High Passes to Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal

The group began bonding as a team during their training weekend in Wales and became reunited at various points in their journey to Nepal.  Jos joined the British travellers in London, Graham and Kevin joined the party in Delhi and John S became reunited with everyone at the Summit Hotel in Kathmandu.  Everyone was tired and excited after the long journey so after some planning and preparation for an early departure the next day, we ate and crawled gratefully into bed.  The four am wakeup call brought us quickly back to reality and felt rather harsh but when we landed in Lukla later on that morning, it all seemed worth it.

Once we had met our Sirdar Lakpa and his faithful assistant Nima, we were ready to see if we could catch up with the porters who had already disappeared round the corner and up the hill.  The two days that took us up to Namche were exciting, as we got used to day to day life on the move, eating and sleeping in tea houses, the ever more impressive views of increasingly imposing mountains and the gentle swing of the eight suspension bridges between Lukla and Namche.  By the end of the trip Kevin was able to cross these bridges alone and with a smile on his face – a huge achievement, well done!

The next few days were spent resting and acclimatising both in Namche and then in Thame.  Namche provided the team with time to visit the Everest View Hotel, take tea and admire the clouds that were hiding Everest and almost every other mountain in the valley.  The acclimatisation walk from Thame took us up the ridge to a local monastery where the team was lucky enough to see a Puja.

The Bhote valley is remote and beautiful with few trekkers or tea houses and is the ideal introduction to the magnificent landscape and culture of the area.  With each step, more altitude was gained and the clouds were slowly being left behind us.  The final night in the valley was spent camping just below the Renjo La and with one last acclimatisation trek behind them the team was ready to cross the pass.  At a height of 5388m the Renjo La would take us into Gokyo valley and would be the toughest day yet.  The pain of reaching this height was quickly forgotten however as the most spectacular views you can imagine appeared framed with prayer flags fluttering in the wind, marking the top of the pass.  There were tears of joy as emotions overcame individuals.

With a week’s experience living in the Everest region the group was getting used to the local toilets; from western style flushing systems and self-flushing squat loos to the long drop.  Imagine our surprise then, when John McG came into the tea house in Gokyo with a sheepish grimace on his face and a story which had us sliding off our chairs.  He had been spending some time in the outside loo and as he stood up he heard ‘clunk, splash’.  The dismay he must have felt when he realised that his brand new iPhone had gone sailing into the hole below him is indescribable.  Back in his room he scanned his belongings for useful equipment to perform a rescue operation.  After a few false starts John McG and his faithful assistant Sara were peering into a dark hole.  John, wearing his spare gloves and with gaiters strapped to his arms for protection, leaned in and finally retrieved his phone with Sara’s walking poles.  To everyone’s surprise, after a good wash, the phone worked and all the photos from the trip were safe.  The gloves and gaiters on the other hand didn’t make it further than Gokyo.

The following day a rescue operation of a slightly different nature was required and the whole group was very disappointed to see John S flying back to Kathmandu in a helicopter as a medical emergency.  The good news is that he made it back safely, he is doing well, and he got some fantastic views from the Renjo La, fifth lake and Gokyo Ri before he left us.  The group name ‘All sixes and sevens’ became even more relevant now and everyone felt the hole John's departure left.

The trek over Cho La was the most challenging of all and as the team prepared mentally whilst relaxing in a luxury tea house in Dragnag, large snowflakes began to fall.  Too much snow and the Cho La becomes impassable – meaning a three day trek around the bottom of the valley to reach the same point.  The next morning at 5am the snow had stopped and small pockets of clear sky could be seen.  Six hours later the team crawled over the last scramble to the top of the pass.  Despite the lack of views, team moral could not be squashed and with memories of the views from the Renjo La clearly etched in memories and in cameras to keep them going; the climb down to Dzongla began.

Now, fully acclimatised and with the hardest part of the trek behind us, we were feeling happy, strong and like we could take on the world.  We decided to settle for Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar. The views from the top brought Everest closer than before and looking down on the Khumbu Icefall gave everyone time to stop and think.  With mountains towering above in every direction, it was easy to forget that we were indeed standing at 5545m.  

Everest Base Camp was emotional surprise for everyone and hugely enjoyed by all.  A visit to the beginning of the icefall gave the team an opportunity to pose in the’All sixes and sevens’ T-shorts and spare a thought for John S.  Back at the Jagged Globe Everest team camp, we were welcomed by expedition leader David Hamilton and Gavin, Base Camp Manager / Chef who cooked us an incredible spread for lunch.

Turning around in a homeward direction was difficult for everyone as a feeling that the good times were coming to an end began to creep over the team.  However, new sights and experiences were still around and each day was as exciting as the last.  Pangboche provided the views of Ama Dablam that we had been waiting for and everyone took photos for John S.  In Namche coffee and cakes were consumed by the majority of the group – those that could drag themselves away from the shopping and internet cafes.

Finally, our last stop in the hills: Lukla.  Here we said goodbye to our porters, Lakpa and Nima.  A party in the lodge gave us the opportunity to thank them for all their hard work – without them, this once in a lifetime experience would not be possible.  And then thoughts turned to home as we flew back to Kathmandu, transformed ourselves back into ‘normal’ human beings and celebrated in style in the big city.

An enjoyable and successful trip - congratulations to all!

Leading for Jagged Globe
http://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/