Number of days: 17

Total distance: 100kms

Maximum elevation: 5,550m

Itineray: Lukla - Phakding - Namche Bazaar - Tengboche - Dingboche - Labouche - Gorak Shep - Kala Pattar - Lobouche - Dzonglha - Thangnak - Gokyo - Machermo - Khumjung - Namche - Lukla

The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla was really cool. There were huge mountains the whole way, which was a good distraction from the 1930's cargo plane we were flying in.

Given that the landing strip in Lukla is built in to the side of a mountain, it is quite short. Since it's quite short, it is built with a major upward slant to help slow the planes down when they land (i.e., so the planes don't fall off the end of the runway and in to said mountain). So all in all, it was quite an event just getting to Lukla, which is the starting point of our trek in the Everest region.

Adrian Ballinger, a friend of Anne's who runs his own trekking company (Alpenglow Adventures), hooked us up with a lodge owner in Lukla who arranged for a porter-guide for us. His name was Lapka Nuru Sherpa (yes, a real Sherpa!). Lapka was an amazing guide and we were very lucky to get him. Most of the big expeditions to this area go in the spring and the other peak season is September and October, so you could say we were traveling in the shoulder season - which if you don't mind the cold makes for a great time to go.

We didn't have a ton of time, but were hopeful to be able to get to the two main viewpoints - the first is called Kala Pattar, and the second Gokyo Ri. The former is basically at the base of Everest while the latter is up another valley, but offers an incredible view not only of Everest but a whole whack of other ranges too. In order to get from Kala Patar to Gokyo Ri we needed to cross a mountain pass called the Cho La. If the weather was bad the Cho La pass would be closed and it would take us at least 3 days longer to reach the Gokyo Ri range because we would have to back track out way through Namche Bazaar again.

The trek up to Kala Pattar took 7 days. On our way up to Namche it started to snow - it was quite cool to be in Namche Bazaar - a town I'd read about in articles and books and really never thought I'd ever get to see firsthand.

The next day we made it up to our favorite village of all of our trekking, Tengboche. There's an important monastary for the region and all the mountaineers that climb Everest come here for a blessing before they head up to their expedition. We had the opportunity to watch a Buddhist prayer session with chanting and drums and horns and all. It was a very special experience. The next morning in Tengboche, we also watched the runners of the Everest Marathon - yes, that's right, Everest M-a-r-a-t-h-o-n. There were about 90 people in total, a mixture of locals and visitors that started up at Gorak Shep (Last Tea House before Everest Base Camp, where we were heading) and ran down to Namche a trek that normally takes 2 full days to come down, the winner of this race runs in about 4 hours (3hr59min24sec). It was a very cool sight to see with all the monks lined up outside the monastary cheering the runners on as they passed through.

Three more days of climbing (and one acclimatization day) and we finally made it to the highest village in the Khumbu region and the gateway to Mt. Everest, Gorak Shep at 5140M (17,749 ft). We woke up at the crack of dawn to climb up Kala Pattar for the Everest Panoramma View Point. We climbed up to a height of 5550M (18,208 ft) and were rewarded with stunning views of Mount Everest. The worlds largest mountain was about 8km aways as the crow flies. We also had a clear view of Everest Base Camp (unoccupied at this time of year). We snapped alot of pictures and on our way down we stopped at the Nepali Environmetal Reseach Station which is the highest altitude research station in the world. This building is in the shape of a pyramid and is completely self sufficient. We got a tour from Lapka Sherpa (who happened to have the same name as our guide). We carried on to Labouche, had as good a night's sleep as one can get in Labouche and then set out on Part II of our Everest Trek.

So, all was running smoothly until we arrived in Dzonglha. It snowed. Not a huge deal, given that it's December in the Himalayas, but we were heading out to cross a glacier and every guide book and common sense would lead tell you that snow on an unknown glacier at 5330m might not be a great thing (because you can't see the big cravasses, or cracks, that you could fall in to). So we all held our breath throughout the afternoon at the teahouse, there were about 10 of us (guides and tourists combined) and hoped for the best. Fortunately through the night there wasn't much accumulation and we woke to a bright and sunny day. It was a long tough day, but hugely rewarding. At the top of the pass it was like another world - steep rock faces and pristine snow, with mountains all around.

Our next stop was the town of Gokyo. It's a great village with a beautiful turquoise lake. The draw to come to this village is the incredible views from Gokyo Ri, a viewpoint 570m above the village itself to a height of 5,350m. Fortunately we had some acclimatization working for us at this point, but unfortunately, Joe woke up with a cold that had him completely stuffed up - in the land of tough breathing under normal circumstances, not a good thing at all. But he toughed it out and we made it to the peak and enjoyed the beautiful views - it's got to be the most incredible 360 degree views in the world - it's mountains mountains everywhere, and when you're not looking at the mountains, you can enjoy the views of the lakes or even the glacier that cuts through the valley. Incredible.

After that it was all down hill, literally. We made our way back to Namche for the Saturday 'Bazaar' that gives it the full name that many use, Namche Bazaar. Given that it's not expedition season, it was quite tame, but fun to mooch around in nonetheless. We were also happy to be back at the luxury (using that term in a relative sense) Khumbu lodge where we had our first real hot shower since we departed about 16 days earlier. Yes, those wet whipes do come in handy while you're trekking. So we tucked ourselves into some yummy eats, caught up with a few folks we'd met along the way and set off for Lukla and our flight back to Kathmandu, tired but happy and very proud of ourselves for a trek well done.