The Himalayas part 3: the conclusion.

I have been home for several weeks now and it is a sense of denial that such an incredible trip is over which has prevented me from writing the final chapter in my Himalayan tale. 

With the excitement and goal of Kala Patthar and EBC behind me and back on my own, the climax of the tale had, in many ways, already passed. Yet the final days above 5000m where the best of the trip. I felt strong and ready for anything, and my body was able to thrive in the thin air of the final passes.

Dzongla lodge was however, the worst lodge of the trip. I slept on one large bench with the porters and guides. The sherpas slept in a huge cuddle puddle, giggling and talking well into the night. Considering that they would be crossing a glaciated pass at over 5430m the next day, carrying my body weight in gear with Chuckie T's or Sandals on their feet, I was surprised at how much energy they had. Despite the daunting day ahead, they did not focus on getting a short amount of rest. Reciprocally, I also did not get much sleep. 

The lodge had 4 groups, the solo Norwegian girl, the Korean team who referred to me as Changwon Ssangsangnim (Changwon teacher), the Canadian group who where my Dad's age and all talked like Bob and Doug and a French girl by the name of Vivianne, or Vivi for short. The Koreans were out of the gate first. 4am and they were off. The Norwegian was next at 5am, the Canadians were gone by 5:30 and Vivi and I were last at 6am. The pass should be crossed in the morning if possible because of melt conditions in the afternoon which bring ice and rockfall dangers.

Vivi and I began to take the long winding dirt trail higher and higher up into the thinner air. The pace was relaxed but not slow. Vivi owned an outdoor adventure company in the UK with her boyfriend and so was not holding me back by any means. We arrived at the last push to the glacier and I saw a solo route that really tickled my fancy. It was a low angle slab to a chimney to a scramble. I started working it and the slab went by easy, though I was breathless when I entered the chimney. The chimney was easy enough but I was tired from the thin air, and the exposure was getting pretty bad considering I had a pack on and no rope. I slowly lifted myself out of the chimney. I shouldered the pack and headed up the last scramble to meet Vivi, who had witnessed the whole show from her perch on the glacier.

We then crossed the glacier which was spectacular in its beauty. The bright snow complemented the impossibly blue skies and everything shone with a sharp brilliance. Vivi snapped a few pictures and we carefully followed the path through the maze of crevasses and ice, gazing at the many peaks jutting up around us. Finally, we left the glacier and stood on top of the pass. Amid the multitude of colorful prayer flags, we could see the land drop in front of us. The land stretched on into the horizon, with miles to go until we arrived in Gokyo. Behind us was a vast expanse of glacial ice that we had just crossed.

Cho La

We began our descent, picking our way down large rocks and moving with speed. At the bottom of the rockfall, we met the Korean team. After a few bungapsumida's and trying to have a short Korean conversation, we headed on. We began to pass through rolling hills and alpine meadows, gradually descending towards the settlement of Dragnag. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of following a stream downward, we saw the first hut peeking out. Vivi decided that she would stay in Dragnag and I decided to push on the extra 3 hours to Gokyo. Saying goodbye to Vivi, I moved on quickly catching the Canadian group outside of Dragnag. I said hello and continued past, pushing a good pace. I got to the glacier crossing and picked my way across, at one point witnessing a serac fall into a glacial lake.

Gokyo Glacier

I crossed my second glacier of the day with no major difficulty but upon exiting, I had to climb a steep, sandy incline that left me destroyed by the top. Luckily, I was at Gokyo. After 10 hours of trekking, I was demolished and headed to a lakeside lodge where I promptly collapsed in a room and had a nap. I woke up and went out into the village of Gokyo

I retired early, a 4am start and another long day was ahead of me. I only had 1 5000m+ peak and one 5000m+ pass left.

November 27th,


My bladder served as a perfect 4am alarm clock in the morning. After seriously contemplating a rest day, I banished the thought from my mind and began gearing up to climb Gokyo-ri.  The 5357m  peak is located on the west side of the Ngozumpa Glacier, which is the largest glacier in Nepal, and reputed to be the largest in the whole Himalayas. From the summit of Gokyo Ri, it is possible to see five 8,000 metre peaks - Everest, Makalu, Lhotse, Kangchenjunga and Cho Oyu. I wanted to see the sun rise on these peaks.

I left the lodge and noticed a string of headlamps already making their way up the mountain. I caught the headlamps and quickly passed the larger group, which included, to my surprise, my Korean friends. As dawn approached, we saw the prayer flags of the summit flapping within sight. 

Predawn colors

Me on the summit, Everest and Lhotse in the background.

