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| Pascal and me with Cho Oyu (26,864 ft.) in the background |
Pascal is the son of some good friends in California. We first hiked together in 2002, in the Andes, when Pascal was only 16. Over the next nine years, we traveled together another five times. The Renjo La trip was our final adventure together -- he was by then 25, and on the verge of marriage and serious professional employment.
Pascal was an excellent travel companion, adventurous and fortunate (?) enough to share my own sense of humor.
At the conclusion of the trek, while we were hanging around Kathmandu for a couple of additional days before heading home, Pascal wrote an email to his family and friends summarizing the trip, discussing many of the same events that I discussed later in this blog, but in more detail and from his own individual point of view. I thought it would be interesting -- for me, at least -- to preserve his insights by cutting and pasting his email into my blog.
In his email, of course, he is writing informally for friends and family, not for publication. But in so writing, he perhaps captures his feelings and reactions with more immediacy than if he had composed something more deliberately, weeks later after returning home.
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Hi all,
So! Where to begin? I guess at the beginning? That'd make sense.
So our first full day in Kathmandu after we arrived we went to this Hindu site, Pashupatinath, right along the holy Bagmati river where they do open air cremations of deceased people. Yeah. Kind of intense for 9am in the morning. The site itself was quite nice. Lots of shrines etc. Some monkeys here and there. And then we saw the cremations. That was quite the scene. I actually saw them bring a deceased person up and place them on this platform of logs and grass. Everyone walked around clockwise paying their respects... and then they lit it on fire. People were wailing, smoke was everywhere in the air. It was a little shocking. It's supposedly one of the most sacred places to be cremated if you're a hindu. They actually have a hospice there where people can come and die so that they can be cremated withing 24 hours (I think that's the time frame). It's also interesting/kind of depressing that after they're done they throw everything in the river (mattress, all the clothes, etc). As you can imagine this very holy river was pretty disgustingly polluted. At any rate, it was quite the site.
Then we went to this HUGE Buddhist stupa called Bodnath right in the middle of the city. Just the scale of it was pretty impressive. All around it was built up into restaurants and little shops. It almost had a European feel to it... minus the huge rounded white stupa in the middle of it all. So that was pretty interesting. Both of those things were different from what we saw the first time we came here. I think they took that into consideration when choosing where to go, which was nice of Mountain Travel.
The next day we were up bright and early to catch the flight to Lukla. On the way everyone shared their various stories of the airport. Donny had flown there back in the late nineties when they were remodeling it so he had to fly in a huge Russian helicopter. Some other people remembered when it was still a grass and dirt runway. Tom (the son of the two that were from Kansas) had recently watched a history channel show on the most extreme airports in the world... and Lukla took the title of #1. Not exactly what I wanted to hear when getting ready to board the tiny Twin Otter propeller airplane to take us there. After an hour or so of delays we were finally bussed out to our plane and took off. It was pretty cramped. I think it held about 20 ppl and their bags.
The take off was pretty standard. Once in the air it isn't pressurized so you're constantly having to pop your ears, and the sound of the engines pretty much eliminated all possibility of having a conversation. So we just sat there staring out the window at the peaks soaring just below us and dreading the moment when the airstrip came into view. When it did, I made sure to document it. I whipped out my small cannon and shot a video of the landing. Everyone cheered when we made it in one piece. Whew!
We met our crew, had some tea, loaded up our packs and took off for Phakding. It was a pretty short hike. We had to take a bit of a detour because one of the bridges had washed out, so we had to hike up and over the creek that it was crossing. That was pretty loose and muddy, but overall not bad. Stayed at a lodge there that night.
The next day we hiked up to Namche. And I do mean UP. We hiked along the river for most of the day, which was great. Some pretty spectacular suspension bridges along the way (not Donny's favorite part, but I enjoyed the bouncing and swaying a couple hundred feet above a massive gushing glacial river). Then we hiked up and up to Namche. Along the way we caught a glimpse of Everest's peak (which honestly wasn't THAT spectacular...from this vista). Namche was a pretty cool village. In this big natural gorge/amphitheater looking place. It's quite the backpackers hub which tons of little shops selling everything you could need. We stayed there two nights so that we could have a day to acclimate to 11,300'. On the "rest" day we hiked up to a little museum which was pretty interesting. Told you about the Sherpa people and the environment there. The peaks were all out that morning and it really was beautiful. Then we hiked up to the Everest View Hotel which was pretty high up on this bluff. There was actually a tiny airstrip up there that planes flew into to drop off supplies to Namche. We got to see a plan land and take off. THAT was pretty awesome. I think Tom got some good pictures of it taking off. From the Everest View Hotel we got another glimpse of Everest (imagine that?! Aptly named hotel). Had some tea up there and just basked in the sun and the glory of the Himalayas.
The next day we took off to Khunde which was only maybe a 2-3 hour hike away. We stayed at our Sirdar's (he's the second in command from the main guide. He organizes all of the porters etc.) family house. Well, we camped in the back yard. Walked up to see the clinic there which was an important structure as it was the main clinic for a lot of villages in the region. Also, we checked out one of the first school that Sir Edmond Hillary built after he was the first known mountaineer to successfully summit Everest back in 1953. He contributed a huge amount to this region in Nepal, and is basically considered a demi-god here.
