Was it worth it?
Was it worth all the effort? Too right it was. Nepal is the most amazing country. It's stunning to look at and complimented by the most amazing people. We had about 25 guys looking after us, porters, yak drivers, sherpas and cooks and they never stopped working, and never stopped smiling. Nothing is too much trouble.
At the time, getting ill felt like it was spoiling the trip, but with hindsight, it just added something to it. Would I go again - without hesitation I would say yes. I might do it differently next time, but you couldn't fail to want to revist such a beautiful place. And, if you're lucky enough to get a group of people as good as we did, if just increases the enjoyment.
And, for all that, the original reason for going was to raise money for Wellchild, and thanks to everyone's generosity, I've raised almost £3000, so thank you to everyone for your support.
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 22:00
Last day!!
Today was a free day to explore Kathmandu. Most people embarked on various adventures, while some of us did nothing! Just too exhausted in the end, so read books and ambled round the local shops.
The evening was spent at a traditional nepalese restaurant, with various dances performed by local girls. An excellent evening....which could only get better. Despite the middle of the night kick off, we couldn't miss the rugby semi-final! Brilliant night, but did mean little sleep before the early bus back to the airport! The end of a fantastic adventure.
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 21:50
Lukla to Kathmandu
Last early start of the trip! Got to be up early for the flight back to Kathmandu. Not sure what time we'll get away as there have been no flights for 3 days, so we're a way down the queue!
Cheers in the airport when the planes finally start arriving. Another brilliant flight - the take off is something else. Full throttle, let the brakes off, drop off the end of the runway, hard left to avoid the mountain and away we go!
Get back to the hotel to see Barrie and Hilary. Again, they look very polished compared to us. Stood in the shower forever, then carved off the beard.
Spent the afternoon on a whirlwind shopping trip with Gayle - I don't think I've ever seen anyone shop like it! Within no time she had about 20 outfits, and had spent about £15! I couldn't even find a t-shirt!
The evening was spent at Rum Doodles, one of the famous Kathmandu eateries. Steak...finally some meat! And beer. And cocktails. And true to form, several visits to the loo! The walk back to the hotel was just the last straw in what the gods could throw at me as I got knocked down by a car as I tried to avoid cans being thrown from an upstairs window! No damage done!
Back at the hotel, Dennis and Ron had yet another heated debate while the drinking games continued outside. Think it was almost light when bedtime was finally called!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 21:45
Back to Lukla
Today we pretty much retraced our steps from the first day, following the river back through Phakding. Starting to get some strength back, but cough and trots persist with a vengeance!
Lunch is back where we ate on the first day. Amazing views all the way along the valley.....and chip butties to eat!!
The rain starts just as we set off from lunch - stands to reason really, had everything else thrown at me, might as well get drenched as well! Fantastic feeling when we finally arrive in Lukla - feel awful, but proud of myself for completing the trek. Suddenly everything seems much better......oooh, that'll be the beer!
The evening turns from being a quiet few beers into a fantastic celebration - and still the sherpas and porters have more energy for dancing. I'm sure they're impressed with my dancing!! Dennis tries his luck arm wrestling one of the yak drivers that had just days before dragged a yak from the river.....was only ever going to be one winner!
Still being hammered by the trots!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 21:35
Phunki Tenga to Namche
Here we go again - another yomp!!
It was supposed to be uphill for the first hour today, but true to form, that was nearer 2 hours. Tried to take it steady, but still hard work. Rhys and I couldn't stop coughing and our sunburn has left us looking like a pair of lepers! After a long morning, we roll into Namche again - seems ages since we were here. Brilliant to see Jenny and Cindy again - although they look like they've been at a health spa compared to the state of us!
Quick go on the internet and some pizza! Great to eat something substantial, but true to form it's through me in no time. I've been eating immodium like sweets and it's doing nothing!
The rest of the day takes in the major descent from Namche, then we retraced our early steps along the river. Stayed in the lodge with Rhys again because we're feeling so bad. Should be starting to feel better now with the big drop in altitude, but not seeing much yet. Legs are feeling stronger now I'm eating something - or maybe that's just from all the crouching I'm having to do as a result of the eating - who knows! Last day of walking tomorrow!!!!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 21:25
Pheriche to Phunki Tenga
Felt a lot better when I woke this morning. Got all excited with the sight of a proper flushing toilet, but had so much immodium yesterday, it's wasted!
Barrie was flown out today with bronchitus. Jen and I were given the option of joining him, but Kamal swayed us with the promise today's walk was an easy one!! The man has no idea what easy is! Basically, today was nearly 8 hours of gruelling walking up and down some big steep hills, coughing and stuggling to breathe! We did have our own personal sherpas though - my thanks goes to Pancha!
