Everest Base Camp / Part II - Namche - Base Camp
Everest Base Camp Photos are up.
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lloronapr/my_photos
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After Namche we decided to take it easy for the rest of the trek. Above 4000 meters you have to be careful no to succumb to altitude sickness (AS). You should not ascend more than 400 meters a day and carefully watch for any symptoms of AS.
For the next four days we would not push ourselves for more than 4-5 hours a day max.
The first day we decided to stay at around 4000 meters at Mong La (La means pass). The scenery in the evening was amazing, finally I got to see my favourite mountain Ama Dablam (mother’s necklace) at 6856m. Many people consider it to be the most beautiful mountain in the world. I have yet to see more mountains but on this trek Ama Dablam had to be the most spectacular. From our vantage point it appeared only a whisker away, in reality it was more like 20 km. The morning provided additional vistas of Taboche Peak at 6367m and Thamserku at 6808m. This was the first jolt of excitement when entering high mountains.
Along the way we met up with an expedition attempting to climb Cholotse at 6335m. It was actually a mission to raise money for cataract cure within the Khumbu region; the second part of the effort was to scale Cholotse and raise publicity and funds. North Face sponsored the entire expedition. Unfortunately, when we arrived at base camp (after 3 hours of searching for it) the set up of the base just started. We were treated with tea and biscuits and chatter with two members of the team. So much for a rest day!
We finally got to Gokyo, famous for its amazing views of the Everest moutian range via the Gokyo ridge at 5360m. It had to be the best day of the trek so far. We started of at 5:30 in the morning and went the wrong way! Then I noticed something quite unusual; there were track heading up the mountain at an impossible grade. I thought, "Strange, how is this possible. No human being can possibly scale at this angle without ropes”. I called Simon over, he pulled out his video camera to do his usual documentary stuff. What we saw next was really strange and rude in many ways. Check out the clip at: http://www.yetizone.com/yeticam5.htm.
We decided to move on and ignore the silly beast, go figure!
We thought that the approach from the lake was a bit sharp for your average trekker and maybe there was another way on the other side of the hill. After wasting 1.5h we backtracked and started climbing the hill. It seemed innocent enough from the ground, but after a third climb to what looked like a summit I knew we were in for a hard one. Well it took 1.5h to reach the top of the ridge. As we got there the mountain gods revealed their gems. Visibility was good. Makalu, Lothse (8414m), Cho Oyu (8188m) and of course the big one Mt. Everest (8850m) came into view. It was such a relief after struggling for 2 weeks for the highest mountain in the world. We were extremely lucky, after about 40 minutes an amazing event took place. Clouds started rolling in from the valley and fill the ground beneath us. For about 10 minutes we were standing on top of the clouds and watching some of the highest peaks in the world. A crew from the BBC filming a nature documentary waited for about 3 days to get these shots. Other trekkers waited the same amount of time to get a view of Everest. Us 1.5 hours and we got the best views anybody could ever hope for. Heading down the clouds overtook the trail, it did not matter we say what we came for and breakfast was on our minds.
Around 12 pm we decided to head to Dragnag in order to get closer to the treacherous Cho La pass. We were treated with another delight, as we had to traverse a glacier in order to reach our destination. This was the first time I have seen a glacier in my life. It is such a surreal place, filled with rocks of various sizes laid out into small hills formations. Ever so often an edge of a small lake reveals walls of ice, this is when you realise that you are walking upon a thousand (million?) year old ice. The colours range from magnificent green to greyish almost black ice. At times the clouds drift by and the terrain seems somewhat alien as if you are on a different planet. A place where an atomic bomb or human interference would not make that much of a difference, a kind of place where you would imagine an end of the world happening. It does posses amazing beauty in its bizarre kind of way, ugly on the outside but underneath the rubble it is quite spectacular. During this time of the year the Himalayas can be quite shy, but sometimes in an instant its beauty can catch you off guard. I knew we still had to see the Khumbu glacier and was already anxious to see it.
