Scrambling the Unknown

Embarking on a three week long trek was one of my major life decision. Spending endless of time in the wilderness at high altitude never came across to my mind before I came to Nepal.

Day-1 Kathmandu to Salleri
Monsoon winds continues to blow through the open window in my hostel. A clear indication that the rain will still be happening in the next couple of days. The my watch showed e it’s 3:45 in the morning after woke up through alarm I set on it to not bother other people with my phone alarm. It’s time to catch my morning ride to the start of the Everest Basecamp. The only ride that would take me to the village of Salleri, about 100km from the basecamp, if I miss it I have to go the next day. So I was rushing with all my blood to get to the bus terminal.

It was a cold morning, I took a motorbike ride to the bus terminal from my hostel in Thamel, Kathmandu, an easy 20-minute ride. I did not even bother to wear any warm clothing, the strong wind from riding enough to made me feel chilly throughout the whole ride. However, after multiple times dodging to not fall asleep on the motorbike the driver said “we’re here”.

I immediately asked people around where is the ticket counter, since there is only one bus, meaning there is also only one ticket counter to Salleri. The was a middle-aged Nepali guy who showed me the way. I dodged most of the younger ones, as I suspected it expected something in return from me, after which I managed to secured my ticket and met an English refugee from New Zealand, Ben.

We ended up, talking throughout the whole journey and we met another foreigner group of 3 from China which I could even remember their name since only one of them speaks English, and his name is Ming. At the end, we realized that we’re the only people going for trekking at that point, and everyone else was just dropping off at some other places. We then spent the night in Salleri and decided to take a jeep ride to take us as close as possible to Lukla where trekking in low altitude doesn’t really give us anything but hassle of getting stuck in the mud and not so interesting view.

Day-2 Salleri to Thamdada
We reached the village of Thamdada, a small settlement with only three tea houses with no lodge. We walked to the next Village of Paiya along with some other locals. We met in our jeep ride which was super crammed where they fit 8 people in a supposedly 5 seater jeep.

Upon getting off the jeep, Ben realized he left a few of his stuff on the previous jeep. And decided to go back to retrieve it, that’s when I realized we will never see him again. Not at least we met by accident along the trek next time or when he finally catch up with us while we’re acclimatizing.

The path from Thamdada to Paiya is probably one of the most damaged by the landslide due to the heavy rain. We had to walk through a reparation work where we saw an excavator fell to the cliff bc the soil it sat on collapsed where I started to fear for my life. And God I could not be more true as the path we supposed to take is covered by landslide and we have to walk through the steep unstable soil. 60 degree inclination is way beyond the limit of trekking. This will normally require some mountaineering equipment to be able to get down safely. But the Nepali got through it while it was nothing. It took me and the other tree Chinese folks about half an hour to descend about 10 meters into the landslide with almost zero visibility in the darkness of the Himalayan evening.

After another hour of walking we managed to reach the lodge in Paiya where we are served a hot Dal Bhat and clean running water. I shared a room with one of the Chinese folks where we didn’t talk at all bc none of us speak each other’s language.

Day-3 Paiya to Monjo
The sun had risen, the cold mountain wind send more chills into my spine as I tried to get clean on the open air bathroom. After getting out breakfast, my room mate asked me to start walking while the other two folks will go slightly later with a sign language that somehow I understood.

We passed another landslide construction site about 1.5 hour from our lodge and we had to do the same technique we did the night before, only now we had to do it ourselves. Surely having a company is a blessing for me at this point, since I would probably be able to make it safely without other’s presence to support me emotionally. As he made his descent about 5 meters down, one Nepali guy came after me and offered me his hand to step on so it wont be a full drop when I got down. I stepped down without hesitation knowing that I am slightly lighter after I drop all my bags to the strong 5-feet tall chinese guy who’s already down there. We took a few rest in the village of Sukre, one last village before Lukla where I started to feel my knees were in pain.

We took a shortcut and managed to get to the other side of Lukla instead of taking the longer route to the airport region where we had our lunch. It feels weird at this point that I felt conencted with my buddy but we barely talked to each other. I guess things work differently when you’re in the mountains.

