Everest Base Camp Trek 2017

Lukla We had reached Lukla a day earlier than planned, i.e. on May 30th. That afternoon we visited Tashi at the gompa in Lukla where he was busy preparing for an upcoming festival. The gompa in Lukla With Tashi Sherpa at the monastery Masks for the upcoming festival in the gompa's store room Junior monks making display items out of dough Kathmandu, we have a problem There is an interesting system (or lack thereof) for actually getting on a flight out of Lukla. Of course, you must have a reservation but that's just for starters. There is a complex system of patronage between lodge owners and the airline staff which determines which flight in the day you actually get scheduled on. When the weather is reliable, this is not so important but when it isn't, it's much more likely that you will get out if you're scheduled on an early morning flight. On the 31st, we were scheduled for the 11th flight of the day but only 4 flights...

The long way home Gokyo to Mongla The route out from Gokyo follows the moraine of the Ngozumpa glacier for a long time; passing a few lakes similar to the one at Gokyo. Cho Oyu (8188m) occupies the rear view mirror but the weather didn't cooperate too well. On the trail back from Gokyo. It passes by a series of lakes. Cho Oyu (8188m) The trail then passes through beautiful alpine meadows via the villages of Phanga, Machermo and Dhole. Frustratingly, it descends into each village that is set in a valley and then climbs out again. Machermo village. The trail drops into each village and back up again on the far side.  We finally stopped in Dhole for lunch. Indeed, this was our original destination when we left Gokyo but since we were making good time, Mingma decided that we should head on to Mongla. Little did we know that a brutal climb lay ahead. Indeed, our elaborate plan to avoid the climb back up from Phunki Tenga on the Bhote Kosi to Nam...

Lobuche to Dzongla We knew (for sure) that the hike on this day would be easy. We had seen most of the trail on our way up from Dughla to Lobuche. Apart from a very short climb to Dzongla itself, it was nearly level. Also, I had heard from other trekkers that Dzongla is quite beautiful and I was eager to get there. We had been joined by Sarah and Franci, two medical students from Frankfurt, who were doing an internship in Kathmandu. They were doing the trek the 'hard' way - sans guide or porters - and had overheard in Lobuche that we were going over the Cho La pass. Trail finding on that trek is not straightforward and they had asked to tag along. Mingma and Pemba were in great spirits too. They seemed to be spending a lot of time on their phones - perhaps watching Baahubali! As usual, we headed out around 7 AM in pretty good weather. I can safely say that this was the best hike of our entire trek, maybe the best I've ever done. The entire valley of the Chol...

Everest Base Camp Finally the day was here. We had brought out our fancy, customized T-shirts, that Latha had so painstakingly made. Of course, they were the last piece of clean clothing at this point! The trail to EBC from Gorak Shep is relatively easy, just a few climbs over the moraines, and it only took about two hours to get there. The weather was good but not perfect - in hindsight it had been an excellent decision to push on to Kala Pathar the previous day. Heading off to EBC from Gorak Shep which is in the distance. Mingma was getting cell-phone coverage even here! Although the climbing season was in full swing, we saw a number of yak trains returning with gear. Perhaps the expeditions had started to send back non-essential stuff. We saw several yak trains on this day EBC is spread out over a large portion of the Khumbu glacier. And just like that we were there. Of course, EBC (or the end of it we walked into) is marked by a huge tangle of prayer...