The most difficult day of the trek had arrived. Cho La pass, the highest pass at 5330m. Many trekkers have died while attempting this pass and we knew that we had to be very careful going over it. We started late as usual, but within one hour we caught up with the early risers (we had a reputation among other trekkers for moving very fast on the trail). We ascended gradually at first, then went down for about 300m, passed through a rough trail of boulders and looked up. The way seemed sealed by the mountains, I assumed that we have lost the trail and looked for my compass. The two Belgium trekkers yelled out “it’s over there”. I looked up and said “Shit, they have to be kidding us”, the face of the mountain looked very steep and yes there way something which resembled a trail, but the entire face was covered with snow. We decided to go up slowly, after about 20 minutes I developed a sharp pain in my abdomen. I did not know what it was at first and after I took small 2 minute breaks it came and went systematically. The climb was hard, packed snow covered loose rocks on the way. One had to be very careful not to slip and fall, stabbing my walking stick and checking every rock twice I slowly made it to the top of the pass. You had to avoid a small crevasse on the top, and then enjoy the spectacular views of walls of ice. We rested for about 10 minutes, took some photos and decided to get the hell out before the sun would get stronger and further destabilize the slope. Going down was a bit tricky but manageable. Many people said that the way we came in was more difficult then heading east to west, as usual I had to take the hard way, but it is the Buddhist was, clockwise. We descanted to a beautiful valley below and met a large group of Australian backpackers. After an hour or so we found a place to eat, I had to lay down for a couple of hours as the ‘cramp’ took a lot out of me. For the rest of the trek it would come on in regular intervals. The way to the next lodge was marvellous as Ama Dablam revealed herself from the west and Cholotse was only a stone throw away, or so it seemed. We crashed in the lodge for free as usual and called an early night.
The pain in my abdomen was an ongoing nuisance. I consulted two expedition leaders and was assured that the altitude related pain was a digestive problem and no life threatening. I was given some anti-acid tablets and told to drink two litres of warm water a day, it did not help.
Avalanche at Camp I
The trek to base camp turned out to be more than we bargained for. On the way we ran into a Polish climber Pawel. I’ve met him before hand in Namche but did not recognize him due to his injuries. His face and hands looked life a balloon covered with cuts and bruises. He was hit by an avalanche at Camp I. A serac (big block of ice) broke near the top of Everest, Pawel having observed this spectacle pulled out his camera and decided to take some shots. He took one, two and then “oh fuck, it’s supposed to stop by now”. The rubble of ice and powder hit him strait on, the managed to fight it off. Later some people at base camp said he flew for about 50 meters, hit a ten and stopped. It was a shock to everybody as Camp I is supposed to be one of the safest places on the mountain. The avalanche wiped out 60 tents at camp I leaving 6 people injured but no deaths. Already two people died and nobody has even gotten to camp IV, I hope it will not be another 1996 carnage on Everest. Many climbers worried about the amount of snow this year, I wish them good luck! We met the injured climbers and sherpas as we made our way at base camp. The atmosphere was sombre but everybody was in a positive mood.
The route to base camp (b.c.) followed the khumbu ice glacier. The size and constant movement of the glacier is something extraordinary. It is worth noting that around 4200m there is hardly any vegetation and an occasional scrubs and brown rocks cover the landscape. Occasionally the glacier reveals ice and small waterfalls. It feels as it you’re approaching the end of the world (actually its China, just kidding). Instead of plummeting off the face of the earth you begin to see the outline of the Khumbu Icefall and bright tents of Everest Base Camp. The camp is based on the glacier itself, subject to constant movement and the roars of avalanches from Everest, Lothse and nearby Pumori. The reception at b.c. was fantastic, we were invited for tea by three different expeditions Australian, Korean and a mix of different nationalities. You feel ‘really cool’ hanging around these guys and their fantastic equipment. We chatter and asked usual tourist questions, they were happy to see so new faces and kept giving us food and tea.
