Route: Kathmandu (1400m) - Lukla (2860m) - Phagding (2640m)
Duration: 12 km
Difficulty: easy
No signs of mountain sickness (even for the most fearful).
Early rise at 3 am, dry rations (from a non-dedible sandwich with onions) and we rush to get the first bright emotions of trekking - flight to Lukla, famous for the most dangerous airport in the world.
The runway is only 520 meters long and drops into a deep gorge.
A short flight, seasoned with rapturous emotions from the view of dawn mountains, and here we are already at the height of 2860 m, eating omelettes, getting acquainted with Sherpas in anticipation of an interesting journey, trying to understand whether we feel the decrease of oxygen already
Today's route is more like a summer walk along the Crimean ridge than an acquaintance with the Himalayas.
Except that we have to stop every 10 minutes to take a photo of "that incredible snow-covered peak in the distance" or insanely cute Nepalese children resembling dolls.
In general, we twirl our head in all directions and learn to walk with trekking poles.
Check-in to the lodge in Phading (2640 m), have lunch with a short break for rest and go on a radial acclimatization walk to the local Buddhist monastery.
There we listen to a meditation ceremony in semi-darkness, after which (seeing that it started raining outside) the monks invite us to their house, give us hot tea with cookies, tell us a little about themselves and ask where we are from and our plans for Nepal.
At the end they see us off with wishes for an easy journey.
Slightly tired, but happy from the emotions overflowing during the day, we go down for dinner and enjoy the local Dal Bat (rice with beans and a lot of other additives, some of which can be added unlimitedly at will).
After dinner, we get to know our group members better and head off to recuperate for our first night in sleeping bags, enjoying the electricity and hot water still available for now
See you tomorrow, if the "mountain connection" will be favorable ).
Oh yes, "lost in the Himalayas" instead of the planned 12 km, we hiked two more, taking in the beautiful views instead of looking at the trail the group took).
Route: Phagding (2640m) - Namche Bazaar (3460m)
Duration: 10 km
Difficulty: medium
Signs of mountain sickness - revealed mild signs in the most imaginative).
Gradually we are "screwed" into the mode: rise, breakfast, another rise (but already higher above sea level), lunch, short radial acclimatization walk and relax program (dinner and sitting with the group).
When I studied the trekking program, I was pleasantly surprised that the main part of the altitude gain we have before lunch. Here, I thought, cool, half a day to go - it's not long, so we won't get tired.... and I was wrong.
When you start early in the morning, and half of the way you go steeply upwards, by lunchtime from incredible fatigue you slow down your step so much that periodically you feel a kick in the back ... it's the first of a string of donkeys passing along the same path kicking you, trying to remove an excessively slow obstacle in their way.
But how inspiringly beautiful it is....
Crystal clear mountain rivers at an altitude of 3000 meters, perfectly clean air (though with reduced oxygen), flowers, occasional views of snow-capped peaks.
By lunchtime we reached Hillary Bridge, one of the iconic places of Nepali trekking. The highest and longest suspension bridge, hung with colorful prayer flags according to Nepali tradition.
Some of these flags here are hung by the trekkers or climbers themselves, believing it promotes good luck.
On endorphins from the fact that we saw in person what we remember from photos and movies, we continue the difficult way up and closer to sunset we reach no less significant place Namche Bazaar (3400 m).
We want to have a rest and sleep, but not everything is so simple... The plan is a short climb to facilitate acclimatization.
That's why we have lunch, a short break and again we go on the way, this time to the monument of Tenzing (Sherpa who together with Hillary first conquered Everest in 1953).
Final descent to the loggia, a bonus in the form of hot water and the possibility to sleep without sleeping bags and an incredibly sound sleep of almost 10 hours with bright colored dreams. Tomorrow will be no less interesting day.
Namche Bazaar (3460m) - Hotel Everest View (3880m) - Kumjung Village (3780m) - Namche Bazaar (3460m)
Duration: about 7 km
Difficulty: easy and fun
Signs of mountain sickness - morning symptoms of the most suspicious disappeared, acclimatized ))
As @advokatcrime said, maybe you should move to the mountains?