Breezed past the monastery at Tengboche - it looked great, but we had other things on our minds. Someone will have photos! Amazingly, despite the cooks not knowing whether we were coming or not, or where we were, we find them and they still have food for us!! These boys are something else. I managed to eat some food which is the first in days.
The afternoon seemed neverending, but we're back on the wooded slopes now so it's less barren. Just means we're back to the constant descents to the river and back up again!
Can't face camping in my state so get a room in the lodge with Rhys - 3 quid each. Possibly couldn't be any more basic, but hey, it's home!
The bridge by the campsite is the newly built one that replaced the washed away one. It is truly staggering what they've built in just 2 weeks. When you think everything has to be carried here, it's amazing. There's no concept of ringing Buildbase and having two tonnes of timber delivered. They need a tree, one gets cut down and 30 men carry it! Everything is carried by hand.
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 21:20
Gorak Shep to Pheriche
Virtually no sleep at all last night. I think I must have almost coughed myself inside out - ok I accept something is wrong now!!
Managed to get up at 5.30 with the intention of going to Kala Pattar but almost collapsed, so played it safe and opted out! Overnight snow, so a brisk start to the day.
Today was supposed to be a short day, pretty much all downhill to Pheriche. It's a couple of days now since I've eaten anything so had Snickers for breakfast!
The day just dragged on and on. I don't think it's possible to walk any slower - but all credit to Aly, she stuck with me all day. And I hadn't eaten for days, so how can you get the runs as well!!! After about 7 hours, Tona met us and confirmed I had HAPE - explained a few things! I couldn't risk taking any drugs with an hour still to walk, so ploughed on. No tent tonight - it's the Himalayan Rescue Association for me! My blood oxygen saturation level that should be over 90% was down at just over 60%, so a night on oxygen was prescribed, along with Diamox, blood pressure tablets and viagra! Luckily for Jenny who was sharing the room, the viagra served no more purpose than relaxing my blood vessels to allow the lungs to drain!
That was the hardest day I've ever had!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 21:05
Everest Base Camp
To say I felt rubbish at 4.30 is an understatement! Lack of eating due to my throat isn't helping. We set off at 5.30am on what proved to be a beast of a day!! As the day went on, I got progressively worse, falling asleep at most rest stops! Jenny made it to Gorak Shep before Tona insisted she go back to Pheriche with her - looks like a case of HAPE. With the doctor gone, I can now continue to ignore any of my own symptoms!
The views here are breathtaking - wish I'd had the strength to photograph them....although doing it justice is nearly impossible. Even this close, the Khumbu Ice Fall still looks small! When Kamal finally caught us up, we were two thirds of the way through base camp which was much further than planned - and frankly, quite exhausting. This is no normal campsite! Base camp truly is a desolate place and how teams of climbers can spend months on end there defies logic. It's just a mass of boulders and rocks. But, I made it.....just!
Finally made it back to Gorak Shep! There are some weary people today. Loz has been behind every rock today. Barrie is looking awful. Rhys is suffering like me! My chest isn't right!
Spent an hour sat in my down jacket sleeping while everyone ate dinner - apparently I look rough - charming!
12 hours today!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 20:55
Dingboche to Lobuche
Supposedly an easier walk today but still almost 7 hours. Up to nearly 5000m now!
Suffering badly now with a throat infection and cough which lead to a terrible night's sleep and struggling to eat. Felt rubbish when I got up.
We're back following the river today. Steep start to the walk, but then a very gentle walk for a while through an area that could have been Dartmoor! Very strange. Lunch was thankfully served at the bottom of the next big climb. Fell asleep in the sun and got burnt! Seems the sunscreen is no good left in your bag - you need to apply it! Tiredness is starting to affect me.
The hour climb from lunch was steady, if hard work, up to an area devoted to memorials of fallen climbers. Quite a moving place.
The views from the campsite are stunning - this is very much how I imagined it would be. Temperatures are right down now and everyone looks exhausted. Having said that, tomorrow is base camp day so there's an air of excitement too - it's why we're here after all! Hilary has gone back to Pheriche as she hasn't eaten for days and will be too weak to reach base camp.
Early night tonight with some drugs for my throat. 4.30 start tomorrow! Barrie's in a bad way so I've got the tent to myself tonight - oooh the luxury!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 20:44
Dingboche
It's another of those "rest" days! The campsite is in an amazing position right by Ama Dablam, which looks completely different now we're viewing it more from the west. Shame it's so cloudy though.
Excellent night's sleep, but still awake before 6.00am, typical when tea isn't for another hour! Darryl was up early as usual, so we managed to scrounge a cup of sherpa tea from the head cook. Yak's milk, butter and salt!! Tastes better than it sounds, but only just! Barrie was also up, and making use of the primative shower - I'm sure the woman and her daughter were only continually topping up the water for another sneaky look!
