Trip Reports

Khumbu Climber, October 2022

Summit of Lobuje East
Trip Report

Written by Leader Olan Parkinson, November 2022

To paraphrase the old military adage, ‘no plan survives contact with the enemy,’ pretty much sums up the initial stage of this autumn’s Khumbu Climber. I had not yet reached the airport when I received a message that the team’s flight to Doha had been delayed, or possibly cancelled. I was to travel on a different flight, transiting through Abu Dhabi, so it didn’t affect me, but for the members of the team, this wasn’t a great start. The outcome was that they were put up for the night in the nearby Holiday Inn, as it turned out the flight was going to be delayed to such a degree that they would subsequently miss their connecting flights and the lay-over in Doha would have been so lengthy as to cause problems regarding Covid concerns and PCRs.

And so it was. After two years of postponing the trip, we were forced straight into the expedition mindset whereby flexibility and patience are most definitely virtues. Thankfully all flights and team members were at Hotel Himalaya by 03.30 am on the Monday, which put us behind schedule by a day, but in a month-long trip we would have opportunities to make this time up.

It was an early start on the Tuesday morning (18th) as we had to drive to Ramechhap airport. This was a new endeavour for me as previously all flights to Lukla went from Kathmandu, but for several reasons this was the new situation, which although making the flights to Lukla more reliable and frequent, it did mean a three-and-a-half-hour drive in the early hours to get there. The same rules applied however, to missing your scheduled flight, we would now be at the back of the queue which would mean a long wait at the airport, but at last we got our flight and arrived in Lukla at lunch time, giving us enough opportunity to check kit have some lunch before trekking to Phakding, arriving about 4pm. We stayed in our Sirdar’s, (Dawa) lodge this night, lulled to sleep by perpetually barking dogs. Despite my absence over the previous years, this was all to familiar.

Wednesday morning dawned bright and fresh, the dogs (now) asleep, exhausted from their night of vocal exertions, lay scattered about outside. Kit bags slowly getting stacked in the yard of the lodge as everyone sat inside for the first of many breakfasts prepared by Ramesh and his kitchen team. Today we were walking to Namche. Watching the trekkers file past it was clear it was going to be a busy day and soon we joined the throng of fresh faced and fresh smelling (for now) trekkers as the seemingly endless line wound its way through the villages of Monjo and Jorsalle, following the Dudh Kosi river until we reached the much photographed, prayer flag covered suspension bridge below Namche hill, and began the slow climb towards the Sherpa hub and gateway to the Khumbu.

Two nights were spent in Namche, as is the norm on these trips, as at 3,300m, the effects of altitude begin to make themselves felt, and indeed some members were struggling with headaches and a few coughs, but this is normal, and nothing to be overly concerned about, yet. A walk up to the Everest view hotel was planned, but the afore mentioned stream of people, winding their way up this track was off-putting so instead we crossed to the other side of Namche and walked up towards Khumjung, (3,700m approx.) which provided a much better acclimatisation walk, infinitely quieter and afforded the same views.

Friday the 21st, we set off for Deboche (3,700m) via the Tengboche monastery, with lunch at the amusingly name Phunki Thanga down by the river. It was a similar story regarding the crowds on the climb to the monastery, and it would continue to be until we turned off the Everest Base Camp trail to go to Dingboche. The Bakery at the monastery, which I have visited many times was closed, in fact closed down, a result of the covid lockdowns no doubt. We arrived at the small campsite at Deboche at 3pm, although the sun had already begun to dip behind the mountains, as we are so low in the valley here. But it was a quiet campsite, being a little further out from the main lodges in Deboche. This night we celebrated Bram’s birthday with a cake from Ramesh. Amazing that they can produce these using Kerosene Stoves.

Saturday, we moved to Dingboche (4,410m) via Somare for lunch and stopping at a small monastery above Panboche, famed for the purported Yeti scalp contained within. The suffix ‘-che’, Dawa informed me means footprint and refers to any place where the Lama Rinpoche set foot during his legendary mystical flight around the Khumbu. Looking at all the village names in the Khumbu he sees to have visited everywhere.

So, we were to camp at the Ama Dablam lodge, Dingboche for two nights and on our ‘rest’ day we climbed to approx. 4,800m. Most of the team were acclimatising well but Jon T. and Scott were having difficulties. Jon was struggling with headaches and nausea, while Scott had a cough that was slowly getting worse, as a consequence he wasn’t sleeping very well, so after some discussion the decision was made that they would both stay in Dingboche while the rest of the team went up to Pokalde, in the hope that they would recover enough to then move on up to Island Peak base camp (4,900m).