We decided to have a closer look at the Icefall, I wanted to scale the beast for just a bit. We approached the entrance to Everest at the ‘Gates of Khumbu Icefall’. The difficulty of the passage can be quite astonishing and overwhelming as the monster before Camp I is about 6km long rising steadily. Each morning the ‘Icefall doctors’ head out to examine the passage made of aluminium ladders and fixed ropes. Each year the icefall route is constructed by a team of sherpas and each expedition pays $4000 for the right of passage.
The day was filled with excitement already, but on the way back a Nepalese guide had sent the wrong way forcing a walk over huge boulders on the glacier and a treacherous climb up to get back to Gorak Shep. When I got back I started looking for that bastard but to no avail, he’s lucky to have his kneecaps intact.
The next morning we woke up to scale Kalla Pathar, the highest peak on the trek at 5550m. I woke up at 5 only to discover heavy fog and went back to sleep. At 7 we decided to go for it, many people were heading down already by the time we were half way up. We were lucky again! The clouds sort of moved away and again we had great views of Everest and surrounding peaks. This was the pinnacle of the trek, sitting at 5550m and seeing Mt. Everest was a personal high for me. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for 3 years and it finally arrived. I don’t want to get sentimental here, but it really did mean a lot for me to see Mt. Everest. After 15 days on the trail, sleeping in cramped out places and eating the same things you appreciate the mountains that much more.
The trek was an absolute success. Hooking up with Simon turned out to be a good decision as we didn’t get in each others way and kept up the same speed. The cost excluding flight was about $300 cnd for 22 days. Optional flight was about $100, but well worth for the views. Not too many tourist and very friendly locals before Lukla. Total elevation gained: equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest from sea level. Would I do it again, absolutely! There are so many passes still to do and I want to climb Island peak (6100m) or Mera peak. I would highly recommend this trek to anybody relatively fit. And I also wish my friends were with me on this trek, I know they love the mountains as well and for sure would love to do this trek. Hey the future is wide open and it’s never to late to head out and see: Mt. Everest or Chomolunga or Sagarmatha.
Cheers for now.
I just got my visa for India, off to Varanassi soon and the more mountains in amazing Ladakh.
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lloronapr/my_photos
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After Namche we decided to take it easy for the rest of the trek. Above 4000 meters you have to be careful no to succumb to altitude sickness (AS). You should not ascend more than 400 meters a day and carefully watch for any symptoms of AS.
For the next four days we would not push ourselves for more than 4-5 hours a day max.
The first day we decided to stay at around 4000 meters at Mong La (La means pass). The scenery in the evening was amazing, finally I got to see my favourite mountain Ama Dablam (mother’s necklace) at 6856m. Many people consider it to be the most beautiful mountain in the world. I have yet to see more mountains but on this trek Ama Dablam had to be the most spectacular. From our vantage point it appeared only a whisker away, in reality it was more like 20 km. The morning provided additional vistas of Taboche Peak at 6367m and Thamserku at 6808m. This was the first jolt of excitement when entering high mountains.
Along the way we met up with an expedition attempting to climb Cholotse at 6335m. It was actually a mission to raise money for cataract cure within the Khumbu region; the second part of the effort was to scale Cholotse and raise publicity and funds. North Face sponsored the entire expedition. Unfortunately, when we arrived at base camp (after 3 hours of searching for it) the set up of the base just started. We were treated with tea and biscuits and chatter with two members of the team. So much for a rest day!
We finally got to Gokyo, famous for its amazing views of the Everest moutian range via the Gokyo ridge at 5360m. It had to be the best day of the trek so far. We started of at 5:30 in the morning and went the wrong way! Then I noticed something quite unusual; there were track heading up the mountain at an impossible grade. I thought, "Strange, how is this possible. No human being can possibly scale at this angle without ropes”. I called Simon over, he pulled out his video camera to do his usual documentary stuff. What we saw next was really strange and rude in many ways. Check out the clip at: http://www.yetizone.com/yeticam5.htm.
We decided to move on and ignore the silly beast, go figure!
