Nepal (1981) Part 7

Late afternoon sunshine highlighting Thamserku.

10 February 1981
Dingboche

Well -- this is high altitude … 14,200 feet.  It is 20 °F outside at 5:45 PM and my pen doesn't work consistently, so this journal entry is written in pencil.  My pulse has gone from its usual low 70s to 96 last night at Tengboche, down to 88 this morning, and back to 96 tonight.

Ama Dablam (22,349 feet) rises almost 10,000 feet above us!

Yesterday, we left Namche after 10 AM, a very late start.  We climbed eastward, out of the bowl, and as we rounded a corner we had tremendous views of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam.  We continued traversing eastward along the ridge.  After an hour or so we began our descent to Phunki, a village on the Dudh Kosi.  Along the way, we passed porters and expedition members of British, Japanese, and Italian attempts on Everest.  All had failed to summit.

Lhotse

I got a funny twinge in my right knee just before lunch and it took an hour or so after lunch to work it out.

Trekker's lodge at Tengboche.

After lunch, we began a long, steep climb to Tengboche at 12,700 feet.  The town mainly supports trekkers and it has an important Buddhist monastery.  I took the climb through a pleasant forest very slowly; still my heart raced.  The climb took about 2 hours.  The weather, which had been gorgeous all morning, turned sour during this time, and it began snowing, continuing to do so until 9 PM or so.

Snow covered stupa in Tengboche.

When we reached Tengboche, we had tea in a small shop.  Hugh, Terry and George decided to stay in a trekkers hostel, but the rest of us slept inside a small 3-room building controlled (owned?) by Himalayan Journeys.

Leaving Tengboche on a glorious (but frigid) morning.

It was very cold overnight; at 7 AM today the air temperature was 6 °F.  I got up at 6 AM, just about dawn, put on my down jacket and pants and booties and went out to shoot a roll of film catching the early morning crystal clear views.  I show a roll of B/W ASA 32 along with several color shots.  After this 1.5 h adventure, we breakfasted, then headed for the monastery, where the morning prayer ritual was in progress.

Ingrid, near Pangboche

Again about 10 AM, we began our trek to Dingboche.  First, the trail descended through a snowy forest.  It was pretty, but I fell on my can 3 times.  We crossed the Imja Khola and hiked the rest of the day along the south bank, which was dry and covered with scrub brush.  Although the morning had been clear, a high haze came in about 11 AM, obscuring views first of Everest and then of Nuptse and Lhotse.  The other peaks danced in and out of the clouds all afternoon.

Ingrid hiking toward Dingboche

Looking SE toward the Imja Khola

We climbed about 1400 feet after lunch, the killer coming in the last hour of the day with a 600 foot elevation gain.  I felt fairly strong, but my heartbeat was telling me otherwise.

House in Pangboche, on the way to Dingboche.

Ingrid with Dingboche below, Ama Dablam above.

Dingboche is brown and white.  A large flat town above the river, but barren and cold.  We saw only a few people along with several yaks and dzos.  There is a heavy fog as I write, but I expect it to lift as usual to a brilliant morning.

At high altitude, dzos carried our gear instead of porters.

Ingrid greets a yak (or is it a dzo?).

We are spending an additional acclimatization day at this altitude before continuing our climb.  I feel very lethargic with a mild headache and expect this to improve with another day.  Right now, I feel the chances of making Kala Pattar are excellent; but I have no interest in spending a night at 17,000 feet at Gorak Shep, or in hiking to base camp.

West face of Ama Dablam

Nuptse in the late afternoon sun.

12 February 1981
Lobouje (elev. 16,200 feet)

I made it this far, but I have my doubts about reaching the top.  It is another 2000 foot climb to Kala Pattar.  The climb today almost did me in; I am quite exhausted.

The night before last, our first in Dingboche, was a rough one.  The wind howled all night, collapsing the dining tent and blowing fly stakes out.  Ingrid woke in the middle of the night with a stomach ache (bloated), a problem that cleared up with some Gelusil.  I had a severe altitude headache all night and slept poorly as a result.  The headache cleared after a few hours in the morning.

North facing ridge of Ama Dablam

Lunch stop on the day hike at Dingboche, sheltered from wind.

Yesterday, we took an easy day hike eastward up the valley from Dingboche.  We hiked 2-3 hours and climbed about a thousand feet to obtain good views of many of the surrounding peaks.  The sky clouded early and a 10-15 mph wind was blowing in our face as we returned, making the quick journey back very unpleasant.  The afternoon was cold, in the 20s, and I read, feeling quite fit as Ingrid slept off a headache.  The low temperature last night was about 12 °F and the wind much less severe.  I slept very well.

