Everest 2023: First Steps in the Khumbu

As we approach April, activity is picking up in Nepal. Team after team has left Kathmandu, taking helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft to Namche or Lukla. There they will begin the trek to Everest Base Camp, Island Peak, or just the Khumbu. It’s a special time. As I’ve said since 1997 if you ever get a chance to trek in Nepal, jump on it. It will change your life for the better. Let’s take a look at the first steps in the Khumbu.

Big Picture

First, an update on the solo trekker ban. Apparently, the officials who manage the Everest region have not been notified of the ban by the Government, so they are telling trekkers they only need a “trek card’ that has basic identification information. You can buy it when you enter the Sagarmatha National Park from any agency that issues permits.

The fixed ropes are now to Camp 2, installed by the Icefall Doctors. The Nepali guide company Imagine Nepal was awarded the job of fixing the ropes from C2 to the summit. The Expedition Operators Association (EOA) has a bidding contest each season and awards the job to the highest bidder. I’m told the ropes may reach the summit by May 1 at the latest.

As of March 29, the Ministry of Tourism has issued 31 permits to four teams for Everest. I expect around 400 total foreign permits to be issued.

Teams are arriving in Kathmandu, and some, like IMG, are already on the trek to EBC. Other teams are en route to Kathmandu to get their permits.

Most of the climbing action is on the other 8000-meter peaks. Imagine Nepal reports they have established Camp 2 and made a drop to 3 on Dhaulagiri. Manaslu seems to be just as dangerous as it was last autumn. Climbers are pushing the saftey envelope and narrowly missing disaster, all in the name of “records.”

The Khumbu

The Khumbu has changed dramatically over the past couple of decades. The teahouses have improved over the ones with poorly ventilated, dark, and cold rooms. Today, the newer ones have large windows, big tables seating entire teams, and excellent food and service. The sleeping rooms are still tiny, cold, and dark, but most people don’t care after a long day of trekking. Oh, and most have WiFi – for a fee!

The typical schedule is similar to this one:

1. Trek to Phakding (or Monjo) at 8562′ (mainly flat to downhill)
2. Trek to Namache at 11,300′ (significant uphill trek) visit the market, Everest museum, local schools, bakery, Everest View Hotel
3. Rest day and tour in Namache
4. Trek to Thame at 12,464′ visit the Thame Monastery. Not part of every trek
5. Trek to Tengboche (or Deboche) at 12,683′ visit the Monastery, meet the Monks
6. Trek to Periche at 13,907′ visit the Himalaya Rescue Association
7. Trek to Lobuje at 16,174 see the Sherpa Memorial en route
8. Trek to Gorak Shep at 16,924
9. Climb Kala Patar 18,192′ with outstanding views of Everest Base Camp, Ama Dablam, and Mount Everest
10. Trek to Everest Base Camp at 17,500′

Many climbing teams now add climbs of smaller trekking peaks to aid in the acclimatization process. Climbs of Lobuche East or Island Peak (Imja Tse). These 6,000-meter climbs can be challenging but are within the skills of Everest climbers.

First Steps in the Khumbu

Stepping off the Twin Otter in Lukla, the air feels crisp, low humidity, clean and clear. You hustle off the tarmac through a gate in the chain-link fence and onto a dirt path; two-story stone buildings line both sides. The path is filled with people, primarily porters seeking work carrying 50, 60, and maybe 100 pounds of duffle bags for the climbers and trekkers. It’s impressive to see a small body carrying a considerable load. Most members feel a twinge of guilt and promise to give them a generous tip at the end.

Following the crowd, you cross above the Lukla airport runway. About now, your Otter taxis back to the end of the paved runway with engines whining louder and louder as the pilot prepares for the aircraft carrier-style takeoff, but with no catapults, only aerodynamics and powerful turboprop engines. You see the plane lurch forward as the brakes release, letting the flying machine hurl down the runway. It’s going fast, but the 2,000-foot drop-off seems to be getting closer and closer. When you think it’s about to fall into oblivion, the bird takes flight, gently gaining altitude over the tree-lined hills. You watch in awe as it disappears into billowing white clouds, signaling a change in the weather. Late next month, you will be on one of these flights.

Walking Lukla’s dirt street must be similar to what Dodge City was like in the US’s wild west in the late 1800s. Stone and wooden buildings line the streets; kids sit on steps playing with, well, playing with nothing. Occasionally the sounds of 1980s music escape one of the boxes. A beautiful woman with dark black hair pulled back in a ponytail walks by. You notice her colorful dress. She has prayer beads in her right hand. “Namaste.” She says to you as she walks swiftly into the store next to hers.

A Sherpa with you calls for the herd to stop as he pays one of several taxes now imposed on visitors throughout Nepal. It seems each region has the authority to levy taxes under any guise. There is even a hotel tax now in Namche, not dissimilar to what you see in a Swiss village in the Alps. The building comes to an abrupt end as the dirt trails seem to drop a bit lower. Far to your left is the Dudh Kosi river. When the wind pauses, you can hear the rushing water. You smile, thinking that perhaps a drop or two same off the Lhotse Face, or maybe the South Col. You’ll be there soon.