We decided to stop at Monjo, one village before the Sherpa headquarters, Namche Bazaar since it’s getting dark already. I met one Russian guy at the lodge who just came back from EBC, barely speaks English, but he was so Eager telling me the places he’d been to in EBC, which made me more and more eager to keep going. A few moments after I received a text from Antonin, the French alpinist I met I Pokhara and ABC before saying that he’s also in Monjo, only a few lodges down and told me that he is planning to go pass Namche and keep going for tomorrow.

Day-4 Monjo to Namche Bazaar
We started a little late the morning after to go to Namche Bazaar from Monjo since it’s gonna be a short one. We stopped at the checkpoint to Shagarmatha National Park to get our permit which I ended up paying about 6000 Nepali Rupee (about USD45 when this was written). The climb was quite steep going to Namche that I had to stop a few times for water and snack breaks.

We arrived in Namche shortly after we passed the second check point to stamp our permit. And the rain started to pour down, before I know it, I lost sight of my Chinese bud and he was never to be seen again after that. I checked in to a lodge by the cliff for a stunning view of the village with a good deal from the owner. And manage to get a good dose of western food and western coffee after surviving on dal bhat for days. The owner for some reason gave me a free coffee bc they took my cup by accident where I still had some inside. Two coffee for the price of one, my first day in Namche doesn’t get any better than this.

Shortly after returning home I got a text from Antonin saying that he’s in town and planning to stay due to the rain. We when out for another round of dinner after having a horrible dal bhat at our lodge and finally reunited after a month being separated. The feeling having someone to talk to i the mountain just cant be beaten. We went for a big round of dessert with some trance music playing in the background, a combination we didn’t know we needed. And we stocked up some snacks hoping that we can continue our journey tomorrow.

Day-5 & 6 Acclimatization at Namche Bazaar
We woke up to the sound of rain, and at this point, it was raining for almost 24 hours non-stop. And we decided to stay for on for day due to the weather. Antonin brought me to his previous lunch place for us to have our breakfast after the horrible dinner we had the previous night at the lodge which turned out to be one of the best Chow Mein I have ever had in Nepal. A local stir fried noodles, a good refreshment of the bland meal the mountain has to offer. We didnt do much on this date but waited for the rain to stop only for it to keep gong till the day after.

We spent the next day roaming around like a lost tourist in the village, we found a few bakeries and a bar with movie screening and watched two Himalayan expedition at that bar with a cup of warm drink. What a way to spend the rainy days.

We heard the news that a devastating flood just happened in the lower altitude due to non-top rain the region experienced while having our dinner at one of the steak house in Nace. One of my friend, Victor, a Spanish solo traveler, former optometrist, who supposed to catch me up in Namche while traveling from the Ramechap Airport, (a small airport situated about 100km outside of Kathmandu, dedicated for small planes, which mostly serves for flight to Lukla), could have his plane departed due to the weather. He told me that the flood also made it impossible for him to go back to Kathmandu either where the main road connecting the two places is destroyed and completely flooded.

We wrapped up the night by getting Antonin and new shoe crampon, a detachable spikes for walking on the slippery snow. And as we walked out the shop, the rain finally stopped. And That’s when we know tomorrow is gonna be THE day.

Day-7: Namche - Dhole
It was one of the least cloudy morning we have seen in ages since we’re in Nepal. The tale of there comes rainbow after the storm really worked its magic for us during that day. I splitted up with Antonin, which he gonna take the three-passes way to Gokyo, while I took the shortcut from Dhole and we are agree to meet in Gokyo two days later.

Along the way after Namche, I met Ben and the other Chinese guys I met before in Salleri, and turned out they have stayed in Namche for as long as I did. They are taking the highway to EBC, and thi time I get to say a proper goodbye to them as I reached the fork that split the trail.

The hike was quiet since the route i took wasn’t the busy route to EBC. And I didn’t manage to meet any other trekkers along the way until I get close to Dhole, I met a Russian photographer which ended up staying at the same lodge as me. I spent the rest of my day scouting for photography spot. While I watched him also roaming around the mountain across with his camera.

After a few hours of acclimatization hike and surrounded by cloud and off, I sort of found my photo spot for the night for an astrophotography session. I went back to the lodge for some nice hot meal and trying to sen the last bit of text to family and friends and also update on my instagram before I lose my internet connection which turned out to be correct. The internet connection in the mountain is rather patchy and heavily dictated by the weather due to the connection with the satellite.

