Himalayan Trek overview

"We go to the mountains because they are places of peace and beauty"...

I found this quote in a book that didn't reference the author, and I didn't find it online. Despite the challenges and the lacking comforts and facilities we become so used to, overwhelming joy was unlimited on our trip to the Himalaya. Tremendous grandeur and spectacular visual stimulation was around every corner, and found with every turn of the head. It was an exercise in constant humility.

Speaking of which, I must point out one of the most impressive sights that never ceased to amaze me on the journey, and it wasn't the natural beauty. The work ethic of the Nepali people is nothing short of incredible. The porters who work tirelessly to carry a myriad of supplies, food, equipment, tools, lumber, you name it, up steep mountain sides, loooong days of hauling, for days on end, and with weights on their backs that would cripple us. I just cant impress upon you how mind blowing it is. We saw guys that couldn't have weighed more than 50kgs, carrying loads of double that. I saw a guy with a generator on his back, there were loads made up of multiple sheets of glass that was 6x4 feet in size, other times it was corrugated iron, 3x4 inch lengths of lumber or plywood. There were logs of wood that I could barely move metres on my own, but they carry, slowly, all day. It made me think twice about what a hard days work is, be it physical or white collar. We are all so very lucky to earn what we do in return for our efforts.

The return flight from Lukla to Kathmandu was a little harrowing, but exhilarating, more so than landing there. The experience with the airport and the airline in this tiny little mountain town was incredibly different from what we know and expect in our society. There are no rules, no certainties, you can't depend on anything to be the way it "should" be. Time does not command the same respect here. Either way, we made it back to Kathmandu. The cab ride back to our hotel on the outskirts of Thamel was somewhat less shocking than the first time arriving here. The fact it is a national holiday today helps a little, with less traffic, and less congestion.

I am still struggling to comprehend what we have just done. In reviewing the photographs from Tara's camera, we rediscovered the story of our trip in pictures, and we were both very gripped by the re-experience. We saw some of the most astonishing views and panoramas that our eyes may ever be lucky enough to absorb and we experienced many things that contrast wildly from the norms of our world. There is so much story to tell, but where to begin is hard to decide. I can't wait to review my own images, but I will have to.

Best memories?

Landing in a tiny plane at Lukla after seeing the sheer size of the mountains from the plane window for the first time. These mountain ranges are enormous, and we are ants.

On day 2, the 800m ascent into Namche is torturous, especially carrying your own bags. Being able to lay eyes on Everest when you are about 85% of the way up, at the "first view" point, without clouds hiding it's presence. Priceless moment.

Finally lumbering in to Namche Bazaar to Bob Marleys "One Love" playing at the "Rock & Blues Bar", absolutely wasted from the climb. Never been so happy to hear Bob...

Himalayan Thunderstorms.

Incredible Rhododendron forests in white, pink, & yellow.

Meeting Glacier scientists at Gokyo and picking their brains about their work after sitting and listening to the Glacier behind the town creaking, cracking and groaning. Great people with very interesting jobs.

Ascending Gokyo Ri for 2 hours at dawn to 5300m, arriving at a vista of mountain peaks, glaciers and lakes that weakens the knees and brings tears of joy to my eyes just thinking about it. 2 hours of soaking up this glorious view including Everest and another 8000 plus bohemoth on the Nepali-Tibetan border had to be the highlight of the trip, and one of the highlights of my life to this point. Topping this occasion at any time in the future will be very difficult.

Met Sir Edmund Hillary's niece, in Phortse and discovered a lot about the festivities planned for the 60th anniversary of his successful climb on the 29th of May.

The only sunrise that I witnessed that brought colour to the clouds in the sky. Pangboche, 4:30 am. For an hour, the skyline was incredible. Ama Dablam, Lohtse, Nuptse, Everest, with whisps of clouds and crimson-pink hues. By 5:30, the cloud rolled up the valley from Namche and completely blanketed us in. By 8am it was gone again and Everest was visible from our cozy spot on the deck outside our room.

Hot shower in Namche after 2 weeks without showering was very VERY nice. So was the westernised food, cans of Everest Beer, movies, an internet connection (albeit very slow), and some tasty baked goods like cakes and croissants.

Getting our tickets confirmed (not that that means anything) and then finally being checked in for our flight out of Lukla after 3 days waiting was a big relief.

Lifting off the tarmac as the runway drops away to a cliff underneath you at Lukla is worth cheering for. I will post a video once bandwidth will allow.

It was a hell of a journey, and the real story is in the details, which we will work on covering over the coming days between us. If we can get the time here in Bangkok. I am elated at what we have achieved and the scenes we witnessed. The people we met along the way both local and foreign really add character to the story, as does the soundtrack we played at some of the key moments along the way.

Below is a very few of my favourite photos that tell the story. All pictures are by Tara.

I don't seem to be able to caption properly from this app so I'll just do a list...