The trails are dirt, surrounded by fir and pine trees. Snow-covered mountains provide the curtains. A mix of white and grey clouds allows a filtered sun to warm the day. However, you are warm with smiles as you set a swift pace on this Khumbu road. You pass grey-colored stone chortens carved and painted with prayers, also known as mani stones. You always pass to the left, keeping your “dirty” hand away from the sacred altar. Prayer flags are draped across the hillsides or from a roof, always in the same order red for fire, Green for water, yellow for earth, and blue for wind.

All of a sudden, you stop when you reach the top of a small hill. While it’s only about 9,300 feet, you need to catch your breath. But it’s an excuse to take in the view. Just as you are feeling the moment, four children dressed in black pants, white shorts, or neatly pressed dresses scurry by. They are laughing, smiling, and moving with the purpose of not being late for school. “Namaste!” they shout out in unison. One stops and takes inventory of you.

“Chocolate?” he asks. His dark eyes are crystal clear, his teeth bright white, and his hair a rich black mop. “No, but I do have a writing pen for you,” you reply, handing him a six-pack of Bic pens. “For school,” you add as he takes them from you. “Thank you, sir,” he says in perfect English with a slight British accent. He seems genuinely pleased, but you are sure he would have preferred candy.

The trail continues downward toward your first night on the trek at Phakding at 8,562 feet. You lose almost 900 feet today. The next time you will lose this much elevation on the trek will be when you start home from base camp. The trail follows the contours of the valley, slowly getting closer to the river. Now it drops with an attitude towards a long suspension bridge leading to a small encampment of buildings. Phakding. It had only taken a few hours, just in time for lunch. It feels like all you do is eat, walk and sleep.

Welcome to the Khumbu.

After lunch of fried rice, you find your small room and lay out your sleeping bag. Jet lag is hitting hard, and sleep comes easily. Your roommate also finds the room; soon, a cacophony of snorts, farts, burps, and snores fills the room. This is going to be a long expedition, you think to yourself, smiling all the while. Dinner comes and goes, as does a night of deep sleep.

Up at 6:00 AM, you have a relaxed breakfast and then leave for what some consider one of the more difficult days of a Khumbu trek: the infamous Namche Hill. Steep, dirty, hot; this is a test of your fitness and mental toughness.

But for you, this section to Namche is an absolute favorite. Your senses are quickly overloaded. The rhododendrons and cherry trees are in full bloom providing a bright red-and-white contrast to the green fields. Women tend to the fields, planting potatoes, barley, cabbage, and other food to meet their own needs and service the teahouses. Local commerce at its finest.

The dirt trail is dry, albeit rocky, as it meandered high above the Dudh Kosi river, its rushing water providing a natural audio accompaniment to the sights. The villages are spaced close together, each individual but all filled with small children playing on the dirt trails with small balls, used water bottles, or simple sticks. The common theme was big smiles and loud laughs. Usually, a mother or grandmother washed clothes nearby or tended a field, but you knew one eye was always on their most prized possessions. Many of the older kids were in school, so the trails were quieter than usual.

You make your way along the trail and soon stop for an early lunch just outside the Sagarmatha National park entrance. The expedition leader handles the permit formalities, and soon the group continues the trek toward Namche. Again the colors and sounds filled your senses, along with the smell of freshly tilled dirt.

The trail drops down to the rushing river but gains altitude to meet steel-cabled bridges providing easy access as you traverse the rapids multiple times. Sharing the bridge with Zo’s, loaded with gear; porters, loaded with gear; you know your place and stepped aside when needed. Finally, you crossed one last high bridge to the base of Namche Hill.

The hill is about a 2000′ gain from the capital and largest village in the Khumbu. It is the only way to get there on foot, so you share it with other visitors plus the locals. A small Zo train leads the way setting a pace only exceed by a rock rolling uphill. We settled in place and accepted a traffic jam in the middle of the Khumbu.

One by one, you passed the beasts as the trail widened. You steadily gain altitude as the heat of the day pushes through the clouds. Each break was welcome. The trees provide shade and respite from the harsh sun at this elevation. The trail is worn from millions of steps over centuries. Trash cans supplied by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, SPCC, are strategically placed with signs asking everyone, visitors and locals alike, to keep the trail clean of trash.

All of a sudden, you see several people off-trail to the right, slightly uphill. Through a break in the trees, there she is, Chomolungma, “Goddess Mother of Earth.” You forget the sweat pouring off your forehead, the pain in your left foot from stepping on a rock sideways, and the need for a long drink of cold water to take the edge off. No, you are fully overtaken by the view. Her vast white plume full of snow, clouds, and ice crystals is blasting off the summit. The jet stream is almost on top of the towering peak. The plume is enormous and can be seen from space.

Your moment is interrupted by the clanging bells dangling under the long Zo necks. A mule train passes by. There seems to be a battle between mules and Zos for who gets a job carrying beer to the local villages. I think neither wants the job. The trees begin to thin as you gain elevation, and a few nondescript buildings begin to appear. Another checkpoint holds customs officials wanting more money. The trail leaves treeline near 11,000 feet. Another bend of the trail and yet another finally brings your destination into sight, Namche Bazaar. It had taken six hours and an elevation gain of 2,724 feet.

Welcome to Namche Bazaar, your home, for the next three days.

Climb On!

Alan

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