Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Namaste everyone,
Today was our third and final day in wonderful Namche Bazaar. We had an early breakfast and headed out the door for a hike that was part exploring and part acclimatization. The weather was calm and clear and allowed us some of our first views of Everest and other Himalayan giants. It was breathtaking to say the least. Even though Mt. Everest is still miles away it looks really BIG! We climbed up to somewhere around 12,000' so that's only 17,035' more to go.
Our adventure took us to two villages called Khunde and Khumjung. Khumjung is famous from Sir Edmond Hillary having built one of the first schools in the Khumbu Valley and their delicious bakery. Along the way we stopped off at the Everest View Hotel and had a quick drink and enjoyed the view the hotel is famous for.
Everyone is doing great and we are looking forward to moving further up the Khumbu Valley.
We awoke to an amazingly clear morning with the surrounding peaks dusted in a fresh coat of white from yesterday afternoon's snowfall. We hit the trail early, weaving our way out of Deboche's rhododendron forests, across a soaring bridge high above the Dudh Kosi, and then gradually climbing up the western side of the valley, soaking in the morning sun. Taking a side tour from the main route, we climbed up past several rows of mani stones to the village of Upper Pangboche. There we visited Lama Geshe, a well known and respected spiritual leader of the area. After paying our respects to him he proceeded to lead our small climbing team through a blessing ceremony, requesting safe passage from Chomolungma, the goddess of Everest and the Khumbu area, for our trek and climb ahead. Amidst chanting, throwing of rice, the burning of incense, and many hearfelt laughs, Lama Geshe gave a letter to each of us to carry with us on our climb, draped a kata scarf over our heads, and tied a small red string around our necks. A very geniune and happy person, it is difficult to leave the presence of Lama Geshe not feeling calmed, refreshed, and excited about the adventures ahead.
After saying goodbye, we continued out of the small cluster of buildings of Pangboche, gradually ascending higher up the valley, past more mani stones, chortens, and a beautiful mural of Guru Rinpoche, the Buddhist lama credited with bringing Buddhism to the area, painted onto a cliff face. The team is clearly acclimatizing well and walking strongly because we arrived at our destination - the small village of Pheriche - by midday, even with our long stopover at Lama Geshes.
We have spent the afternoon relaxing in the comfortable dining room of our teahouse, chatting with fellow trekkers and the doctors of the nearby Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) Clinic, and getting comfortable in the thin air of 14,000'.
We will stay another day in Pheriche tomorrow, going for a day hike above the valley and continuing to prepare our bodies for higher altitudes. We will check-in tomorrow when we return.
Hi, this is Seth writing you from the Everest Bakery and Cyber Cafe in Namche Bazaar. It's a beautiful day in the Khumbu.
Our schedule calls for a rest day today in order to allow our bodies to adjust to the altitude here. It's kind of strange to have to acclimatize to a location that is a fully functioning town. But a slow and steady approach to basecamp is necessary to keep us healthy for the upcoming climb.
Namche is a beautiful village located in a high amphitheater surrounded by craggy peaks. The town is bustling with trekkers from all over the globe which give it a very cosmopolitan feel. It's the Sherpa capital and it's cool to see all of the guys moving through town on their way to basecamp. It must be climbing season.
The team is doing well and everyone is enjoying the trek so far. A few of us were able to get a glimpse of Everest this morning, which was great. It's as big as I remember!
Tomorrow we are taking a day hike to the village of Kumjung and hopefully we'll be able to get views of Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse and of course Everest.
Yesterday's afternoon clouds once again dissipated by morning and clear skies greeted us as we left the teahouse this morning. Retracing our steps back up the hill to the Tengboche Monastery, we were able to see the beautiful panorama of the Everest Massif Tengboche is well known for. Leaving the well trodden path that connects Tengboche to Namche, we set off up a small trail headed up the mountainside above Tengboche. We quickly gained elevation, walking past a series of stone chortens connected with strings upon strings of prayer flags put up by the monks. After passing the last chorten the path fell away to a small trail weaving its way up the mountain side, past small cairns and little clusters of hardy juniper. As we climbed so did the clouds, quickly building in the valley below us and enveloping us as we reached our destination - a small white chorten perched on a knoll high on the ridge above Tengboche and the Khumbu Valley. Clearing occassionally, the clouds gave us sporadic glimpses of the winding river below and the glacier capped peaks above.
