At the lower elevation of the river it was quite a bit warmer, so we rearranged our clothes before crossing the suspension bridge. On the other side of the river we passed through the small village of Phunki Thanghka (10650 feet). A stream there drove several water-driven prayer wheels. I was with Deb, Arnou, Bill and Rob (though Rob often went ahead) for the worst climb of the trek. In India Jerry had told me this climb is called the Thyangboche Wall. It was very hard on me. I thought it ranked right up there with marathon running and century cycling. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have tried to stick with Rob, Deb and Arnou who had just done the Annapurna trek together before this one. Rob often said that he thought the Everest trek was easier than the Annapurna trek (besides the fact that they stayed in tents on that one), but everyone else said it just seemed that way since he had gotten used to trekking at these altitudes.
It took us about two hours to make the climb. There was no escaping the slow steady climb on the path through the trees. I found myself again concerned for my life -- we don't have hills in Chicago! We did take a few breaks, and the views were beautiful. We saw local women carrying unbelievable loads on their heads steadily walking upwards breathing with tongues hanging out of their mouths. This climb was just plain nasty. Lapka, however, seemed to have no trouble with it and was amused at our efforts. Rob did pretty well too. He felt that it was best to just keep a steady pace instead of starting and stopping a lot. Deb and Arnou used walking sticks.
We kept saying that the monastery should be around the next corner and were met with disappointment far too often. When Bill said he could see prayer flags and that the monastery had to be around the next corner and we couldn't see them, we were skeptical, but fortunately, this time it proved to be true. We later heard that Dawa had kept telling Wendy the same thing -- that the monastery was just around the corner to keep her from giving up.
We arrived at the monastery just after 4:00 PM -- just before Everest was obscured by clouds. At the entrance to the monastery plateau there was an elaborately decorated small arch-like building. I'm glad I had time for at least one picture of me with Everest over my shoulder. Someone pointed out the first South African Everest expedition that was staying there at the time. I read that Nepal requires fall climbs of Mt. Everest to be completed by November 15 and that climbing permits are only valid for a specific season.
We stayed at the Trekkers' Lodge. It was a dormitory with very wide bunk beds and a long table in its central room. It was unusual in that it had a concrete floor. I read that it had been built by New Zealanders and that it was run by the National Park. Dawa, Wendy, Anne and Deb arrived about thirty minutes behind us. There were only three private rooms, and we decided to let the women take them. Wendy looked exhausted and soon retired for the night. Anne told us she had said she never would have done it if she had known what kind of climb it would be. I felt exhausted as well. I had no appetite, and I was cold until they started a fire in the stove in the center of the room. The room also had huge windows by the table and electric lights.
I changed into drier clothes, and Dawa gave me some antiseptic cream for the bleeding, cracked skin on my hands. We hung up some of our wet clothes on ropes near the stove. We were supposed to spend two nights here to give ourselves a rest day tomorrow, but the accommodations were such that it was a no contest vote to head back tomorrow.
In search of an outhouse I went for a walk around the monastery. In the twilight the mountain peaks were partially visible through the clouds and fog. It was surreal -- like a village in the clouds.
I dreaded the 'dead time' I expected back in the lodge before we went to sleep. I was so glad we had decided to cancel our rest day. I was pretty dead at dinner. I had some potato soup, toast with jam and black tea (68 rupees). I had read that some monks said that the best food in town could be found here. After dinner, Rob, Anne, Dawa, Bill, Deb, Dill and I played Chase the Ace until we went to bed around 9:00. Most of the porters sat by the stove or at the other end of the table. There were 4 bed spots on a bunk. Rob and I shared 4 of them. Bill slept above us. I woke up a few times, but I used only one sleeping bag -- it was definitely warmer having the stove nearby. I dreamt of meeting up with old classmates.
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Thyangboche -> Namche Bazaar
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I got up at 6:00 to see Everest at dawn, but it was behind clouds. I walked around with Bill, Anne and Deb. Wendy was feeling better. At breakfast I read to the others the personal account I had obtained from the net of someone who had stayed at the same lodge. Perhaps my account will be read at the Trekkers' Lodge someday as well. I had an apple pancake and black tea for breakfast (68 NRs). We settled our bills before we left. Mine was for 151 rupees. The way water dripped off the rooftops onto people made me see a market for gutters here. The melting snow drips on you whenever you enter or exit buildings.
The 8:00 AM monastery tour was interesting. I think our bearded guide was Swiss or German. At first we weren't sure if he was a guide. He gave us an overview of Buddhism and the history of the temple. The temple had burned down several years ago and had been rebuilt with millions of dollars donated from all over the world. It is the largest in the region. I remember him telling us that the foot-like imprint in a boulder just outside the entrance is believed to have been made by a spiritual figure who could fly who touched down there.