After securing a few photos for the night and managed to find a sunrise spot as well the morning after, I marched to the north going to my next village called Machermo.

Day-8 Dhole-Machermo
4410 meters, I officially crossed another highest elevation I have ever reached in my life after going at 4200 meters in Annapurna Basecamp and Mardi Himal the month before where I will spend the night and will never go lower in the days to come. Worries were the first thing that came to my mind after realizing that I have no one with me at this altitude that will look after me if something were about to happen. Thankfully, my blood oxygen showed a 92% value on my oximeter this morning before leaving Dhole.

At this altitude, we started to see snow from the continuous storm we had a few days back and it totally changed the whole landscape from endless greenery to white patches to a wide blanket of snow. I reached the lodge next to the hill pretty early in the day around 12PM, and at that point, I started to feel a slight headache.

Having any slight of illness in the mountain, alone, is probably the last thing you would wanted. Every discomfort you feel will turn to anxiety and will worsen whatever you’re feeling. I immediately took a nap, hoping that it will eased the headache I am having. Although a few hours was enough to ease the headache but I was still worry that it will turn into any Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) which will require a helicopter rescue if not handled properly.

I stood strong at that point, and decided to take another acclimatization hike with my camera to scout for sunset place after drinking a ton of water. It slowly made my headache disappear for the day and I managed to secure a few spot and good shots under windy weather and subzero temperatures.

Day-9 & 10 Machermo to Gokyo and Acclimatization in Gookyo
After a quick sunrise mission and warm breakfast, i marched to the hike path I have taken twice the day before for my sunset session. The snow started to get thicker from this point as I ascended higher into the trail to the point that I had to put on my crampon.

The scenery to Gokyo was one of the most beautiful i have ever seen. The first three lakes of Gokyo with its pristine emerald blue water sits majestically among all the snow covered giants that surrounded them. I took a few breaks to capture the moment with my camera and also resting from the blazing bright sunlight reflected by the snow.

After passing the second lake, I finally saw the first lodge of Gokyo, sitting at the edge of the clam lake water that acted almost like a giant mirror to the scenery.

I immediately looked for a place to stay and landed on one with the most beautiful room view I have ever had my entire trip. After having a warm meal for lunch and put off my stuff in my room, I went to the neighboring hill to get a picture of the village from up above, that’s when I saw a familiar face walking towards my direction, and yes, it was no one other than Antonin itself.

We spent two days staying in Gokyo and climbing the Gokyo Ri, a 5500 meter peak just right next to the Gokyo village. The weather was changing quite rapidly and shortly after we got to the peak, the cloud covered the town below but we could still see the towering 8000-meters giants surrounding us. And I managed to secure one of the best view of mount Everest and Makalu from the peak of Gokyo Ri.

Day-11 Gokyo to Dzongla
After countless of photo sessions, we finally decided to move forward with our hike. And this time it’s gonna be a long and most difficult one. Passing through one of the three infamous high passes, Cho La Pass.

A 12 hour of quietness didnt get any harder than that. After 6 hour walking in 5000 meters, my body started to get exhausted as the view showed me the first glimpse of Cho La Pass through the rolling clouds. We took a good 30 minutes rest before tackling the high pass.

The trail was completely covered with snow and a bunch of yellow poles were our only guidance to make sure we are walking on the solid ground. Even so, the thick soft snow made it even more difficult to walk due to the scarcity of people passing by the trail to solidify the path.

There were ropes fixed by the trail going to the Cho La Pass, we met a few trekkers going from the opposite direction, so we know the passage is passable at this point. It was one of the steepest trail I have ever encountered without a proper stairs. Antonin have already walked far ahead of me while I crawled the steep rocks with the help of fixed ropes.

We reached the top of the pass right at sunset time, which made our descend completely in the dark. At that point my exhaustion already reached its limit, I was walking with a brain fog and never looked back as Antonin had to walk behind me because his head lamp died a few moments ago. With just one dim head lamp, we had to walk for 8km into the dark with the trail covered snow and rivers that washed off the marks of footsteps.

I wounded myself as I crawled down to a big boulder after I slipped from my step. However I didn’t feel anything strangely. We reached the village of Dzongla after roughly 4 hours of walking. And I immediately passed out while Antonin tried to offered me to eat something. I could already imagined if it weren’t for his company, I wouldn’t have known how could I ever get through all these on my own.

