Day 9- Two treks in one day.

Since we survived an 11hour trek including a climb to over 17,500 feet yesterday, we decided to do it again today. Our day encompassed two separate treks totaling 9 1/2 hours and another climb to over 17,500 feet.  I’m amazed Jit, Junge and I can still walk! We began our day in Thagnak at 8:00 with a 3 1/2 hour trek across the longest glacier in the world. It was amazing but much more difficult than I expected. We arrived in Gokyo at 11:30 and decided that we had enough time to summit Gokyo Ri at 17,600 feet with its famous views of Everest and other mammoth peaks. It was another clear day and the views were breathtaking. We started back down and reached our tea house at sunset. Another epic day and the last of this incredible trek. Tomorrow, I will helicopter over to Everest to get a close up view, then heli back to Lukla snd then Kathmandu. I’m grateful to my team and my agent here in Nepal, Anish Sharma for making this such a remarkable experience.

Due to technology limitations here in Gokyo, I only have a couple of photos to post at this time. More to come…

A great view of mighty Everest.

Looking east from the summit of Gokyo Ri.

Another look at Everest with giant Nuptse to the right.

Beautiful and massive Cholatse in the center and its huge neighbor, Tabuche, to the right. Our trek led us around the back of those peaks. We crossed that line of mountains via the Chi La Pass on Saturday. The Pass is on the left side of the photo. Note the Ngozumba glacier that we crossed in the morning. 


Another view of the glacier.
What the glacier looks like close up. Note Gokyo Ri in the distance which we summited that afternoon.

Massive Cho Oyu in the distance.

Another view of the glacier.

I will certainly miss this place. 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Paul's Cho La Pass Trek Summary- Nov. 2023

Image
  On November 8, 2023, I will depart again for Nepal for my second Himalayan trek in 2023. This trek will be similar in scope but a bit higher, 2 days longer and with a very different route. The first three days of the trek will be the same as my April trek. Lukla to Phakding and Phakding to Namche Bazaar with an acclimatization day in Namche. From there, instead of turning North as before and climbing up the Gokyo Valley, we head East and then North towards Mount Everest with stops in Tengboche (12,697'), Dingboche (14,469') and Dzongla (15,748'). From there, the trek turns West and crosses the iconic Cho La Pass at (17,782') heading towards Gokyo and Gokyo Ri.  The Cho La Pass crossing will be a challenging, 10-hour day and is scheduled to take place on November 18th.  Stay tuned.... My Trek itinerary looks like this: Nov 8th          Day 1- Leave JFK at 8:20 PM (terminal 8) for Kathmandu Nov. 9th         Day2- Air travel to Doha and Kathmandu Nov. 10th      Day 3- Ar
Read more

Day 3- Acclimatization day in Namche

Image
We awoke again to a cold but crystal clear day. We left at 8:00 AM to climb to the famous Everest View Hotel. We left Namche at 11,286 ft. and climbed to 12,700, a gain 1,500 ft. I have never seen conditions as clear and everyone on the trail knew it was a very special day. The views were magnificent including stunning views of Everest and her famous neighbors. We returned at 1:00 to the Moonlight Lodge and enjoyed a great lunch of Dal Bhat and Vegetable MoMo. Among the views of Everest in the distance, we could see the village of Tengboche, our destination for tomorrow’s trek. We are ready to climb to 12,700 ft. tomorrow. Stay tuned.  The iconic village of Namche Bazar from above as we climbed to the Everest View Hotel. Looking back far down the valley where we began only two days ago in Lukla. The spectacular view from the Everest View Hotel. I could have sat there all day. Tengboche, our next stop, is located far in the distance above and slightly to the right of the center of the p
Read more

Day 5-We trek to Dingboche

Image
We began our trek today at the Tengboche Monastery at an elevation of 12,700 ft. and arrived 6 hours later in Dingboche at 14,300 ft. We trekked through a spectacular valley with Everest before us and surrounded by many other of the world’s highest peaks. “I can’t believe I’m here” ran constantly through my head. It was another crystal clear day even in the afternoon which is unusual. I continue to feel very healthy and super grateful for my guide Jit and my porter, Junge. We walked through beautiful rhododendron forests along the way, made some friends and met a blind woman who hiked all the way to Everest Base Camp with a British gentleman tethered to her from behind and coaching her every step. I continue to marvel at how that can possibly be accomplished. As we entered Dingboche, I got a look at the mountain we will climb tomorrow to further acclimatize. This climb to 15,700 and our return will prepare us for our ultimate challenge of crossing the Cho La Pass at nearly 18,000 feet
Read more