Beyond the front doors was a square courtyard with a pole holding up colorful prayer flags in the center. Across the courtyard were some more stairs. We had to take our shoes off to enter the gompa, but it was nice not to have to pay anyone to watch them. There was a huge statue of Buddha inside. It was so big that getting a good picture of it was difficult. The room had rows of pads where monks would sit. There were also two huge drums hanging in the room. The walls were ornately decorated.
Our guide told us of the serious water problem at the monastery. He said that 30,000 people come to visit every year and that they can have as many as 600 at the monastery some days (today was a very light day). The facilities have trouble coping with them. I donated 50 rupees for the water project they're working on before we left.
It looked like some of our faces got some color from yesterday's trek. We hadn't worn our hats much since we spent a lot of time under pine trees and were so hot from hiking.
We left around 9:15 AM. Going downhill was much better. Some people said it was harder on the knees, but it didn't bother me, and there was no way I would prefer climbing to descending. The forest views were beautiful on the way down. It didn't take us long to reach the village with the water-driven prayer wheels by the river. While we rested there, Rob shared some of his candy with us.
Some clouds rolled in, and the climb back to the Ama Dablam tea house and lodge was slow. It got cold, and my parka was off. I took off with Rob at a good pace mostly just to stay warm. Lots of yaks on the trail slowed our progress. It looked like a huge Japanese group was on its way up on an expedition to make an IMAX film.
Our snowman had mostly melted, but the lady in the kitchen remembered us. It started to snow. I had hot chocolate and played a game of solitaire. They had yak meat today, so I ordered the yak steak. It was delicious. I ended up paying 103 rupees for the hot chocolate, yak steak and a hot lemon drink. We would often cradle our hot drinks and soups in our hands to warm them.
Only Anne and I were willing to hike up to the Japanese built Everest View Hotel with Dawa in the falling snow. The others took the same trail back to Namche that we took to get there. I'm glad I made the trip. The landscape shrouded by clouds and falling snow was surreal. I'll never forget it. Unfortunately, the climb to the Everest View Hotel would take us back to the altitude we had started the day with at the monastery, and it was a hard climb for me. It was nothing for Dawa, and Anne didn't seem to have as much trouble with it. I may have had to carry more weight than she did, but it depressed me to think I was that out of shape. Still, I'm glad I went.
Dawa pointed out musk deer on our way. We touched on the village of Khumjung and saw Kunde in the distance. I had a hard time keeping up, and my heart was pounding. In my hat, gloves and parka the effort caused me to perspire quite a bit. I started to lag behind. However, it wasn't too long before we reached the expensive hotel. At 12,700 feet, it was 1400 feet above Namche Bazaar. It mostly caters to rich Japanese, but it still doesn't have sit-down toilets. It did have running water though.
The hotel seemed mostly empty. We sat at a table next to a window that would have given us a view of Everest had the weather been clear. Anne bought herself tea, Dawa coffee and me a hot lemon. I chipped in 25 rupees because she didn't have correct change. Our server was dressed in a suit, and I think the cups/glasses had the name of the hotel on them. The rest of the way to Namche was much easier.
The grounds of the hotel were neat. The views in the clouds and the falling snow were wild. We passed a tea house and went by the small Syangboche airstrip which seemed deserted. Dawa took us on a route off the path. We heard rolling thunder and had great views of Namche during our slippery and steep descent on the path I had started on with Rob and Deb the day we first arrived in Namche. It felt unreal. We came across what I think was a yak on our way. The last stretch into town was very muddy and slippery. We had to be very careful not to slip. My boots had definitely earned their keep on this trip. I wouldn't be surprised if I hit my head on the lodge door when we arrived.
When Anne and I described our impressions of the trip, Wendy said I was a pessimist. I thought I was just a realist. I was often amazed at how optimistic she and Anne could be. Compared to them I didn't know who wouldn't look like a pessimist. Anne said that she thought that the trek had been easier than she thought it would be. I have to say that even though we didn't share the same outlook, I'm glad Anne and Wendy were on the trip. They did make it more fun.
I was back in room H. We planned to eat in Monjo and stay in Phakding. Despite the difficulty I had with these days, I did enjoy them, and I am glad I was there. Though I would do a few things differently in the future in terms of clothes, reading material, hand lotion and going when in better shape.
I changed into drier clothes and played Chase the Ace with Dawa, Deb and Wendy before dinner. I finally tried dal bhat. |
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