At an elevation of almost 14,000' the knoll, declared Tengboche Ri (Tengboche Peak) by our Sherpas, was the perfect place to sit for awhile, allowing our bodies time to get used to the thin air and giving a good boost to the acclimatization process underway as we make our way towards Everest Base Camp. As the clouds continued to grow, we retraced our steps back to Tengboche, pulling into the small bakery there just as occasional snowflakes began to fall. Enjoying a warm cup of tea, we watched the landscape change around us as the snow became thicker and thicker, blanketing everything in a thin layer of white.
The snow continued to fall as we left the bakery and walked over to the Monastery, making ourselves comfortable in the large prayer room at the heart of the Monastery. Soon the monks began filing in, the incense and candles were lit, and the afternoon prayer session began, filling their chamber with the deep rolling chants of their prayers. We observed in silence, relaxing in the ornately decorated room as the monks prayed. It was an amazing experience to sit through: listening to the calming chants in a Monastery deep in the heart of the Himalaya as the snow fell outside.
Returning to the teahouse as the sun finally broke through the clouds, the mountains began to reveal themselves around us, painted in a fresh layer of snow. Today has been a wonderful rest day in Deboche and we are all feeling strong, acclimatizing well, and looking forward to climbing further up the valley to Pheriche tomorrow.
We seem to be repeating ourselves here in the Khumbu, saying "that couldn't have gone any smoother" over and over. Sure enough we got out of Katmandu right on schedule yesterday morning with an easy flight in a Dornier 228 twin engine prop plane. We all survived the uphill landing in Lukla, had a fine breakfast there and then hit the trail at around 8 AM. There are twelve of us at the moment, plus Raju and Lama Babu (our climbing sirdar). We'll be joined any day now by climber Michael Brown, but for the moment, there are four climbers, four guides, two trekkers and two team managers and everybody is walking well. The gang walked just fine on somewhat crowded trails yesterday, through farms and small villages to Phak Ding. There we moved into Jo's Garden, a traditional "tea house", for the night. It is a peaceful place, with the Dudh Khosi -a river of constant whitewater- flowing furiously past and erasing all other sound. For many of us, the night was our first of full sleep in what seemed like a week -what with the hectic packing, repacking, flying, packing, more flying, early starting and jet-lagging. Today all seemed to be in good moods and good health and so we joined the busy trail again for the walk upriver. By late morning, we'd entered the National Park and found a nice outside table at a cafe for lunch. A few plates of rice and potatoes later and we got back into the walking. We tackled the notorious Namche Hill and cruised past about a hundred trekkers, porters and pack animals all grinding up in low gear. Conditions were just perfect for gaining about 2000 vertical feet since the ample cloud cover and a few gentle breezes kept the heat tolerable. But the clouds did rob us of what could have been a first view of Everest from the trail. No matter, we'll see it soon enough. The team is tucked in at Camp De Base, a fine lodge in Namche, the "Sherpa Capital" as everyone calls it. We'll spend three nights here, trying to get used to the big jump in altitude (we are up around 11,500 ft now) and enjoying the shopping, communications and social opportunities of this bustling and spectacularly placed town. Tonight, since it will be the first at true altitude, we won't be able to drink much alchohol... but if we could, we'd be toasting Mark Tucker's mom, who turned eighty back in California. Happy Birthday from the RMI Everest 2010 team!
