Entries from Everest BC Trek
Hello, this is Linden calling, today is April 6th. It was a beautiful morning at Base Camp and after breakfast we started our descent through the Khumbu Glacier back into the morraine and on to Gorak Shep. From there we climbed a little peak called Kala Patar and enjoyed fantastic views of Everest and the Khumbu Glacier. After sitting up there for a while taking in the scenery we began the descent to Gorak Shepa and continued back down the valley to Lobuche. There we met up with the RMI Everest Climbing Team and shared a cup of tea. We continued on to Pheriche where we will spend the night.
Today was a long day and we traveled quite a distance through glaciers and moraine, climbing up to 18,500' and back down to 17,000'. We are all excited to be heading toward Island Peak and we are looking forward to reaching base camp in a few days.
Linden checked in from Everest Base Camp today. They spent some of the early afternoon in the lower Kumbu working on cramponing, fixed line travel and self and team arrest getting ready for the upcoming climb of Island Peak. They also were able to witness first hand the work of the legendary Ice Fall Doctors as they worked to put in a route on the Khumbu Ice Fall preparing it for the upcoming climbers.
The team enjoyed some company at Base Camp this evening as RMI's Jeff Martin and Mark Tucker (RMI Everest Basecamp Manager) joined the team for dinner. Jeff and Mark will be putting the finishing touches on Everest Base Camp prior to the climbing team's arrival in a few days. This will be the climbers home base for the next two and a half months.
Tomorrow the Island Peak team will leave the comforts of Everest Base Camp and climb to the Summit of Kala Patar, a small peak across the valley from Everest on the lower slopes of Pumori. Tonight they enjoyed the views from Base Camp, and although they are sad to leave the comforts of camp, they are looking forward to what is ahead...reaching the summit of Island Peak.
(Voicemail from Linden)
Hello, this is Linden calling. It is Sunday evening our time and we are calling from Everest Base Camp. We left Lobuche this morning with our nicest weather yet. We stopped in Gorak Shep for morning tea and continued through the glacier, ice and morraine to arrive at Base Camp by mid afternoon.
Our Sherpa team has been working really hard up here these last few weeks and have established our camp and been getting things ready for our Everest Expedition team.
We enjoyed lunch and a relaxing afternoon here at Everest Base Camp looking back through the valley where we have just traveled.
Our team is doing well and feeling very strong. We made great time today. We plan to do some training tomorrow at Base Camp in preparation for our Island Peak Climb. We will check in again tomorrow.
(Voicemail from Linden)
Hey, this is Linden calling. We are checking in from Lobuche. We had a very relaxing rest day today. We took a stroll up valley a little way to the Italian Research facility. We took a tour of their facility and got updated on the climate studies in this area.
We had spectacular views of the whole panorama of the upper Khumbu. It was a gorgeous day with light winds. We returned to Lobuche in the afternoon and enjoyed the sunshine, rested, read and got caught up on our journals. Tomorrow we will walk the final stretch to Everest Base Camp. We will check in from the glacier at 17,575'. Hope everyone is doing well and surviving the snow storm there. We will talk to you soon.
(Voicemail from Linden)
We left Pheriche early this morning and trekked our way through Thokla, this sits on the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. We climbed to the top of Thokla Pass to view the climbers' memorials draped in prayer flags. By midday we had arrived at our tea house in Lobuche.
We spent the afternoon relaxing and acclimatizing at our new altitude of 16,200'. Everyone is acclimatizing very well. We will spend one day here hiking and relaxing and enjoying the great views.
As we move through Lobuche and onto Everest Base Camp, communication can be difficult but we will do our best to keep in touch. Tell everyone at home "Hello" we are having a great time and are very excited to be so close to EBC!
Linden
Late yesterday evening we were treated to a spectacular moonrise over the Ama Dablam massif here in Pheriche. The very full moon bathed the surrounding peaks in a brilliant light, the glaciers glowing so strongly that after retreating inside I was obliged to pull my curtains closed to cast extra darkness into my little room. Luckily, the clear skies persisted through the night and we awoke to another crystal clear morning, with only the highest peaks sporting their jet stream plume of clouds far above us.
Leaving our bags in the teahouse, we set off up a small trail above Pheriche, climbing quickly we passed several stray yaks and decaying chortens as we climbed higher. With the weather staying clear and the team climbing strongly, we made good time up the ridgeline, soon gaining the summit of Nangkar Tshang, a rocky outcropping around 16,500' standing proudly above the confluence of the Imja Khola Valley - coming from Island Peak - and the Dudh Kosi Valley - coming from Everest. Along the way we had excellent views of our climbing destination, Island Peak, which we will return to in a few days after visiting Everest Base Camp. Standing by itself at the head of the valley at well over 20,000', the peak does indeed resemble an island, surrounded with a backdrop of some of the world's highest peaks including Nuptse, Lhotse, and Makalu.
After enjoying the views from the summit of Nangkar Tshang, we headed back down the trail, quickly losing the elevation that we worked so hard to gain. Before returning to Pheriche, we walked down to the the sister village of Dingboche, visiting a small building built high into the cliff face above the valley on our way. Returning to Pheriche, we returned in time to sit in on the HRA Clinic daily Altitude Talk, listening to Dr. Barb Jones from the US give us the latest briefings on altitude science and demonstrating the use of a Gamow Bag, or portable hyperbaric chamber, for us.
Tomorrow we climb higher towards Everest, bound for the small herding village of Lobuche, situated just past the terminus of the Khumbu Glacier. Communication from Lobuche is difficult but we will do our best to keep everyone up to date with our progress.
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.
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 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.
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