The landing strip at Lukla through the windshield of the plane.
Large slab of rock with carvings at the top of Namche
First view of Everest
One of our hosts, this lady ran her own lodge in Dole. The boy was a 16 year old porter who also stayed with us that evening.
The mountains across Gokyo's 3rd lake
The view back down the valley over the lake and Glacier, with Cholatse, Kangtega and Thamserku lurking
The worlds highest peak
Prayer flags on Gokyo Ri
Ama Dablam appears on the trail to Pangboche
Helicopter on its way up the Khumbu valley, Everest peak is top left
Everest just peaks over Nuptse ridge, view from Tengboche
Our shadows on the trail back to Namche

Lukla

We are still in Lukla. Our flight is booked for tomorrow but due to uncertainty surrounding weather and planes with mechanical issues, we tried to get on a flight today. There was some back-log from previous days so it was a struggle to get priority over many others waiting. We have found a nice cafe that has fast(er) internet than anywhere else we have been and a decent menu. So now we are just waiting it out till tomorrow, and hopefully we will fly as scheduled. I found a picture of the airstrip from the year I was born, where it is still dirt and grass. It has been significantly improved since then, taking up to 60 flights per day in peak season. Still, chaos reigns and communication is limited, office and ground staff connect via shouting out the window, and the "security checks" are very lax. I will try and post a few more pics from my phone from the trek, hopefully they will upload...

Namche Bazaar

We are catching a rest back in Namche Bazaar after about 12 days higher in the valleys below some of the most amazing mountain peaks you can lay eyes on. This is the first internet connection we have had since leaving kathmandu, mostly by choice, but decided it was time to plug in, so to speak. Even so, the bandwidth is somewhat limited so it's hard to upload anything. Many stories and images to share, some down time in a few days when we get back to Kathmandu should allow us to post some words and pictures. Elated with our journey, can't wait to share!!!

Kathmandu -final preparations

We are currently sitting on the rooftop patio of our guest house in Kathmandu. We are able to get a bit of a break from the heat up here, since there's a nice breeze. The sound of the horns is impossible to escape though.

Over the past two days while we've been exploring Kathmandu, it's been an experience for sure. The streets are narrow, with broken pavement and every type of vehicle imaginable trying to navigate the congested arteries. It seems like every vehicle honks it's horn to let everyone else know they are coming - as a result, it's a constant sound here. The dust and pollution are pretty full on -lots of people wearing face masks to keep it out. We haven't been able to see much beyond the city limits as a result of the heavy smog - so no glimpses of the Himalaya for us just yet.

While we've been here, we've been finalizing everything we needed to sort out for our trek - trying to navigate the streets as they assault our every sense! Signs stacked on top of each other makes it particularly challenging when you are trying to find a certain place! It seems to take at least 2 laps before you can actually see past everything, and finally start to see....hard to explain. There are people consistently coming up to us to sell their tour, jewellery, chess set, marijuana, taxi ride, you name it. As a result, the inclination is to avoid engaging people for help - so that you don't then get sucked into something you don't really want to be a part of - or sold something you really didn't want...or unsure whether you are supposed to pay them for their help...it's tough to be in that position, because it makes it much more challenging to communicate with the locals. Those that we have had interactions with, have all been really nice, and quite sweet. The guys that we rented our sleeping bags and down jackets from were telling us about how expensive the trekking has gotten - more than tripled from what it used to be. The villages along the way have started to realize how far they can push the prices - so as a result it now costs the better part of $3 for a litre of boiling water!

Tomorrow we leave here at 5am in order to get our flight at 6:15 to Lukla. The hope is that this flight will be while the weather is still clear, and hopefully not delayed too much! Tristan's just been looking at the weather forecast for the trek - and it is far worse than we were anticipating! Much cooler temperatures, and snow that isn't typical for this time of year. We learned today that the summit teams had to return to Everest Base Camp due to the conditions further up where they had been. Here's hoping we are well enough prepared!!!

Time to sign off. Good night! This will be the last post for a couple of weeks - we don't anticipate being back in Kathmandu until May 29th. We will probably be at Gokyo Ri for Tristan's birthday! :)


View from our rooftop earlier in the day.

The big move!

April 30th was set to be a big day. We had been packing up and cleaning for 3 straight days, all we had to do was pick up the truck, load it up and then pack it into our storage locker. After some tense moments of bickering over whether or not it would all fit in the locker, our storage providers helped us out with upgrading to the next size and cut us a deal on the extra expense which was great. Saying good bye to the house was a slightly emotional moment, after handing the keys to the new tenants, who seemed great people, I stopped for a moment to ponder the many great memories from our time in Kitsilano. It will be missed, but will always have a special place in our hearts. Coming from Australia, I never would I have imagined that I would end up living in a beach suburb in Canada!!

We trekked the remaining of our belongings, backpacks, suitcases and our computer, handily packed in the box it comes in, to the station to get the bus for the ferry to the island, we were racing the clock and it looked finally like would make it, only to discover that there was no 8pm ferry, so we would be waiting around an extra hour and a bit for the 9pm. we grabbed a bite and sat down for half an hour, which was a major relief. The sun was setting and we both took a moment to look around at the glorious coast mountains and the silhouette of the island to the West, what a sublime place to be lucky enough to live. It was a long day but we finally made it, and now this morning, the burden of moving has gone and now we can move on to focussing solely on the trip we are about to undertake.

Departure in 6 days....