In November 2012, Drive Fitness personal trainer Nathan Dietrich and his clients Ivor Worrell
and Scott Egerton, along with a friend Simon Smyth took on trekking through the
Himalayan mountains and had an amazing time. The
following is a summary of the adventure...
Days 1
and 2:
The flight
into Kathmandu was good. About 25 minutes from landing we caught our first
glimpse of mount Everest out the window, and at almost 9000 metres it was a
beautiful and awe inspiring sight as it stood out of the mountain ranges at
around the same height as we were flying at.
The next day
we collected our passes for the mountain and prepared our bags for trekking
Day 3:
Flight into
Lukla, commonly known as the most dangerous airport to land at worldwide. There
was a fatal crash only two weeks before we arrived, so I must admit I was a
little nervous about this flight. Arrived safely, and today we trekked to
Phakding (2600 mts altitude), through some beautiful farmland scenery. Trekking
time 4hrs 10mins.
Day 4:
Phakding (2600 mts altitude) to Monjo (2840mts altitude) 2hrs 20mins
Easy
acclimatization day. Some beautiful scenery, trekking through pine forests with
glacial rivers flowing through them. The last half hour of the day involved
some steep hill climbs which meant that I really felt the 27kg pack on my back.
Day 5:
Monjo (2840mts altitude) to Namche Bazaar (3400mts alt) 3hrs 25mins
The lower
oxygen levels at this altitude are noticeable today and made trekking a little
more uncomfortable. A tough day with lots of steep hill climbs and some sheer drops
of the sides of the track, “if you fall you don’t come back” kind of drops.
Crossed the mother of all suspension bridges today, extremely high but it’s
good to conquer fears. The scenery here makes it all worthwhile.
Day 6:
Rest Day
Day 7: Namche
Bazaar (3400mts alt) to Phortse Tenga (3550mts alt) to 3hrs 56mins
A hard day
today. Both Simon and I have been fighting chest infections for a couple of
days now and that is taking a toll. Some very tough climbs today and some
treacherous downhill sections. The highest altitude reached today was 3950 mts.
Some fantastic mountain views of Ama-dablam, Lhotse (worlds 4th
highest mountain) and Nuptse.
Day 8:
Phortse Tenga (3550mts alt) to Dole (4100 mts) 2hrs 45mins
After a
tough initial clime to start today, it was mostly a little easier than the
previous few days. Most of the day was spent in the tree line. We ran across
some iced over waterfalls and saw some stalactites hanging from rocks along the
track. The scenery is amazing, icy rivers surrounded by the massive snow capped
mountains and walking through beautiful lush pine forests. Breathtaking!!
This night
brings our first real snowfall, and we wake next morning to a blanket of snow covering
everything and a dramatic drop in temperature.
Day 9:
Dole (4100mts) to Macchermo (4410 mts) 2hrs 15mins
Some
extremely chilly conditions, melting snow and some tough climbs made for a
difficult day. At this altitude the body only uses about 50% of the oxygen
uptake. We are now above the tree line (trees cannot grow at this altitude),
and we are looking directly across to snow capped mountains across the valley.
Day 10:
Macchermo (4410 mts) to Gokyo (4790 mts) 3hrs 10mins
Diverse and
captivating scenery greet us today. Snow capped mountains, icy rapids,
waterfalls, crystal clear lakes, steep drops off the sides of the track and
challenging climbs.
A great days
trekking.
Day 11:
Summit Gokyo Ri (5550 mts) then descend & cross Glacier to Dragnag
(4700mts) 5hrs 50mins
A tough
climb to the top of Gokyo Ri for sensational views across to Mount Everest,
looking so close now that you almost feel that you could reach out and touch
it. Took some pictures and then we descended to trek across a massive glacier.
The landscape of this glacier gave the appearance of walking on the moon, so
different from anything else I’ve ever experienced. Tough climbs, steep drops
(80 to 150mts) and slippery scree rock made the journey a little dangerous, but
very exciting.
Day 12: Rest day Dragnag (4700mts)
Day 13: Dragnag (4700mts) to Dzongla (4800
mts) via Cho La Pass (5350mts) 9hrs 45mins
Woke up
suffering from the chest infection and head cold.
Today
started with a strenuous climb and got harder from there. Intense steep hill
climbs, slippery scree rock, bouldering and all with the 20 + kilo packs on our
backs to reach the top of Cho la pass. From the top of Cho la we traversed
across a snowy and icey (read slippery) over glacier and more boulders which we
were sometime literally crawling across.
Day 14:
Dzongla (4800mts) to Pheriche (4200mts) 3hrs 55mins
Due to a
bout of acute mountain sickness, and the constantly worsening chest infection
combined with the extreme effects on my body from the endurance effort the day
before, we decided as a group that it would be prudent to head back down to
Pheriche to seek some medical attention with the doctors there. We were a
little disappointed as this detour would mean that we would not get to go to
Everest Base camp, however the disappointment was offset by the fact that we
knew that we had already completed our toughest days climbs and achieved higher
altitudes than that of EBC.
Day 15:
Pheriche (4200mts) Pangboche (3900mts) 2hrs 35mins
An easier
day today as we take our time heading back down (although there are no stages
that are only downhills), and with the 20plus kilo pack on our backs the
uphills that we encounter still mean
that we need to put our heads down and tough it out. Our lodge for tonight is
in the foothills of a mountain called Ama-dablam, which is possibly the most
spectacular and picturesque mountain in this region of the Himalayas. There are
also amazing views across the valley to Lhotse and Everest.
Day 16:
Pangboche (3900mts) to Tengboche (3860mts) 2hrs 15mins
Fairly easy
day back to the tree line. Beautiful scenery down into the valley of pine
forests and fast flowing glacial rivers.
Day 17:
Tengboche (3860mts) to Namche Bazaar (3400 mts) 3hrs 50mins
Some rocky
and unstable terrain but overall an easy day. All the guys are in a jovial mood
and whilst we have enjoyed our time in the mountains immensely I think we are
all looking forward to a hot shower and civilisation at Namche.
Day 18:
Namche Bazzar (3400mts) Rest day
Day 19:
Namche Bazaar (3400 mts) to Phakding (2650mts) 3hrs 50mins
This was a
day of undulating terrain. Some climbs of thirty to forty minutes, however
these were offset by some well earned downhill sections. Today we had our final
view of Everest, looking beautiful as always, our chance to say goodbye to the
mother of all mountains.
Day 20: Phakding
(2650mts) to Lukla (2800mts)
An easy days
walk to Lukla through scenic farmlands. We pushed the pace a little to add a
little challenge to the day.
Day 21 to
23: Kathmandu
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