Into the Himalayas Part 1

Nov 17,

Lukla madness

I woke up at 6am today and checked out of the Hotel Shree Tibet. I grabbed a taxi and headed to Kathmandu airport. Turns out no one has made it in or out of Lukla, the village at the start of the Everest Base Camp trail for 5 days. The small planes can’t fly out of Kathmandu’s smog or they can’t fly into the clouds that have prevented landing in Lukla. With diminishing hopes, I waited, hearing countless cancellations. My flight kept getting delayed. Four hours after the intended departure time, success. I got on a bus and we parked outside a rickety plane. An hour later, we were on the rickety plane. 30 minutes after that we were taking off. Twenty minutes later, we had a pretty intense landing in Lukla on a tiny uphill landing strip.

Agni Air 

Way behind schedule, I met a trekking partner who would join me for the next number of days. His name was Steve, a young illustrator from England we would trek together and shoot the shit until Kala Pathar, a 5545m peak with good views of Everest. With limited time schedules, we set off trying to get to Namche Bazaar the Sherpa village. The trail followed the river, often crossing it with Indiana Jonesesque suspension bridges like this one, Yaks optional.

The voyage to Namche proved too difficult for the half day that we had been given. After trekking in the dark for a few hours, we settled into a guest house 2 km short. My stomach began to give me trouble shortly after stopping. Apparently, the Dal Bhat, (A Nepali rice lentil dish) in the village of Phakding had come with some sort of bug. Trying to be discreet I snuck outside and began to projectile vomit.

Steve looked for me at ask what I wanted for breakfast the next day and much to his surprise, found me in the midst of tummy turmoil. I tried to play it cool, between sessions, but I’m sure Steve was questioning his choice of trekking partner.  A short day but rough walk to Namche and rest day to overcome the stomach woes before heading up, into thinner air and bigger mountains.

Checking in to the illustrious Sherpaland hotel, we rested for a short time before hitting the town, with its internet cafes, bakeries, bookstores, bars, shops and vibrant people. Everywhere we went, there were Sherpas that had climbed Everest numerous times. 

Finding a pharmacy with some stomach meds I stocked up then returned to the hotel. By the end of the day, I began to feel much better.

November 19th

I woke up in the illustrious Sherpaland feeling much better. We followed Yaks and their owner up a trail toward the Syangboche airstrip and the twin village of Khumde and Khumjung.

Steve and I went up to the villages. From there I saw Ama Dablam Ama means grandmother and Dablam is a pendant of good luck that sherpas wear. We ate lunch in the high village before beginning our descent into Namche. We arrived just in time to catch the movie showing of Into Thin Air, starring Shooter McGavin… terrible yet awesome? After this we retired to Sherpaland to have supper and play cards, an activity that would fill up many hours waiting for and after our dinners during the trips to come.

November 20th

After a final breakfast in Sherpaland, we headed out of Namche. Our destination was Pangboche a decent haul and 500m up. Invigorated by the departure of the stomach bug I quickly pushed ahead of Steve enjoying a quiet stomach and a return to my usual energetic self. 

Realizing I was pretty far ahead of Steve, who preferred the enjoy the scenery technique, I stopped for a beer in the sun. When Steve arrived I had made a friend.

We pushed on to the Monastery village of Tengboche. We had decided to go the extra 2 hours to Pangboche. When We arrived in Pangboche, we found another group waiting. This group was an American group and they were quite loud. In addition one girl could be heard crying her eyes out because she had a wet glove. Wet glove? I hatched a plan to voyage to Ama Dablam Base camp tomorrow morning before going to our next stop Dingboche. 

November 21^st

It was cold and unsettling at 5am when we woke up. It was our turn to keep the Americans that had disturbed our slumber awake. Payback time. I got ready for Ama Dablam and at first, Steve was not interested in my plan, but I convinced him to join and hit the trail.

The trail was faint and we were shrouded is the blissful silence of the Himalayan dawn.

After an hour, we began to draw close to the mountain. We encountered two people heading down. They were climbers. When we asked how they had fared, they revealed that they had to turn back 30m from the summit. Ouch 

In 15 minutes we arrived at the tent village of Ama Dablam Base camp. 

