Nepal Day 11 - Chukhung to Lobouche

 8.58 miles, 2459’ climbing

Hotel New EBC, Lobouche, Nepal

16,210’ current elevation

It was snowing lightly when we went to bed. We had heard from a party who had arrived from the other direction that the pass was in good condition. We woke early, had extra water and boxed lunches ready, dressed in extra layers, waterproof pants and jackets and overmitts — ready to set out over Kongma La. Then Bire heard from the other guides that conditions were iffy up top. One group had set out, but they were really athletic ( this message conveyed by a gesture indicating muscles). Everybody else was going back down valley and up the main Everest highway. Outside there were low clouds and a few inches of snow covering the trail — we were the first to head down valley.

It was serene in the snow. We saw small animal tracks and could trace them to their homes. Intermittent sun and clouds and no wind made it a quick and pleasant walk down to Dingboche. We angled up the ridge and turned towards EBC (everest base camp) on a high plateau with fairly easy walking thru shallow snow, slush, and mud, gradually ascending. After a few hours, we approached our lunch spot, the village of Thugla. Here the low trail merged with the high trail, and trekker traffic became thick. We descended to a bridge, crossed, then had a short, steep walk up to an outdoor terrace where we ordered tea and ate our boxed lunches (Tibetan bread, hard boiled egg, some mild cheese, KitKat bars).

It was cold and windy and steep and busy on the long climb out of Thugla. We trudged slowly up the hill, yielding the path to porters carrying heavy loads. When we reached the top of Thugla pass, we found ourselves in an area covered with chortens, many bearing brass plaques with dedications to mountaineers who died in Nepal. I looked at a couple and happened to see Scott Fischer’s name from the 1996 Everest disaster. 

On we walked, along a snowy trail, more mud, more boulders, more horses and yaks. More huge mountains were visible in front of us. Bire pointed out Lobouche Peak, the route to the top of it, where camp 1 was usually placed. He said that for Everest, all the expeditions who have permits generally pitch in together for route fixers who will put ladders and ropes thru the Khumbu ice fall, then fixed lines to the the top. This all starts long before the expeditions arrive; he estimated they would have already fixed lines up to camp II by now.

We saw the north side of Kongma La where we had planned to descend today. It looked snowy and challenging. We were happy with the decision to bypass. 

Our lodge, the Hotel New EBC, is cute and busy, full of many nationalities. We had hot showers though we didn’t wash our hair since there’s no way to dry it. It used an on-demand gas heater, and it felt great. We chatted with Bire and others before, during, and after dinner.

Nepal Day 10 - Dingboche to Chukhung and acclimitization hike

 5.65 miles, 1891’ climbing

Highest elevation: 16,059’

Chukhung Resort & Restaurant, Nepal: 15486’

It was cold overnight, but as soon as the sun rose, the day warmed up. After breakfast, we headed up the valley for Chukhung, passing some yaks on the way. A dog followed us part of the way. A lot of the dogs  are cute and look friendly, but there are problems with the dogs, so we’ve left them alone, hard to do with a dog as cute as this one that laid and waited for us every time we paused.

The sun was out and the sky was clear. We had more views of big mountains (Lohtse and Makalu) and glaciers and snowy ridges in every direction. The walk to Chukhung was fairly short. We saw a few porters and locals, but no other trekkers until we arrived. It was very serene.

After lunch we climbed a nearby hill to help with acclimitization. The snow was slushy and a little slippery in places. We could smell the sunpati, a fragrant shrub that is burned for incense and has a spicy smell similar to a mild cinnamon. As we descended, the wind was picking up and it was getting cold. This is the weather pattern we’ve had for the past couple of days: sunny, still mornings, clouds forming mid-to-late morning, breezy and colder in the afternoons. We relaxed in our cold room for a couple of hours. There’s a thin layer of ice on top of the blue plastic water barrels in the indoor, shared powder rooms. It’s cold here!

We met other trekkers already at the lodge or arriving, from the UK, Czechia, Korea. It’s a friendly international scene with everyone, including guides and porters, taking seats around the common room perimeter or pulling a chair up to the central stove. The WiFi is good here, and we used Google Translate a little to communicate with the Koreans. 

We heard that groups have gone over the Kongma La pass today and yesterday without issue. We intend to go over the pass tomorrow so it was good news. It can have deep snow or ice requiring ropes or a change of plans, but now it is in good condition. Tomorrow we will rise early for our long day over Kongma La to Lobuche. A “la” is a pass, and Kongma La is the first of 3 passes we planned for our itinerary, though plans are subject to change.

Nepal Day 09 - Shomare to Dingboche + acclimitization hike

 3.9 miles, 2930’ climbing

Hotel Stupa Inn, Dingboche, 14129’

Highest elevation: 15112’

We saw a couple dzopkyos passing on a narrow path between our room and the toilet (in a small shed), when we headed to bed last night. It was still snowing slightly. Thankfully we didn’t see any dzopkyos in the dark of night.