Everest Lhotse and Makalu

Missed Cho Oyu but it was over here Kangchenjunga was over in a dark area but pretty awesome to look at.

After taking in the sunrise, I began a fast descent toward Gokyo. I had to get breakfast and be enroute on Renjo by 8:30 at the latest and it was already close to 7am. I booked it down the mountain and I arrived at the lodge to find my porridge and tea waiting. The Serpani lady, a lovely kind hearted soul had made sure to have my food ready. When I confirmed my intent to move through Renjo, she voiced her approval by patting me on my cheek and saying "strong man". When I paid my bill, she presented me with a tuna chapatti sandwich and a chocolate bar and waved goodbye with a big grin on her face. These are the types of people that make the Khumbu region so special. I left for the last pass with a spring in my step and grin on my face.

Goodbye Gokyo

I weaved around Gokyo lake and then said goodbye to the prettiest settlement on the trail before beginning the steep climb up towards Renjo. I crested the hill and left Gokyo behind me and went into the rocky, barren Alpine found only above 5200m.

The pass is in the middle of this picture, I scrambled the peak to the right.

For the first time, I felt comfortable at over 5000m.  My surroundings and the sheer isolation I felt walking alone in complete silence were pretty incredible. It is a very purifying experience, free of normal concerns and I was happy to be there. I met someone coming from the other side and he snapped this pic.

After a short conversation, we parted ways, He was the first person I had met all day. Shortly after meeting him, I was at the top of the pass.  Flags adorned the top and I could scramble around. Dropping my pack off trail, I scrambled up towards a rock summit a few hundred meters away. When I arrived I was offered the broadest view of the Everest Himalayan range.

Everest in the cloud

Leaving the Everest Himalayas heading towards Nampa-la

After saying my final goodbye to Everest and its sister peaks, I began to make a fast descent towards the lake. Upon arriving at its shores, I sat on the sand and had my lunch... delish!

I finished my tasty eats and then got moving. 700m of descent in 10km went very fast as the gradual decline made the trek easy. With each step, the air got thicker and I felt lighter; the world began to get greener and full of life as well.

going down

Yak.

Before I knew it, I was finished and eating Dal Bhaat in a lodge in Langden talking with a Welsh couple. Tomorrow I would be in Namche, and in 2 days in Kathmandu. It was time to go down.

November 28th

I woke up early, had  my porridge and began my descent by 7 am. I wanted a full day in Namche and I had 15km to cover. Luckily, the 15km was downhill and so I set off cruising. The tone was light and I sang to myself as I raced the river downwards towards Thame. I was on the route to and from Nangpa la, the famous road and pass where Tibetan refugees have fled and traders have crossed for centuries.  Once they had brought sheepskins, traditional clothing and goods, now they came loaded with counterfeit outdoor gear.

It was on this route where Chinese border guards have been documented gunning down fleeing Tibetans. The highest profile case was in 2006 when a climber on Cho Oyu filmed border guards gunning down a 17 year old Buddhist nun while she tried to flee in waist deep snow. Today there was only small caravans of Tibetan traders and Yaks and no refugees, but it wasn't hard to see the importance of this route to many people. As I descended to Thame, there were more signs of civilizations.  Gompas and Prayer wheels became more frequent and more buildings began to pop up.

Gompa

This bridge was really cool.

I kept the pace up and by 11, I was in Namche. I celebrated a successful trip. First, I had a shower, my first in 11 days, then in clean clothes When this was done, I bought ice gear that had been up Everest. It was old but still functional. For 20 bucks you could get an axe.  I got a set of tools and crampons for under a hundred bucks. I hit up the rock and roll pool bar where Led Zep was playing and I shot pool with Sherpas, climbers and Trekkers. 

I was happy to be at the bar and a fellow entertained me as he lit his 10th cigarette and talked about how he would be training for Everest. The music was good and the walls adorned with mountaineering history made this a special place and a great spot to celebrate a safe trip in the Khumbu reigon. The town is just such a cool place and after the silence and emptinees of the past few days, the bar was exciting and full of life despite only having 6 or 7 people in it, including the bartenders. I left and grabbed a late dinner, the finest Yak steak in the world from sherpaland before going to sleep.

November 29/30th

I woke up and began the long descent to Lukla today, passing Gompas and making prayers to the mountain gods. I thanked them for safe travels in their realm and also sent forth wishes that I would be able to return one day, with hopes to climb Ama Dablam. I stopped in Phakding for a Dal Bhaat lunch and by dinner I was in Lukla. I read a book, ate dinner and confirmed my flight.  By 7am on the 30th, I was on a plane to Kathmandu.