Hello All,
I just wanted to drop a note with some pictures from the trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC) that I just completed yesterday. I'm now back in Kathmandu and have had my first hot shower and first non-rice or non-potato meal in nearly two weeks. Needless to say, I am pleased with being clean and well fed and more than pleased with the amazing experience I had trekking through the Solukhumbu region.
Let me say this: Although it is called the EBC trek, EBC was not the highlight of the trip, but it was pretty darn cool to see. I took a less traveled route heading from Lukla (2840 m) to Namche Bazar (3440 m) and north to Gokyo, which sits beside some beautiful turquoise lakes at 4790 m. Then, to the top of Gokyo Ri at 5350 m to see the sunrise over Everest, Makalu, and the Gokyo Lakes. After that, I headed east over the 5330 m Cho La (la means pass) and up to the top of Kala Patthar at 5550 m for more sunrise views of Everest and the Khumbu Icefall and Glacier. After that, it was a short trip to Everest Base Camp at 5364 m and then east again over the less used Kongma La at 5535 m to the town of Chhukhung at 4730 m. Finally south back through Thangboche with its famous monastary to Namche Bazar and then on to Lukla for the flight back to Kathmandu. This route avoided the throngs of group trekkers whose purpose is to make it to Everest Base Camp in the most direct and comfortable way possible. Us independent trekkers observe these groups with a quiet curiosity as they come in a variety of nationalities, generations, body mass indexes, and etiquette levels. The towns of Gokyo and Chhukhung are much less frequently visited and the passes of Cho and Kongma are infrequently crossed. Many days, while away from the main route, I'd see only a handful of people, mostly Nepali, and an abundance of amazing views. For me, the solitude I experienced in these less-traveled areas was one of the highlights of the trip. It was so quiet that when I stopped to rest, I could hear the faint ringing in my ears and the creaking of my pack straps on each breath. With yaks and glaciers and peaks and rock frozen in the distance, these are the moments that I'll never forget.
For those of you that want to convert units, there's 3.28 feet in a meter. The highest point I reached was Kala Patthar at 18,209 ft. At that height, there is only half as much oxygen in the air as there is at sea level, although one gains altitude slowly to properly acclimate. Some interesting physiological changes occur (my resting heart rate was about 90 bpm and my pulse oxcimetry was 73 percent at EBC, which is about normal for that altitude but significantly different than at sea level) and every step becomes quite a bit more difficult. Within a few days I felt fairly well adjusted. It's a good thing, as most of the 12 day trek (many people take several days longer) was spent at an elevation well above the tallest mountain in the continental United States.
I'm on a flight back to Bangkok tomorrow and then off to SE Asia for a while (India is way too hot this time of year, I've learned). We'll see what happens after that!
I hope all is well!
Pictures
