EBC Days 5 to 7 - Tengboche to Dingboche

I slept very well because the night before I hardly slept at all.  I had a nice American breakfast and we started hiking at about 8:15am.  It was a beautiful sunny cold day, a little windy at some places.  I covered my head with the hood of my raincoat/windbreaker to protect against the wind.  We stopped for lunch at a place called Shomare.  I had mixed fried rice.  Outside was a beautiful view of Amadablan.  For the next few days we'll see a lot of Amadablan.  You can't miss this mountain because it has a very pointed tip, just like the tip of an ice-cream cone.  We continued our slow gradual hike to Dingboche,  There were quite a few yak trains on the trail and many porters.  The porters are amazing.  They carry loads up to 50kg or almost 110lbs.  I don't know how they can do it.  I also wonder what it will do to their bodies when they get old.  However, you do what you need to do to support your family.

Although long, this was one of our best hikes.  We were in good spirits and the trail was not steep or rocky.  We arrived at the Tashi Delek tea-house in Dingboche at about 4.  Because of the change in our itinerary, we had to find a different tea-house.  Our Sherpa guide, Dilip, went ahead of us and found a new tea-house that has rooms with toilets ensuite.  A tea-house is a tea-house and not a hotel.  The dining room was spacious and open.  There were few guests and the owners were very attentive of our needs.  We were going to spend 3 nights here, the only place where we spent 3 nights in a row.

We have 2 extra days to acclimatize ourselves in Dingboche.  But we were not going to just sit around and be lazy.  On Day 6, we took a short hike to very small settlement called Chukung.  We went from 4410 to 4730m.  We started at about 9am, arrived in Chukung at about 1pm, and returned to the tea-house at about 3:45pm.  We were free to laze around the rest of the day.  Internet access was not the best.  Sometimes we have to sit next to a window and connect to the wifi from Mama's Bakery, about 100m away.  Sometimes we were able to connect to the hotel's wifi using our EverestLink id and password.

View of Mt. Amadablan

A Porter carrying a big load

A different view of Amadablan

A trash can

A dzoba is a cross between a cow and a yak

A chorten

A dzoba train with Amadablan in the background

This is what the trail looks like

A different view of Amadablan

Stopping at Shomare for lunch

A Sherpa marker

A relatively easy trail

Day 7:  we have another acclimatization hike.  This time to Nangkar Tshang, a nearby mountain.  Our plan is not to go all the way up but stopped whenever Nutan feels we have climbed high enough.  We stopped at about 15,750 feet, the highest we've been so far.  We rested and came back down and arrived back at Tashi Delek at about 12:30pm.  We had lunch and in the afternoon, all of us took a hot shower and changed to fresh clothes.  This is only the second time that we have taken a shower.  We rested, sent out emails and updated our Facebook pages.  We felt rested and ready for more challenges ahead as we climb higher to Lobuche.

A group picture on Nangkar Tshang

One of the buildings in Dingboche

Looking down at the valley from Nangkar Tshang

A stupa as we climb back down to Dingboche

EBC Day 4 - Namche Bazaar to Tengboche

This part of the trek started along a ridge where we saw Mt. Everest and more beautiful views of the valleys and mountains.  About 2 hour into the hike, the trail started going downhill towards the river. Our plan is to have lunch at a restaurant near the bridge where we cross the river.  Of course going downhill is easier than going uphill.  We saw other groups struggling as they climbed up the trail.  We arrived at the restaurant at about 1pm.  Had a nice lunch under warm sunshine and were in good spirits.  It's the typical lunch:  fried rice, pizza, sandwich, dal bhat (Indian curry, rice, and lentil soup), momo (buns, like Chinese pau), etc.  I don't remember what I had but you just eat something so that it will sustain you for the next few hours.  Sometimes you are too tired and just have a bowl of soup.

Our challenge began as soon as we crossed the bridge.  We did not realize how long and steep the hike was going to be.  We started at about 2pm and it was almost dark by the time we reached Tengboche.  It was one continuous climb, sometimes straight, sometimes switchbacks.  It was a bad day for me because I had not slept well the night before.  We saw a mother and son team.  We passed each other back and forth several times.  The mother had to be held by the guide to walk.  We wondered how is she going to make it to Base Camp.  She didn't seem strong enough to even do a simple day hike.  Why is she doing this hike?  What is her goal?  Did someone warn her that it's not going to be easy?

