Nepal – Everest Base Camp Trek Part 5 Dingboche to Base Camp

21 Apr Nepal – Everest Base Camp Trek Part 5 Dingboche to Base Camp

April 21th – Day 8  Dingboche to Dughla

We sat on a stone patio of the Kahla Patai lodge in the small village of Dughla, it was 11:30 am and we had just finished our trek for the day. The sun was shining, the cold wind was blowing (down) off of the Khumbu glacier… we couldn’t see the glacier, but it lied just above the ridge where we were currently staying.  I think there were several comments between myself and Natalie on how it was just like a summer day on the coast back home, the wind blowing, the sun shining… it was nice.  Some of the views on the 400 meter steady climb this morning were mind blowing, with the Taboche and Chortse along with the Khumbu Kola… the path took us along open alpine pastures, where yaks grazed, dotted with glacial erratics (stones), and surrounded by the largest peaks I’ve ever witnessed… we had left the forests and rhododendrons behind.  One memory that has stuck with me;  passing by an American couple we had come to know from crossing paths several times…the lady (no names here) wasn’t doing so well where she often had to take brakes behind rocks, I think Nat left them with some Gatorade powder or something.  I felt foggy in the morning when we left with the effects of the altitude hitting me pretty hard, it felt like I was in a bubble, but different.  Natalie worries for Porba’s health, and his Khumbu cough – the constant dry hack, with the occasional “luggie”. But she’s doing well… no health issues.   As we arrived at Dughla, we crossed a small river (that had apparently had flattened the village previously) and a long set of prayer flags blowing in the wind.  We meet another set of friends, an Aussie couple who were enjoying some pizza (my favorite)…. on the deck,  we were all getting excited to get to base camp at this point.

There is quite a bit of down time spent in tea-houses. Each day usually only consisted of a few hours hiking necessitated by acclimatization

Porba couldn’t take a good photo to save his life!

Leaving Dingboche

Looking back on Pheriche

On the way north to Dughla

Amazing views as we traveled north up the valley

Prayer flags over Kahla Patai Lodge in Dughla

Views around the lodge were amazing – looking south to Taboche Peak

View south from the lodge – Cholatse Peak

Day 9 – Dughla to Loboche April 22, 2015

We woke in the morning, and Natalie wasn’t feeling very well, so we decided to delay our departure… however Porba was worried about us getting a place in Loboche (if we wanted to go – 2.5 hours, and a 300 meter climb). There was an  extraordinary amount of people on the trail today as we left… In retrospect, Dughla was a bottle neck of sorts, where a few trails converged leading up to Everest. We started with a 200-meter climb that lead to the Dughla Pass,  a very memorable point.  The Dughla Pass contained numerous monuments, and prayer flags, in commemoration, or in memory to those who had lost their lives on Everest… there was quite a few( including one for Scott Fisher of the 1996 disaster).  Climbing to the pass was a very memorable event for me, it was steep, with numerous people on the trail, but I recall walking next to a lady in her mid 50’s, who didn’t look like a normally active individual, and we were going step for step up this incline, and my lungs were stretched to capacity –  I couldn’t have walked any slower, but I couldn’t have walked any faster either. Then, as I grinding up this slope a younger Nepalese teenager walked by, smoking, caring plywood 3-4 pieces from his head.  Crazy.

Climb from Dughla to the Dughla Pass

Dughla Pass with its memorials and prayer flags

Onwards north to Lobuche!

Side hike – Loboche to Italian Pyramid – We finally crossed the 5,000 meter mark with a side hike in the afternoon – 5,050 meters. Literally, its a glass plyarmid (solar panels) tucked away a short hike from Loboche – where they conduct high altitude research.

Side hike to the Italian Pyramid

The Italian Pyramid

April 23 – Day 10 – Lobuche to Everest Base Camp (through Gorakshep) – What a day!  We were all ok in the end (and this was before the earth quake)

I had a hard time sleeping in Loboche, mostly from excitement, but also due to a few altitude issues. Short side bar – I would often wake in the middle of the night gasping for breathe, not able to get enough oxygen. As a result, I would also be quite cold (while still nestled in a warm sleeping bag)… and usually have to use the washroom after having drank boat loads of tea.  All fun times on a honeymoon.

We were up early and on the trail by 7:00 am, passing by yak trains as we made our way through the glacier till path which was punctuated with a 150 meter climb – the higher you get the more the climbs hurt!  After the climb we were treated to beautiful views of the Khumbu glacier (see photo below) and breathtaking mountain range.  We arrived at the next town – Gorka Shep – by 9:30 ish, grabbed a room and quick bite to eat, before making our way onto basecamp! We followed the west side of the Khumbu Glacier, now in full view, and caught glimpses of the tent city at Everest Base Camp, as we made our way towards the base camp.

Khumbu glacier

Khumbu Glacier

After a short rest in the village of Gorka Shep, we were on our way to base camp!!!

And then it hit Natalie, altitude sickness.  I don’t want to be dramatic, but we weren’t far from descending and crossing the glacier to get to tent city when I knew Natalie couldn’t go any further – lack of patience, short answers, lack of conversation, and she admitted having a headache, tunnel vision, and nausea. We turned around, perhaps 250 meters from the descent… Natalie wouldn’t have been able to climb (only 100 meters) out of base camp if she went down. It was tuff to turn around so close, but, an easy decision. I accompanied Natalie down until we were close to Loboche, and we stopped and had a frank discussion – was she ok, could she continue back to the room, would she mind me going back to base-camp? We split ways – i’m still not sure if it was the right decision – but I continued on to base camp. I had a really good day, and made my way quickly up, and back to the teahouse to check on Natalie. She didn’t feel well, so we decided to leave Gorak Shep and head back to Loboche.

Everest Base Camp – pretty much where Nat had to turn around. We weren’t far off…

Selfishly I did make it back up to base camp before returning to check on Natalie

View from teahouse Locuche – It was a 20km day altogether after returning from Gorka Shep to Lobuche… we were happy that Nat was feeling better and safe. Medical evacuations were a constant reminder of how things can change quickly at high altitude.