The next day we hiked up to Tengboche monastery. There was some significant climbing up hill but that's only because you have to go all the way down to the river and then climb back up the other side. Elevation wise it's not that much higher (12,664'). That night we went to see the Buddhist prayer session which was interesting. Also saw a little museum attached to the monastery which was very informative. Talked about the region and Buddhist teachings, etc. We camped that night and it got pretty chilly. Definitely some frost in the morning when we got out of our tents.
So up until this point we were following the main trail that most everyone takes to Everest basecamp. I had discussed with the other 5 ppl on the trek (other than Donny and I. There were 7 of us in total) to see why they chose to do this trip instead of Everest base camp. The older couple, David and Caroline from Bainbridge Island which is right near Seattle, had actually already been there about 30 years ago. They had just done the Annapurna Sanctuary trek just last year which is the same one that Donny and I did 2 years ago. The other 3, Ann who's the mother of Tom and sister to Bill, decided on this trek because EVERYONE does Everest basecamp and it's just crowded and too much of a tourist trap now. I wasn't quite sure if I agreed, but they did have a point. The next day we diverged from the basecamp route and took off on an even more remote trail than the main trail to Gokyo. It was perfect!
We saw maybe 3 other groups of trekkers where as previously we were pretty much always running into groups coming and going. SO much nicer to be out in a more remote area. We camped in this little valley in a village called Khonar. The next day was more of the same. Hiking along the side of these hills going in and out of valleys going a little up and a little down. Just beautiful. Stayed in this little Yak herding community called Chomteng (14,400'). From the first glimpse it looked like a deserted city of ruins. Stone walls winding round and round surrounding small pastures for the yaks and on each plot there was a little hut made completely out of stone. Apparently these are seasonal huts that yak herders use as the move up and down the valley according to the snow level and weather. It was really quite beautiful. That night it got pretty cold in the tents.
The next day we hiked to Gokyo. It was pretty much more of the same hiking for the first part. Then we hit the glacier. THAT was pretty impressive. We had to hike across it. It was not at all what I expected. When I was in New Zealand we hiked on Fox Glacier. That was pretty much what you expected a glacier to be like. Ice. Lots of hardened pale blue ice with veins of black sediment here and there striping the glacier. Not Ngozumpa glacier. It's apparently the largest glacier in Nepal. And it WAS large. It probably spanned 2-3 miles across, carving a deep gorge down the valley. And it was all covered by a thick layer of sediment. Basically a dusty sand with rocks. It took us a solid couple hours to traverse across it, snaking up and down sizable hills that the compacted ice below formed. Occasionally we'd have to circumvent large glacial ponds/lakes with huge ice cliffs hanging over them, waiting to crack off and plunge into the amazingly turquoise waters below. The color of glacial ponds/lakes is just beautiful. I doubt my pictures will do the colors justice. Every color of blue and green and turquoise you can imagine. All in stunning vivid clarity with the sun beating down them. The hike to get out of the glacier was pretty taxing, and a little bit unnerving as you are traversing along the side of this giant gorge with huge boulders poised right above you on the trail. Keep in mind that a glacier is constantly shifting and moving sending debris crumbling down sporadically. Needless to say, we didn't linger there for very long. Once out, it was a quick little walk to the town of Gokyo.
Gokyo is situated right next to a pretty large glacial lake. It's a little village of a couple shops and some lodges. We stayed at a lodge there for 2 nights to acclimate. (Interesting bit of trivia: acclimate and acclimatize are actually different. Acclimate is to adjust to ONE variation in a new place like altitude. Acclimatize is to adjust to a more complex set of changes. So we were acclimating where as the Sherpas were acclimatized. I think...) Anyways, we initially had the option of what we wanted to do on our "rest" day. Option 1: to hike over to the 5th glacial lake where you get great views of Everest. This option involves less elevation gain, and more distance. Option 2: Climb up to the top of Gokyo Ri which maxes out a 17,990'. Up there you also get great views of Everest, but are very similar to those that you would get from Renjo La pass. Initially we all kind of agreed that we would rather hike over to the 5th glacial lake to see a different view of Everest, but then the guide decided that in the interest of acclimating, we should do the hike to Gokyo Ri. I think he just wanted to make sure that we could all DO it. Some of us were having some issues with the altitude. I actually got a little headache and some nausea when we were all the way down in Namche, so after that I was taking half a diamox pill every night and felt fine. Some of the other people were having similar issues throughout the trip, but once they started taking diamox it was fine.
