Coming Down: Facing the Phakding Bridge Again

Thursday, 14th May, Evening

This was going to be the last great challenge...

Had a bit of a headache today (Rakshi at Namche Bazaar last night), but at least it was not due to altitude sickness!

It was a long day’s walking today. We managed the long downhill stretch from Namche smoothly enough, but the bit from Gorsale to Phakding dragged a bit. On the way down from Namche Sherpa Dawa pointed out to us our final view of (a tiny) Mount Everest. It was rather piquant to have to make our farewells to it.

This was however a day for revisiting old fears. I knew there were several bits on the walk up to Namche when I had been scared and/or had had a helping hand from one of the porters. I wondered how I how I would feel about them when coming down. In fact I could only identify two or three slightly eyebrows-raising bits where the path narrowed next to a steep drop, but none of them gave me any trouble this time. Of course the stick had been a great success in giving confidence in this area.

But the suspension bridge at Phakding loomed. This was going to be the last great challenge. I had been getting blasé about suspension bridges, even going back on them to pose for pictures. Now it was the turn of the 'biggie'.

I ran off ahead to face this last peril by myself. As we turned around a corner to see it at last, I got a shock: people were using the new metal bridge (I’d totally forgotten about it).

Old and new suspesnion bridges at Phakding side by side

The newly opened metal bridge is on the right

Bridgemaster at new Phakding bridge

The bridgemaster for the new bridge at Phakding

The old bridge had already lost much of its wood at both ends.

Wood is a scarce commodity, so the residents who live on this side send people over to steal the wood from the other end of the bridge.

Meanwhile, the people from the far side are stealing the wood from this end. So we end up, virtually overnight, with a bridge which is missing most of the wood from both ends.

The metal bridge was fine to cross; I don’t know whether I felt relieved or pleased that there was no challenge to face.

The rest of the climb up to Lukla was soon over. A really cold beer was called for.

Not So Much a Challenging Bridge, More a Case Of Challenging Bridgework

As soon as the first cold beer touched my mouth, I got violent toothache: something to do with our rapid descent and trapped air bubbles in fillings - deep sea divers get similar problems - but it was certainly challenging.

Off into the sunset, planning the next one

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