We packed up our bags this morning after several comfortable nights in Namche and set out on the trail. The first fifteen minutes are always the hardest; climbing up and out of Namche's steep and narrow streets don't allow for much of a warm up and we were quickly pulling off of our warm jackets as we climbed into the morning sun. Once out of Namche's bowl the trail quickly flattened out and we spent several hours traversing across the mountain sides high above the Dudh Kosi. The morning was clear again and we had wonderful views of Everest and Lhotse, still sailing their giant plumes of snow from their summits.
By midday we reached Phunki Tanga - known also as Funky Town - where we stopped for a pleasant lunch amongst the fir and rhododendrons. During lunch we encountered our first train of true yaks - the legendary shaggy work animals of the high Himalaya. They are noticeable larger than the yak/cow crossbreed used lower in the Valley and we all paused during our meal to admire them, colorfully decorated by their Sherpa herders with strings and even earings.
After lunch we set our sights upon our major climb of the day, gaining the several thousand feet from Phunki Tanga to Tengboche - a ridgetop community that is home to the largest Monastery in the area. The group climbed steadily and we made good time, quickly ticking off the many dusty switchbacks that led us to the top and before long we had crested the ridge and were standing in the open grounds in front of the large monastery. Clouds moved into the mountains by then and swirled amongst the peaks above us, obscuring the stunning panorama Tengboche is known for. After admiring the ornate architecture and colorful decorations of the Monastery we dropped down off of the other side of the ridge into the tiny village of Deboche, tucked amongst a large forest of rhododendron on the verge of blooming. Finding our teahouse amongst the trees, we settled in by mid afternoon to relax after a good day on the trail.
Tomorrow we will stay another night in Deboche, taking time to visit the Monastery of Tengboche and go for a small day hike above the area.
The team is in high spirits and doing well, sending their best to everyone at home.
A thunderstorm swept in yesterday evening, enveloping the peaks across the valley in thunder and lighning, giving us a spectacular lightshow from the rooms of our teahouse. Thin, whispy clouds wrapped around the summits were all that were left of the faroff storm this morning. Leaving Namche as the sun crept into town, we climbed a series of switchbacks out of the bowl in which Namche sits and up to Syangboche, a collection of a few homes perched on the plateau above town and where a dirt airstrip is found. Closed for several years to planes and accessible only by helicopter, the Syangboche strip was recently reopened to cargo flights in a small single prop plane that has been busy ferrying construction supplies - rebar, lumbar, and plastic piping. Continuing across the airstrip and into a small forest of juniper we traversed the hilly plateau to a prominent outcropping on the northeastern side. There, sitting amongst the pines, sits the Mount Everest View Hotel, a large hotel built by the Japanese several years ago that features oxygen and pressurized rooms, in addition to spectacular views of Cholatse, Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. While Cholatse and Ama Dablam were visible the Everest / Lhotse Massif was cloaked on clouds, lifting only ocassionally to reveal it's steep rock and ice slopes. We sat down to a cup of tea on the back porch waiting in hopes the clouds would lift but they never did.
Leaving the sunny backporch of the Mount Everest View Hotel, we dropped into a shallow valley to the north, where the villages of Khumjung and Khunde are found. Although close to Namche, they couldn't be more different, as far as Sherpa villages go. Compared to Namche, steep, narrow, busy streets full of commerce, Khumjung and Khunde's big fields, winding footpaths, and quiet streets offer a very different experience. As we walked through Khumjung the path in front of us began to fill with children, running towards us, giggling and playing as they walked by, with their schoolbooks tucked under their arms. Soon we came to the grounds of the Hillary School in Khumnjung, the largest school in the area serving primary through high school grades. Classes had just finished for the morning and many of the students were returning home for lunch.
After visiting the school's grounds, we continued onto Khunde, just a few minutes walk away where we stopped in at the Hillary Hospital there - both organized and funded by Sir Edmund Hillary. While at the hospital a patient arrived carried by the local ambulance, a pony. He was quickly escorted in while his ride waited patiently outside.
We returned to Namche by climbing over the hills from Khunde, past rows and rows of Mani stones, and dropping down the steep hillsides into Namche. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, walking through Namche, catching up on reading and writing, and savoring a last hot shower.