When we rose, it was bright and clear. Water, including one of the toilets, was frozen. The sun rose over the peak of Ama Dablam. The day was already warming and the snow that lay over everything was starting to melt.

During breakfast, it was again just us, our 2 proprietors, our guide and porter, and a neighbor who stopped in. We all had tea and breakfast while a lot of lively conversation took place in Nepali. Bire told us that the neighbor had attempted to carry a load to Everest base camp, but there was too much snow at Gorak Shep (deeper than near us), so he came back to wait for better weather. A tea pot was placed on the solar oven on the terrace, and chairs were carried out to take advantage of the sunshine. We felt like we were seeing a glimpse of the life of regular nepalis who live in the region. 

The morning was spectacular with views of rocky and snow topped peaks in every direction, steep ridges connecting some of them. Snow covered mani walls with the carved Tibetan writing. The river below was rushing over rocks, bluish from dissolved minerals due to glacial melt. Helicopters ferried loads up and down the valleys. Our walk was mostly easy. We crossed the river, deviating from the main trail to Everest base camp. We climbed a hill and soon reached our lodge in Dingboche. We had tea on the terrace and watched the snow slide off the roof in slabs as the day warmed up. Our room is very nice with an attached powder room, and the common room is inviting with carpet covered benches around the perimeter with tables in front of them and a yak-dung burning stove in the center of the room. A small counter in one corner has snacks and sundries for sale, menus to order food from the kitchen, and some dishware. This seems to be the classic design for the common rooms in the area.

After lunch, we climbed the hillside behind our hotel to a viewpoint. In one direction we could see Taboche and Cholatse and the glacial moraine coming down from the direction of Cho La pass. Across the valley from Dingboche was Ana Dablam. Up the valley we could see the dark triangle of Makalu. Spectacular! A large group of crows glided above us on the breeze, mesmerizing  to see until Bire commented that they sometimes pooped on your head, and we all laughed. A raven scolded us later from on top of some prayer flags. 

After our hike, we had tea and relaxed the rest of the day. There are a number of other trekkers here, Dingboche is a common destination to take an acclimatization rest day.

Nepal Day 8 - Deboche - Shomare

 4.4 miles, 1448’ climbing 

Hilltop Lodge, Shomare, 13,360’ elevation

It was still snowing when we rose for breakfast with a couple of inches accumulated on the ground. We felt somewhat better but not completely recovered as we headed up the trail wearing waterproof pants and jackets, gloves, and overmits.  We passed thru rhododendrons with clumps of snow on every branch. We saw a few locals walking down the trail with no jacket or gloves; it looked very cold.

At one point, our guide spotted a group of tahr on the hillside above the trail, nearly 20 animals. We looked at them and they looked at us.

After a couple of miles, we took the high trail to the village of Pangboche where we stopped for a cup of tea in a tiny trailside restaurants. We then walked one circuit around the monastery next to it, spinning all the prayer wheels. Then we entered the monastery after removing our shoes. It is older than the monastery in Tengboche and considered very important. The monk in attendance showed us around the interior, telling us about paintings, books, hangings. There was a statue of a lama at the front from the 1600s (?). He befriended a yeti, and the yeti helped him find food and water, but the yeti was killed in an avalanche. The monk then opened a wooden box and showed us a skeletonized yeti hand impressively large, and a yeti scalp, presumably from the yeti of the avalanche. The whole interior was covered with old paintings, very beautiful. The monk said there were 20 monks at the monastery, ranging from young to old, and that they go back to live with their families when not at the monastery. 

We continued up the trail to a lunch stop at a family run lodge in Shomare. We decided to stop for the night since we aren’t feeling our best still. The proprietors of the lodge, our guide and and porter, pulled up chairs around the fire and we joined them, listening to their lively conversation. A few neighbors stopped by. The trekking group from our lodge in Deboche stopped by for lunch. It was a lively afternoon, an enjoyable way to take a rest.

https://youtu.be/dgFXdzvFVPU?si=tTxupNT85P21q_1t

Some video from the past couple days.

Nepal Day 07 - Deboche

 0 miles - rest and recovery

Last night we both felt sick to our stomachs, and we felt unprepared to head out. Thus today was a test day. We took some medicine, rehydrated, and spent an easy day at the lodge.

Yesterday Bire told us more about his Everest trek in 2015 where he was at camp II when the earthquake struck. Before the earthquake, he had been back and forth thru the notorious Khumbu ice fall multiple times. On one passage, he was crossing a ladder that was designated as one person at a time, and he fell 25 meters into the crevasse spanned by the ladder. He was clipped in, not on belay. A climber behind him, a large man, didn’t see it happen, thought the ladder was clear, and started across. He had the rope tucked under his arm and felt Bire’s weight on the line. Once Bire extracted himself, fortunately unhurt, he was still in the middle of the icefall, and had to walk out across more crevasses on ladders.