We thought that the approach from the lake was a bit sharp for your average trekker and maybe there was another way on the other side of the hill. After wasting 1.5h we backtracked and started climbing the hill. It seemed innocent enough from the ground, but after a third climb to what looked like a summit I knew we were in for a hard one. Well it took 1.5h to reach the top of the ridge. As we got there the mountain gods revealed their gems. Visibility was good. Makalu, Lothse (8414m), Cho Oyu (8188m) and of course the big one Mt. Everest (8850m) came into view. It was such a relief after struggling for 2 weeks for the highest mountain in the world. We were extremely lucky, after about 40 minutes an amazing event took place. Clouds started rolling in from the valley and fill the ground beneath us. For about 10 minutes we were standing on top of the clouds and watching some of the highest peaks in the world. A crew from the BBC filming a nature documentary waited for about 3 days to get these shots. Other trekkers waited the same amount of time to get a view of Everest. Us 1.5 hours and we got the best views anybody could ever hope for. Heading down the clouds overtook the trail, it did not matter we say what we came for and breakfast was on our minds.
Around 12 pm we decided to head to Dragnag in order to get closer to the treacherous Cho La pass. We were treated with another delight, as we had to traverse a glacier in order to reach our destination. This was the first time I have seen a glacier in my life. It is such a surreal place, filled with rocks of various sizes laid out into small hills formations. Ever so often an edge of a small lake reveals walls of ice, this is when you realise that you are walking upon a thousand (million?) year old ice. The colours range from magnificent green to greyish almost black ice. At times the clouds drift by and the terrain seems somewhat alien as if you are on a different planet. A place where an atomic bomb or human interference would not make that much of a difference, a kind of place where you would imagine an end of the world happening. It does posses amazing beauty in its bizarre kind of way, ugly on the outside but underneath the rubble it is quite spectacular. During this time of the year the Himalayas can be quite shy, but sometimes in an instant its beauty can catch you off guard. I knew we still had to see the Khumbu glacier and was already anxious to see it.
The most difficult day of the trek had arrived. Cho La pass, the highest pass at 5330m. Many trekkers have died while attempting this pass and we knew that we had to be very careful going over it. We started late as usual, but within one hour we caught up with the early risers (we had a reputation among other trekkers for moving very fast on the trail). We ascended gradually at first, then went down for about 300m, passed through a rough trail of boulders and looked up. The way seemed sealed by the mountains, I assumed that we have lost the trail and looked for my compass. The two Belgium trekkers yelled out “it’s over there”. I looked up and said “Shit, they have to be kidding us”, the face of the mountain looked very steep and yes there way something which resembled a trail, but the entire face was covered with snow. We decided to go up slowly, after about 20 minutes I developed a sharp pain in my abdomen. I did not know what it was at first and after I took small 2 minute breaks it came and went systematically. The climb was hard, packed snow covered loose rocks on the way. One had to be very careful not to slip and fall, stabbing my walking stick and checking every rock twice I slowly made it to the top of the pass. You had to avoid a small crevasse on the top, and then enjoy the spectacular views of walls of ice. We rested for about 10 minutes, took some photos and decided to get the hell out before the sun would get stronger and further destabilize the slope. Going down was a bit tricky but manageable. Many people said that the way we came in was more difficult then heading east to west, as usual I had to take the hard way, but it is the Buddhist was, clockwise. We descanted to a beautiful valley below and met a large group of Australian backpackers. After an hour or so we found a place to eat, I had to lay down for a couple of hours as the ‘cramp’ took a lot out of me. For the rest of the trek it would come on in regular intervals. The way to the next lodge was marvellous as Ama Dablam revealed herself from the west and Cholotse was only a stone throw away, or so it seemed. We crashed in the lodge for free as usual and called an early night.
The pain in my abdomen was an ongoing nuisance. I consulted two expedition leaders and was assured that the altitude related pain was a digestive problem and no life threatening. I was given some anti-acid tablets and told to drink two litres of warm water a day, it did not help.