In fact, I feel better here (at least at 3400m) than in Kiev: I sleep better, appetite is better, there are no typical signs of weakness.
Today we had an entertaining day. It started with a pleasant opportunity to sleep until almost 8, then a short climb to the hotel, where we should have had a stunning view of Everest, Lhodze, Ama Dablam.
But, no. For the whole first half of the day all we saw was a "milky" haze. Well, let's be patient, we will meet you anyway ).
Gradually you get used to juggling your closet: you go out in the morning in a t-shirt/fleece/jacket - take off the jacket - take off the fleece, add a cap, sunglasses and sunscreen - put on the fleece again - add a jacket and a hat instead of a cap.
And so on around the circle about 10 times
After the view hotel we were supposed to walk through the small village of Kumjung and come back to rest, but that would not be our style at all
That's why we took a small part of the group and decided to visit a local coffee bakery, where we persuaded the barista (and the owner) to teach us the Sherpa dance and sing us some of their national songs.
After that the guys decided to try themselves "in the skin of Sherpas", trying to lift at least a small part of what they constantly move on their backs.
Judging by the expression on the guide's face, he had never had such a cheerful group before
Then he just watched with a smile on his face as we chased dogs, entertained local children, climbed the farthest rock to choose the best angle on Namche Bazaar.
And at the end of the day on the author's program, found a coffee shop with a beautiful view of Namche Bazaar at night. How delicious noodles are in Asia....
Fed up and happy, we're going to rest. Tomorrow we are waiting for our first 4000 meters
Namche Bazaar (3460 m) - Dole village (about 4200 m)
Duration - about 11 km (ascent at 1000 m + 150 m radial exit, descent at 400 m, total gain of 600 m).
Difficulty: we made it and that's it, thank you.
Signs of mountain sickness - the first client is there, we are quietly rejoicing that we can help each other.
Hurraaaa!!! Our first 4000 meters!!!
But, how hard they were given to us. A morning with nothing to portend. Breakfast, packing, mood and health are excellent, saturation is fine!
It's a sunny day, warm, we undress down to our T-shirts, walk the most beautiful traverse around the mountain, every five minutes we grab the phone.
Once again we think we have a chance to see HIM, Mr. Big among the mountains, but again we don't, only his neighbors (Lhodze, Ama Dablan) are visible. Don't despair, there is more to come.
We start the climb upwards. You wonder how Sherpas and yaks carrying 70 kg and more can cope with such a route. @advokatcrime, decides to try 16 kg on himself, but not for long, he says his back is very tight
With brisk step (though not without efforts) we climb up to 4000 m and sit down with appetite to eat local soup with flatbread and learn two unpleasant news: that we will drop the gained altitude at 200 m to gain 400 m again, and also that from tomorrow (04.05) Nepal will be completely closed for quarantine.
Nepal is completely closed for quarantine for 10 days. We take only the first news badly, we begin to quietly hate the one who did not think of laying the path smoothly, we joke about the second one, we think over the variants of business that we can open in Nepal, if we get stuck here for a long time.
That's when SHE, the mountaineer, came to visit @advokatcrime. Or rather, as our guide told us, the first symptoms of it.
I think he himself will tell us in detail what he felt, but it seems to be the one that turns high-altitude trekking into willpower training.
And then the seemingly endless way up begins, the steps up, which are so difficult to climb, we drop them just around the corner.
It seems that we have been walking for several hours, and according to the altimeter after the descent we have not even reached 4000 meters.
We met the first snow. So far only on mountain streams, but, as they say, winter is close
Dole village (about 4200 m) - Macherma village (4450 m)
Duration: about 7 km
Difficulty: should have been easy, but apparently due to accumulated fatigue and altitude closer to average.
Signs of mountain sickness - @advokatcrime is recovering, I haven't been hit yet.
Sleeping at altitude is, of course, something. You sleep soundly like a baby, dreams are the brightest. You wake up like after a night out with bees, the only bonus is that your lips are plump without a single injection. As @advokatcrime said when he saw me climbing out of my sleeping bag, "Oh, an elephant." Well, my sense of humor is back, so it's on the mend).
Today we walked half of the route together with a string of yaks.
