It’s that time of year again – Ama Dablam 2013 is a go!
I’m on the way to Kathmandu and there are a few people there
already with more to follow. Andrew (UK) and Sean (Canadian) are already
trekking in The Khumbu with their respective wives (who will be flying home
imminently) and hopefully they will be very well acclimatised by the time we
get to meet them in Pangboche.
Jamie and Mitchell (both UK) are jumping on the permit and
doing their own thing. First off they are going to trek up to Gokyo and over
the Cho La and then climb Lobuche East (just over 6,000m), after which they’ll
be using the teahouse below Ama Dablam Base Camp for their operations base.
The main group consists of Alasdair (UK), Carl
(Netherlands), Dave (UK), Febbie (S. Africa), Ian and Cat (UK), Jon (UK), Mark
and Chris (both UK – he’s climbing, she’s trekking), Richard (Ireland) and
Sieto (Netherlands) and they are all due in today or tomorrow.
The next wave follow a week later and consists of Jon (UK -
assistant leader, 4 times Ama Dablam summiter and 1 times Everest summiter),
Jason, Aeneas, Paul, Rick, Simeon and Jeremy (all UK) and Marcus (Switzerland).
So all in all quite a multi cultural group with a wide range
of experiences under their collective belts. I’ve managed to meet over half the
group prior to the expedition and it’s fair to say that yet again we have the
makings of a great, fun trip.
Both groups will start with a sightseeing tour in Kathmandu
followed by a frantic afternoon of unpacking, repacking, making last minute
purchases, unpacking again, nearly getting run over, parting with money to a
friendly chap who has painted a red ‘tikka’ on their foreheads and generally
getting over the jet lag and trying to accustom themselves to the sights and
sounds of Kathmandu. We’ll be eating at the likes of Roadhouse Café, Krua Thai,
Mike’s Breakfast etc and I’ll no doubt take a bit of a side trip to Himalayan
Java to catch up with some friends who live in Kathmandu. We’ll also be found
in Sam’s Bar being looked after by Verena and Sam – a great couple who run THE
BEST bar in Kathmandu.
But we’re only in the city for a day and then it’s time to
fly to Lukla and start trekking.
The flight is an experience in itself and proves to be a
very exciting start to the next phase of the trip and gets us to Lukla airport
which is the gateway to the Khumbu Trail – the main access trail to the Solo
Khumbu region and Everest itself.
Iswari and the guys at Himalayan Guides usually work their
magic and get us on to one of the first flights which means that, weather
permitting, we may be in Lukla as early as 8 o’clock (I’ve even landed there at
07:15). The process of getting through the domestic terminal can be quite
disorientating in itself with a lot of what appears to be chaos but in actual
fact is how it works over here.
Invariably not all the bags can make it on to the tiny
aircraft so we prioritise and hope to fly with the bags that we will need for
the duration of the 5 day trek in. The rest of the bags and the few hundred
kilos of freight can follow at a later date and will almost undoubtedly be at
Base Camp by the time we arrive there (fingers crossed. There are only 2 bags
that have ever gone astray (and that was because they hadn’t arrived in KTM)
and still they arrived at BC before we were due to start working the lower
slopes of the mountain).
So we’ll have breakfast at Paradise Lodge where Dawa Phutti
will be our host and then we’ll sort what bags we have (if they need sorting)
and in the meantime our trekking Sherpa will be organising our porters. Then we’ll trek for a few hours to
Ghat and have lunch at The Everest Summiter Lodge which is run and managed by
Phendan Sherpa (we stood on the summit of Everest together back in 2005 from
The North side) and his lovely wife Sonam. After that we’ll trek to Phak Ding
and have a brew before making our way on to Monjo (time permitting) where we’ll
stay with my friends at Top Hill Lodge. The great thing about staying in Monjo
is that it makes the next day a shorter trek to the National Park entrance
which means that we’ll be ahead of the crowds and get through in double quick
time. After that we cross the main river (a raging torrent really) a few times on
some quite exciting suspension bridges before negotiating the zig zags to
Namche Bazaar where we’ll likely arrive around 11.30. After a coffee and
chocolate doughnut at The Everest Bakery we’ll have lunch with the friendly chaps
at Kala Pattar Lodge and then don our sacks for a further hour of trekking to
Kyanjuma and stay with Tashi and Lakpa at Ama Dablam Lodge.
Now Tashi and Lakpa run one of the busiest lodges in The
Khumbu despite the fact that it isn’t in one of the main villages along the
trail – and the reason is all down to their hospitality and friendship.
Trekking and Expedition Leaders like myself will endeavour to stay there
because we know that they will look after our group and go the extra mile (as
well as ply me with proper coffee and cheese toasties). It’s also a cracking
location with a fantastic view of Ama Dablam and Tashi also allows my group to
go and see her amazing prayer room (which is reserved for the minority). In
fact I’ve even slept in the prayer room.
Interestingly there is a teahouse next door which is almost
identical in size, aspect and view but it is rarely busy – a reflection on how
hard working, friendly and conscientious Tashi and Lakpa are.
Amazingly HRH Prince Charles has invited Tashi and Lakpa to
have an audience with him which will hopefully be coming to fruition in January
or February next year.
Since Ama Dablam Lodge is at just over 3,500m we’ll stay
there for 2 nights to start getting used to the altitude and will be taking in
a side trip to The Everest View Hotel and the amazing village of Khumjung
(which hardly anyone visits compared to the 000s who trek along the Khumbu
Trail) where there are the most fantastic mani walls (walls made from stones
that have been carved with ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’) – it is a truly auspicious
place boasting the longest mani walls in The Khumbu (and they are longest by a
long chalk).
After staying at Kyanjuma we’ll make our way to Tengboche (huge
monastery and great bakery) and on to Pangboche. As with our first trekking day,
because we are slightly further along the trail we are ahead of the crowds and
will be in Pangboche for afternoon tea at Sonam Lodge which is run by fellow
Everest (x4) and Cho Oyu summiter Germin Sherpa.
The next morning we’ll mooch to upper Pangboche (again
hardly anyone goes there) and visit the monastery for our first puja (blessing)
before having an early lunch and trekking to Ama Dablam Base Camp which will
then be our home for the next 17 nights. It’s situated at around 4,400m and certainly
we will start to feel the effects of the rarefied atmosphere – so we’ll be
staying put for the first 3 nights. There will be a technical training session
to go through how to used fixed ropes as well as some time spent chatting about
radio procedures, medical issues, logistics etc and some top tips and handy
hints to do with admin and tent routine whilst on the mountain. There will be
another puja (we need all the luck we can get) as well as an acclimatisation
walk up to ABC which is about 900m higher. After dropping some gear there and
returning to Base Camp then, and only then, will we consider going higher and
sleeping at ABC before eventually progressing to C1 at 5,850m.
But I’m getting ahead of myself – I haven’t even arrived in
Nepal. I’m sat in Doha having a coffee and waiting for my onward flight to
Kathmandu. WiFi connections permitting I’ll try and post the odd missive along
the way as well as Tweeting (@timmosedale) and updating FaceBook (timmosedale
and / or everestexpedition).
I hope that you enjoy the show.