On our way down we talked with two guys from Colorado, planning on making their push tomorrow. We wished them luck, I felt pangs of jealousy, I wanted to climb this mountain too. But a surprise beach had to suffice.

We hit the main trail, bound for Dingboche. I decided I wanted to climb something tomorrow and set my sights on a solo attempt of Pokalde (5,806 m) 1400m up and a 17km loop from Dingboche. Still quite doable if I left at 5am. Outside, the full moon was spectacular as I ran out to grab a few supplies for my summit day tomorrow.  

Tibet Journey Continued and the arrival in Kathmandu.

Nov 12,

After a deep sleep, I awoke at 5am. With such a short time in Lhasa, I had to make the most of it. I left my hotel room and proceeded to the monastery. This is one of the great Tibetan pilgrimage sites and pilgrims circle the monastery in a clockwise direction praying and giving thanks. I joined the throng, listening to the chants and observing the pilgrims, some of which had spent up to 200 days crossing huge mountains and braving the harsh elements of the plateau on foot. This visit was, for them, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a very powerful experience moving with the pilgrims for 3 hours before sunrise. The children looked at me with amazement and huge smiles, I was probably the first Westerner they had ever seen. Meanwhile smiling adults, ancient and grizzled by a long life in the harsh elements would flash toothless smiles and give me the sign of blessing and good fortune. I was in another world and the sunrise watching these amazing people welcome the day was a memory of a lifetime.

At 9am I came in from the cold and met my other tour companions, we went to breakfast and enjoyed a nice meal. From the second story window, I could see the endless Chinese soldiers in full combat gear and automatic rifles. The soldiers were posted on the roof 24/7, watching the pilgrims. The baffling scene further questions why and what is happening in Tibet, no pictures can be taken of the police or military forces, limitations on religion, and a feeling of intimidation and hostility. Yet for the most part the Tibetans take it in stride, with a smile on their face.

At 10am, we met our guide and we went to the Potala Palace. I usually find myself disappointed by unesco sites they turn into historical tourist traps with hawkers and scammers feeding of gullible tourists. With the Potala Palace, this is not the case. The spiritual energy in the Palace was pretty stunning. I am often a skeptic when it comes to religion, but witnessing the devotion and sacredness of the Potala Palace was a pretty inspiring experience. The temple inside, many parts over 1300 years old, was full of cultural relics, Dali Lama tombs, scriptures and hundreds of Buddha statues. In addition, there was no picture taking tourists, instead there were thousands of Tibetan pilgrims, paying their respects by giving meager sums of money as donations and supplying the candles with their Yak butter. Leaving the temple, I was asked to pose with numerous Tibetans who were thrilled to get to see a real Westerner. Descending from the palace, I felt as if I was leaving a place not entirely of this world and returning to reality.

Before parting ways, we went for a lunch in a Tibetan resturaunt where I ordered Yak tongue and Tsampa (Tsampa is a barley flour food that is the staple of the monks diet). While we waited for our food, 10 curious children stared at us, gradually moving from their table to ours where the gazed in wonder at us. I took the opportunity to teach them rock, scissors, paper. Our meal came and the children were called back to their own table. After an interesting meal we parted ways. I wandered the city, picking up trinkets and handmade crafts from vendors, many of which had come to Lhasa to sell crafts before returning to their homes in the plateau.

Nov 13^th,

I woke up for my final few rounds with the pilgrims before packing and getting ready for an 8am departure from Lhasa. Loading our bags into the van we were off into the country. The scenery was stunning and the road wound up, up, and up before arriving at the first pass which was 4900m. We stopped at the top and I got to ride a Yak and look at one of the 3 spirit lakes of Tibet.  

The next stop was at a lung busting 5600m where dizziness and thin air made the hawkers and the person charging 2  kwai for washroom use a little irritating. It was the highest I have ever been by over 1600 meters.

7100m mountain

Palace at Gyantse

Nov 14

This morning I found myself in Shigatse. After breakfast we headed to an ancient monastery which was, like the Potala Palace, a very spiritually charged place. It was tough to rush through it as it was a huge complex with many relics and wonders to see. 