We lagged behind the group, trying desperately at the top of a small hill to catch a local connection and post yesterday's post. And joined the shepherd and his charges. We remembered the guide's words that at altitude you should go no faster than a yak, and got a new ringing horned company
Insanely cute guys, who, as it turned out, really do not like to be approached while eating. Therefore, the attempt to get acquainted with the chewing fluffy was not successful. But, we guys understandable, after the first wave of horns attempts to enter his comfort zone stopped
The climate belt is visibly changing, there's less vegetation, the wind is getting colder. Hide the sunscreen, get the winter sunscreen. We hardly take off hats and gloves anymore.
Just before the break in the next tea house it starts to rain, which at the end of the break turns into snow. We dressed up in colorful raincoats and went to the loggia looking like gnomes
I caught myself thinking that trekking has a kind of meditative effect. It slows down the endless running of thoughts, calms my nerves, trains my concentration (though mostly concentration on how to make the next step).
I think I'm starting to like mountains. This is a dangerous sign.
During the usual radial outing, you could feel like you were part of some kind of northern expedition. Strong wind, fog, snow hitting my eyes.
Although I am sure that after climbing to 5000 meters and higher I will laugh for a long time about the fact that today's light snow seemed like a northern expedition to me
Macherma (4450m) - Lower Gokyo Lakes (4850m)
Duration: about 8 km
Difficulty: easy enough, scenic, but towards the end just got tired of walking
Signs of mountain sickness - both of us were walking more or less cheerfully today, with occasional complaints of the most suspicious of us that his powerful head could not withstand the local pressure.
How deceptive the weather is here. We woke up in the morning, saw the snow that had fallen overnight, insulated ourselves and took warm things in our backpack.
Just started walking, the sun came out and it got hot..... We whined about our hasty decision to put on a thermal suit, in about 20 minutes it started to snow heavily, such is the mountain climate - it doesn't let us hack and walk with an empty backpack. Our personal trainer of anti-fragility.
All the way I was haunted by the scent of the local shrubbery. It reminded me of the smell of spices that Nepalis use to spice up their food and drink.
As it later turned out, it was curry. The one that epitomizes the flavor of Asian cuisine. One of the few plants still on our route.
It's impossible to get used to the local nature. Well, it seems to be the fifth day walking among mountains, rocks and mountain rivers. But, it is so stunningly beautiful that every peak, every stream causes just a childish delight. A separate dose of endorphins was added to us today by the mountain lakes of Gokyo.
Crystal clarity, incredible color. Not surprisingly, the duration of our trekking today was extended indefinitely: we either built pyramids of stones on the shore or tried to take a ton more photos because "this one is much better from this angle than from the last ten"
We realized our deviation from the schedule only when we saw one of the Sherpa guides, who, having managed to reach the destination point, came back to see where half of the group had disappeared to and saw us circling around the instacamp on the lake for about an hour in search of advantageous poses and angles.
Day seven...
No, not this time.
May 6, 2021. I want to remember it that way.
A day that I will remember for a very long time. The day I finally saw the top of the Earth with my own eyes.
But first things first.
The first half of the day had all chances to make this day the most boring and empty of all.
The heavy snow disrupted our exit to the fifth lake Gokyo and after a short outing we were sadly sitting in the dining room, thinking what to occupy ourselves with in the absence of walks and Internet access in the course went maps, dice Jengo, e-books (who managed to charge the phone).
And then the guide suggested to postpone our morning hike to the mountain Gokyo Ri (5334 m) for this evening. We took the offer skeptically, it was foggy outside, fine snow.
A climb of about 600 m with a very low chance to see anything on the cold summit seemed a dubious idea.
But still (more out of boredom) we quickly packed up and set off. 600 meters of climbing at a steep angle seemed like an eternity, we walked very slowly, gradually it became colder and colder, from the second half of the ascent the thoughts began to creep into my head whether it was worth it... and only the hope to see such a desirable view and my own motivation system (which I will tell you about at the end of the trekking). and only the hope to see such a desirable view and our own motivation system (which I will tell you about at the end of the trekking) did not give us a chance to give up and turn back.
The last section as a separate test of seriousness of intentions was more like rock climbing than a mountain climb.