After the earthquake, there was no communication outside of camp II until a satellite phone was located and messages relayed to families. Bire didn’t know how his family was either, and he had to stay at base camp for a month to clean up after the expedition. His family asked him not to go on more mountaineering expeditions, and he became a trekking guide instead.

Nepal Day 06 - Namche Bazaar to Deboche

 8.25 miles, 2837’ climbing

Paradise Lodge, Deboche, 12,208’

High point: Tengboche Monastery, 12,681’

After breakfast, we headed uphill out of Namche again, this time turning northeast on a relatively easy path that contoured around the hillside. We looked for tahr but didn’t spot any. The skies were even clearer than the day before. We were intermittently passing thru pines and rhododendrons with views down to the Dudh Kosi below, the same river we’ve been following since Lukla. Rounding a corner, we had amazing views of Everest, Ama Dablam, Lotse, and a few others. As we contoured around the mountainside, they came in and out of view. Lots of other trekkers crowded the trail in places. We saw our first pure yaks, larger and shaggier than their hybrid cousins. Some porters were carrying huge loads (one said 70kg). There were also horses, dzopkyos, carrying loads up hill or returning downhill without them. Lots of helicopters passed overhead with loads too.

Eventually we started a steep descent. When we had descended all the way to the river, we stopped at a small restaurant for lunch (veg fried rice with egg). Then we crossed a suspension bridge and headed up the long, steep hill to Tengboche Monastery, the 2nd oldest one in the region and very important to Tibetan Buddhism.

Bire led us into the monastery (no photos allowed inside). A two day event was in progress with about 25 monks sitting on benches, wrapped in red blankets, butter lamps burning, and chanting prayers out loud, each reading from old Tibetan texts. We walked to the side and settled cross legged on thin cushions on the floor,not easy on the knees, but we didn’t want to point our feet at anyone. After we listened a while, we got to our feet and walked clockwise around the monastery, looking at the paintings, statues, and other items. You can circle an odd number of times, so we walked around 3 times. Then we circled the grounds, always clockwise, and left.

Clouds had rolled in and it was cold. The trail down to Deboche was muddy in places, but we arrived before too long and had hot lemon tea. A trekking party from the UK turned up who were also at the Bodhi Lodge in Namche last night. We were tired after the long uphill climb. The lodge owner lit a fire, and the common room became pretty lively with the other trekkers. 

Nepal Day 05 - Namche Exploration Day

5.75 miles, 3015’ climbing

Our room was fairly chilly overnight. We got up around 6am and prepared for our acclimitization hike, then we went down to breakfast in the warm, busy dining room. Some groups are headed up the valleys towards different destinations like Gokyo or Everest Base Camp. Others, like us, are taking a hike to acclimatize. There were a lot of people on the steep stone staircase that is the road out of town. Near the top of Namche where the trail forked, we had a great view back to Namche. Many people headed towards Tengboche, the direction of treks to Everest base camp. For those of us on a day hike, narrow steps continued up the steep hill.

Finally we arrived at the Syangboche plateau and the airport where we watched a helicopter drop off a large load that was dangling by a rope beneath it. A person on the ground released the load, and the helicopter flew off down valley without ever landing. These are most likely expedition supplies for mountaineering trips that are gearing up at this time of year.

We continued up hill to eventually reach a view point where we could see Mount Everest, Ama Dablam, and a few of the other big peaks. Clouds were already blowing in as we continued past the helicopters that take clients to the Everest View luxury hotel. We sat on the terrace and had a cup of tea. The Tengboche monastery was visible on a distant ridge.

After the downhill walk to upper Namche, we stopped for lunch in a guesthouse, dining with great views of village below us. Then we visited a small museum which had a section on Sherpa history that included a lot of artifacts that are becoming uncommon as life modernizes here. They had lots of photos, some dating back to the early 1900s, of the Sherpa people and culture. The pictures of Namche Bazaar went as far back as the 1960s. Sarah could see the changes since her prior visit in 2007. The other section was dedicated to Sherpa mountaineering history with lots of profiles of mountaineers and old equipment.  The Sherpa display was made more interesting as we were going through the museum with our guide Bire who worked on Everest in support of an expedition in 2015.  He had stories of the Khumbu icefall, crossing crevasses on ladders stretched over them and even falling 25 feet into one.  He spent two weeks at Basecamp 2 and was there for the big earthquake in 2015 that took many lives and destroyed buildings and infrastructure far from the mountain.

We walked around to the monastery, but it was closed, so we took the opportunity to get showers back at the hotel. There was only one shower with hot water and a prior occupant had used it all up, but at least it was not frigid.