Our first sighting of Tengboche was the chorten (a small stupa) next to the monastery.  What a relief!  This monastery is one of the largest in the region.  After dropping off our stuff at the tea-house across from the monastery, we stopped in there to watch a ceremony that was going on.

At this point in the hike, our energy and spirit were very much spent.  Our guide, Nutan, told us that from what he is seeing, some members of our group will not be able to finish our trek based on the itinerary that we set.  We still have 4 more days to go and more long and difficult hikes.   Hiking back to Lukla in four days is another matter.  We have to rethink our plan.

We decided to explore the option of taking a helicopter from Gorak Shep back to Lukla after we reached Base Camp.  That will stretch our hike to Base Camp from 8 days to 11 days.  It will give us more time to acclimatize and rest and improve our chance of finishing the trek to Base Camp.  Nutan suggested we spend 3 nights in Dingboche, 2 nights in Lobuche and finally, 2 nights in Gorak Shep.
We will still be hiking 11 days and spending more time above 14,000 feet.  Nutan called his manager and asked him to check with the helicopter company what it would costs.  The answer came back:  $3,500 to take the group back to Lukla from Gorak Shep on Day 12.  That means we'll still be spending the last night in Lukla and on the following day, fly back to Kathmandu as scheduled.  We were expecting to pay $1,000 each so we quickly said yes to the $3,500 (or $700 each).  Our spirits lifted immediately.

Leaving Namche with a view of Everest

A close-up look at Everest (in the middle)

Taking a break

A chorten

A view of the valley below.  The pointed peak on the right is Amadablan

A porter carrying a heavy load

Bridge crossing the river, starting the uphill climb to Dengboche

Climbing up after we crossed the river

A yak train

A prayer rock

Monastery at Tengboche

There is not much in Tengboche except the monastery.  It's supposed to be the largest in the area and many monks come here to be trained.  I'm glad we are staying here for only 1 night.  The Tashi Delek Lodge was quite crowded.  I had a dinner of fried rice and potatoes.  It's a good place for us to get a nice rest and continue our trek.  There are more difficult challenges to come.  I went to bed at about 10pm and soundly fell asleep.

EBC Days 2 and 3 -Phakding to Namche Bazaar

We started early this morning at 7:45am, knowing that we have a long hike ahead of us to Namche Bazaar.  The hike was fairly steady and climbed gradually at first.  There were many trekkers on the trail, from all over the world.  Some come in big groups.  Some in pairs.  After a couple of hours the climb starts to get steeper.  Our pace starts to get slower.  Those who are fit climbed at a fast pace.  But there were many on the trail who were struggling.  One small step at a time, is the mantra.  However, by my own unscientific judgement, I could tell that some will not be able to make it to EBC.  Never mind the determination, the goals, the intentions, this is a much harder trek that most people realized, including myself.

Tea House in Phakding

Gorgeous view of the river

Hikers along the trail

Beautiful waterfall

Stephanos and Bert crossing a suspension bridge

Vicki coming up the trail 

Occasionally, we come across a yak or mule train coming the other direction.  You have to get out of the way or they will just run you over.  A 300 to 500 pound animal coming downhill has more momentum than you realized.  Imagine how your friends react when you tell them that you have to abort your hike because you were run over by a mule.

A mule train on the trail

Taking a lunch break

Some trails are easier than others

I'm glad I was wearing shorts and no jacket.  I was sweating heavily.  I was listening to an audio book by James Michener on Alaska.  I read this book about 20 years ago and I want to hear if it has any relevance in today's political and environment climate.  The book takes my mind off the fatigue and pain of hiking uphill.   One senior hiker was wearing a T-shirt that says "Beer and Bagels."  He and his wife were going very slow.  I doubt they will make it to Base Camp.  Their bodies tell the story.  They don't look the type who exercise 3 times a week or even once a week.  Why are they here?  Is it a challenge, ego or were they given misleading information.  Over the next few days we met quite a few hikers who fit that category.

At about 3:30pm we stared to see buildings ahead of us.  It's Namche Bazaar, a marketing town where on Friday and Saturday mornings, sellers line the streets selling everything from soap to foodstuff to alcohol.  It's a central market for villagers from the neighboring countryside.  It's the last "big" town before we head into the Himalayan wilderness.  You also find regular shops that sell trekkers necessities, like poles, sleeping bags, clothes, etc.  There are also many tea houses and restaurants that cater to the trekkers.