Tomorrow we climb further up the valley to the small village of Deboche, located in the shadow of the Tengboche Monastery, the largest in the region. We will do our best to keep you updated to our progress as we move higher.
Greetings from Namche,
The clear weather has continued to hold and we were greeted to spectacular views of the three summits Kwangde bathed in morning light across the valley. The weekly Saturday morning market was going on this morning. Ending at 9am in order to allow the Sherpa from surrounding areas to get back home with their goods, the market is perched on a series of three terraces on the eastern side of Namche. Traders spread their goods out along the narrow terraces, bartering over items that range from fresh vegetables to spices to buffalo meat to packaged foods and cheap knockoff running shoes. We wandered amongst the action, admiring both the diversity of goods and the setting in which it all takes place.
As the market began to wind down we climbed up to the Army Post that sits above Namche. From it's hilltop perch we caught our first glimpse further up the Khumbu Valley to the looming Everest massif. Everest's famous pyramidal summit was clearly visible alongside that of Lhotse, Everest's neighbor and fellow 8000m peak. From both summits flew giant plumes of snow and wind, indicating that the jet stream still lies firmly planted over the region and the climbing season is still several weeks off - although expeditions began their approach now to be in position for when the jet finally abates. A small museum sponsored by the National Park sits at the Army Post as well and we took the opportunity to learn more about the regions fauna, flora, geology, and culture. Afterward we dropped by another small museum run by a deaf Sherpa who is a talented photographer and has tirelessly assembled an impressive collection of traditional Sherpa artifacts, relics of former mountaineering expeditions, photographs of many traditional Sherpa holidays and festivals, and a meticulous log of all Everest summiteers, Western and Sherpa alike.
Afterward we had a relaxing afternoon in Namche, wandering it's narrow streets and small shops packed with goods, visiting the recently renovated Monastery perched on the hill at the edge of town, and taking time to relax atop some of the large boulders carves with colorful Buddhist prayers and take in the mountainous panorama in the afternoon sun. While a restful day, today has been important in our acclimatization process and in preparing our bodies for the thin air higher up. Tomorrow we will build upon this by climbing to several villages above Namche to visit them before returning to Namche for our last night here on the ascent. The team is feeling strong and looking forward to tomorrow's day hike.
Namaste from Namche Bazaar,
The quiet setting of Phakding, amongst the blooming rhododendrons and along the river, gave us the opportunity to catch up on some much needed rest after days of travel and the skewed sleeping schedules of our nights in Kathmandu. We awoke to another nice day and after a leisurely breakfast in the teahouse we continued making our way northward up the Khumbu Valley. From Phakding we contoured above the Dudh Khosi, crossing occasional side streams and weaving our way amongst the fields and villages along the way. With several days of backed up flights finally breaking yesterday the trail was quite busy with locals returning home, trekkers, and lines of dzopkyos - the yak/cow hybrids used to haul loads at the lower elevations. With so many horns swinging down the trail, it was a challenge not to be distracted by our surroundings with towering peaks looming over us, coated in a fresh dusting of snow from last night.
After crossing the Dudh Kosi and climbing a steep set of stone stairs into the small village of Monjo we reached the Entrance Gate to Sagamartha National Park. There we showed our climbing permit and checked in, before continuing on to the village of Jorsale where we paused for lunch. Above Jorsale we reached the confluence of the Dudh Kosi, flowing down from Everest, and the Bhoti Kosi, flowing from below Cho Oyu and the Nangpa La Pass into Tibet. At this confluence of the rivers, but several thousand feet above on the hillside, sits Namche Bazaar. We crossed our forth and final suspension bridge of the day, strung at a dizzying height above the river and blanketed with prayer flags that were streaming in the afternoon breeze, and began the long climb to Namche. Picking our way up the 18 or so switchbacks and through the pine forests, we gradually climbed higher, leaving the river below and gradually revealing the panorama of peaks that often hide from the valley floor. Along the way we passed grinning Sherpani women tempting us with tangerines, a welcome refreshment from the hot and dusty trail of the Namche hill. Eventually the trail leveled out, passing a few houses, before taking a sharp turn and leading us into the heart of Namche Bazaar.