And here we are finally on the top, 20 seconds to breathe, turn to the mountain ridge and..... the level of over-the-top emotion from what we've seen can be seen on the video in the feed..... just takes your breath away.
Here it is, the object of adoration, attraction, admiration and fear of many people. Proudly rises above the clouds, playing sunset colors.
But it does not allow us to look at itself for a long time, periodically hides behind clouds and fog, as if checking how ready we are to endure the cold wind at the top to enjoy its appearance. We are ready.
Lower Gokyo Lakes (4850 m) - Dragnak Village (4770 m)
Duration - about 4 km
Today we have an intermediate chillin' day between two climbs: yesterday's assault of Gokyo Ri (5340m) and tomorrow's dawn pass of Cho-La.
Late leisurely breakfast, socializing with the local fauna (ducks and of course yaks). And the highlight of the day - a long crossing over the moraine, the remnants of the glacier, which we met a couple of days ago. Pieces of the glacier and stones of different colors and sizes brought by it during the collapse. The number of years of this landscape can't be counted. It reminds either the surface of the Moon or a large-scale construction site. From time to time one can hear the crumbling of stones, or collapses of thawed glacier.
We climb the only hill on today's route with disturbing labor. If some 50 meters of climbing are so hard, how we are going to climb more than 600 meters tomorrow at dawn.
Today we are also exempted from the radial exit, our meals have been reduced to one dinner for an early departure. All for the sake of our ability to climb the pass tomorrow. It's a bit daunting.... We've got a lot of preparation, so it looks like we're in for a really tough challenge.
Day 9 or thank you for being born an Aries
Dragnak village (4770m) - Cho La pass (5350m) - Dzongla village (4800m)
Well, one of the toughest days we have experienced
We got up at 4:15, had a quick breakfast and went to the route, it was long and difficult today.
We lost our breath on the section named by the guide as "easy calm ascent" and were waiting with fear when the one that was not "easy" would start and how our body, already tired for the last eight days, would cope with it.
And it actually turned out to be epic. A strong slope with cables stretched to facilitate the ascent. We were walking not at the speed of a yak, but at the speed of an old sick yak.
The only thing that helped was a sheep's rod and the desire to feel how much more the body could bear
And here it is, the top of the pass. Satisfied but tired to the extreme, we sit down to drink Nepali tea brewed on freshly collected Nepali snow and snack on nuts and dried fruits.
We take a group photo and start no less long descent down the slippery snow and steep stones. By lunchtime we reach another loggia with a feeling that it is already a rough evening, from the amount of emotions and events of one day.
In the loggia we are blessed with... There is internet, so we can quickly write that we are alive and well and try to post at least something from the previously prepared posts about our journey.
But, the task turns out to be "with a star", our collective enthusiasm local signal obviously can not withstand
Day ten or how one person can make the whole day
Zongla village (4800m) - Lobuche - Pyramid Hotel (5050m)
The morning greeted us with sunshine and two pieces of news. A sad one and a funny one. One of our team members had to be evacuated by helicopter due to critically low saturation level.
But we spent it with optimism, making plans how we will spend together quarantine in Nepal.
The second news was more amusing. One of the participants lost his bag with batteries to the camera and other equipment, blamed the theft of a local dog named Sport, organized a search for the disappearance with the help of one of the Sherpas.
After about 15 minutes of fruitless searching around the loggia, he was offered the option of checking the contents of his own backpack, where the missing item was eventually found. Sportik was rehabilitated, and in joy he threw himself to chew snow.
During the pass we joined the classic route to the base camp, there were more people... some in groups, some alone with their Sherpa.
We accelerated our step in fear of not having time to take the queue to the hot shower at the place of overnight stay (remembering that the sunny part of the day is short and water heating is carried out with the help of solar batteries).
As it turned out, we were worried in vain, today we spend the night in an interesting, but unknown among mass trekkers place - Hotel Pyramid with conditions almost equal to all inclusive: food, drinks, internet, charging, hot shower.
And a sliced apple for dessert. The loggias are still unheated. But with our extremely lowered comfort zone over the last ten days, it's almost like the Seychelles for us.