Avalanche at Camp I
The trek to base camp turned out to be more than we bargained for. On the way we ran into a Polish climber Pawel. I’ve met him before hand in Namche but did not recognize him due to his injuries. His face and hands looked life a balloon covered with cuts and bruises. He was hit by an avalanche at Camp I. A serac (big block of ice) broke near the top of Everest, Pawel having observed this spectacle pulled out his camera and decided to take some shots. He took one, two and then “oh fuck, it’s supposed to stop by now”. The rubble of ice and powder hit him strait on, the managed to fight it off. Later some people at base camp said he flew for about 50 meters, hit a ten and stopped. It was a shock to everybody as Camp I is supposed to be one of the safest places on the mountain. The avalanche wiped out 60 tents at camp I leaving 6 people injured but no deaths. Already two people died and nobody has even gotten to camp IV, I hope it will not be another 1996 carnage on Everest. Many climbers worried about the amount of snow this year, I wish them good luck! We met the injured climbers and sherpas as we made our way at base camp. The atmosphere was sombre but everybody was in a positive mood.
The route to base camp (b.c.) followed the khumbu ice glacier. The size and constant movement of the glacier is something extraordinary. It is worth noting that around 4200m there is hardly any vegetation and an occasional scrubs and brown rocks cover the landscape. Occasionally the glacier reveals ice and small waterfalls. It feels as it you’re approaching the end of the world (actually its China, just kidding). Instead of plummeting off the face of the earth you begin to see the outline of the Khumbu Icefall and bright tents of Everest Base Camp. The camp is based on the glacier itself, subject to constant movement and the roars of avalanches from Everest, Lothse and nearby Pumori. The reception at b.c. was fantastic, we were invited for tea by three different expeditions Australian, Korean and a mix of different nationalities. You feel ‘really cool’ hanging around these guys and their fantastic equipment. We chatter and asked usual tourist questions, they were happy to see so new faces and kept giving us food and tea.
We decided to have a closer look at the Icefall, I wanted to scale the beast for just a bit. We approached the entrance to Everest at the ‘Gates of Khumbu Icefall’. The difficulty of the passage can be quite astonishing and overwhelming as the monster before Camp I is about 6km long rising steadily. Each morning the ‘Icefall doctors’ head out to examine the passage made of aluminium ladders and fixed ropes. Each year the icefall route is constructed by a team of sherpas and each expedition pays $4000 for the right of passage.
The day was filled with excitement already, but on the way back a Nepalese guide had sent the wrong way forcing a walk over huge boulders on the glacier and a treacherous climb up to get back to Gorak Shep. When I got back I started looking for that bastard but to no avail, he’s lucky to have his kneecaps intact.
The next morning we woke up to scale Kalla Pathar, the highest peak on the trek at 5550m. I woke up at 5 only to discover heavy fog and went back to sleep. At 7 we decided to go for it, many people were heading down already by the time we were half way up. We were lucky again! The clouds sort of moved away and again we had great views of Everest and surrounding peaks. This was the pinnacle of the trek, sitting at 5550m and seeing Mt. Everest was a personal high for me. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for 3 years and it finally arrived. I don’t want to get sentimental here, but it really did mean a lot for me to see Mt. Everest. After 15 days on the trail, sleeping in cramped out places and eating the same things you appreciate the mountains that much more.
The trek was an absolute success. Hooking up with Simon turned out to be a good decision as we didn’t get in each others way and kept up the same speed. The cost excluding flight was about $300 cnd for 22 days. Optional flight was about $100, but well worth for the views. Not too many tourist and very friendly locals before Lukla. Total elevation gained: equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest from sea level. Would I do it again, absolutely! There are so many passes still to do and I want to climb Island peak (6100m) or Mera peak. I would highly recommend this trek to anybody relatively fit. And I also wish my friends were with me on this trek, I know they love the mountains as well and for sure would love to do this trek. Hey the future is wide open and it’s never to late to head out and see: Mt. Everest or Chomolunga or Sagarmatha.
Cheers for now.
I just got my visa for India, off to Varanassi soon and the more mountains in amazing Ladakh.
posted by Rob at 10:28 PM
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