We moved up to Pokalde base camp (4,900m) on the 24th which was a pleasant day away from the crowds on the Everest Base camp trail. The base camp was a large spacious area and gave us room to go through some fixed rope and rappel drills. At this point everyone was doing well and all fit to move up to the high camp (5,400m) the next day. Three hours saw us at the high camp which again had plenty of room, and is set right below Pokalde, giving us a good view of the route. Everyone rests in preparation for the first climb of the trip. We had a planned 3.30 am wake up and hoping to set off about 4.30 am. It’s difficult to sleep when you know that you have to be up really early, and go through the efforts involved in getting into your climbing gear, but somehow, you always manage to get enough sleep, and at any rate, it’s more than the kitchen team get as they are up at least an hour before preparing hot water and food, the sound of the kerosene stoves bursting into life is a sure sign that you don’t have long left in the sleeping bag before the knock on the tent comes accompanied by ‘morning, tea?’

Once we had all had breakfast, everyone pulled themselves out of their tents into the not overly cold morning. Bram had wisely decided to give the ascent a miss as he had a persistent headache but was feeling otherwise ok. The rest of the team were good, bar one. After an initial headcount, we all set off, but one voice had been conspicuous by its absence, and Angela was not amongst the group. The guys had given her breakfast, but she had not come out of her tent. She had a thumping headache and was feeling sick, so Pokalde was not going to happen for Angela either. I sent the team on and decided I needed to stay to monitor and see if Angela could sleep and then perhaps descend with Bram a little later.

After some water, Diamox and Paracetamol, Angela began to feel better and by 9.30 am, she and Bram descended to Chukkung. By now I could see the team nearing the Summit of Pokalde, so I started up the route myself to meet them on their way down. I met them just above the difficult step/first fixed ropes at about 5,600m. Snow conditions had predictably softened so the going was a little more precarious on the way down but the whole team were back at high camp by lunch time. After some food they would start their descent to Chukkung while Lama, Pasang and I returned to Dingboche to check on Jon and Scott.

We got back to Dingboche by three pm having had my descending skills thoroughly put to the test by Pasang (basically in a pair of Crocs) the whole way. Jon was feeling better and had been eating and sleeping OK. Scott however still had his cough. It was about two and a half hours to Chukkung from Dingboche, so we decided to stay that night and walk to Island Peak base camp to join the rest of the team tomorrow.

The next morning, it was pretty evident that Scott was going nowhere. He had had a rough night coughing a lot and clearly had not slept much When he walked into the room in the morning, I could tell that he knew his trip was probably over. He had done all he could to get himself better and had not given up easily, but it was clear that he was now in considerable discomfort, so we made arrangements for him to fly out by helicopter that morning. If there had been any doubt, the short walk to the helipad produced several bouts of painful coughing. It was sad to see him go as he, like many, had been planning for this trip for a while and he was a buoyant member of the team despite his worsening condition but when altitude decides you’re done, there is no argument. So, Jon, Lama and I waved Scott farewell and then headed for Chukkung and Imja Tse base camp.

We arrived at base camp late afternoon, and so far, Jon was feeling ok. The Jagged Globe Island Peak base camp is at a different location to the ‘official’ base camp, due to the water being better here and we have it to ourselves. It adds about 1 hour to the walk to high camp (5,600m). We left at 1pm for high camp the next day, passing through the main base camp which seemed busy enough. At this point Angela mentioned to me that she was feeling a little nauseated and had the beginnings of a headache but was going to take some Diamox and Paracetamol and continue for an hour to see how she felt. Within an hour her condition deteriorated quite quickly, becoming unsteady and relatively unresponsive, enough to warrant an immediate turnaround. I had stayed back with Angela to monitor so the rest of the team had continued. I caught up with them and explained the situation with regard to Angela, collected some Dexamethasone and started back down to catch up with her. By the time I reached Angela her condition had not improved, which wasn’t surprising as she had not lost a huge amount of altitude. I gave her the Dex and made the decision to take her all the way down to Chukkung as the kitchen hand was only going to go as far as our base camp. So, I shouldered Angela’s pack and we slowly started to make our way down. We made it to Chukkung just as it had got dark by which time Angela’s condition had improved considerably. The lodge was busy but thankfully there were two rooms available for the two nights we were to stay there. I don’t think either of us got much sleep that night due to noise and also wondering how the rest of the team were getting on. As it happened, they had no problems summiting (other than the obvious) and returned safely to Dingboche by 2.30 pm via Chukkung on Sun 30th.