Bonus was a popcorn party, well, as a party, we put plates with popcorn on the tables, apparently, in the eyes of Nepalis this is how it looks like a breakaway and maintaining morale at an altitude of 5000 meters.
Gorak Shep (5100 m) - Kalapattar (5643 m) - Pongboche (3900 m).
Almost habitual rise at 4:15, temperature control measurement, after which only four of the remaining 9 group members went to the ascent, and by habit we go uphill for a long time and patiently.
Though we visited the key point of our trekking yesterday, today we are going to conquer the highest point of the route, Mount Kalapattar, which is 1 meter higher than the highest point of Europe, Mount Elbrus (5642 m).
At the summit, naturally, we can't keep within the allotted time, as the opened landscape on the snow-covered peaks and on the base camp with the Khumbu glacier leave no chance not to capture them once again on the photo
We take a final photo with the remaining climbers and rapidly descend accompanied by a growing sense of hunger (going out on an empty stomach, as it turned out, was a big mistake, as in some places confused breathing and pain in the legs fell on the shoulder blades before the rumbling of the stomach).
Upon returning to the loggia, we learn the good news that the evacuated guys tested negative for Covid-19.
YAY!!!
So, we are safe and can continue the planned route towards Kathmandu, which is closed for lockdown. And today it is going to be long, about 18 km, though mostly with altitude drop.
On the way we pass a very significant place, a memorial to the climbers who failed to successfully return from the highest mountains of the world.
We stop separately, of course, near the memorials to Scott Fisher and Rob Hall (those who watched the movie Everest will understand). Exactly 25 years ago on this day, May 11, 1996, 9 experienced climbers failed to successfully descend from Everest.
Impressed by what we have seen, we move on.
Vegetation becomes more and more, mountain rivers appear again, we feel as if we are already close to the sea level, though we have not descended below 4000 meters yet.
We see the beauty queen in the contest Ms. Yak 2021, entertain local children with "Kinder", which they have never seen in their lives and may never see again, tease hyperactive baby yak, which from afar resemble dogs.
Pangboche (3900 m) - Tengboche (3860 m) - Namche Bazar (3440 m)
Namche Bazar (3440m) - Phading (2600m) - Lukla (2800m)
Continuing the road down. The first day we walked as if we were in a fairy tale forest. You are waiting for a hut on chicken legs or some other forest character to appear at a turn.
We walk and are glad that we didn't choose the standard track to Everest Base Camp and don't follow the same route twice.
We descend to Tenboche Monastery, the same monastery where the heroes of the movie Everest were tied with ritual scarves of katas for a successful ascent. On the way we meet the same scarves tied on the rocks with mantras.
By lunch time we return to the familiar Namche Bazaar. For dinner we have meat for the first time in many days.
After dinner we go to celebrate half way down to the local Irish Pub, discussing how crowded and noisy it must be here during the period without quarantine.
Tomorrow we will go more cheerful... or vice versa.
The second day we follow a familiar route, pass the Hillary Bridge, which two weeks ago caused us so much emotion, recognize villages, views from earlier posts, the same kids we photographed in the first days, treat them with leftover sweets.
Standing in countless donkey queues
Walking and enjoying the spring... buds are blossoming, apple trees are blooming, birds are singing, mountain rivers are making noise, irises are blooming and lilies of the valley, which amazed me earlier, are blooming even more.
After lunch it starts to rain and the rest of the way we walk, mixing mud and donkey dung under our feet.
An unforgettable tactile and olfactory experience
We arrive in Lukla. Here we start our first standby mode, waiting for good weather to fly to Kathmandu
We're back in Kathmandu.... a city that now bears no resemblance to the one pictured. But, first things first.
Yesterday we spent the whole day in Lukla waiting in vain for good weather for the flight. After lunch it became clear that today we will not fly anywhere, we checked back into the hotel and went to wander around the village.
But, soon it became clear that the idea of "hanging out in Lukla" is not so bright.... there was nowhere to walk, nothing to see, cold and damp... brrr.....
Those who had been in Lukla for a few days already, hysterically discussed crazy options: whether to fly out by helicopter for 500 USD per person, or to go for two days by car (and to go to the highway for 5 hours with bags of 15 kg each).