After we finished, we piled into the van and began the massively long drive to a border town called Nylam. Our first stop was for lunch where I ate Yak noodles (The sixth variation of Yak that I have tried). While we ate, the window filled with curious Tibetans gazing at us westerners. It felt a little like being the feature attraction at a zoo, but it was still entertaining.

The next stop was a 5250m mountain pass where we got out and met a nomadic family selling prayer flags. The curious kids flocked to us and where really incredible little people, interacting with them was really cool and it was sad to have only 10 minutes but we had a lot of driving left.

Our next stop was to take a look at Everest which finally came into view. It was cool to see the mountain that is so steeped in history, tragedy and achievement. 

We wove through the plateau with its incredibly bright sun, Himalayan peaks and the ruins of fortifications from a Nepal/Tibet war that occurred centuries ago. As the sun set, we topped out on the last pass and gazed at the Himalayas in the growing twilight. 

 

Nov 15,

I woke up today at over 4000m again. My lips felt dried out, my nose was stuffed and my head fuzzy. After 6 days of yoyo travel between 3500 and 5500 meters, my body began to be unimpressed.  This day was my last in Tibet and I was a little bummed out. After departing Nylam, we wound down for 40km. This descent, the longest in the world, descends thousands of meters in only a handful of kilometers. I looked with envy at the numerous switchbacks that would have been oh so rewarding at the end of the bike trip I had dreamed of doing. However, the trekking in Nepal should make up for it.

Arriving in Zhangmu, we said goodbye to our amazing guide Dhorma and went through Chinese customs. After clearing the customs we were admitted to the friendship bridge which was a fascinating contrast between China and Nepal. On the Chinese side, twenty guards in full combat gear sporting automatic rifles demanded passports and tried to intimidate. On the Nepali side there was nothing. The visa took 5 minutes. The Chinese visa is almost a month.

The change was instantly apparent. The people and the atmosphere are similar to India far moreso than Chinese. The quiet Tibet with its happy, spiritual people was replaced by flying colors loud noises and the excitement of the Nepali. The change was shocking and we were instantly set upon by many people offering transport to Katmandu. Some offered 2500 rupees for a jeep, others 400 for a bus ticket. Ignoring those who were pushy we found a bus booth and bought a real bus ticket for 300 rupees (about 4 dollars). 

We waited on the bus for an hour until the seats, the aisles and the roof were full before descending down a chaotic dirt road. The bus ride to Katmandu, about 150 kilometers in length, took 6 and half hours. We kept going down and the barren plateau was replaced by palm trees, rivers shacks and naked children running on the street. Tibet was empty and silent, Nepal was another world. As the bus moved on, people where jumping off the roof, climbing on and the road was chaotic, full of colorful buses and trucks with loud and flamboyant horns.

After 4 and a half hours, we arrived at the hazy Katmandu valley, not as polluted as most Chinese cities, but still very polluted compared to everywhere around it. We then sat in bumper to bumper traffic for 2 hours. Chaos reigned supreme and after finally arriving, we grabbed a taxi to Thamel, the backpackers district. Thamel was full of climbing shops, pashmere, yak wool and restaurants and bars, a colorful and noisy shopping paradise. I grabbed a room and the hotel Shree Tibet and have a single room and free luggage storage for the next 15 days at the cost of ten dollars a night.

Having a final dinner with my Tibetan companions, I headed to the hotel, tomorrow is a busy day and I have much to do to prepare for my next foray into the high altitude of the Himalayas.

Enroute to Lhasa

Nov 9th and 10th

I­ woke this morning (Nov 10th) to a brilliant sunrise, 15 hours into my train ride to Tibet. For the first time since my arrival, the sky was a crisp blue color and the sun rays had the power to prevent me from staring too long at its golden radiance. Even in Guilin and Yangshou there was a perpetual haze that clouded the horizon. In the cities the sun, if you could see it, rose as an angry red orb. You could stare at it without risk as the thick clouds of pollution smoke obstructed both its rays and the visibility around you. At times, the pollution was so bad that visibility was limited to a few meters. On my last train ride, I went through an industrial center and the window was a grim, gray cloud. It was really sad to see such a display of environmental rampage but it is just as much our fault, the people that buy the shit that fuel these factories, as it is the Chinese. I consider myself very privileged to live in such a clean country.

