Trip Reports

Khumbu Climber - 16 Apr to 13 May '11

Written by Leader Paul Donovan, May 2011

The team, minus 1 met at Heathrow & travelled together to Kathmandu via Delhi's new airport. Here we met Guillermo before continuing onto Lukla where we commenced our trek up the Khumbu valley. No sooner had we left Lukla, the rains came in, reminding us where we were & that it doesn't just rain during the monsoon! We reached Phakding in around 3.5 hours where we had time to explore the local monastery before spending our first & only night in a lodge. The rain remained with us as we made our way to Namche - the team were now putting their orders in for an umbrella each after seeing how effective they are! After a rest day in Namche, taking in views of Everest etc & sampling the espresso coffees, it was time to move on to Debouche. The trail was busy as we headed out of Namche but it soon got quieter until we reached Thyengbouche where the afternoon puja was soon to start. Having had our own private puja a few days earlier, we opted for coffee & cakes at the bakery before heading for camp in Debouche. After a relatively warm night, an early start saw us in Pangbouche for a coffee before heading onto Dingbouche & our base for the next two days. Time to acclimatise & prepare ourselves for our first summit - Pokalde.

Since leaving the UK we have been on the same itinerary as Rich Parks & Steve Williams on their quest for Everest as part of the 737 Challenge. We wished them well & said our farewells today as we continued on our quests & they on theirs. As we headed towards Pokalde Base Camp the weather changed, bringing snow that lasted for the remainder of the day. We awoke to blue skies & a degree of warmth but the cloud came in & with it yet more snow. Our tents were up before the heaviest of the snow came. Question marks now lay over our summit bid in the morning. 03:00 came around quickly & by 04:00 we were underway, making steady progress in our ascent. We were blessed with a fantastic sunrise over Makalu, Baruntse & Ama Dablam just as we made our final push to the summit of Pokalde. After leaving some prayer flags & lighting some incense, we headed back to BC & onto Chukhung, where we ate a hearty meal to re-energise ourselves. The snow came thick & fast overnight but we awoke to glorious sunshine & positive thoughts of our next mountain - Island Peak. Our four hour walk into Base Camp gave us views over Baruntse as well as up the Imja valley - truly amazing! The best was yet to come.

As we made our way out of BC & headed towards High Camp the views just opened up - spectacular! The climb to High Camp was short but steep & from here the route to the summit was ahead of us. A 03:00 start came around very quickly as we made our way up the snow covered rock band to 'crampon point' where our glacial travel led us to the 100m headwall. We fixed the ropes & one by one we made our way to the summit in glorious sunshine with great views of Nuptse & Lhotse. The summit moment was shared only with our team - truly unique! Descent was initially 1000m back to BC, followed by a further 700m back to Dingbouche for an overnight before setting off for our next objective - Lobuche East. Due to illness, one of our team returned to Kathmandu, whilst the rest of us headed to Lobuche East BC in what can only be described as inclement weather - fingers crossed! Our route up to High Camp was in clear conditions but it didn't take long for the cloud to come in & obscure our views to the summit. Yet another 03:00 start as we headed through the rock band & onto the glacier. Sunrise over Makalu was mesmerising. The climb was steep yet the rewards were truly spectacular - high mountains are far as the eye could see. After spending an hour on the summit, we headed back to BC & a well earned rest.

The next day saw us trek to the foot of the climb up to the Cho La Pass, which enabled us to recover further before such a long day. An early start saw us in the Cho La within 2 hours & in Thagnag - our next stopping point, in a further 2 hours. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. The next day saw us cross the glacier to Gokyo where we set up camp in preparation for our early morning ascent of Gokyo Ri (5,400m). Although this began in cloud, by the time the summit was reached, the views that were promised were certainly all around. After resting a while, it was down for breakfast before continuing onto Photse Tanga for the night. The air was certainly getting easier to breathe. We were on the homeward trek as we firstly headed for Namche, then onto Phakding before eventually coming to a halt a Lukla, to await our flight back to Kathmandu. Back in Kathmandu, there was just enough time for a little retail therapy & sightseeing before heading back to the UK & saying our farewells. A successful trip all round.

Many thanks to Kit Spencer & his team at Summit Trekking.

A big thank you to Lhakpa & his team of Sherpas, Kitchen Staff & Porters

Congratulations & thank you to the Climbing Team - Rob, Martyn, Patrick, Steve & Guillermo, for their achievements & for putting up with me during the 28 day trip.

Llongyfarchiadau Pawb
Paul Donovan
Khumbu Climber Expedition Leader - May 2011 « Previous report | Next report »

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