We were only bewildered by them and wished that they would use one of their options and not make panic around. But, everyone clearly wanted to go to summer. Even if it was quarantined...
That's why today, having opened our eyes at 5:30 and having received a message from the guide "we are going to the airport", we joyfully rushed to meet our plane to the summer!
And here we are back in Kathmandu... or rather in what is this city, closed for a hard lockdown.
Virtually empty streets, only grocery stores/stalls are allowed between 7am and 10am. During the same period you can be on the street, the rest of the time only in a radius of 1 km around your hotel and no more than 2 people.
Compliance with the quarantine is monitored by police officers walking around the street. Only pharmacies can be open all the time.
The cab in which we were traveling from the airport was stopped by the police and asked the driver on the way back to bring them our tickets for today's flight, to confirm that we actually arrived from Lukla today and are going to the hotel, and not idly driving around the city (although it would be strange, given that 2/3 of the space in the tiny car were occupied by our bags, we had to squat in the remaining space, holding backpacks in our hands).
This is how our new countdown begins:
Quarantine in Kathmandu or how to get home, day one
Public crematorium under the open sky, open to tourists and encouraged to visit (you bet, because tourists will pay for the entrance, and for a tour in a crowd of grieving relatives, and for a photo with unclothed pseudo-sathu, and maybe even buy some bling).
The place evokes mixed feelings... There is no stench, no disgust, no horror, but the sobbing of relatives over the body, of course, does not set up excessively positive emotions.
The procedure is traditionally started by the eldest son, setting fire to the mouth of the deceased. After the ceremony he must shave and for a year walk with a shaved head and in white clothes (white is a mourning color for Nepalis).
Daughters are exempted from this duty. All family members are required to stay with the body for the entire 4 hours that the ceremony lasts. At the end of the ceremony, the bones and ashes are dumped into the holy river (you can guess about its purity).
Before that, the staff deftly pull out the remaining gold teeth, rings, earrings, bracelets and other "riches" buried, it is their legal booty. And besides this profession for Nepal is very lucrative, for the burning of one body "cremator" receives about 3000 USD.
Opposite the platforms for cremation there are temples of fertility, here, as we were told, they come to ask for children. This is the cycle of death and hopes for a new life.
So, it's time to summarize the results of our trekking and, perhaps, to dispel (and somewhere confirm) the myths about trekking at Everest Base Camp
Or, whether it is as scary as it is in the stories (and in the horror-filled eyes of parents).
Myth number 1. Trekking to Everest Base Camp is a "challenging complex expedition" that requires specialized training.
Anyone who knows me even a little knows where I am and where aerobic functional exertion is. All my preparation for trekking was limited to three runs of 3 km (hopefully, the last in my life), and three walks of 6 times up to the 16th floor and down (simulation of a 300 m altitude gain).
This was enough to complete the trek, with much fitter runners and athletes coming off the route as well.
Myth number 2. Trek success depends on the quality and "thoughtfulness" of clothing. Collected with @advokatcrime, their "battle kits" on olx in the used section.
Yes, not everything successfully survived to the end of the route (somewhere scotch tape and ties were used), but in general a minimum set of clothes "according to the weather" is quite enough (more effort can be saved on constant changing clothes).
When you have one pair of boots and pants in your bag, then morning gathering takes much less time due to the lack of special choice
Myth number 3: Trekking is a matter of how your body tolerates "mountain sickness".
And here it is 100% true. Here I was just lucky that my organism believed itself that I was a "mountain man" and even at the altitude of 5000 m did not extinguish saturation especially below 90, did not exhausted headache and nausea without a single acclimatization pill (but, Kathmandu then this anomaly "corrected"). The problem is that mountain experience is not accumulated, the "mountain bunny" muscle is not trained and the way you felt at altitude one time does not show how your next ascent will go at all.
Such a senseless strain on the body
All in all (without a whole), @advokatcrime and I made it through the trek without much effort. Yes, physically it was hard at times, but overall, it's not as scary, testing and exhausting as it may seem from the outside (and as it seemed to @advokatcrime before it started).
It's beautiful, it's exciting and it's totally doable without any overtraining and over effort....