Now the views challenge Canada’s cleanliness and beauty as the train rides through crisp air, growing mountains and empty space enroute to the Tibetan plateau with a final destination: the city of mystery and beauty, Lhasa.  The train is a very long ride however, 33 hours.  

It is now 6 PM and I sit in the meal car, looking out on the endless plateau. In the distance I see snow capped peaks that are mere foothills of the Himalayas. I still have hours to travel before I will arrive in Lhasa. In true underestimation of train duration style, I have found out that this train is 45 hours in length. I have only covered 20 of these hours. I have walked the entirety of the train and have found only a handful of English foreigners on board but already Tibetan dress and language is quite visible. .

Outside the window, light flees the barren plateau and unforgiving winds rip the tattered prayer flags and frozen land while I sit in the comfort of the train. I’ve finished reading The Climb, Anatoli’s take on the 1996 Everest disaster. Hearing names of the places I will soon visit, I feel steeped in the lore of the Himalayas. Also the magnitude of the Plateau which I have barely scratched the surface of, has a humbling way of making one feel insignificant in the most sublime of ways. 25 hours till Lhasa.

Nov 11,

45 hours after departing Chengdu by train, I finally arrived in Lhasa.  The train ride had a few thin air moments, topping out at over 5000m.  For the most part, the ride was amazing. Gazing out the window at the endless plateau 4 to 5 km above the sea was pretty astounding. The barren landscape had this raw beauty with such a sharp clarity thanks to the cold, thin air.  It was such a stark contrast to the overcrowded and heavily polluted China. The morning sun rise over the plateau was pretty astounding, something that pictures just can’t capture but will remain in memory for some time to come. 

Arriving in Lhasa, I was greeted by my guide and taken to my hotel where I have a private room.  Before meeting the other tour members, I had 3 hours to roam around the city, and much to my surprise, the beautiful sights and buildings were not that interesting. I was captivated by the beautiful people of Tibet.

Lhasa is a city in which many nomadic people make pilgrimages to the holy sites; throngs of these amazing people of the plateau were paying their devotion. Older people and children were everywhere, each with a captivating appearance, and if they looked your way, an even more captivating smile. Tibetan beauty could be called ugliness by some, many of their features worn from the harsh environment in which they live their lives, but in their appearance there are so many stories that could be told. Even the children, with dirty clothes and faces have this haunting aesthetic of a person who has grown up in such an incredible environment.

I learned from my guide that many of them have traveled by foot for up to two years to get to Lhasa and that this visit is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. I am humbled by these people and considering my petty concerns, and the concerns of so many others, I feel as if I could learn a lesson from them. Meanwhile, Chinese soldiers, many of them children themselves, are posted at every corner.  They hold automatic rifles and are dressed in full combat gear.  They ask for my travel permit and will confiscate cameras if you dare to take a picture of them. It is a sad thing to see and it seems completely unnecessary. Despite obvious poverty, Lhasa is the most peaceful city I have been in. It is full of pilgrims and is free of the usual worries.  I hope that this problem will solve itself in the near future as it is so very sad to see such repressive force in such a magical place.

Climbing MECCA of China

November 4^th

After eating an entire duck and crashing out early last night, I woke up at the crack of dawn to take a bamboo boat down the Li river. I had heard from others in the hostel that I should stay for a few days in Yangshou, which was supposedly a backpackers haven. I was picked up shortly thereafter by a bus full of tourists and dirtbag types. We drove in the bus for an hour through the countryside, I talked a bit with a group of UK travellers that had just come from Tibet. We arrived at the riverside and instantly were greeted by some incredible beauty.

We loaded on to the boat and proceeded to float for two and a half hours down the river For the entirety of the trip, we were greeted by 360 degree views of limestone spires, called Karst formations. 

