Day 10-Part 1: Lobuche to Gorak Shep
Day 10 of our Everest Basecamp trek. One of our four major challenges. We were to hike around 3.5 miles from the research center to Gorakshep, which is he final village before Basecamp. In the evening, our plan was to summit Kala Patthar to watch the sun setting on the summit of Everest.
We began the day with blue skies and lots of sunlight. The valley that the research center is in has a hanging glacier up in the mountains. They told us that about 20 years ago, we would have been standing on the glacier at this spot, that’s how much it has recently receded.
On our constant quest for yak and yak-related material, we were once again surrounded by yak dung. Rabin and Ram found us some perfect samples to pose for pictures with.
Packing up and leaving The Pyramid. Notice the peak in the background mirroring the shape of the roof. From this point on that mountain, Pumori, would be looming over us and acted as our guide to Gorakshep.
Learning a new way to tie a boot.
Pumori and the snow-capped range of mountains formed a beautiful backdrop to our hike.
We finally reached one of those traffic jams we had been fearing since we merged with the more popular trail. Anyone coming up on the main path isn’t fully acclimatized, while we had already been over 17,000 feet twice. Not that we’re faster than everyone, but when the trail gets steep, many people lose their breath and start to get sick. This leads to some trail etiquette issues, when they should step aside, a lot of people don’t and these bottlenecks occur. Luckily this was the only one we encountered.
Past the traffic jam the trail opened up and we were mostly alone again. The views back down the valley were getting more expansive as we climbed.
Taking a short break.
The Khumbu Glacier stayed alongside us the rest of the day.
From this point we could actually Everest Basecamp, although we wouldn’t be venturing up that part of the valley until the next morning.
Even though the sun was strong, it was still relatively cold. I still think I could have been in shorts if I wasn’t already sunburned.
The trail became steeper as we entered this rocky terrain.
Amazing views even from the lower trails.
We rounded a rocky bend and finally saw our first destination, Gorakshep.
Day 10-Part 2: Kala Patthar Summit
After some lunch and a nice nap (we were allowed only 20 minutes to keep our breathing strong), we headed out for the day’s big challenge, and one of the most anticipated summits on the trek, Kala Patthar.
This was another steep climb, we were gaining around 1,600 feet in just over a mile, with the summit at almost 18,500 feet. This was a tall one, luckily we had planned our acclimatizing so we would have a better chance at summiting than someone coming straight up the Khumbu Valley.
Looking back down at Gorakshep.
This bird was messing with me. Every shot I took it would turn away.
Still a long way to go, and we were moving in slow motion.
Managing to stay happy and keeping a positive attitude during the hike is definitely something that not everyone is capable of. Despite the physical exhaustion, it’s always nice to remember that this is such a unique experience and to look around and enjoy it as much as possible.
The moon came out from behind Everest (Everest is the one on the left). What a cool sight!
The shadows began to creep up on us. We knew the temperature was going to plummet quickly.
Goodbye warmth!
It was fun to watch the shadows slowly creep up the side of the mountains across the valley. We were in a slow race to reach the summit before the sun was gone.
Everest!
We managed to reach the summit before the sun went down. The wind was howling and the temperature must have dropped down to around 20 degrees. Our time was limited, but we felt it was worth spending time putting on every layer of clothing that we had packed.
Group photo!
Watching the light linger on Everest showed how much it towered over the other mountains. What an incredible view! Thu was wearing my thicker down jacket…it looked like she was wearing a sleeping bag with arms.
We scrambled to take a few photos…I had set up a Timelapse so most of these were shot with an iPhone.
The different colors of the sunset were truly spectacular.
And after a few minutes, the sunlight was gone.
The rest of the crowd had left by this time, and we finally gave in to the cold and decided to head down.
Guided by the moonlight and our lamps, we slowly worked our way down the rocky mountainside.
Gorakshep in the dark. It was a welcome sight knowing we would be in a nice yak dung-heated room shortly. The sleeping rooms, however, were ice cold and luckily we were only staying one night.
A well earned dinner. This was our last full day of hiking. The following morning we would be hiking up to Basecamp, then flying out by helicopter.