From
the Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar
the well-trodden trail to Everest base camp, known locally
as the 'yak-route', can be a frustrating, single-file queue but
on a return visit I took a circular
route crossing two high passes on quiet trails with secluded
campsites to explore more fully the
grandeur of the Khumbu Himal.
Beyond Thyangboche with its
renowned gompa
and fabulous view up the beautiful Imja Khola Valley to
Everest ( or more appropriately Chomolungma - 'Goddess Mother of
the World' ), protruding above the
great Nuptse-Lhotse mountain wall, I branched off with my
trekking crew beneath the graceful Ama
Dablam into the less frequented Chukhung Valley.
On a bright, clear morning I
crossed the
sparkling waters of the Imja Khola from our campsite in a
stone-walled yak-pasture at Bibre to climb steep, tussock-grass
slopes onto a small plateau
directly beneath the towering North Face of Ama Dablam.
Far below lay the cluster of
grey, stone-built
houses of Dingboche, the highest permanent settlement
in the region, while further to the south the white cone of
Number jutted above the long, jagged
arete of Kwande Ri. A faint breeze rippled the surface of a
lochan to distort the reflections of
the shapely Taboche and Cholatse prominent to the west. On the
northern flank of the Chukhung
Valley, rising sheer above great moraines and scree slopes,
loomed the massive wall stretching
between the great peaks of Nuptse and Lhotse ( the world's 4th
highest mountain ).
In the afternoon we moved camp
higher up
the boulder-strewn valley and, next day, I trudged to the
top of Chukhung Ri overlooked by the black, banded summit of
Lhotse. I seemed to be on a level with
the summit ridge of the nearby Island Peak ( the most popular of
the so-called 'trekking' peaks ).
Across the valley a long arete of rock and ice culminated in the
dramatic pyramid of Ama Dablam.
Two days later on the stiff
ascent from
Bibre to the Kongma La we enjoyed a superb vista of the
giant peaks of Baruntse and Makalu ( the world's 5th highest
mountain ) soaring skywards above
the ice-walls at the head of the Chukhung Valley. We encamped at
the entrance to a wide rocky
amphitheatre with a magnificent outlook over to Ama Dablam.
Late in the afternoon I
scrambled to the
top of a small peak where I huddled amongst the rocks and
watched its silhouette edge higher on the vast Nuptse-Lhotse wall
directly opposite. As the sun and
temperature dropped the huge snow fields faded from dazzling,
marble-white, through silver to leaden
grey before suddenly glowing golden in the final rays of the
setting sun.
Next morning we headed through
the craggy
amphitheatre and climbed into a higher cwym. Skirting two
lochans, a short scramble gained the cairn, bedecked with
multi-coloured
prayer-flags, on the narrow
col of Kongma La. Above us loomed the jagged ridge of Nuptse
while beyond the sapphire-blue lochans
a fine view unfolded of the heavily-glaciated, upper Chukhung
Valley.
On the far side we rapidly
lost height as
we plunged down steep, rough scree towards the great,
stony river of the Khumbu Glacier. The pleasant meadows of an
ablation valley provided a fine,
secluded campsite with a spectacular outlook on Taboche and
Cholatse.
Before breakfast in the cold
shadow of
Nuptse I climbed to the top of a spur falling from its lofty
summit to gain an excellent vantage point. Immediately below lay
the opaque, green waters of the
Lingten Pokhari ensconced beneath the moraine wall of the Khumbu
Glacier. Across the glacier, bare,
barren tundra led up to the charming, perfectly-conical Pumo Ri.
It was only a half-day to traverse
the rugged moraines to rejoin the 'yak-route' at Lobuje.
The following day, with Nima,
my Sherpa
guide, I made the pilgrimage to Kallar Pattar at the foot
of Pumo Ri to gaze in awe at the snow-plumed summit of Everest
floating serenely high above in an
azure sky - a fatal loadstone for many mountaineers.
Leaving the Khumbu Valley we
climbed past
the picturesque, turquoise-green waters of the Tshola Tsho
nestling beneath the elegant Cholatse and encamped beside a
stream beyond the small cluster of
lodges at Dzongla.
The steep climb to the
snow-covered Chola
Pass was aleviated by frequent stops to admire the
splendid view back down the valley to the great pyramid of Ama
Dablam. From the col at the head of
the easy-angled neve there was also a fine view across the snow
fields to the lofty spire of Lobuje
Peak. Steep, loose scree led downwards to boulder-strewn moorland
and on to the huddle of dwellings
at Thangna.
In the morning we traversed
the broad,
shattered moraines of the Ngozumpa Glacier and joined the
trail to the popular trekking destination of Gokyo Village. The
5300metre hilltop above the small
summer settlement affords a superb outlook extending from the
turquoise waters of the lake across
the Ngozumpa glacier to the jagged teeth of Cholatse and Taboche
and the black, rocky summit wedge
of Everest protruding above a high escarpment. Some claim it is a
better viewpoint than the more
frequented Kallar Pattar.
From Gokyo we continued up the
savagely
glaciated valley to encamp in splendid, silent solitude at
the picturesque Khumbu Panch Pokhari ( a set of five small lakes
) amidst a tremendous cirque of
himalayan giants:- Cha Kung, Gyachung Kang and the immense, 8000metre
Cho Oyu ( the world's 6th
highest mountain ) festooned with hanging glaciers and tumbling
ice-falls.
In the afternoon I climbed on
huge boulders
to the top of a rock peak to command a close-up view of
the mighty ramparts of snow and ice sweeping round the skyline
from Cho Oyu to Gyachung Kang. Beyond
the shining white-ice and grey moraines of the Ngozumpa Glacier
the stately twin summits of Kang
Chung formed a prominent landmark Also visible was the merest tip
of Everest. Far below I could see
our tents amidst the cluster of bright blue lochans. Returning to
camp the still, dark waters of one
of the lakes mirrored perfectly the cubic, castle-like Cha Kung.
It was with some reluctance
that we
departed from the spectacular beauty of the Khumbu Panch Pokhari
- a himalayan campsite to be long remembered.
Back at Gokyo we were
entrapped for five
days by a freak, unseasonal snowstorm and had to be
airlifted out by helicopter to Namche
Bazaar.