So it was decided for us that we would do the Gokyo Ri hike. Just to be clear, our lodge at Gokyo was at 15,580, so we were gaining 2,410' pretty much straight UP. Really, the trail basically just zig-zagged up the side of this hill/mountain. It was very slow going. A lot of huffing and puffing. I reigned in my competitive nature and hiked up last, hanging with Donny. Donny struggled a little bit, but with a lot of water, some breaks, many pictures, and raw determination rooted in stubborn pride (on Donny's part), we made it to the top after about 3 hours of climbing. It was great though. We started really early in the morning as the sun was just starting to rise. I got some (hopefully) great pictures of the mountains in the morning light and the reflection on the glassy calm glacial lake. Then on the way up we could start seeing Everest peak out from behind one of the other mountains that obscured it from below. It was fun to watch the higher we climbed, the higher Everest rose. It's as if it was climbing up with us. As I said, from the initial limited views of the fabled mountain top I really was not impressed. It wasn't all that jagged of a peak, nor visibly that strikingly large. But on this day, watching it grow and grow I finally started appreciating the sheer immensity of this amazing mountain. Once at the top, it clearly towered above all else, dwarfing other smaller (but still 25,000'+!) peaks. The rest of our group was already up there waiting for us. Donny quickly explained that he was nice enough to hang with me while I struggled up the mountain. I smiled and assured everyone that Donny is indeed a nice guy for doing that. The next hour was filled with slack-jawed aw of the surrounding views. A LOT of pictures taken. Speaking of pictures. There was a whole photo shoot of me getting up on one of the taller boulders and jumping as high as I could in order to stretch up that extra 10' so I could hit 18,000'. I think I made it! (for some perspective, Lake Tahoe is at 6,225' and you're huffing and puffing up there! The highest peak in the continental North America is Mt Whitney at 14,494')
On the way down I pretty much ran down with Tom. Hung out at the base laying next to the lake and chatting. It was a beautiful day. We spent the rest of it just relaxing, reading, playing gin, sipping tea, and just marveling at the lake and mountains all around. Speaking of Gin. Bill, one of the other guys on the trip, is a very interesting guy who worked in the start up industry in business development and retired at the age of 42 right before everything crashed. So anyways, apparently he used to play in Gin COMPETITIONS! Yeah, I didn't even know they existed. So there is a variation where you can play with 4 ppl and two decks of cards. Basically each duo plays against each other in a separate game and then you take the net score of the two games. Anyways, it was a lot of fun. And he was VERY good. After that, gin became a pretty regular routine in the evenings.
The next day we hiked up to our highest camp right below Renjo Pass. The campsite was in this amazingly stunning valley with snow all around. Luckily there were some dry patches where we were able to set up camp. It was at 16,700'. From the camp we got great views of Everest. In fact, when we were eating dinner in the dining tent, once the sun started setting on Everest's peak, they unzipped one side so we could dine with that in the background. Probably one of the most spectacular sites I've EVER seen. Needless to say it was VERY well documented. I think took so many pictures I could make a movie of the sun setting on Everest and capture each hue of golden orange it faded into. Just magnificent.
That night it was VERY cold. I'd say probably down into the teens. I was relatively warm in my sleeping bag, but my feet got really cold towards the morning. I didn't sleep that well. I think I was also just too excited to sleep.
The next morning we hiked the rest of the way to Renjo La pass (17,880'). Most of the trail was through the hard packed snow. Some great pictures of snow-scapes. It was kind of anti-climactic to get up to the top because we had already been that high on Renjo Pass and saw a similar scene. And the sun-set on Everest pretty much topped everything. But regardless, the sense of accomplishment was enormous and we were all thrilled to have made it over the pass.
The trail down from the pass was quite steep and snowy so it was slow going at first. The rest of the trail was just beautiful. We were in a new valley and it was as beautiful as ever. At camp it got REALLY foggy. We lucked out on the weather because if it was that foggy and cloudy on the pass we wouldn't have seen ANYTHING. SO lucky. I'm very grateful.
The last couple days of the trek were not all too eventful. We hiked back through to Thame, and then the next day to Namche again. From Namche it was quite a long day all the way back to Lukla, but everyone made it in great time. Well, funny story, Bill decided to hi-tail it there "in order to get a workout before the flight". He got there REALLY early and actually took a flight out of Lukla to Kathmandu that afternoon before anyone got back. Apparently one of his Schwab accounts was "compromised" and he had to get back home "immediately". Kind of left everyone with a bad taste in our mouths. Especially Ann, his sister. She was so embarrassed by his behavior. Apparently he's done this in the past. But apart from that everything was great.
The flight out the next morning was breath-taking. The runway is VERY short and actually tilted downhill with a pretty sheer drop off at the end (so if you don't have enough speed by the end you drop off the cliff and can glide for a bit to gain enough speed to get airborne... luckily we didn't have to make use of that particular feature!). Tom was up at the front of the plane and I gave him my small camera to take a video of the takeoff. Everything worked perfectly and we were soaring over the peaks on our way back to Kathmandu in no time! WHEW!!!
I think that pretty much wraps it up! Just have a couple days here in Kathmandu relaxing and then we head home on Friday. Don't get in until 10:15am on Sat the 22nd. Ashley's nice enough to pick me up from the airport. I CAN'T WAIT TO GET HOME!!! I'll make sure to send out another email when I touch down safely.
I love you all and I'll see you soon!
- Pascal
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