We had a very easy day today, drifting down from Lumden (4350 m) to Thame (3850 m). It was interesting to observe the change in vegetation as we lost elevation. The tiny, thorny shrubs yielded to juniper and dwarf willow, the juniper grew, and then finally, at the edge of Thame, we entered a small forest of rhododendrons and birch. These were the first trees ...
Today we transitted the last of the three passes on our trek. They have been getting easier, but we still spent four hours climbing and three hours descending from the Renjo La. None of the passes have been the rounded walkovers common in the Rockies; there is always a scramble near the top of the invariably knife edged summit.It was another gorgeous day, with light ...
We are spending two nights in the village of Gokyo, located at 4800 metres. The destination of a recognized trek in its own right, it is increasingly visited as part of the Three Pass Trek. Gokyo is well known for a couple of day trips: to a viewpoint called Gokyo Ri, and to a series of lakes upstream from the town.We undertook the 560 metre climb ...
Yesterday we walked down a bit from Gorak Shep (Everest Base Camp) before turning off the main trail towards Cho La. The number of trekkers per day immediately dropped from about 300 to about 50.The trail to Dzongla, at the base of the Cho La, was gorgeous, with impressive peaks and a large, emerald green glacial lake.Dzongla itself was charming, with excellent views and perhaps ...
It is surprising that I have not noticed the smell of anyone in the crowded dining rooms at the trekking lodges, because personal hygiene is challenging while trekking. This has been brought home to us at Gorak Shep, where there is so little water that none of the lodges offer showers.Most of the lodges at lower elevations do have showers heated by gas from cylinders, ...
Today we walked from Lobuche to Gorak Shep. Located at 5200 metres, this is the last outpost of trekking lodges on the Everest Base Camp trek. From here it is possible to walk to the Everest Base Camp, which we will do tomorrow. The other day hike is to Kala Pattar, which provides a good view of Everest.We arrived in Gorak Shep before noon, and ...
The Kongma La is the highest, longest and least used of the three high passes we hope to traverse on this trek. That’s a good thing, as our transit of it yesterday was the toughest day’s walk I can ever recall.The walk did not start on an auspicious note. The braided stream that we had easily crossed the previous afternoon had partially frozen overnight, creating ...
Three blogs to be published today now that there is Wi-Fi again. November 10th We have spent the last couple of days climbing towards the first of the three high passes on our trek. This morning we parted company with the principal trail to Everest Base Camp and worked our way up a side valley to the cluster of trekking lodges known as Chhukung. Located at ...
We are slowly climbing and acclimatizing as we head toward the first of the high passes that we will traverse. We have been pacing ourselves so that we are now at almost 4000 metres without any symptoms of altitude sickness.Last night we stayed at Tengboche, the site of the largest monastery in the Khumbu. We attended the afternoon prayers, where two dozen monks droned their ...
Namche Bazaar is the largest town we will see on our trek. Nestled in a horseshoe shaped hillside at 3400 metres, it has most of the amenities a trekker could desire. There is a hospital, innumerable shops offering trekking gear, several banks and money changers, a (Canadian trained) dentist, and, near and dear to a trekker’s heart, at least three bakeries. What makes all of ...