Nepal Trek 2009 - May 13 - Dingboche to Lobuche

After three nights in Dingboche, an extra night due to heavy snow that kept us from going on to Lobuche, we awoke to beautiful skies and the news that we would be moving on this day.

Before breakfast, I decided that I really needed to get some pictures so I wandered outside the tea house and found this scene. Thilo was doing the same thing, but wanted to come back inside. One of our yaks had different plans.

"Now what do I do?" asked Thilo.

"Wait right there while I get your picture," said I. Now, is that a sign that we were in the middle of a three week photography workshop, or what?




This is the scene from our campsite, looking to the southwest. It was the first glimpse of these snow clad peaks we had during our entire stay in Dingboche.









Yak, yak, yak, yak, yak . . . .









After breakfast it was time to start the trek over the mountain to Lobuche. We would be gaining 1650 ft of elevation. Starting out with blue skies was a good sign, but one has to remember that the weather can change very quickly in the Himalayas of Nepal.




May 14th is Megan's birthday. After John's big to-do we were expecting something similar for Megan, but all was quiet during breakfast. I would have been disappointed if I were Megan, but, other than being a bit on the quiet side, she acted as if everything was a-ok.

We climbed the first ridge, where we had visited the stupas a couple of days earlier, and were on our way down the other side when Sonam, our guide Sherpa, stopped the group and told Megan to look at the hillside. You may have to click on the photo to see the words spelled out in rock on the slope. It says, "Happy Birthday Magan." She has a new nickname now, of course.

It was a lovely surprise and the Sherpa staff members arose very (Very!) early in the morning to pull this off with such efficiency.




I think Megan was very pleased by this surprise. The rocks were still in place when we came back this way about a week later.

L to R: Megan, Jon and Sonam.






Megan with our Sherpa staff. Actually this was a subset of our Sherpas. Tendi, our lead trail Sherpa, learned a couple of days prior that his brother had died up at Everest advance base camp. His brother was advance base camp cook for the Mountain Tribes-supported expedition. Tendi and half a dozen other Sherpas from his village left to quickly fetch the body to take it to Tengboche monastery. We were all very saddened by this news, but the Sherpas look at death very differently than do we. Death is just a part of the wheel of life and the most important thing Tendi could do for his brother was to make sure he was assisted to the next life by the Lama at Tengboche monastery. The group returned to us just a few days later.

The really sad thing about Tendi's brother's death is that it could have been avoided. There was a batch of illegal liquor up on the mountain that was tainted with methanol. His brother died of alcohol poisoning - very, very sad, but, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence in the region.



The walk over to Lobuche follows a glacial valley flanked by tall mountains. We hiked a ridge on the north side of the valley.

L to R: John Fera, Sonam Sherpa, and Steve Wolfe there in the background.




We were truly in the alpine zone here - small cushion plants and thin air. It was cold, and everyone put on extra layers. We also walked right into the clouds, which gave us some drizzly sleet and then snow.

You can see that some of us, including me, were really feeling the altitude at this point. That plus the various illnesses can take a toll on one's endurance and energy levels.




The slope was generally gentle, but we gained 1,650 ft (500 m) of elevation during the day. You have to remember that 500 m is the total gain for the day, we also did a lot of up/down/up/down/up as part of the day's walk.







I've seen pictures from the web of what this scenery looks like with blue skies. We were somewhat cheated in terms of mountain views, but I found the landscape to have a mysterious beauty with the foggy ambiance we experienced.








The one tea house along our track was not open. It would have been nice to warm up next to a yak dung stove.










Ahhhhh - this little primrose gave me an energy spurt. I was so excited to find it in a melting snow field.







Coming off the ridge toward the river, we spotted some porters carrying very awkward loads of plywood. The wind was blowing and they kept getting thrown off balance and losing their load. Our Sherpas stopped to help them reload and balance.

Construction materials are moved between villages by porters or yaks. It's a huge amount of work.


The last bridge before reaching the Khumbu glacier - just a couple of rails with boards nailed across. The river is full of glacial milk - microscopically ground rock - and it's flowing fast and furious at this spot.

It's a bit intimidating to walk across a small bridge like that with the sound of water roaring down a boulder-strewn river. It's also very fun.

Just up the hill from this crossing is Dughla - a collection of tea houses. Our group was gathered in the courtyard of one and it was windy and cold. I was already chilled, coughing my lungs out, and was totally, totally miserable. Our sidhar took pity and organized for our group to go into the tea house where it was warm and dry, but very crowded. That was a huge relief. The toilets were also clean in the tea house, compared to the small, freezing and drafty outhouse we would have had to use otherwise.

