ROLWALING and KHUMBU via Trashi Labsta (18.887 ft)

© Dirk Deckx (1994)

12. TREKKING... Day 15 and 16

Day 15 (Nov 1 - '94) : Summit - Thengpo

*Minimum temperature tonight : - 11.2°C.
It has been snowing whole night and our tents are covered with a thick snow-carpet. Fortunately it's good isolation so that the cold couldn't really penetrate the tents.
The entire area is snow-covered, paths are no longer visible and according to our guides several avalanches occurred on Parchamo. It makes the journey to the absolute top of 20.265 ft a mission impossible. John, who is in good condition, sees his dream break up.
...It's fate !

I feel much better although the headache is as sharp as yesterday. It's still snowing (more like thin hail) and an icy wind came up. The hail strikes our faces and it feels like we are attacked with nails. Visibility is nil ! We don't know how this will end, it seems that we are going to be trapped here. Our guides break up the camp in a rapid tempo and everybody prepares for the almost impossible mission... the big descent (more than 3.200 ft).

It appears that our sherpa Dawa knows his way here. He makes a path for us, we just have to make sure to stay in his track. Ropes are necessary to descend a giant ice-barrier and for a few minutes I feel myself dangling in the air, feeling nothing under my feet while I cling to the rope and suffer agonies.
In spite of the thick gloves, my as well as and John's finger-tips start to show signs of frostbite and once we get down we have to wait a while with our hands deep in our pants until our poor fingers are warmed up again.

It doesn't stop snowing but we have to go through. We continuously use are axes to cut the snow in front of our feet in order to avoid tricky crevasses, Dawa still in front to mark the path. Our porters have a difficult time with their heavy loads and one after the other falls on his behind. Fortunately it are only small incidents and they can even laugh at it.
Progressively our bodies start to warm up thanks to the enormous strain and concentration. There's even no time to look around, but then there's still no visibility. Once the highest altitudes are left behind the journey continues with a lot more comfort and ease and after a few hours we even take off some clothes. My headache is almost gone.
I'm afraid the Australian group, one day behind us, will not be able to cross the pass under these conditions and they'll have to wait for better weather.

In the late afternoon we reach 'Thengpo', the first village beyond Trashi Labsta. What a great feeling to meet other people again. We are invited for a cup of hot lemon-tea inside a farmer's house.
Under normal conditions we would be able to see the west-face of mighty 'Makalu' (27.774 ft) but thick mist obstructs all visibility. It's a big disappointment because the Khumbu valley is one of the most beautiful parts of Nepal. Some of the highest mountains in the world are gathered here. Still we're very proud to have beaten notorious Trashi Labsta without serious problems.

Summary day 15 (Summit - Thengpo)

Day 16 (Nov 2 - '94) : Thengpo - Khumjung

*Minimum temperature tonight : - 7.5°C
We are offered a hallucinating spectacle this morning, the mist is gone and all surrounding mountains proudly show themselves.
We leave for Khumjung via Thame and Thamo as soon as possible. In Thame we visit a monastery in a picturesque environment. The Khumbu area beats everything that we saw until now and my camera swallows its rolls as never before. Green spruce-firs, snow and white mountain-peaks magically transform the landscape to a fairy-tale.
It's getting much warmer when we reach Thame at noon. Other tourists cross our way, none of them even thinks of Trashi Labsta. The only traffic are some yaks which make themselves useful as beast of burden.
We take our dinner in Thamo (11.158 ft) and for the first time we enjoy the sun with bare chest. There's even no snow here.

'Khumjung' is one of the biggest villages in Khumbu and also Pasang's residence. Here we say goodbye to our loyal porters because we don't need their help anymore. We show them our gratitude by giving them some of our medicines (aspirin, plaster, etc...), clothes, towels and sweets. We also give them an extra tip. They richly deserved it !
The kitchen-boys (4), Pasang and Dawa remain. They will accompany us until we leave from Syangboche with the helicopter.

Khumjung is dominated by the impressive 'Ama Dablang' (22.356 ft), by many considered as the most beautiful mountain in the world. We will probably spend our last night in a tent here because tomorrow we would like to stay in a lodge in Tengpoche (own initiative).
The last three nights we have the opportunity to stay in the house of Pasang's brother (in Khumjung).

Summary day 16 (Thengpo - Khumjung)