Day 10, 11 & 12

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 Chola Tso and Imja Khola lay at our feet. Surrounded by Ama Dablam, Kangtega, Tabuche, and Cholatse, among others, it formed a huge amphitheatre. Antara described it as 'Sound of Music-esque'. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth even more. Again, full-screen mode may be best.

On the trail to Dzongla. Ama Dablam (Left) and Kangtega in the background. Dughla is the settlement to the left.

We reached Dzongla in short order and, indeed, the setting is stunning. It's a small collection of lodges that exists purely to serve trekkers on the Cho La Pass trail.

We checked into Hotel Green Valley where the lodge owner appears to be a huge Led Zeppelin fan. That afternoon, Sarah led the way in a cold water shampoo and we all followed suit. Very invigorating!

The next day would be the hardest and longest hike on our trek. Mingma wanted to start at 5.30 AM - for good reason too - it's important to try and beat the clouds to the pass. The hotel, however, couldn't serve breakfast before 6 AM, so the departure time had to be changed to 6.30 AM, much to the relief of some of us!

Cho La Pass

The morning of Day 11 dawned bright and clear although it did appear that the fantastic weather we'd had over the last two days was over. It would be a race to get to Cho La Pass before the clouds rolled in.

Ama Dablam and Tabuche were beautiful in the early morning light.

Ama Dablam catching the early morning sun

Tabuche from Dzongla. It rises from just across the valley of the Chola Tso.

Cho La Pass connects the Khumbu valley with that of the Ngozumpa glacier which comes down from Cho Oyu (8188m). At 5368m, it is lower than Kala Pathar and Dzongla at 4830m is lower than Lobuche. Although the net climb is higher, it is overall at a slightly lower altitude. 

The trail begins from Dzongla by gently climbing up the valley. Framed by Ama Dablam to the south the views are superb. From the trail it's hard to see where the pass is actually located and  Mingma seemed to be a little confused as well. The climb begins about two hours from Dzongla and is fairly steep. Unfortunately, the clouds overtook us part way up the climb and the views were lost.

Here's a video of the situation just before we began the climb to the east end of the pass. It was bitterly cold and as you can see, some folks were tired and not too keen to be on camera!

The trail climbs along a rock wall in what Lonely Planet calls 'an exhilarating scramble'. It took a while to get up to the top but we did eventually.

At the East end of Chola Pass

With Sarah and Franci at Cho La Pass

It was extremely cold at this point and we frantically brought out the hand warmers. Mingma was going along without any gloves at all so I lent him a pair. Cho La Pass takes about an hour to negotiate and it contains an entire glacier. The book and map both advise trekkers to follow the left edge of the glacier and this is exactly what we did. The weather had packed up completely but it made for an exciting traverse.

The glacier inside Cho La Pass. We passed over the hill to the left.

Interesting ice formations

After a few stops and starts, we reached the west end of the pass. There was one tricky section where we needed some rope to ensure safety. Thinking quickly, Mingma and Pemba pulled off the rope slings they were using with their loads and fashioned a guard rail.

The west end of Cho La Pass

It's about a three hour descent from Cho La Pass to the village of Tagnag. The first part of the descent was quite tricky since the rocks were iced over. The rest is a seemingly endless walk over moraines and hills so it was a huge relief to get to Tagnag where we stopped for lunch and a bit of a rest.

Cho La Pass from the west. The pass is clearly identifiable.

A Tibetan Snowcock on the way to Tagnag

First views of Tagnag and the Ngozumpa glacier

Our final destination for the day was Gokyo which is located on the far side of the Ngozumpa glacier about two hours away. We were, of course, quite tired at this point and the walk over the glacier was really not fun. It is a huge glacier with the longest moraines (about 20 km) in all of Nepal. There was nothing to do but grind it out.

The glacier is about a mile wide. Gokyo is on the far side.

A lake on the glacier

After nearly 9 hours of hiking we eventually rolled into Gokyo. It is set next to the moraine on the shores of a stunningly beautiful lake.

Gokyo. The hill on the far side is Gokyo Ri.

There are several things to do around Gokyo. The most popular activity is to climb Gokyo Ri which, like Kala Pathar, offers a fine view of the surrounding peaks. You can also explore the other lakes in the region. As it happened, it began to snow heavily that evening and all of the next day and we were mostly stuck indoors. I daresay it suited us quite well - every one was exhausted!

Passing the time on Day12 at Gokyo.

It was freezing cold in the rather basic rooms at the lodge in Gokyo. With perhaps no more than a 1/4 inch of plywood separating us from the elements, the nights were the coldest I have ever experienced. Fortunately, the bukhari management in the dining hall was top notch and we spent as much time as possible sitting in there.

By Day 13, we were ready to head out and start the long journey home.