Nepal Day 19 - Thame to Namche Bazaar

 5.84 miles, 942’ climbing

Alpine Lodge, Namche Bazaar, 11,277’ elevation

Having skipped our planned rest day in Gokyo, we are left with an extra day to return to Lukla. We had a couple of options, and we decided to head to Namche Bazaar for the night.

The morning was clear and bright. After breakfast we headed out of Thame, past the hydroelectric plant, and down switchbacks to a large suspension bridge that crossed the river. Just after crossing the bridge, Deepak spotted a danphe, the national bird of Nepal. It had brilliant blue and violet plumage with patches of green, golden brown, and orange. On its head was a crown similar to a peacock’s. It was amazing to see.

We continued down a very good dirt track through a forest of rhododendrons (some blooming), junipers, and pine. Some grass and bushes were present on the mossy forest floor. We went in and out of tiny villages and back into the forest, seeing many more local people going about their day than trekkers. People were preparing to plant potatoes in some fields. We saw a handful of tahr, and Bire told us that they dig up some of the potatoes. We stopped for lunch at a small lodge where a cute, small child entertained us.

Finally we turned a corner and were back in Namche. We stopped at the Alpine Lodge near the monastery and had fabulous hot showers, then looked around some of the shops. Bire took us to the monastery which had been closed when we were in Namche at the start of our trek.

Nepal Day 18 - Lungden to Thame plus side trip to Thame Monastery

 6.1 miles, 331‘ climbing

Monastery side trip: 2.4 miles, 1309’ climbing

Paradise Lodge, Thame, 12,510’ elevation

Last night when we went to our room, the night sky was clear and full of stars. It was also cold, so we didn’t hang around long admiring a sky with no light pollution, no clouds, no moisture in the atmosphere above us.

We had an easy trek to Thame today, a gradual descent on a dirt track that was comfortable underfoot. The path was narrow in one place where there had been a landslip, but relaxing overall. We crossed a couple bridges, saw small settlements on both sides of the river, passed a bunch of unattended cows and dzopkyos who made their way out to the hillside to graze for the day. By late morning clouds were moving in. We hoped 4 trekkers from Hamburg at the lodge made it up to the pass in time for the views.

The Thame valley has its share of trekkers, but they don’t seem to dominate the way of life here. It felt like we were seeing a slice of everyday life for the people who live here. We passed a lady out gathering yak dung to burn while carrying her toddler in a basket on her back. A couple people had dug up a winter’s store of potatoes in their yard in preparation for spring planting. We saw mani walls again with their ancient inscriptions.

As we approached Thame, we saw more mani walls, some stupas and prayer flags. Thame is divided into upper Thame and Lower Thame. Lower Thame experienced a devastating flood a couple years ago when a glacial lake let loose. First we headed to Paradise Lodge to book a room and get some lunch. We washed a couple of articles of clothing outdoors in a bucket and hung them on a line, then headed out to the Thame Monastery.

There was a long staircase leading up to the monastery past some chortens and mani walls. We slipped our shoes off and were given a tour of the monastery by a young monk who appeared to be in his early 20s and spoke very good English. The paintings are hundreds of years old. There are many books of prayers written in Tibetan script that were brought to the monastery when the Chinese cracked down on Buddhism in Tibet. We could feel how ancient and deeply held the beliefs are, how sacred the different objects and statues are, how devout the followers are. Then we had a moment of levity when the monk asked us if our feet, clad in wool hiking socks, were cold. We admitted they were a little cold; he said is bare feet were not, and we all laughed.

After touring the upstairs part of the monastery, it had started to rain and then snow quite hard. The monk invited us into the dining / common room for a cup of hot tea. Bire had not brought his rain jacket, and the monk who gave us a tour offered a large blue garbage bag for the walk back to the village which we all laughed about. The monk sat and looked through his phone for a while. Even monks do that!

Back at our lodge we had dinner and spoke to the other guests: German, Israeli, more Germans. Bire brought out some raksi, a local brew which reminded us of sake. We sipped a little, but found it very strong. The lodge owners mother refueled the stove with yak dung, and all of us near the stove pulled our tea or raksi glasses out of the way as a few dung crumbs spilled about.

