 feet), was tough and incredibly cold.  The temperature at the top was 14F.  We only stayed for a few minutes to capture some photos and enjoy the view before we started down due to the cold.  The hike down was a very steep 5000 foot decent.  Although it was tough, we hiked from above the clouds to below which was a very neat experience.

Tom and Ryan on top of Thorong La.

After the decent of Thorong La, we spent the night in Muktinath.  This is a pilgrimage site for many people in India and Nepal.  We got to visit the temples and monasteries there.  It was a larger town with a lot of shops.  It was also a little warmer, which felt great after going over the Thorong La.

After Muktinath, we hiked to Khagbeni, and then to Jomsom.  Khagbeni was a very interesting town.  It had a newer part with shops and restaurants, but also had a very old part which was very mid-evil looking.  There was a very old gompa there which we visited.

The downside to the hike after Muktinath is that the road there is somewhat heavily traveled by buses, jeeps, and motor bikes.  This means you are always going off the side of the road, and breathing in a lot of dust.  For how nice the Annapurna trail is, it's ashame to end it hiking on a road like that.  The views are still beautiful, but it does distract from the ability to lose yourself in the environment.

Our flight from Jomsom was delayed due to bad weather in Pokhara, so we decided to take the bus since the planes might not fly for several days. We also hear that the flights to Lukla to start the Everest Base Camp trek have been delayed for 6 days now.  We are hoping this will clear out by the time we get there.  I can't imagine what the people are thinking that are stuck in Lukla trying to get home.  But back to Pokhara.  The flight delay meant a 20min plane ride turned into a 12 hour bus/car ride.  The bus ride was neat for about 1 hour.  It was loud, dusty, crowded, and uncomfortable.  The road is just a bumpy dirt road, so you were constantly bouncing all over the bus.  The seats had metal bars which would constantly bang my shins and arms. 

We finally arrived in Pokhara at 9:30PM, had some dal bhat and went to bed.  The next day in Pokhara was great though.  Pokhara is a very neat and relaxing town.  I feel like I could spend a week here just walking around and drinking tea.  We almost skipped this town, but I'm glad we got to spend a full day here.  It was nice to just relax as we start to prepare for the Everest Trek.

From Pokhara we will go to Kathmandu by a 5hour car ride.  The next day we will try to get our flight to Lukla, and start trekking towards Everest Base Camp.  I hope to update the blog again when we get to Namchee Bazaar in 3-4 days.

Sunrise in the Himalayas.