I was so cold that I decided to put on my down pants in addition to my other layers. I had to peel off my rain pants and trekking pants to get down to the wool thermal underwear. I was so cold that I just did it in the tea room - in front of everyone. Hey, I had my woollies on - it's not like I did a floor show or anything. It was definitely a big improvement in my comfort level. I finally warmed up during lunch.

Dughla sits at the base of the terminal moraine for the Khumbu glacier. You have to climb up 150-200 or so meters to get to the top of the moraine. Once you arrive, a vista opens up of cairns and stupas sprinkled across from one side of the moraine to the other. This is a memorial park for climbers and climbing Sherpas who have lost their life on Everest or other mountains that flank the Khumbu glacier.

The only color in this landscape are the myriad piles of prayer flags draping each memorial cairn. The mountain framed by prayer flags in this photo is Taboche Peak.




This is Cholatse.








Most of my trekking friends went for an explore around the park, searching out the names of climbers who've they've read about, or in the case of Jon Miller, they've known. I wasn't feeling well, so I took advantage of the rest break and sat near the main trail, which gave me an opportunity to capture the dramatic sky above the cairns.

For some reason, the "zone system" finally clicked for me on this day and my digital photography skills really improved. I think it might also have to do with the fact that I was so focused on the moment - each and every moment - throughout the day. I was so ill that I had to think constantly to myself about each step, and to remind myself that even baby steps will get you there eventually. Thus, every time I took a photo, I thought about exactly what I was doing at that moment.




Another view of Taboche Peak.












And, off we go - hiking the moraine of the Khumbu glacier. Our destination for this day was Lobuche - at 16, 210 feet (4910 m).





It seems like such a desolate landscape, but I assure you it is one of the most stunning places I've ever seen in my life. You don't have views of the mountains when the clouds close in, but when the sun is brilliant in a clear blue sky, you see the top of the world. I do have pictures to post from later in this week to give you an example.

In the interim - here is a classic glacial moraine. There is ice below those boulders to the right - we're at the very tip of the Khumbu glacier here.

I scarcely remember the rest of this day, I was feeling so ill. I remember walking into the tea house at Lobuche, seeing that Steve was in an inaccessible corner and I wanted to be next to him, but couldn't get there. Room was made for me on the bench near the door. Every time the door opened, cold air flooded into the room, and I was not very happy about that. Jeff became the door monitor - very nice of him to help me out. I started to feel better after a few cups of hot tea and chocolate. At this point in the trek, food was totally unappealing to me. I think I had popcorn for dinner. Popcorn, hot chocolate and sugared tea - what more can a person want at 16,000 feet?

Additional pictures here: Dingboche to Lobuche album

Nepal Trek 2009 - May 11-12, Dingboche

After that walk in the snow from the previous day of trekking, it was nice to bundle up and fall asleep in my down sleeping bag. Steve and I had -40°F down bags from North Face. Very, very comfortable.

We were at around 14,000 feet elevation in Dingboche so the nights were cold. Having snow each day kept the temps low along with the overcast skies. I slept with my fleece layers over my wool base layer, plus a fleece hat at night. I also zipped up my bag so that my face was mostly covered - an attempt to keep from breathing the cold, dry air at night.

My upper respiratory infection was in full bloom, beginning May 12th. Stuffed up head, bronchitis, and the start of the Khumbu crud. I finally got over this infection - about a month after returning home and a round of heavy-duty antibiotics.




May 12th is John Fera's birthday. The Sherpas went to extra efforts to make his celebration memorable. First there was the birthday greeting melted into the morning snow.








Ahem - don't let your kids look at this too closely. The Sherpas made an anatomically "correct" snowman - an effigy of John for his birthday.

Jon Miller, our podcaster from "The Rest of Everest" recorded everything for posterity ;-)






Another festive touch was the decorating of our tents with heart-shaped balloons. We're camped along one side of the guest house.







We spent quite a lot of time inside the tea house. We didn't know it on the 12th, but we ended up spending an extra day and night in Dingboche due to being snowed in.

Sonam Sherpa gave each of us some paper to write a birthday note to John. You can see all the sheets posted on the wall behind John. the decorations were another nice touch.

I thought this was a cool way to spend a birthday.