Nepal Day 17 - Gokyo to Lungden via Renjo La

 7.24 miles, 3013’ climbing

Renjo La: 17,790’

Renzo Pass Support Guest House: 14,357’

Note: many place names are spelled multiple ways, thus Renzo or Renjo, Dragnag or Thaknak. These are transliterations from the Nepali alphabet.

After an early breakfast, we headed up a gradually climbing trail next to Gokyo Lake. 

The lake was 2/3 ice yesterday but only 1/2 ice this morning. We were in the sun, and it was very pleasant. Our itinerary had us staying 2 nights in Gokyo, but the weather is so good and the views so clear that Bire suggested continuing onwards today. We can add an overnight in another small town, and if weather arrives, it won’t matter so much at the lower elevations.

At the end of the lake, steeper climbing began, but it was never slippery or exposed where a fall would be a very bad idea with a potentially bad outcome (unlike the prior two days). We eventually emerged on the side of a large snowy bowl where we put on our microspikes and continued up the packed snow trail. Near the top, we were back on rock and dirt, and then we arrived. This was another pass with solar panels and electric outlets on a post. After some high fives and photos with perfectly clear views, we headed down the west side of the pass, easy walking on packed snow in our microspikes. We passed some trekkers heading up and offered encouragement. 

Near a glacial lake where the trail flattened out, we stopped to eat our packed lunches. We continued down valley, eventually reaching soft mossy dirt where we took off our microspikes. The character of the valley changed completely. It was steep downhill at times, then we reached Lungden, a pretty village on a plateau with lots of rock walls. We were happy to have internet access for the first time in a couple days, and we hope to spend some time catching up with people at home.

Bire’s brother whom he hasn’t seen in 5 years lives in this village. We hope he will get to see him.

Nepal Day 16 - Dragnag to Gokyo plus ascent of Gokyo Ri

 2.8 miles, 1500’ elevation gain estimated between villages

Namaste Lodge, 15,721’ elevation

Gokyo Ri: 17,583’ at the top, 1.3 miles from Gokyo, 2000’ elevation gain, steep in both directions!

After a good breakfast, we headed out for Gokyo. We knew it would be a shortish walk but with some strenuous walking on the glacier. A large group of Kongma were hanging around the village; maybe they get fed? We watched them a little, then started with an easy walk in the sunshine. Most of our walk was on the glacier, going up and around piles of rocks and snow. Some parts were slippery in snow or mud and exposed, places where it would be a really bad idea to fall, but Bire and Deepak were there to give a hand on the tricky parts. The track wasn’t always clear since it changes every year as the glacier moves and changes. We could see and hear chunks of ice and snow falling intermittently. There were some beautiful glacial lakes and snow and ice features. We passed a few groups of trekkers going in the opposite direction, and some people we’ve been seeing on a similar route to ours passed us.

Near the end of our route, we needed to ascend a long, steep hill off of the glacier. It was muddy, steep, narrow, and exposed. A large group was descending very slowly.  We waited for them out of the line of rock fall since it was too narrow to safely pass. As trekkers came up behind us, rocks and boulders intermittently came rolling and bouncing down the steep hill, some came close to trekkers behind us crossing the fall line . People yelled “Patthar!” (Rocks!) to warn them. This is the downside of a warm day. We headed up the narrow muddy path as soon as it was clear. Uphill was clearly safer (less slippery) than downhill. 

Soon we were rounding a hill for our first view of the colorful village of Gokyo, situated on a blue, partially iced-over lake, with its  large lodges with solar panels. Bire says 5 of them are owned by the same person. We checked into the Namaste Lodge and had lunch.

The weather was so good that we decided to go up Gokyo Ri, originally planned for tomorrow. We want to take advantage of clear skies since weather can change quickly. The climb up Gokyo Ri was very slow due to the steepness a high elevation. Finally we reached the top with its prayer flags. Some clouds had formed, but we had good views of Cho Oyu, Everest, Nuptse, Cholatse. 

