Himalayan Odyssey(16)

Tuesday 16th October, 2007

At around 8am we leave Namche Bazaar for the long walk down to Ghat - a descent of around 1000 metres. For the very first time ever my knees start to play up - the left one in particular. There are many steps on the path and they tend to be generally higher rise height than your average staircase. This tends to overload the knees somewhat so to relieve the stress I find myself lowering the left leg at the expense of the right one. Fortunately this doesn't cause any overloading of the right knee so it isn't too bad walking.

The day is a beautiful one for walking and we are taking it reasonably easy. A stop at Benkar for a drink near the waterfall is very pleasant.

On our way up we had stopped at Phakding and the accomodation was fine but Ang Nuru wants us to overnight at his Aunt's lodge at Ghat - about 40 minutes past Phakding. Lunch at Phakding is pleasant and we chat with some other travellers while sitting outside in the sunshine.

After lunch it is on to Ghat only to find that his Aunt only has a double room available. We are offered accomodation in the monastery but I decline because I don't want to offend the monks by not sticking to rituals or whatever. I am really quite annoyed with Ang Nuru for not organising it properly. This is probably exacerbated by low blood sugar after walking for several hours so we sit inside the tea room and have a drink while Ang Nuru goes off to find us alternative accommodation. Eventually the situation is resolved and we have two rooms (which amounts to exclusive use) of a new lodge just a few hundred metres towards Lukla.

The new lodge where Ang Nuru has arranged our rooms is, in fact not quite complete. The upstairs area where the rooms are is not completely fitted out - there will probably be a few more rooms up here eventually. It is fresh and clean although the toilet is a bit of a trek outside and around the side of the building.

In the late afternoon as we are resting and reading there were some huge thunderstorms and torrential rain. However, the nights sleep is good and I only have to go outside once during the night.
O2 93% Pulse 60, pedometer 20770.

Wednesday 17th October 2007
Today is a fairly short but slow walk from Ghat to Lukla. Looking around at the mountains dominating both sides of the river valley we discover that yesterday afternoon and evenings rain fell as snow on the peaks down to between 3300 and 3600 metres.

A little way along the track we stop for a few minutes to watch some monkeys raiding a garden plot - and being chased off by the garden o wner. I guess this is one of the penalties for living in such wonderful surroundings.

The uphill stretches make me a bit blurry-eyed but this clears quickly when I rest - frequently! I used Tiger Balm on my knee last night and it has eased it a little although there is still some discomfort rotating through the last 10 degrees before the leg straightens.

A long shot of Ang Nuru's house across the valley.
The two-storey house cost $4,000 to build.

After about 3 hours we reach Lukla where our accomodation is at the Shangri-La Lodge which looks out over the end of the airport runway. At this stage the pedometer reads 12050 steps.

At lunch we meet up with Ang Nuru's friend, Mike Quayle. Mike is an Englishman from the Isle of Man and is associated with a charity which builds schools in Nepal. He also provides free marketing for The Sherpa Society.

Ang Nuru tells us that the hotel will confirm our flight details for tomorrow once the Yeti Airlines office re-opens at 3pm. Later on they tell us that we are confirmed for flying out at 9am which is a good time. Both Ang Nuru and Pasang are going to their homes, which are not too far away, for the night and we will see them in the morning.

Lukla is one of the less inspiring places to stay but we have a walk down the main street later on. The street is very dirty with broken stone paving which would account for a few sprained or broken ankles for the unwary. In the middle of the street there is a drain which is barely concealed under stone slabs.

For dinner back at the Shangri-La I have Spaghetti with a tomato and cheese sauce which is quite OK but I couldn't finish the whole dish.

We are early to bed and I read for a while until my arms become too cold.

Himalayan Odyssey(15)

Sunday 14th October, 2007


Today we had a restful Sunday in Namche. After a late breakfast we stroll around the town, past the Tibetan markets laid out in the field below Hotel Norling. The goods on sale are mostly clothing and bedding items. In the centre of town I buy a new book to read ('Making History' by British actor and writer Stephen Fry) having almost exhauseted my current one.

As we were coming along the track through Sanasa yesterday a girl was selling little cloth amulet bags with a Mandala embroidered on the front. I hadn't bought any at the time but I buy a couple of these in Namche as gifts. Since Namche is well provided with Internet cafes I also send an email home to Patricia to let her know what is happening - the fore-shortened trek etc. The email is not expensive - about 100/= Rs for 10 minutes usage.

The village this morning is thick with white and pungent Juniper smoke as people burn it in their devotion rituals.

