With all the preparations done, clothing and equipment gathered, and most importantly, the kids' school year finished, we set out from Phoenix on May 12th for Kathmandu. Of necessity, we would be trekking at the tail end of the tourist season, hopefully just beating out the crowds and the monsoon.
In high spirits just before leaving home
Kathmandu
We arrived in Kathmandu in the late evening of May 14th. The airport has a small town feel and we found that this description is appropriate for the capital city itself. We were soon settled into the Retreat Serviced Apartments where we would stay until our departure for Lukla on May 16th. The property is located close to the Swayambhunath temple.
Swayambhunath Temple - check out that Jacaranda!
A view of Kathmandu from our apartment
We spent most of the 15th in Thamel, the trekking district of Kathmandu, tying up details with Bikram Thapa of Summit Treks and Adventure, whom I had engaged to help us with porters, permits, and flight reservations. It's no understatement to say that we would not have been able to do the trek without his advice and service.
With Bikram Thapa
In Thamel
Of course, I couldn't resist wandering in here ....!
Lukla
Lukla is a one-street, zero-stoplight town at about 9300'. It is connected to the world by what is described as one of the most dangerous airports in the world. Indeed there was a crash at the airport just a few days before we were to fly out in which a pilot lost his life.
The only reason to go there is that it is the most convenient and traditional start and end point of the EBC trail. The airport is served by small, twin engine planes that fly in from Kathmandu - weather permitting. In the days ahead we were to become painfully acquainted with that caveat.
Checking in at KTM - there were flight delays at the very outset, apparently due to the airline having to accommodate the previous days' passengers who had cancellations due to bad weather.
Wikipedia says that the runway at Lukla airport is 527m long - in practice it looks much shorter. The runway itself ends in a cliff at one end and a wall at the other. With a steep ramp (upslope while landing and downslope on takeoff) it very much resembles an aircraft carrier.
Runway at Lukla airport
You can find lots of videos of takeoffs and landings but here's one of our own.
Here's what a landing looks like from inside the plane.
Arrived in Lukla - let's hit the trail!
We were met at Lukla airport by Tashi Sherpa; whom Bikram had contacted to arrange the porters. The porters turned out to be two young relatives of Tashi. Mingma, a reserved, mature young man, had just finished high school in Kathmandu, while Pemba was a more outgoing young lad who had just finished 10th grade. They both spoke pretty good English and we immediately felt comfortable in their company. Tashi is a full-time monk at the monastery in Lukla and, incidentally, is an Everest summiteer.
A cup of tea before hitting the trail From the Left - Tashi, Mingma, and Pemba
Without much further ado, we started the trek. Mingma had already taken charge of our itinerary, telling me quietly that we would be attempting to reach Monjo - a good 3 hours ahead of my planned target of Phakding. Having read about the benefits of reaching Monjo on the first day itself, I agreed. We would soon realize that Mingma was quite the veteran of this route and that his suggestions were always spot on.
Lukla is like a mini Thamel with shops selling all the things a trekker would need before (but also after!!) the trip.
In Lukla
Well, you get the picture!
At the Pasang Lhamo Memorial Gate - she was the first Nepali woman to summit Everest. This is the end of Lukla and the start of the trail proper.
I'm so glad you shared your personal video of the airport. Whats more Dangerous landing or taking off? My guess would be landing but really don't know.
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
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
I'm so glad you shared your personal video of the airport. Whats more Dangerous landing or taking off? My guess would be landing but really don't know.
ReplyDeleteThe city looks incredible too! How was the food?