Looks bad for Scottish Jenny who appears to have HACE so is going to have to return to Namche.
As it's an aclimatisation day, that means we only have to climb the nearest steep hill for 3 hours! Some serious huffing and puffing on that one - altitude is playing a huge part now. Sore throat is hanging in there and making me cough. Can't eat any more strepsils, going to have to see the doc! Tough walk, but should help in the next few days.
Get back to the campsite to more bad news. Cindy has also had to go back to Namche with a chest infection, possibly HAPE. This has really shocked the team. It's a shock as Cindy was one of the stronger ones -and boy is it going to be quiet now without her!!!
Altitude is starting to hit. Even just small flights of steps can take your breath away. On the walks, the rests are becoming increasingly frequent - almost every 5 minutes on the steep sections.
This afternoon everyone was exhausted. I chose battery charging in a local tea house, while some of the others chose pool.
It's now only 2 days until the base camp trek so talk is shifting to this. It's going to be a long day with rumours of a 5.30am start for walking!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 20:30
Phortse to Dingboche
Today was longer due to yesterday's detour. As usual, straight up the hill to start with, and continued for almost an hour! Thankfully, the path then followed the contours for some time before some more up and down (another Nepalese phrase!) Some amazingly narrow paths with monstrous drops to the river. A few of the vertigo sufferers are starting to feel the pinch! And when the path's narrow, there's nothing like the clanking of bells signalling yaks! However little space there may be, you find a way to let them through (always making sure to be on the upside of the path).
Cindy and Scottish Jenny have been suffering today but both have soldiered on. Hopefully a good night's sleep will see them ok. The temperatures have dropped right off this evening and the down jackets are starting to appear.
We're now above the woodland slopes with everything being much more barren. The main thing growing seems to be juniper (apparently!!). We're also much closer to the monstrous mountains. It's so hard to describe, and even looking at them you have to remind yourself you're stood at over 4000m and these rocks are towering above, maybe a mile or so higher!
9 hours today - long day.
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 20:20
Namche to Phortse
Today's route had to be adapted as the bridge to Tengboche has been washed away. Hopefully it'll be repaired in time for our return. So instead of a steady walk with one climb, it was a steady walk with two climbs (although one was only described as a hill - again, hill must be Nepalese slang for something!)
For what was supposed to be a short day, it proved a tough one. More fantastic views, and still we're walking through a lot of wooded areas - haven't quite reached the treeline yet. Lunch was at our highest point yet, just short of 4000m and the views were incredible. From there, yet again we descended to the river before the inevitable steep climb back up again to the campsite. Little bit of excitement walking past one of the local large horned beasts as a small child decided to throw stones at it.....amazing how fast you can run even after a tough day!
Barrie and I have been named the Satanic Couple on account of the wind in our tent! We're slowly creating our own hypoxia chamber - maybe it'll give us the edge in days to come! We really are children!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 20:10
Namche Bazaar
Today is a rest day, or aclimatisation day as we've climbed about 600m so far to 3440m. Didn't sleep very well but waking up to the most amazing views across Namche seems to complete revive you. As we get up, the sun is just catching the tops of the snowy peaks across the valley and indeed all around us - none of this was visible when we arrived in the fog last night.
Porridge, eggs and toast and at 8.30 we're off for an aclimatisation walk - so not really a rest day at all! The idea is to gain metres but then to return to Namche to sleep - this all aids our preparation for the higher days. From the first step at the campsite and for the next hour, it's straight up an unfeasibly steep hill, all aided by the scorching sun beating down. As we climbed, the views just got better and better with more and more snow capped peaks coming into view. The amazing thing is how many of the peaks don't have names, in Himalayan terms, they're just hills!! That's "just" hills that are more than 4 times the height of Ben Nevis!
Eventually we reached the Panorama Hotel where we get the first glimpse of the amazing Ama Dablam mountain towering over 6800m. The clouds break very briefly and for a second we get the first glimpse of Everest! It was breif, but the clouds remained clear for ample viewing of Lhotse, the 4th highest peak in the world at over 8500m!
The group then split with some of us continuing on to the Everest View Hotel which took us to our highest point yet at 3880m. Stopped at the hotel for some tea, and to admire the amazing across to Everest, now the only peak covered by cloud!
Headed back to Namche and tried to keep up with Sona the head sherpa on the way down but I was wasting my time, the man is a machine.
Pizza for lunch! Managed to grab a welcome hot shower and headed into town for the afternoon. If you want fake gear, this is the place! Bought a few bits, but left the real bartering to the experts. Dennis is making an artform from it, Aly saved 6p on some postcards and David's tactic is just to grind the seller into submission! Chilled out evening before we head back on the trail tomorrow.