When we arrived on the river shore, we were picked up by these interesting carts, and driven through the countryside. I picked up a citrus fruit that looked like a giant pear called a pomello and then got on another bus for 40 minutes. Finally, I arrived in Yangshou. On the way, I found out that all the beautiful rock I had been seen could and had been getting climbed.

Something seemed strange the minute I arrived. Hundreds of backpackers, English spoken everywhere and lots of Chinese and English people with ropes and climbing racks slung to their rented bicycles. The town was full of cool shops, restaurants and people. I then found a street full of climbing shops, schools, climber bars and a flourishing climbing scene. Within an hour I had found a 3 dollar room in the Climber owned “Climbers Inn” and a wicked climbing partner with a similar ability but much more experience by the name of Darren. Since my climbing gear is on a boat to Canada, I had to pick up a new harness, which was a little pricey and some new shoes, which were sold at wholesale price. I was able to climb with every evolve shoe model to find the right type for my foot. 

 

In the end, I found myself at the bouldering gym Chinaclimb, getting schooled by some incredible climbers and breaking in my new shoes while drinking a big bottle of beer. I crashed out for my 8am wake up.

November 5^th

I woke up stoked, it was 8am and I was meeting Darren to go hit some rock. After a coffee and a stroll through the town just waking up, I met Darren for breakfast and we looked over a guide book. We were joined by a beginner, a French guy by the name of Sebastien. We decided to hit up a rock called the Egg. We got some bikes and began a 10km ride through the chaotic streets of China. We wove through motorcycles, busses, tractors, scooters, bicycle like devices, water buffalo, old people and other random madness. We turned off the paved road and followed a concrete path through the beautiful countryside. The rock we climbed this day is to the right of the photo here.

The concrete path turned into some fun single track weaving through orchards of Pomellos and oranges before arriving at the foot of the beautiful rock. Gearing up, we hit a basic 5.9 warm-up. and I found the new style challenging, the next 10a redpoint lead that was tough enough for me to give a whoop at the anchors. The echo through the numerous spires was awesome. We chased the light back to town and arrived back in Yangshou for another night of great food, great drinks and great people.

Darren and I decided that the next day we would climb a 5 pitch route, L’Echo des Montagnes getting almost to the top of this piece of rock: Low Mountain.

Nov 6th.

We woke up same time and hit another restaurant for another amazing breakfast. We then went to our bike lady and got riding. We drove in a different direction for about 10k. The bumpy path cut a ribbon through the beautiful countryside. We arrived at the foot of Low Mountain. The route worked up the right side and despite being easier than expected, it was still great adventurous fun. There were a few spooky moves on an exposed traverse but overall it was a great adventure. A Free hanging rappel into a cave was a fine end to the outing.

We arrived down to a path after another 50 meter rappel, stoked on the great adventure climb. I knew, as this was my last night in Yangshou, I took my time on the bike ride back to Yangshou, enjoying the spectacular vistas all around me.

Nov 7^th

Meeting Darren for our usual breakfast and route picking, we decided that we should hit up one of the more difficult but arguably the most picturesque crags in the area - Moon hill.

After doing the usual 10km bike ride into the country, followed by a decent hike up the mountain, we arrived at moon hill. The climbing was sustained and overhung with numerous people projecting hard overhung routes. A great show

After getting worked, humbled and amazed, I descended to earth and prepared to voyage out of Yangshou. At the base of the climbing wall I bought a beer from a silver toothed lady who I had promised that I “pijiu later”. I am thankful that she carried one up for me, and I didn’t mind paying her inflated asking price of 1 dollar free of haggle. Here she is

。 

I drove back to Yangshou and hurriedly packed my bags. An hour and a half after coming off the rope, I had said my goodbyes to fellow climbers, especially my solid climbing partner Darren, and was enroute to the Guilin airport. By 1 AM I had landed over 1500 km away in Chengdu.

Nov 8^th

I am writing this accounts on a down day in Chengdu, writing and drinking coffee. I get on a train tomorrow and depart for the roof of the world. The week after, I will be trekking in the Himalayas in Nepal, seeing Everest by foot.