Introduction
The brochure promised ‘Everest Circuit and Cho La Pass. Combining Everest Base Camp (EBC) and Gokyo Lakes with a stunning crossing of the Cho La pass’. Well, the hype lived up to it and more.
Those that have followed my previous posts on the Himalayas would have noted that despite numerous visits, I have only flown into and out of Lukla only once by plane. All the rest have been by helicopter for various reasons. Well, I can now report that on this trip I successfully landed and departed Lukla by plane – whoo hoo.
Arriving in Kathmandu
We arrived in Kathmandu with days to spare before joining our team to commence the trek. Not having returned to Nepal since the devastating earthquake back in 2015, we noticed that it was a lot quieter than usual especially around Thamel, the main tourist centre of Kathmandu. While a lot of work has been undertaken to repair the infrastructure and buildings damaged in the earthquake, there are still areas that are in need of urgent repair such as Durbar Square. Even with less traffic, the pollution though was very bad. There was a fair amount of dust in the air due to the digging up of the roads to lay new water pipes and more tummy bugs than usual going around due to the warmer and incessant pollution.
By the way, if you’re looking for a good hotel points deal in Kathmandu, try this idea from our friends at Points Brotherhood.
Arriving in Lukla
After our pre-trek briefing, we departed Kathmandu early the next morning for Lukla and commenced our trek. Upon landing in Lukla, we received a nice surprise. One of our Sherpa guides named Loki, who was on our first trip to Everest Base Camp back in 2013, was there to greet us with his big warm smile. After many hugs and meeting the rest of our team of Sherpas and porters, it was time to start the short trek to Ghat and then over the next couple of days trek up to Namche Bazaar to find a decent coffee and apple pie.
Heading up to Gokyo
After a couple of acclimatisation days in Namche, we broke off from the main trail heading to Everest Base Camp and trekked up the Gokyo Valley to Gokyo. Cho Oyu (6th highest mountain in the world – 8,201m) was visible at the head of the valley.
After ascending Gokyo Ri (5,483m) in fine and windy conditions, we then ascended the Cho La pass (5,420m). Lucky for us, we had great weather up and over the pass, with a seven hour crossing – a record I believe for our group of 14 and our trek leader. Contrast this with another group we knew, who the previous fortnight took over 12 hours and encountered almost white out, blizzard conditions.
It was fantastic trekking up the Gokyo valley as we hardly encountered any other trekkers or yaks. Contrast this with the main Everest Base Camp trail which we re-joined once we had dropped back down towards Lobuche after the Cho La Pass crossing. Trekkers, climbers, yaks all mixed in together – not necessarily in that order.
Everest Base Camp
As this was the peak Everest climbing season, it was great to meet some of the climbers, whom some had dropped down to other villages to rest up and put on some weight for when they got the OK to commence their summit bid. It was also a pleasure to meet the famous Ice Fall Doctors who are charged by the Government to fix the ropes to the top of Everest on the south side. What an amazing and extraordinary group of Sherpas.
Heading back down the valley
While the trek down from Everest Base Camp was fairly uneventful other than the odd snow storm, Lukla however had other ideas and had the last laugh with the weather. There were many false hopes, planes coming and then not coming, dashing from the cafe on the other side of the airport on rumours we were going to try and fly out and then cancelled – well you catch my drift.
The next morning we tried again and lucky for us, our guide managed for us to scramble out on the last flight of the morning – there were no other flights landing or departing for another three days after we left. While it was great to revisit Everest Base Camp and the villages that we trekked through back in 2013, the highlights for us were definitely the Gokyo Valley, Gokyo Ri, Cho La Pass and above all else, the wonderful warm Sherpa people and our great trekking team.
Footnote: The Tenzing-Hillary Airport at Lukla is rated as the of the most dangerous airports in the world. On the 27 May, 2017, this was again re-affirmed with the crash of a Goma Air plane just short of the runway coming into land at Lukla, tragically leading to two lives lost – the Captain and co-pilot.
Watch the Video!
Onwards and Upwards!
Trevor
Insights
- Allow for a contingency day in Lukla as often the weather can be unpredictable for flights (planes or helicopter)
- Be resilient – change of plans can occur at a moments notice as you’re in the mountains. Weather dictates everything you do
- Don’t stress about things you can’t control. See our post on mental toughness
- The people dynamics side of your team is just as important if not more than the type of journey you take
- There is a strict 15kg weight limit (10kg kit bag and 5kg backpack) on flights to Lukla. Take your favourite snacks such as Snickers and Pringles which were the most popular amongst our group
- Hygiene factors – always take hand sanitiser gel and use it regularly. You are in a third world country and you need to stay healthy for your trek or climb
- Take plenty of cough lozenges. Many people succumb to the Khumbu cough due to the dryness of the Khumbu region. Also take plenty of pain killers for altitude headaches though always inform your trek leader if the headache persists
- As you trek higher, be prepared for various illnesses and loss of appetite. Ensure you keep well hydrated
- Wear a buff over your mouth while walking around the streets of Kathmandu. This will help from the dust pollution and may prevent illness before you head off on your trek or expedition
- Wet wipes are recommended. They can be a great substitute for showering
- In Namche Bazaar, check out Sherpa Barista for great coffee and cake and free WiFi
- If you want to see the Everest mountaineers’ campsites at Everest Base Camp then go in the peak climbing season. This is from March-May. Otherwise all you’ll see is a glacier and lots of rocks
- Read how to get to Kathmandu
- You might also like our posts on trekking to Everest South Base Camp in Nepal and Everest North Base Camp in Tibet, China.