On our way down, we again saw a large group of Kongmas. These were digging in the dirt and making a variety of sounds. Such cool birds! After a slow descent, we were back in Gokyo. We saw a pair of to-be-identified ducks near the inlet. We rewarded ourself with hot showers and felt positively human. The water was hot, and there was even a hair dryer available for those with a need.

Nepal Day 15 - Dzongla to Dragnag via Cho La

 5.6 miles, 3477’ climbing

Tashi Friendship Lodge, 15,397’ elevation

Cho La elevation: 17,800’

It was snowing when we went to bed. We set our alarms for a 5:30 breakfast and 6:00am departure, but Bire warned us that we would check conditions in the morning. If too much snow had fallen or weather was bad, we would stay an extra night in Dzongla and reassess. In the morning Bire said the weather was good, and we were on. For a couple of desert dwellers, the weather seemed questionable: cold, trail covered with snow, low clouds reducing visibility.

The route was marked with yellow pickets. We quickly lost sight of Dzongla in the clouds as we headed up the valley. In places you could see where the trail was under the newly fallen snow, but in some places you could not. A few other trekking groups were behind us, but for the most part we led the way.

The clouds lifted, and we had some beautiful views behind us as we continued through the snow. We put on our microspikes since Bire spotted blue ice lurking beneath the snow. As we approached the pass, only snow pickets were visible to indicate the route. Three young men passed us, but soon they floundered wondering whether to go left or right. Bire led the way up the steep final snowfield, carefully probing the snow. I think the independent trekkers and even the other guided groups were holding back to let him do the hard work of locating a safe trail. We traversed up some rock and then grabbed a fixed cable up to the actual pass. The cable ended before the last slippery, rounded step, but Bire was there to give a hand. Cho La pass was a small area with prayer flags and, strangely, an electric outlet and usb charging port mounted on a post with a small table. A few trekkers reached the pass from the other direction and few came up behind us. We joked about having tequila shots at the small table. 

After high fives and a couple of photos, we headed down the west side of the pass. There was a long section of cables with a few slippery gaps. We carefully passed those ascending. Finally we reached the rocky shoulder of the hill where we could walk more easily, winding around some boulder strewn canyons. We stopped for our box lunch: Tibetan bread, nak cheese, a hard boiled egg, and a small snickers bar. Microspikes came off, and we continued the long walk to Dragnak. 

We had to climb a couple of ridges, fairly tiring. We saw a bunch of Kongma on the hillside. Finally we walked down a rocky path next to a rushing creek, and we had our first view of Dragnag where the canyon opened up. Impressively long strings of prayer flags were strung across the village. We saw even more Kongma here, squawking and chirping and flapping their tails.

The Tashi Friendship Lodge had a comfy dining room, toilets that actually flush as opposed to requiring a scoop of water from a bucket. It’s somewhat off the main routes and a charming place to stay. We saw no yak trains, no ponies, no helicopters, no porters that weren’t part of a trekking group. It’s such a contrast to the Khumbu valley with its expeditions gearing up.

Nepal Day 14 - Lobouche to Dzongla

4.2 miles, 627’ climbing

Hotel Zongla Inn, 15,846’ current elevation

Today was a short trek, a semi-recovery day. After breakfast in Lobouche, we headed down the main Everest Base Camp trail, probably the busiest trail in the region. Helicopters were up and flying. Bire told us that a lot of people hike up and book a flight back when they don’t have time for a full trek. Flying up and hiking back isn’t a viable option because of the risk of altitude sickness. 

A rider on a horse with bells galloped past us dressed in traditional clothing. We saw a pair of Kongma fly past (Tibetan Woodcock). Before we reached Thugla, we turned west off the “Everest Highway” and headed west towards Cho La, a pass connecting the Khumbu Valley (east most of the 3 valleys coming north from Namche Bazaar) to the Gokyo Valley (center valley from Namche). We will head over the pass and stay in Gokyo in a couple days. 