POSTED BY MIKE ON 23 OCTOBER 2007 AT 20:02
Phakding to Namche Bazaar
Ooh, a lie in today....6.00am! You do get woken with a cup of tea, so not totally barbaric! Spent forever trying to repack my bag - the contents seem to have expanded since leaving the UK! The sherpas and porters do an amazing job of packing away and the whole campsite is stowed away in no time. Porridge, eggs and toast to line the stomach.
We woke this morning to perfect clear blue skies, and some amazing snow capped peaks. Cameras are going hammer and tongs at the moment. We leave around 8.30, again following the river. Kamal describes the first part as slightly up and down - this is our first experience of Kamal's route descriptions and it seems it's all relative to the rest of the Himalayas! Far more puffing and blowing today! Today involves more bridge crossings that some are finding easier than others! Thankfully, heights isn't an issue to me.
Lunch was a welcome stop before the beast of a climb to Namche. 2-3 hours of relentless steep climbing! And then you'd get overtaken by a local porter carrying 15 massive sheets of plywood, or a couple of door, or endless other supplies! How they do it is a mystery.
Namche has internet and phone facilities, so take the chance for a quick call home. Still not used to being at altitude and occasionally forget as you jog up some steps, only to end up wheezing like an old man! Hilary is suffering today - our first casualty.
POSTED BY MIKE ON 22 OCTOBER 2007 AT 23:33
Lukla to Phakding
First day of the trek! Time to see what it's all about. Hectic start with the 4.30 call, breakfast and everything turfed out to the bus ready to get back to the airport. Luckily the weather is ok for flying today so we're away from Kathmandu not long after 7.00am.
These flights truly are an experience, and not one for those with any fear of flying! You can squeeze about 20 people onto the plane, and there are no mod cons! There's none of the security associated with big planes, you see what the pilot sees - which in this case was very little until he cleared the windscreen with his hankerchief!! As I said, not for the faint hearted!!
Visibility wasn't the best for the flight, but already you start to get a feel for the immense size of everything in the Himalayas. And so to the landing....if that isn't the shortest, steepest runway in the world (ignoring aircraft carriers), I wouldn't want to land on a shorter one! One minute your 1000's feet in the air, the next your on tarmac with a mountain right in front of you! Still, we survived, so how dangerous can it be!
Once all the gear had been divided up with the porters etc, we set off. Today was a very slow steady pace, and the walk wasn't too difficult. There were a few testing hills just to give a flavour of what's to come, but mainly you could take in the views. We're following the river for the next few days and it is a serious river! Fall in and I'm sure you'd wash up 10 miles downstream!
First experience of the toilet facilities for the next 2 weeks was a joy, but no disasters! Barrie and I need to get a different tent tomorrow - the food's disagreeing already and ours stinks!!!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 22 OCTOBER 2007 AT 23:22
Arrival in Kathmandu
It's absolutely tipping it down when we land in Kathmandu - seems my weather jinx continues to haunt me!
The airport is a frantic place with people everywhere all to happy to help shifting the bags....for a fee!! That is til they get a clip round the ear from the policeman and get sent packing!
A brief wait while the bags are loaded on the roof of the bus and we're off to the hotel. For someone who's not travelled in these parts of the world before, there's a huge culture shock seeing the way people live - I'm already realising what we take for granted at home. As for rules of the road - there don't appear to be any, just so long as you're using your horn!
The hotel turns out to be an oasis in amongst all the poverty - no complaints from me! All the room keys are arranged in a basket in a worrying wife swap kind of way, but seems all is ok. I'm sharing with Barrie - initial analysis is we're going to have a great laugh, but he's far too fit and I feel flabbier than ever!
We have our first briefing and some excellent nepalese food and a last beer before an early night....4.30am alarm call to look forward to! Woken at 3.00am by Barrie who'd set his watch wrong!!! It's going to be a long 2 weeks!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 22 OCTOBER 2007 AT 22:48
Heathrow to Kathmandu
And so the adventure begins. Arrived at Heathrow at 6.00pm to start meeting my fellow trekkers. My threshold for remembering names was exceeded in the first 2 minutes - it'll be a miracle if I manage all 27 names by the end of the trip!
My first introduction to Dennis is to see his hot chocolate pouring across the table towards me! I don't have enough clothes to deal with these sorts of accidents in the first hour!
Excellent flight with Qatar Airways with a frantic sprint through Doha airport to get to the next plane. 30 degrees at 7.00 in the morning - we should stay here!
POSTED BY MIKE ON 22 OCTOBER 2007 AT 22:48
Route Map
I've added a map showing the region we'll be trekking through.
Click here to see the map
POSTED BY MIKE ON 17 SEPTEMBER 2007 AT 18:36