Another stunning view of the north side of Ama Dablam

Today, we dawdled in camp, having breakfast about 8:30 AM, well after our camp was in sunshine.  The morning hike was pleasant as we headed north, climbing gradually.  We had a 270 ° view of the peaks with Ama Dablam in the south, Taweche and Cholatse in the west, and Lobouje peak along with Pumori and Nuptse in the north.  We ate lunch in a small village called Dughla, at the foot of a moraine.

On the way to Lobouje; Ama Dablam in the background.

The hike after lunch was a killer.  We climbed almost 1000 feet up the moraine.  My heart was pounding in my head no matter how slowly I walked.

Memorial to Noboru Takenaka (1953-1981)

At the top, we saw monuments to the six Sherpas who died in the Japanese ski expedition of 1970 as well as a monument to a Japanese climber who died exactly one month ago.

The climb from the ridge was gradual, following the west side of the Khumbu valley along a frozen river.  However, I was so beat by the altitude and the climbing that I could hardly hike in a straight line.  The traverse took barely an hour and we finally reached Lobouje, nestled in a small side valley with perhaps 4 buildings.

I collapsed in my tent.  After 15 minutes, I ate a chocolate bar and drank 4 cups of hot tea.  I feel another altitude headache coming on, although I no longer feel exhausted.  Most of the rest of our group is feeling much stronger than I am.  I don't know if I could make it to Kala Pattar tomorrow, but we may spend three nights here and I could then go up the day after tomorrow.

Pumori (peak) from south of Lubouje

Nepal (1981) Part 6

6 February 1981
Yesterday, Thursday, was a short hiking day and our last excursion below 8000 feet for the duration.  We began with a traverse/descent eastward, through the village of Phueli, through Rani Bon (Queen's Forest) and down to the Dudh Kosi at 5000 feet.  The name Dudh Kosi means "milky river" -- the water is a beautiful aquamarine color. Our trail now heads northward, following the course of the Dudh Kosi to its origin in Namche Bazaar.  The river valley is tremendously steep and deep.

A wedding celebrant.

We climbed several hundred feet up the eastern side of the river.  We paused near a little shack where a wedding procession had stopped.  The bride was brightly dressed and appeared to be about 14 years old.  The groom may have been 16-18.  The groom's family gave the bride's rakshi, I suppose to ease the loss, and everyone was smoking tobacco rolled up in green leaves.  All appeared to be having a grand time except the bride. 

Young women carrying firewood near Jubing.

Our lunch stop was in a Rai village, Jubing, at 5500 feet and only about 10 minutes beyond the wedding scene.  It was quite warm and there was a middle-sized stream where I washed more thoroughly than I have since we started trekking.

Rai children at Jubing.

From Jubing, we climbed about 1000 feet up an incredibly steep spur (it seems that stretches must have approached a 60 degree pitch.  We then traversed northwards around a side valley, crossing a short ridge, and descending down to Khari Khola, arriving at 2:30 or so, very early for a day's end.  In the village, we saw a school in session (the head mistress was a dwarf with a switch) and several shops and hotels.

Tea shop in Kharti Khola.

While everyone stopped at one little shop and drank rakshi (treated by Woody), I went on to camp, washed a few reeking shirts, and munched out on a stash of M and M's we brought from home.

Terraces for farming in Kharti Khola

Today was also a short day, although a tough one, especially mentally.  We began in sunshine with a vertical 2700 foot climb up a spur and ridge line to Kharte Khola, a village featuring about four buildings.  We stopped in the Makaw Hotel and had some roasted soybeans (not bad).  Then we hiked another half hour to lunch.  I felt super strong, climbing 2500 feet in about 75 minutes.

We passed on this lodging option at Kharte Khola.

Mani wall and porter on Bupsa Ridge.

Our lunch was in a forest clearing.  Pleasantly warm and startlingly quiet.  But, why notice the quiet, after being out of the city for almost two weeks?

Pema Dorje, a cook's assistant.

After lunch, the trail did not meet our expectations.  I found myself angry a few times.  It's important, I guess, to take it all as it comes instead of looking forward.  For the past few days, I've been thinking about Namche, the cold we should encounter, etc., instead of enjoying what we have.

Anyway, the trail description read "the trail climbs steadily but gently for 1000 feet."  To me, it was steep, rugged and long.  After one hour we reached the top of the ridge where a small tea shop stands.  I bought a few packages of biscuits for Rs 5 (an inflated price), then polished off one package immediately.  As we descended, the trail was covered in snow and slush, the sky was foggy and cloudy, and the hiking was very slippery.  For a half hour I remained frustrated and upset, but I finally relaxed and began enjoying the trail.