Perched at 11,300' in a U shaped bowl overlooking the Bhoti Kosi and peaks to the south, Namche is a series of terraced streets, buildings, and fields all built in a horseshoe shape that stack upon each other, climbing up the hillside. A center of trade, and now tourism as well, Namche's narrow streets are a bustle of activity compared to the calm farming communities below. Walking through its streets, really just stone lined footpaths amongst the shops, we made our way to our teahouse, nestled right in the middle of Namche. As trekker's peruse the stalls of souvenirs, yak bells, and the latest climbing and trekking gear, stray dzopkyos and yaks wander the streets, with little Sherpa children chasing them from the courtyards of their homes. It's an incredibly unique place and a pleasure to explore and we are looking forward to spending a few nights here.
After a long day of walking, finishing with the large climb to Namche, the team is happy to have some down time to rest, relax, and explore. Tomorrow we are planning to check out the weekly Saturday morning market where villagers from throughout the valley will descend upon Namche to stock up on daily goods before spending the day acclimatizing and enjoying the scene of Namche.
Namaste,
Early this morning we loaded all of our gear up and drove through the slowly waking streets streets of Kathmandu to the airport for our flight to the mountains. Arriving well before sun up we found the airport bustling with sleepy but anxious trekkers. Four days of bad weather had prevented any flights from getting to Lukla, the gateway to the Khumbu, and people were understandably frustrated from spending day after day at the airport waiting to fly. But thankfully for us, the weather chose to break this morning and we walked straight through the waiting area and onto one of the first flights to Lukla. Our mountain flight, in a small twin otter designed for STOL runways - Short Take Off Landing - was amazingly smooth and we had gorgeous views of the Himalaya as we flew eastward from Kathmandu to the Everest Region.
Landing in Lukla is always, well, exciting. A narrow strip of asphalt, the Lukla airport is built straight into the hillside, perched at angle of 10 degrees or so, and only a couple of hundred meters long. As you approach all that is visible over the pilots' shoulders is a rapidly approaching mountainside before the strip appears below the wheels, the plane touches down and comes to a screaming halt, all in the the span of a few football fields.
We left the busy, congested streets of Kathmandu, flew past some of the world's greatest peaks, and landed on a narrow mountain airstrip in the heart of the Himalaya, all by 8:30 in the morning! In Lukla we stepped from the plane right onto the stone lined footpaths of the Khumbu where the trekking begins. We took advantage of the time needed to unload the plane and finalize our bags to enjoy a cup of tea and pasty from the local bakery while admiring the stunning mountains around us.
By midmorning we were on the trail, with the sun shining and a few clouds hanging amongst the highest mountains, making their summits appear to float in the sky above us. We made our way along the long, gradual descending traverse from the mountainside village of Lukla to the bottom of the Khumbu Valley along the banks of the Dudh Kosi. The trail took us along lines of neatly stacked stone walls between fields of wheat, lettuce and cabbage, through little villages tucked between the mountains and the river, and past banks of prayer wheels and stacks of mani stones - stone tablets engraved with Buddhist prayers. While the walking is quite benign, the surroundings are overwhelming with the combination of soaring peaks and fascinating Sherpa life that has carved a rich culture into these mountains. The group was thrilled to finally be here and walking after so many days of travel and moved very well today, taking to the trails easily and taking advantage of the great weather to snap plenty of photos.
Tonight we are staying in a small teahouse in Phakding on the banks of the Dudh Kosi - meaning milky river due to its silky blue/white color from the glacial sediment it carries. Tomorrow we climb from the valley floor to the trading center of Namche Bazaar where yak trains from Tibet bring in goods to exchange with the Sherpa and Nepalis of the surrounding area.
The teams sends their best to everyone back home. We will check in from Namche tomorrow.
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