As the team summited Island Peak on the scheduled day, it now meant we had recovered our lost day from the beginning of the trip. The forecast was looking really good which meant we had one spare summit day to play around with. We decided to use this day as a rest day before proceeding to Lobuje East base camp. So, the day was spent washing and sitting in the café watching Sherpa on repeat. Jon, although having summited Island Peak, was considering going down at this point, and Angela was considering the same. We had a chat over a coffee and decided that it was worth at least coming to Lobuje East base camp, as it was an easy trail to backtrack if necessary. They then could at least stay with the group and cross the Cho La pass together if they felt OK. I was reluctant to split the group here and really wanted them to stay involved if possible.

Tuesday November 1st we all moved to Lobuje East base camp (5,100m), which was about 4.5 hours along easy ground via the hamlet of Dugla where we stopped for lunch. We (belatedly) celebrated Richard’s 60th birthday here with yet another cake, produced by Ramesh.

The next morning, we set off for high camp (5,300m). Jon had seemingly turned a corner acclimatisation wise and had decided to give the ascent a go. Angela also feeling better accompanied us to high camp but then returned to base camp where we would meet her the next day. The climb to high camp takes about two and a half hours. There were already quite a few tents there, many of which stay for the season. Lama, Ang Chiri and Youla had gone ahead to secure places for our tents and so when we arrived our tents were already up. The plan was to leave at approximately 3 am so most went to lie down and wait for food at 5 pm. Conditions were still and not very cold, cloud was building in the valley below but didn’t quite reach high camp as the sun disappeared behind Cholatse which towered in the background.

2 am wake up arrived far too quickly, but the weather was as forecast, no wind and clear skies, and again it wasn’t that cold. The ascent of Lobuje East is more technical than Island Peak but the first half is all on rock, Dawa and the Sherpas expertly led us through the slabby maze towards the upper sections. Heather and Richard decided that they wanted to go down, and wisely made the decision before things got too complicated or committing. So down they went with Lama Sherpa, their torchlights tiny dots amongst the huge rocky slabs.

The rest of us continued weaving our way up towards the crampon point, watching over our shoulders as the dawn teased its way over the distant Ama Dablam, who’s ridge was adorned with the many head torches of those scaling their own heights that morning.

The upper snow sections of Lobuje East are not technical but the ridge is unrelenting in steepness, along the fixed ropes the team climbed until eventually we all popped out on a small flat area just below the actual summit. A short climb past some prayer flags and the team were on the narrow summit ridge (9am) with an uninterrupted panoramic view of the Khumbu and beyond.

The team were back down at high camp by 12.30 and after some noodle soup and juice, we were on our way back to base camp, reaching there by 3.30 pm.

Friday 4th Nov – Cho La.

We left base camp at 8 am. We decided to only travel as far as Dragnag that day as it’s a long way to Gokyo particularly for the porters. Gokyo is about another 2/3 hours from Dragnag across the Ngozumpa glacier, which is a dry glacier covered with moraine and isn’t easy going at the end of a day. Everyone was feeling well after the ascent, and we made good time getting to the glacier at the foot of the Cho La (5,400m). A little less than an hour and we were all across the pass, with some pleasant trekking down to Dragnag to follow.

The next morning, we reached the Ngozumpa glacier in about an hour. It’s difficult to appreciate the scale here until you see the people weaving their way through the moraine. Easy to lose people here. We crossed the glacier without incident until the exit slopes. The banks above the glacier rose about 50m above us, and the sun was hitting the tops where some sizable boulders were defying gravity. There were quite a few people crossing under this dangerous section when the sun, heating the rocks, was causing dramatic sublimation of the ice holding the rocks in place. Very quickly the rocks started to fall, exciting to watch, terrifying to be in the line of fire. Thankfully no one was hurt, and all groups managed to get off the glacier and make their way onwards to Gokyo which from this point is only 10 minutes away.

After lunch some of the group climbed up to Gokyo Ri to get some more views of Everest, the Khumbu and Cho Oyo in the distance, but the last hurdle had been crossed. From here it was an easy paced descent back to the Khumbu, Namche and then Lukla where we had our final farewell to Dawa and our incredible Nepalese support crew.

 

As always, thanks must go to the Jagged Globe team for the support and opportunity to travel to these places and see such sights. Knowing that they are there in the background is incredibly reassuring, and as far as I am concerned, these guys are second to none.

The Team

Members

Scott A.

Heather A.

Richard A.

Oliver B.

Caz F.

Steven M.

Angela M.

John O’C.

Sandra O’R.

Bram O.

Graham P.

Jon T.

Sherpa

Dawa Tsering Sherpa (Sirdar)

Lama Dawa Sherpa

Ang Chiri Sherpa

Youla Sherpa

Cook.

Ramesh

Kitchen Hands

Mezo

Sira

Pasang

Chantin

Raja

Dilip

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