Day-12 Dzongla to Gorakshep
I woke up the morning after feeling so much better like nothing happened to me the night before and we met a bunch of Indonesian in the dining hall heading to the same way which made me wonder, how come we didn’t see them the day before.

We started making our way away from the village the Dzongla. Along our way to Lobuche, I met an old friend, Ben, heading to the opposite direction who told us the weather in Gorakshep can be unforgiving for some people. Reaching near to -20 Celsius, which made me kind of nervous.

After a quick lunch at a porter’s house in Lobuche, we continued our journey to Gorakshep and the cloud again started to roll covering the blue sky and bringing the cold wind with it, we reached Gorakshep shortly after and we managed to get to a lodge and met the Indonesian group again.

Day-13 Gorakshep - EBC - Lobuche
Waking up early was never easy for me, let alone waking up early in the freezing weather of the mountain above 5000 meters.

The clock sowed 3:30AM, and we started to make our way to climb the peak of Kala Pathar next to Gorakshep. We wanted to beat the crowd, that’s why we tried to wake up as early as possible. But again, the altitude messed up with my brain along with the bone cracking cold. I almost gave up the climb due to exhaustion and cold. The air felt so thin that it didn’t feel like breathing anything at all. But again, Antonin pushed me to get to the top and we stayed the whole sunrise.

We went to the Everest Basecamp shortly after we had our breakfast. It was an easy one and half hour hike to the basecamp which turned out to be the trekkers basecamp. The actual basecamp sits a little further into the glacier which only opens in the climbing season through March and May where the weather is much more forgiving.

We saw a landslide along the way but thankfully it was far enough across the Khumbu glacier, but it was enough to remind us how terrifying mountains can be.

We grabbed our stuff from Gorakshep lodge and started our decent to Lobuche right after.

Day-14 Lobuche to Shomare
After a warm night with a fireplace in Lobuche, we managed to secure a lot of snickers from a local shop outside of our lodge to bring to our hike.

We encounter a huge wave of trekkers on or way to Periche, and guess the high season has started.

We stopped at the village of Periche to have something to eat and finally i have wifi access for the first time in 7 days and tried to see what’s happening in the world when I disappeared. Also got a few text from my friends asking if I’m doing well.

We found a photo spot but decided to get to our lodge first in Shomare. We came back for sunset however the weather took turn for the worse and we could barely see anything through the clouds when we got there, so we called it a night and went back to our lodge

Day-15 Shomare to Namche
We tried to sprint as fast as we could to reach Namche Bazaar a this point since we really crave for real food, not a lodge foo after spending more than a week in the wilderness after we left Namche last time.

We initially planned to get to Dingboche monastery to say our farewell to the mountains as recommended by the lodge owner in Gokyo, however we decided to halt it since the monastery was empty.

We arrived in Namche shortly after dark and we couldn’t be happier to have our yak steak back at the steak house we went before.

Day-16 Namche Bazaar
We took a few trips to the surrounding areas in Namche where we initially planned to do our acclimatization hike. We visited the museum, and went to the Everest View hotel, a four star establishments high in the mountain with mount Everest in the view of its lobby.

Day-17 Namche to Lukla
We left Namche after spending two nights there to get to Lukla. While we picked up a few trash bag from the mountaieering expedition from the “Pick Me” station. To brick back to the station in Lukla.

We arrived in Lukla shortly after dark and stopping in Phakding for an afternoon tea and I taught Antonin how to eat fried fish, in the mountain.

Day-18 & 19 Lukla to Jubing
The journey from Lukla to Jubbing began with a quick plane spotting in the airport, however, there was no plane at that day since the weather didn’t permit any aviation operation.

We marched straight down to Thamdada where I splitted with Antonin since he decided to walk and I took the Jeep to Salleri with an overnight stop in Jubing.

Day-20 Salleri to Kathmandu
After being reunited with Antonin once again, we immediately looked for transport to get back to Kathmandu. However, due to the national holiday, we could not get a bus ride back to Kathmandu. And we were told the main road is completely destroyed due to the flood and the bus and jeep had to take a detour to the other road.

It was a long 14 hour ride and the rumors were true. The paved road was gone and the jeep had to go through the river bank along the destroyed road to get to KathmanduRead more