Sunrise over the Himalayas
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Arriving at Manchester airport
wearing huge mountain boots was
certainly a conversation starter - with check-in staff, security folk
and other passengers - especially as other members of the group,
similarly wearing large boots and down jackets, arrived. George, the
organiser with his wife, Margaret, appeared looking more like a
Michelin man as he had so many layers of clothes donated by friends to
be handed over to the porters at the end of the trek. The flight, via
Doha, passed with the usual mix of old films, half sleep and stiff
neck. From my upgraded business class seat I had a spectacular view of
the Himalayan range piercing the low smog layer at dawn. The views
disappeared as we descended frighteningly close to populated mountain
ridges into this smog & into Kathmandu airport. |
| We were met by Ang Phurba who
runs the Wilderness Experience company
and was the sirdar on one of George's previous treks. Our luggage (and
us) were
squeezed into, and onto, two mini-buses which then proceded to weave
through the chaotic traffic of Kathmandu - motor-bikes, rickshaws,
pedestrians, mini-buses, and numerous small battered taxis - to our
hotel, the Kathmandu Guest House, in the centre of the
touristy Thamel.
Although
it
was
only
9.30
local time when we arrived we were able to
get to our rooms & prepare for the first kit check on the hotel
lawn at 11.00. |
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After that as small group of us
- Tony, Keith, Tish, Mike & myself
- headed out into the crowded back streets to get a flavour of the
city. Guided by Tony, his camera always in hand to snap unsuspecting
children, we dodged the motor-bikes and rickshaws to marvel at the
colourful scenes - fruit, dyes, spices, fabrics all added to the mix.
Whilst the main streets were filled with shops aimed at tourists - from
trekking kit to Pashmina shawls - the back streets and courtyards were
run-down, dirty. Even the Hindu statues in every corner looked dirty,
although the dyes splattered over them was put there on purpose.
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Wednesday 14 October
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We
have the first of many early starts as our kit bags have to be
collected at 05.00. After a rapid cup of weak tea we are driven to the
domestic airport terminal, a small low building more like a post office
in a small town than an airport terminal. It is crowded with trekkers,
and other tourists waiting for Everest flights. The flight
announcements are inaudible, but groups seem to be shepherded through
the separate male and female security checks by their minders.
Eventually we are called, only to wait in the old bus outside the
terminal. We find out that at present Lukla airport is closed due to
cloud. Good start, but not unexpected!
It wasn't a long wait, however, before we were packed into the 15
seater plane which taxied at almost take-off speed onto the runway and
up into the clear blue sky over Kathmandu. As we approached the
mountains the cloud increased, giving frightening views of close
mountain ridges as we shot through the passes towards Lukla. Our steep
descent was terminated by a sharp thud as we hit the runway, which
slopes up at a 15° angle, and swerved off the end of the runway
into the small four-plane parking area. |
Boarding the aircraft at Kathmandu
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At
a
lodge
opposite
the
airport terminal we met up with the Sherpas
and porters and had our first experience of the style of trekking
food - scrambled eggs on toast and endless tea - great! Before we could
start the trek we had to re-pack our kit, separating climbing gear and
boots into communal bags that would be taken separately direct towards
Mera Peak, whilst we took walking gear with us on the longer
acclimatisation route to Mera.
At last, we were off! We headed down the valley on the main trail that
used (in the opposite) to be used in pre Lukla flights days by trekkers
heading towards Everest from the roadhead at Jiri. The trail was still
busy, but mainly with porters carrying goods (beer, biscuits, meat
etc.) for the small stores and lodges on the trail.The path was steep
and rough in places.
Lunch at Surke gave us our first taste of the
cook's ( Biri) approach to fusion (Anglo/Nepali) food - a large metal
plate with small portions of five to seven different items, in
this first case: frankfurter, chips, baked beans, mixed salad and
chapati. This was preceded by a hot lemon drink and followed by tea.
Along the trail we passed many houses and lodges, and the occupants,
especially the children, were friendly and usually happy to be
photographed - as long as they could see the result on the digital
camera! Tony paved the way by supplying balloons to the children, a
sight which became very familiar during the trip.
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Along the trail we passed many houses and lodges, and the occupants,
especially the children, were friendly and usually happy to be
photographed - as long as they could see the result on the digital
camera! Tony paved the way by supplying balloons to the children, a
sight which became very familiar during the trip. |
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We camped at Poyan on a grassy
terrace in front of the Apple Pie Lodge
- our role was to consume tea and biscuits whilst the Sherpas erected
the tents. We were mostly sharing two-man tents - I was with Keith, and
we found the tent spacious enough to have all our kit inside and still
be able to sleep comfortably on the foam mattresses provided.
Three course dinner was served in the lodge: thin spicy tomato soup;
rice, spinach, dahl, meat, kohl rabi, salad, meat and tomato; a
clementine. This was followed by hot drinks laced with rum and
accompanied by chocolates - the latter two brought by the group members
to share. Unfortunately two bottles got broken in transit, so George
and Karin's clothes had an alcoholic aroma. |
Thursday 15 October
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The camp routine, with which we
become so familiar, began
at 05.45 - excluding the nocturnal exits from the tent to pee and the
resulting opportunity to admire the stars - with the arrival of 'bed
tea'. This was followed after 15 minutes or so by washing water - warm
water in an aluminium bowl. That was the sign to get up & pack, for
when breakfast was served our tents & bedding were packed by the
sherpas & loaded onto the porters. They were on their way by the
time we had finished breakfast - usually porridge, toast and a
hard-boiled egg |
We set off at 07.35 and headed
for a short while on the main trail
against the flow of mule-trains with bags of grain and gas bottles, and
yet more porters carrying large joints of meat. Shortly we turned up
onto a narrow side trail climbing steeply up the hillside (ignore
mistake on map on L!); a delightful rocky scramble with narrow ledges.
We reached a height of 3081m at Khari La, before descending to our
lunch spot at Dzomshama at 2683m.
The trail wound through much-thinned rhododendron forest with
dried up epiphytes hanging from the tall trees. At 15.00 we arrived at
our camping spot at the scattered village of Pangkongma at 2846m
with prayer flags, a monastery and stupa and a couple of lodges. A
couple of girls were collecting hay in one field, and in another they
were cutting back the grass round newly planted pines.
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George shows pictures of his house to the locals
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A couple of energetic and
startled cows managed to destroy the
fly-sheet of one of our tents; the sherpas used yards of gaffer tape to
make a temporary repair until we reached the point where our kit was
being taken direct towards Mera Peak - a new tent should be there
then.
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