As we are going to be her for at least another day we suggest to Ang Nuru that he lets Chiring, our porter, go home for a night or two since there is nothing for him to do here. We have been toying with the idea of going over to Thamo for a night when Barry and Shirley get back but we won't need our full gear just for that - we can travel much lighter.

The rest of the day passes peacefully and we are glad of the additional time to let our bodies recover.

At the end of the day the pedometer reading is a measly 1200.

Monday 15th October, 2007
O2 89%, pulse 51 - obviously the rest day at this slightly lower altitude has worked a little magic.

Its another quiet day for us after an 8:30ish breakfast. Dominic and I walk up past the Gompa which is on the way out to Thamo, and then circle around the top coming along the high bypass track. It was very peaceful as we sat for a while in the sun overlooking the village.

Barry and Shirley arrive back mid-afternoon with Pasang having come down all the way from Pheriche today. They had made it up Kala Patar where Barry hung the prayer flags in honour of his brother. Since the Hotel Norling is full up they are staying at Hotel Himalaya which is not too far away.

After a bit of discussion we decide to walk down tomorrow to Ghat which is on the way to Lukla, and then on to Lukla the following day to fly back to Kathmandu the day after that. Barry and Shirley are not interested in doing the Thamo side-trip and we aren't really committed to it either.

Later in the day from our bedroom window we watched some guys engaged in constructing a new lodge. They were using a traditional pit saw. This could be a segment for Tony Robinson's "Worst Jobs Still Being Done" if he ever has such a show.

Pit-saw being worked at Namche Bazaar
(centre of picture)

Counting today, we have been at altitudes of 3,400 metres or higher for 11 days.

At the end of the day the pedometer reads 4000.

Himalayan Odyssey(14)

Saturday October 13th, 2007

It was very cold overnight and, for the first time on the trip, I slept in longjohns and socks. We start our walk on the leg to Namche Bazaar at around 8:00am. Shortly after beginning the long descent to the river (Dudh Koshi) I spot a group of pheasant-like birds scurrying through the underrush below us. Ang Nuru tells us that they are 'Monal' - indeed a kind of pheasant - and we are very priveleged to actually see them. The Himalayan Monal is the national bird of Nepal.

Still near the top of the track we can see Khumjung directly opposite us at about the same altitude.

Khumjung seen from the descent from Tenboche

Later on, looking back up the river valley, we can see the track which goes up to Phortse to the west of Tengboche.

The track to Phortse wriggling up the west side of the valley

After about an hour we reach the river crossing and then another long uphill slog to Sanasa. This stretch is quite strenuous and I have a few Angina attacks, using my Nitrolingual spray twice to ease the symtoms. At Sanasa we have a very welcome break for lunch which includes one of our favourite drinks - hot lemon. While we are there Ang Nuru runs into an English guy, Mike, who has apparently acted as his mentor/counsellor through the period after his (Ang Nuru's) father's death.

The track from Sanasa is almost level with mild undulations before reaching Namche. At one point the track has been built up across a very steep drop which goes all the way down the river 300 metres below. A false step here would be very nasty!

Also on this stretch we see some more of the pheasant-like birds - this time in the open. When flying they show a brilliant red tail display. Ang Nuru tells us these are Dhanphe which turns out to be just another name for the Himalayan Monal (Impeyan Pheasant).

The rest of the walk is uneventful and the view of Namche from the top of the hill is a very welcome sight - it really is a remarkable location for a settlement.

Namche Bazaar from the Sanasa track.

We arrive at Hotel Norling in Namche about five and a half hours after leaving Tengboche. This time we are given a room on the first floor right over the 'Dinning' room.

Overall today the walking has been cool but strenuous and we are ready to zonk out and relax at the end.

The pedometer registers 10200 paces, O2 is at 84% and pulse is good at 56.

Himalayan Odyssey(13)

Friday October 12th, 2007 (O2 84% pulse 64)

We have a fairly late start (8:30am) from Sonam Lodge in Pangboche as we don't have far to go today - only as far as Tengboche. It's a brilliantly sunny morning for the walk which, as we know from the walk up three days ago, is 'flat on average'.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the family's accomodation at the lodge before we left. The outer cladding is 4 gallon kerosene cans which have been opened up and flattened out.

Family dwelling at Sonam Lodge, Pangboche
Lhotse in the background

The first part of the walk today is downhill towards the river crossing. There we have to wait for Yak trains and porters to cross but we are not in any hurry. After the river crossing the path is relatively level as it passes through Debuche and Rhododendron, Pine and Birch forest. The cloud is low over the valley but it is still quite pleasant, although cooling rapidly.

Mani stone wall beside the path near Debuche

There is a porter resting under that load of timber!

The recently rebuilt stone pathway soon passes and it is back among the trees for
the slow haul up to Tengboche, which we reached after about 1 hour and 50 minutes of walking.