I thought a lot about my work and my life and where it is going.  I guess Ingrid and I will try to have children shortly after we return and I think I am ready for that experience.  I'm beginning to view my career at LBL as finite, although there are still some important things to accomplish -- perhaps 18-24 months more will do it.  Then?  Maybe finish my PhD, if the kid thing doesn't work out.  The other alternative options are to work in the energy industry or in the infant robotocs industry.  I must begin doing some research when we return.

Our camp is reached at 3 PM.  It is in a sort of pastureland in a little (7 house) village called Puiyan.  The fog lifted once for 15 minutes and gave an excellent view of the ridge we just crossed -- snow covered and steep.  Now at 5 PM, it's low clouds and about 40 °F, although it seems colder.

9 February 1981
We made it to Namche and it is FA cold!  The low last night was 6 °F; this morning it is beautifully clear and in the low 20s.

View north along the Dudh Kosi

Two days ago, we continued northward up the Dudh Kosi valley from Puiyan.  The morning was uneventful.  After climbing gradually about one hour, we crested and could see the Lukla airstrip through the trees.  I missed an excellent photo opportunity with a pink-dawn peak.

From the ridge crest, we descended steeply on the north side, across an icy trail.  I bottomed out once.  George went head over heels. (!)  And yet some of the porters were almost jogging down.

Two young girls in Surkhe

We crossed a tributary of the Dudh Kosi at Surkhe.  In this village, we stopped at a tea shop and had roasted soybeans.  There was a woman in bed in the room -- she had just had a baby a week before.

Our lunch stop was by another stream about 500 feet above the village.  The cooks were on one side, the trekkers on the other.

Children on the trail along the Dudh Kosi

Broad stone trail near Chauri Karka.

After lunch, things got a bit more exciting.  We walked through an interesting and large village called Chauri Karka.  The trail was broad and newly stone paved.  Beyond Chauri Karka and for the rest of the long afternoon, we passed people returning from the Namche market, which happens every Saturday.  We passed several hundred people traveling opposite to our direction, most carrying partly empty baskets and walking sticks.

Elderly couple on the way to Namche Bazar.

Along one stretch of the trail, near the end of the day's hike, the road crew was out.  Dozens of people were working with hoes, spades, sledge hammers and crow bars to clear rocks and level out the soil.  They were even blasting -- drilling (?) holes in large rocks, filling them with blasting powder, and running a hefty foot-long fuse from them.  As we were passing such a section, the whistling began and the porters and other travelers started running past us.  After a few minutes, the blasts began -- about five within one minute, with very loud and long echoes.

We finally made it to camp at 4:30.  We had a camp fire before dinner.

Woody had gone to Lukla with Nancy Jo and Sardar Sahib to replenish our supplies.  The supplies were carted back by dzos (half yak/half cow).  He brought us each chocolate bars -- a wonderful treat.

Bridge across the Dudh Kosi at Phakding.

This camp was our last at low altitude (below 10,000 feet).  The village name: Phakding.

Mani rock north of Phakding

Sunday began with a pleasant walk along the Dudh Kosi.  We crossed a few bridges, passed some small towns, and went by a wonderful mani rock, with its 10-20 foot face covered in 6" letters, carefully carved.

We stopped in Jorsale at a tea shop for rakshi, chang, tea, popcorn, and soybeans.  The place was extremely neat and pleasant.  Woody had met one of the woman's daughters in Kathmandu.  The woman's husband was one of three people in Jorsale who had died when an avalanche fell into a lake causing a tidal wave through the Dudh Kosi valley.

Just beyond this stop, we came upon the Hatago Restaurant and Hotel, a sharp Japanese run place, unfortunately closed for winter.

A man with a young child stopped us on the trail asking for medicine.  The child had a severely infected ear.  Woody suspects scabies and told him to go to a doctor in Namche as soon as possible.

Our lunch stop was on the banks of the Dudh Kosi.  The water was 34 °F.  Nancy Jo, while wringing some socks she was washing, fell in to her waist.  Brrrh!

After lunch, we began a 2000 foot climb to Namche.  I hiked very slowly, not allowing my breath rate to quicken at all.  Still, I made it in 2.5 hours.  Near the top, we saw an impayan pheasant, Nepal's brilliantly colored national bird, and a lammergeier, a huge vulture with a wingspan of up to 9 feet.

Trek leaders: Woody Underwood and Lhakpa Tenzing

Namche is set in a west facing horseshoe bowl.  There are about 100 buildings and shops with all sorts of goods.  Ingrid and I bought chocolate bars and put them away.  I bought a wool hat and scarf for Rs 95 (about $8).