One of the amazing things to a westerner's eyes was the lack of "proper" footwear for our Sherpa staff in this inclement weather. It was common to see Sherpas wearing sandles or Crocs in the snow - sans socks. I asked Karma Sherpa about this and he said the weather wasn't cold enough for shoes on this day.









A snow gnome, built by our Sherpas.















Dingboche was a scheduled acclimatization stop - meaning we were to spend two nights there. We did an acclimatization hike up to the top of the ridge above Dingboche to visit one of the stupas that line the valley. We gained about 900 feet of elevation, putting us higher than any spot in the continental USA.

Most of the snow melted off by noon time, so the path was a bit muddy, but not too bad for walking.









Trekking poles came in handy, though.















From the ridge above Dingboche there is a beautiful view of the valley. Stone walls surrounding farms make a crazy patchwork quilt of enclosed fields.








You might be able to see the line of green tents of our campsite in this image.











Once we reached the stupa, it was time to take in the scenery of the prayer flags against the valley below. I really enjoyed the sight and sound of prayer flags flapping in the wind.










As the flags weather, they become translucent.














Megan - getting that "perfect" frame.



























The rocks are covered with various species of lichen and moss.












Prayer flags are left in place to decay from exposure to the elements. I don't know how long they last, but they seem to be replenished regularly. The brightly colored flags are younger than the faded, ragged ones.





We came down from the ridge on a gentle trajectory that put us a bit of a walk from our campsite. That gave us a chance to explore Dingboche a bit. I saw this woman and her family clearing rocks from the path leading to their home. I asked if I could look at the hoe they were using and she gave it to me to examine. It's made from hand-forged steel - very sturdy - and the shaft is hand carved.

She also allowed me to photograph her in action.






Along the trail near tea houses one can always find porter's packs. These probably weigh somewhere between 100 and 150 lbs, perhaps more.









Right along the path through the village is a drainage stream. It ws pretty full from melting snow.












Near our campsite I found this little gem just coming into bloom. The small shrub looked ericaceous to me, but the flower doesn't seem quite right.






The next day and a half were spent inside the tea house for the most part. Fortunately, for our entertainment value, Megan had brought along a fun card game (Phase 10). I wasn't feeling very well so I didn't play cards very much, but I did enjoy watching the action.

Please note the Pringles can there in the foreground. That was a luxury treat some of our trekkers just couldn't do without. I think some of us were already starting to lose appetites at this elevation, but most everyone had challenges eating after this point.


Woohoo! The Sherpas baked a birthday cake for John. Most of our "dessert" choices involved hot canned fruit cocktail. I think everyone was interested in having something different for dessert.

This was kind of like a cross between a biscuit and a scone. It tasted pretty good, though.








Ah yes, the other featured event of the day was the filling of the stove with yak dung. The stove was lit only from tea time onwards unless we really were cold, and then it was sparingly lit earlier in the day.







After the dried dung is added to the stove kerosene is poured over it and a match lit to ignite the mixture. Sometimes, if the stove is already hot, the flame added to the mix causes a huge flare (POOOOOOF!). After the first time, everyone was keen to see it again and so the audience for this event was attending to every move the tea house hostess made. There was a collective sigh of disappointment if the stove lit without a flare-up.







Our kitchen boys were assigned the task of lighting the stove if we needed more than one load of dung per day.












I think they enjoyed this ritual just as much as us snow-bound trekkers did.







Speaking of snow bound - this is why we ended up staying in Dingboche the extra day. On the morning we were scheduled to trek to Lobuche, we awoke to about six inches of snow. The decision was made to wait out the bad weather in Dingboche rather than risk the trail on the ridge that leads to Lobuche.

I actually was secretly grateful for the extra rest day. My respiratory infection was just getting worse and worse and I felt miserable that last day in Dingboche. I spent a significant portion of the day in my tent and skipped the hike and workshop the rest of the group did. I think Steve was also not feeling well on this particular day - mostly with digestive track issues.

It seemed as if much of our group conversation revolved around everyone's lower GI status. Chris Marquardt even coined a scale for describing outhouse adventures. A good day was a 1.7, a bad day was a 1.0. You figure it out. I had enough of that conversation during the trek. The last time my life focused on such matters, my kids were in diapers.

You can read my post from Dingboche by clicking on my link to "Stuck in the snow in Dingboche."

Additional pictures from this day are in my Dingboche album.