Vendors selling goods on Fridays and Saturday mornings to local villagers

Town of Namche Bazaar

Shops sell everything that trekkers need

"Busy" downtown Namche

Porters resting on the trail

On the patio of Everest View Hotel, with Mt. Everest in the background

Where is Mount Everest?

We checked into a busy tea-house with a glorified name of Hill-Ten (nowhere near the quality of a similar sounding hotel called Hilton).  Many hikers use Namche as an acclimatization stop.  At 3,500m it allows your body to get used to the thin air.  After a long steep climb, an extra day of rest is most welcomed.  Our legs were still very tired and walking up and down the slopes of Namche is still difficult.  We are staying in Namche on Day 3.

A popular day trek is to the Everest View Hotel where you can see Mount Everest from the patio.  It's about a 2-hour hike away, at an elevation of 3,880m or 12,729ft.  We spent about an hour at the hotel admiring the view of Mt. Everest.  We saw helicopters ferrying passengers to the hotel.  The view along the ridge is amazing - deep valleys and mountain ranges surround us.

Beautiful mountainous landscape

The rest of the group on the trail, including Nutan, our guide

A Bird's Eye View of Namche

A ground-level view of Namche

In the afternoon we took a much welcome hot shower.  Our last shower was when we left Kathmandu.  The shower and fresh clothes feel refreshing.  It also reset our mental state.  We are ready for the next phase of our hike.

Beautiful plants along the way

EBC Day 1: Kathmandu to Lukla to Phakding

The day has finally come to "face the challenge."  Here we are, to venture into the unknown for the next 11 days.  Our plan on Day 1 is to fly from Kathmandu to Lukla to start our trek.  The 40-minute flight over the mountains is an intriguing flight.  You see the sprawl of Kathmandu and the mountainous terrain.  You are so close to the mountain that you can almost touch it.  Our flight was supposed to depart at 9:30am but due to a number of unexplained events, we finally took off 3 hours late.  By the time we arrived in Lukla, we were ready for lunch.  At 2 pm we were ready to take our first steps.  By then it'd have been too late for us to reach our original first night destination, Monjo.  We ended up spending the night in Phadking, which means we have a time deficit of about 3 hours.  We have to make up for it the next day so that we can be in Namche Bazaar by evening of the second day.

We officially entered into Sagarmatha National Park, a short time after leaving Lukla.  Our permits and passports are checked at the entrance.  Our tour company and guide arranged all the paperwork.  It's nice not to have to be burdened by all the permits.  Already we are starting to run into other trekkers.  The beautiful mountain scenery starts to unfold.  Lukla is at 2840m elevation while Phakding is at about 2610m so we are actually going down slightly.

At Phadking we stayed at the Mountain Resort Tea House, a typical tea-house on the EBC Trekking Route.  Two of us share a room except for Bert.  Most of the time we share toilets with other trekkers.  The rule of thumb is that as you get deeper into the mountains, the prices go higher.  That is true of everything, especially food items.  If you think of the amount of work to transport these goods, whether by yak, mule or porters, it is justifiable.  Our guide suggested at the start of the trip that we should buy this internet access called EverestLink.  This gives us internet access at all the places we stop for 2,000 rupees.  Otherwise we'd have to pay for internet access at each tea house for about 500 rupees per 24-hour period.  All of us signed up for it.  We set up a messaging group on WhatsApp and that allows us to communicate with each other easily, whether we are physically close to one another or not.

We had a nice dinner and went to bed around 9:30pm.  We have to get ready for a long hike tomorrow to Namche Bazaar.

A group photo at the airport parking lot

An aerial view of the sprawl of Kathmandu

Our plane landing at Lukla Airport

A mule train marching through Lukla

A mule offering haircuts in Lukla

Our guide Nutan showing our permits and passports to the local authority

Entrance to Sagarmatha National Park

One of our rest stops on the way

Crossing a suspension bridge

Beautiful mountain scenery

Uphill Climb

Mountain streams everywhere

A beautiful stupa.  We'll come across many of these on our  trek

Flowers outside the tea-house

Mountain Resort Tea House in Phakding

Neighborhood outside the tea house