After some shopping and signing in at the police checkpost, we walked to Lhakpa Tenzing's home, where he served us rakshi, chang, and boiled potatoes.

The weather was pretty poor, with corn snow falling most of the late afternoon and early evening.

Glenn was rather plastered on rum and rakshi.  Yuck!

We ate in a Himalayan Journey's office (?) sparsely appointed with wood benches and tables and no heat.

We've bumped into a few other trekkers up here, but not too many.

On the (empty) streets of Namche Bazar, before departure.

This morning, we are off to a late start, since Tengboche is only a few hours' walk.  Most of our group is stocking up on chocolate and other supplies.

The day is beautifully clear and it should be very warm in another hour or so.

Spinning a prayer wheel on the trail to Namche Bazar

Nepal (1981) Part 5

One of our porters, carrying three tents with a tumpline.

4 February 1981
Nuntale

Yesterday was dominated by my illness.  I got a pretty serious case of diarrhea, probably from the shitty lunch stop by the river the day before, or perhaps from eating salami there -- it seemed to be a bit off.  I took lomotil in the morning and it seemed to be fairly effective.  Unfortunately, I misplaced the stuff and couldn't take the noon dose.  At 3 PM, I dumped all that remained, with great pain.

The day for me was exhausting.  Uphill walking made my head throb -- especially after lunch -- and Ingrid had to carry everything for a few hours in the afternoon.  I only drank black tea until supper.

We began by climbing along the ridge line steeply above Sagar.  There were a few houses along the way.  These people don't seem to farm, but rather live off animals.  We saw some magpies with beautifully long tails.  After three hours walk, we reached our lunch stop at about 11,000 feet elevation.  The stop was near a shepherd's house.  A Tibetan monk came by and offered us a copper necklace for an outrageous Rs 1000 (Rs 100 seemed a fair price).

Prayer flags at Lamjura Pass

After lunch, we climbed another 600 feet, then did a long traverse across a snowfield with rhododendrons everywhere.  After 1.5 hours traverse, we descended (!) to Lamjura pass at 11,580 feet.  From there we descended steeply, under cloudy skies, for an hour.  As the terrain flattened, we walked out from under the clouds (they seemed to gather around peaks and along ridges in the afternoons).  We did a long traverse to Junbesi, a large, interesting village.  We sat inside a tea shop with Woody and Nancy Jo, then went on to camp, which was in a shady spot right alongside the river.

Our first great view of the mountains; Everest at left.

As we came into Junbesi, we had excellent views of Numbur and some other peaks.

I spent the evening in the tent and ate only rice and soup for dinner.

This morning, I was feeling much better.  Our morning hike climbed through pine forest east of Junbesi in the fog.  We did a long traverse around the ridge separating Junbesi from Ringmo.  As we rounded the southeast end, we got our first view of Everest.  It is mostly black, far enough away to seem unimposing, and had a white plume near its top from blowing snow.  We could also see Nuptse, a long, flat peak, and the southern face of Ama Dablam.

We continued our traverse northward, passing through Salung, where we stopped at the "Everest View Hotel." (!) Here, Woody and Nancy Jo were drinking chang, a fermented milky colored drink made, in this case, from corn mash.

Our lunch stop was by a river and Ingrid and I washed our hair in the icy water.

All the trekkers at our lunch stop near Ringmo.

After lunch, we climbed through Ringmo, a beautiful village on a hillside with the appearance of a southern plantation.  There are apple orchards here and we bought some apple rakshi (a distilled liquor).

Foggy conditions at the (closed) Trakshindo Cheese Factory.

Fog shrouded stupa at Trakshindo Pass.

We continued climbing toward the Trakshindo Pass, stopping along the way at a cheese factory that, unfortunately, was closed.  We were treated, however, to the sight of two yellow-throated martens -- large, omnivorous mammals with black fur and yellow throats and about the size of anteaters.

Bill and Lhakpa Nurbu in the forest below Trakshindo Monastery

At the pass, the clouds and fog were thick.  The temperature was only 36 °F, very low for early afternoon.  We descended via the Trakshindo Monastery, where we stopped to see the gompa.  From there, the trail passed through a lovely wet forest land -- with the heavy fog, it appeared almost enchanted.  The trail descended fairly steeply to Nuntale, our camping spot.  This village is the most medieval that I've seen in Nepal.  About 15 buildings line the trail.  In one, a woman was grinding corn using a hand spun millstone.  There is a rack of drying corn in the middle of the village and a chicken sits atop it eating kernels.  (The rack is 10 feet high.  How did the chicken get up there?)  Two young men chase a pig and catch it by a rear leg and pull it screaming into its pen for the night.