I have a brief lie down before lunch but I I have chilled down quite a lot so the down jacket got its second usage.

Lunch of real chicken soup and a boiled egg is very welcome and tasty. Afterwards we visit the Eco-Centre attached to the monastery and also the monastery itself.

Rear view of the Monastery at Tengboche

Back at the lodge we learn that the 'unseasonal' cloudy weather has sealed in Lukla and there haven't been any flights in or out for 4 days.

Today I'm still getting a bit of chest pain but this is mainly when 'under load' - i.e. going uphill.

At evening the pedometer reads 7137, O2 is at 84% and pulse is 64.

Himalayan Odyssey(12)

Thursday 11th October, 2007 (O2 86%, pulse 54)

Woke up tired this morning after a very bad night. I woke up several times during the night literally gasping for breath and it was very uncomfortable. Also had some slight soreness in the upper chest. I'm definitely not looking forward to the stretch from here (Dingboche) to Lobuche which is another 500 metres higher at 4910 metres.

After talking it over with Dominic and Ang Nuru we decided that it would be silly for me to carry on and risk Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) with the early symptoms already well in evidence. If it had been like this yesterday morning and then OK today it would have been adifferent matter. I was happy to go back down to Pangboche by myself with a porter but Dominic decided that he would come with me. I feel bad about him missing out on the ascent of Kala Pattar but it is his decision in the end.

After a light breakfast Dominic and I started back down to Pangboche between 8:30 and 9:00am. It was quite a pleasant walk down but the upper chest soreness made it a bit uncomfortable. This soreness is probably due to irritation of the membranes from sucking in huge quantities of cold, dry air but is unlikely to go off without rest.

We arrived back at Sonam Lodge around 11:20am and chatted to some English guys who are going to climb Ama Dablam. Apparently there will be about 20 different climbing groups on the mountain.

There was also another Brit who lives in Los Angeles and he has come down from Ama Dablam to try to get rid of a cold before returning to climb with his party.

The weather today was much colder than it has previously been and it promises to be a cold night although that won't be a problem for us in our sleeping bags.

Pedometer was 10217.

Himalayan Odyssey(11)

Wednesday, 10th October, 2007

(O2 88%, pulse 52)

Today was fairly restful being a planned acclimatisation day in Dingboche. Dominic and I went for a walk up as far as the Chorten on the track towards Dughla and Lobuche.

Dingboche looking South-west from the start of the Dughla track

The Chorten sits on top of the ridge leading out of the village and provides a good place to assess the view around 360 degrees.

Dominic in fron of the Chorten on the ridge
above Dingboche leading towards Dughla

I felt that my breathing was pretty good at this altitude and my aching quads tell me when it is time to stop and have a rest. After a couple of minutes break things are back to normal and time to carry on again. The hypoxia or whatever is still affecting my vision however.

The village was quite picturesque viewed from the Chorten as shown in this view. The Sherpaland Lodge where we are staying is the U-shaped building right in the centre with a slighter darker blue roof.

Dingboche from the Dughla track near the Chorten

Since Barry and Shirley had a rest day yesterday they have gone off up to Chukhung which is on the track leading east to Island Peak. They arrived back at the lodge at around 1:15pm. Barry would dearly have loved to get to the Island Peak base camp but Ang Nuru had persuaded him that it was not doable on this trip.

The third child of the lodge owner is a very energetic and mischievous girl of around 12 years old. She delighted in teasing Dominic and I by surprising us at the window as we sat reading in the dining room. This was on here way backwards and forwards between the field at the back of the lodge and the front of the lodge carrying a heavy basket full of dried Yak poo to a stack from which it can be brought inside to fuel the fire.

We had a chat to a couple of Swiss guys who had left Gorak Shep that morning. After climbing Kala Pattar they had then headed down all the way to Dingboche.

Later in the afternoon I had a drink of juice made from the fruit of the Sea Buckthorn which grows on the hillsides. Apparently there is a movement to farm and use this plant which is reputed to have some very good medicinal properties. (See the Sea Buckthorn Research site). The lodge had an advert up on the wall for it so I decided to give it a go. I was mildly surprised that it was served up hot but it had a not unpleasant taste and went down OK.

Another early night to read and listen to MP3 player to prepare for the slog up to Lobuche tomorrow. The original itinerary that Dominic had worked out would have had us going only as far as Dughla and then face the 300m ascent to Lobuche the following day. However, Ang Nuru had told us that there was no suitable accomodation in Dughla so we were to to the full Dingboche to Lobuche leg in one go.

At bedtime, O2 84%, pulse 54, Pedometer 2000.