Although the Cho La pass and trail are pretty heavily trekked, there were only a few other trekking groups. We’ve been told that 80% of treks were cancelled due to the Iran war. It’s particularly difficult for trekkers from Europe to reach Nepal since transit would typically go through the Middle East.

The trail was quiet away from the hubbub of trekkers, yaks, helicopters in the Khumbu Valley. The trail was narrow, and in some places exposed. A stumble would be a bad idea. As we contoured around the hill, gradually gaining elevation, the trail had slippery spots with melting snow and mud, requiring some attention. Thus we only looked around during breaks. As usual, the scenery was stunning. Bire spotted a pair of climbers descending the snow field near the top of Lobuche Peak, one of the trekking peaks (under 8000 meters). Some of the trekking peaks are quite technical even though their peaks are lower than the biggest peaks here. 

We slowly picked our way through rolling hills strewn with boulders. The plants were low grasses and the fragrant suunpati. We arrived around lunch time. There are only a few lodges here. Clouds descended and it started snowing after lunch. It was pretty cold until the lodge proprietor lit the stove. 

Nepal Day 13 - Round trip from Gorak Shep to EBC plus descent to Lobouche

 8.42 miles, 1599’ climbing

Hotel New EBC, Lobuche, 16,210’ elevation

High Point: EBC 17,598’

A lot of people have trouble sleeping at Gorak Shep because of the elevation. It’s also noisy with people coming and going. We even heard a yak train pass at 2am. It’s cold, too. Like all of these lodges, the rooms are unheated and windows have gaps. Warm quilts keep you cozy and also reluctant to get out of bed. Ed slept like a baby while Sarah was awake from 2am onwards. 

A little after 7am, we started our walk to Everest Base Camp (EBC). The trail was a little rougher than most of what we’ve been on with loose rocks, small boulders to negotiate, snow, mud. 

We passed a huge number of yak trains going in both directions. We usually get off trail on the uphill side, behind a rock, when yaks pass. Today part of the trail was on a narrow ridge which made it trickier. Yaks have big horns. When loaded, they could easily knock you over. Most seem docile, but once in a while, one ventures off the track in our direction. Bire yells and waves his arms to shoo them away. They aren’t tied together. Their handler typically walks behind them, shouting, if needed, and waving a stick. They are currently making two round trips a day, 4.25 miles each time.

We also yield the trail to porters going in both directions to be considerate and to respect the incredibly hard work they are doing. A lot of porters here are making two round trips a day at this time of year, carrying expedition gear to EBC, up to 100kgs per load (220 lbs), balanced on their backs and held with a wide band across their foreheads. Besides being incredibly heavy, a lot of the loads look awkward: sheets of plywood with blue plastic barrels tied on one side, long metal frames that will be assembled into something, lopsided mixed bundles that are so wide that they catch on rocks. This is the tradition in this region, and it’s the available work, but it’s still kind of painful to see.

Everest base camp was a hive of activity when we arrived. Bright colored tents were scattered over a few square miles. Areas were roped off with rope and fabric signs where different expeditions were reserving space. Bire told us that in about 15 days, there will be no space left between the tents as mountaineering season goes into full swing. Today, yaks and porters were dropping off loads. Workers in different camps were preparing sites for tents (tricky on a melting glacier). Some larger cooking and dining tents were up. There was a hum from all the work in progress.

We stopped at the trekkers endpoint (not allowed in the  expeditions area), snapped some pictures with Everest and the khumbu ice fall which Bire has been through many times. Bire showed us where an avalanche across the valley in 2015 caused such a shock wave that tents and ropes were found all the way up at the ice fall; a lot of people died.

We headed back to Gorak Shep, again dodging yaks and porters. Clouds were coming in. We were incredibly fortunate to get clear skies for both our days around Gorak Shep.

On a ridge, a pair of Tibetan Woodcock, locally called Kongma, walked towards us. They were unafraid and as large as chickens, beautiful birds.

Back at Gorak Shep we had lunch, then walked slowly back to Lobuche. Where it was slippery packed snow from yesterday, it was now mud or wet dirt. The day was growing cold and windy, but we could feel the difference the loss of 700-800’ makes.