Nepal (1981) Part 4

Sister carries younger brother outside tea shop

2 February 1981
Sagar Schoolyard

Today is Monday and we've now been on the trail for 8 days.  Both Ingrid and I are in fairly good condition, health and spirits.  We have no trouble now completing the day's hike and still feel fine in the evening.  I am still bothered slightly by a nagging sore throat and Ingrid's knees give her some trouble.  And I still have some small fears about the altitude and the cold as we progress.

Saturday afternoon we made a long traverse and gradual descent to Mali.  The walk was on a dirt trail along an undulating ridge top that reminded me of the hills near El Sobrante in the summer.

Nepali children at Mali

Burning fields near Mali.

As we descended, we passed one village where they were fertilizing the fields.  They gathered all of the left over weeds and dried crop stumps and dung into piles and set them afire.  The piles mostly smoldered -- with many burning the whole field was smoky and with the people busy gathering more piles and the sun low in the sky the whole operation reminded me of some autumnal rite.

Nancy Jo, Ingrid, and Woody on the way to Mali.

In Mali, we stayed on a broad flat field.  The late afternoon was windy and cold -- after sunset the wind died down and it became more pleasant.  Our dinner this night was the last with Kerin as cook and it was a lousy one: mashed potatoes, overboiled noodles, cauliflower and a cheesy sauce.  The next day, Kerin was replaced by Lhakpa Tenzing's usual cook, Ung Tharkey, who had been unable to meet us early on because the Lukla airport was snowed in.

Porters crossing the bridge to Kenja.

Sunday was a relatively easy hiking day.  We descended to the river from Mali, crossed a bridge at 5800 feet and bought biscuits from a small shop.  Here, we rejoined the main trail.  We climbed a few thousand feet before lunch.  At first, the way was steep, but it soon turned to a gradually climbing traverse.

Glenn visits with Nepali children at lunch stop.

Our lunch stop was at a tea shop that was most interesting.  The house was made of wood instead of the stone and mud we usually find.  In the yard was a picnic table and benches -- most pleasant!  There were several small kids about.  They had a 4-month old water buffalo and a nanny goat that had just that morning given birth to two kids.

In the afternoon, about half the group went to Thodung, a cheese factory at 10,150 feet elevation.  We instead headed directly for our stop at Bhandar (Changma).  First we ascended to an 8900 foot pass.  At the top was a tremendous set of mani walls and good views back to Timsang Lo and forward to Lumjore La.  There was a small hotel there, Hotel Mane, and inside were 6 or 8 people, apparently just back from a wedding, drunk on Rakshi and singing out of tune.

Stupas at Bhandar

Our descent was slow and pleasant to Bhandar.  We stopped at a monastery/gompa with two handsome stupas.  We also stopped at a woodcarver's shop.  Lhakpa Tenzing bought an attractive rakshi bottle for 40 rupees here.  At camp, we visited the porters' night spot.  Ten or so were upstairs in a dark building preparing their dinners.  For most, the fare was spicy greens boiled and a pasty dough made by mixing flour in boiling water.

In a kitchen in Shiulaya

Our dinner included fried chicken, tough as I imagine jackrabbit to be.

Today was a similar hiking day to yesterday.  We descended the bridge below Bhandar to the river, followed it to its confluence, crossed, then traversed upstream for about 90 minutes to a small town.  We washed clothes and lunched by the stream.  In town, Ingrid and I bought 500 g of hard candies (20 rupees) and saw three women grinding some yellowish grain (corn?).  While two women lifted and dropped the mortar with their feet, the third scooped up the flour into a woven basket and sifted it in a similar manner to gold panning.

After lunch, we ascended very steeply (but also rapidly, as we are getting much stronger) about 2700 feet.  We did the lion's share of the climb in about 1.5 hours.

Bill on the trail, Sagar in the background.

Our campsite is in the schoolyard of a village called Sagar.  This is the site of one of the schools that Sir Edmund Hillary built.  Also in town are a stupa and gompa with two big prayer wheels and some nice paintings.

When the clouds lift, there are excellent views of some of the peaks NNE of here.  I took some photos of them at sunset.  There was also a brush fire burning out of control on the hillside, covering a few acres, perhaps.

Before and during dinner, we played Scrabble.  We ate in one room of the school house (not Hillary's building -- it was locked).  The temperature at 8 PM was about 32 °F and, as is typically the case, there was neither wind nor clouds once the sun set.  The moon is very nearly new.