We left Gokyo in the afternoon and had a short day’s hike back the way we came and then east across the Ngozumpa Glacier. It was an eerie walk as it was very cloudy, we couldn’t see much and we could hear lots of small rockslides and ice falls around us.
We stayed in a small village just off the moraine and had an early night as we knew we had a long and tough climb the next day over the Cho La pass. We had fine weather in the morning, however as we neared the pass the cloudy came in and we even got a little snow.
The pass itself was steep and contained a lot of loose scree and rock – a real gut-buster towards the top. At the top of the pass we celebrated our achievement before walking up onto the glacier. It was very cloudy and our guide Shiva got a little lost and we missed the route down off the glacier, but we eventually found the path. From there it was a couple of hours walk to the small farm settlement of Dzonglha with just two lodges there.
Our first view of Cho La, wedged between a couple of big mountains. That’s Cholatse at right.
We made it!!! On the glacier.
Dad coming down off the glacier. The view of Cholatse from our lodge.
Our lodge at Dzonglha, looking west back up towards Cho La pass.
Gokyo is a pretty little village nestled between a turquoise lake and the edge of the glacier. It’s the furthest and highest permanent settlement in the valley, and used to be nothing more than a summer pasture for local herders. It’s still quite undeveloped with only a few lodges.
We woke up early the next morning to climb Gokyo Ri, a steep local mountain with incredible views from its peak. It was a perfect morning as we slowly ascended the switchbacks – the clouds came up the valley but quickly burnt off to afford us some incredible views.
Sunrise en route up to Gokyo Ri.
At the summit we had what I would have to say is the most AMAZING view I have ever experienced (and I’ve seen some goodies!). North of us stood Cho Oyu, one of the world’s few 8,000m peaks, and beyond that we could see some of the mountains of Tibet. The panorama extended to the east where we had our first unobstructed views of Mount Everest. It was a fantastic moment to see the mountain we’d come so far to see, and great to share it with my Dad! We could also see Lhotse and other mountains around Everest. Below us we could see the massive glacier that carved the valley, and we had great views to the south towards the lakes that we’d walked past on our way in to Gokyo.
Cho Oyu (the world’s eighth highest mountain) at left.
Kumar, Shiva, Dad and myself, with Mount Everest in the clouds in the distance.
Everest!
The next day we teamed up with Tammy and Claire, some of the other trekkers we’d got to know, and together we hiked further up the valley in search of the “Fifth Lake” for what we’d been told were some other great views of Everest. We walked along the moraine and heard a lot of rock and ice falls on the glacier. Unfortunately the clouds never burnt off and there wasn’t much to see at all!
We arrived at Namche Bazaar and checked in to the Hotel Namche, one of the larger trekking lodges in town. We were going to be in Namche for two nights, as this was one of our accilmatization stops.
Namche Bazaar, the largest village in the Everest region – and the last place with email! Aaaargh!
That evening I got horrendously sick from eating somthing. My money was on the yak steak I’d had for dinner, but I later found out someone else had got sick from the same glazed pastry I’d bought from a local bakery. Even though I was as sick as a dog the next morning, I knew I had to acclimatize and begun the day hike into the hills above the village. I didn’t last long. Dad went on and saw, among other things, some views of Ama Dablam and a yeti skull in a local monastery.
The next day we had to push on even though I wasn’t well at all, and it was a hard day’s walk to the tiny farming village of Phortse Thanga, near the mouth of the Gokyo valley. The next few days we slowly made our way up the valley, only ascending 300m a day as per the acclimatization guidelines. Even though we were there in trekking season, it was a pleasant surprise to find the valley almost empty of trekkers and tourists.
The village of Gokyo, with Cho Oyu beyond. The "hill" behind the village is actually the glacial moraine!