Nepal Trek 2009 - May 10, Tengboche to Dingboche

The morning dawned with beautiful clear skies - a perfect day for trekking. I remember it was cool and calm, so the layers were reasonable - wool underlayer, trekking shirt, and a fleece jacket.

Before getting on the trail, we did a short tour of the monastery at Tengboche. This is one of the oldest monasteries (maybe the oldest) in the region.


The inside of the monastery is very colorful. All of the color schemes and symbolism tell some significant story. I wish I knew more about Tibetan Buddhism so that I could understand more about what I was seeing here, but it was enough that it grabbed my attention and filled me with a sense of wonder.

BTW - I think this is the last time during the trek that I could be seen without my hat ;-), and it's one of the few pics Steve and I have of us together.




Ceiling panels with mandalas. The shape of the mandala matches the view from above of the monastery or temple. I don't know if these represent Tengboche or other sites, or both.












One of the buddhas inside the monastery.

















These wraps are used by the monks during their prayer sessions. It's rather cold inside, so I think these must be very welcome during the hours of prayer and meditation.











I've no clue as to the use of this item, but it is a beautiful object.
















Another shrine within the main building.
















Butter candles line the walls of the main room.
















A view of the mountains surrounding Tenboche.











Gathering together for the beginning of the day's trek.











Tengboche sits atop a ridge, so the first part of the day was downhil through a grove of trees that line the path. The canopy was just starting to fill in.







There were a lot of birch trees with interesting bark.










The path was also lined with birds singing in the morning sun. I finally got a picture of this one - I marked it in my Birds of Nepal book, but I don't have that close at hand as I'm typing this entry.











Ditto for this one.













Some of my favorite lichens were found in this valley past Tengboche.










My all time favorite lichen - how cool is that?

BTW - lichens are symbiotic organisms, consisting of a fungus and algae.












Breakfast time?










I loved the petite irises lining the path. These were less than six inches tall, but the flowers were about three inches across - pretty spectacular.












Another of the four dozen or so species of primrose in the region.








As usual, downhill sections end in a river crossing. This bridge looked pretty sturdy, but I didn't happen to notice the bridge beneath this bridge - a rickety suspension one. I think I got a photo of it on the return trip, though, so I'll try to post a reminder for that day's narrative.

Porters are the unsung heroes of trekking - hard working people who make it all possible for tourists.





Ama Dablam dominated the vistas on this day of trekking.










I found this rock fold to be very interesting. It's a good indicator of the tectonic forces at work in the region to push the Himalayan range so high into the sky.









The stupas along this section of trail look like they've seen better days.








As we climbed toward 14,000 feet, the biome changed from rhododendron/pine forest to juniper/barberry scrub. We lost the tree line during this day of trekking, and entered the alpine zone.








An entry gate into the next valley system.










This was the day when I really started to notice the dominance of glacial scarring and the amazing amount of material that is moved by glaciers.








For example, the patchwork of stone-enclosed fields in this valley are atop a terminal glacial moraine. You can see where the moraine ends at the right hand side of this image.










The afternoon skies filled with ominous clouds. I figured we were in for some snow, given how cold it was and how high up we were in the mountains. We were still a couple or more hours away from Dingboche at this point, too.













The path isn't nearly so wide as what we had on the trail leading to Tengboche, so getting out of the way of yak caravans was always a bit tricky. You scramble up slope to give them room to pass.











Time for a rest break.













We didn't seem to pass through many villages up here. Stone is a resource that is put to good use in these settlements.











The alpine biome is dominated by juniper and barberry up here.








I would have enjoyed spending some time on the slope checking on the juniper diversity. I recognized some of our ornamental ones that are put to use as groundcover in American gardens.

I always find it interesting to see the native habitat of some of our most popular ornamental plants.







That's someone's tent, and perhaps a dining tent.











Ah, another river crossing. It had started to snow in earnest by the time Steve and I reached this bridge.






Ummmm, it was slippery, and a bit intimidating. However, it was pretty short in length and I just made sure my footing was secure. This and the next three pics are ones that Steve took. I put my camera away with the snow coming down so heavily.







Another ridge to climb and traverse, this time in the snow. I actually enjoyed walking in the snow since it wasn't very windy and the snow wasn't getting deep. However, this was a sign of what we were in for during the next few days.








We're pretty close to Dingboche here, near the top of the ridge that borders the village.








And there it is - our campsite for this night and two additional ones (one more than planned due to being snowed in).

I have other pictures of May 11th posted here: Tengboche to Dingboche