Dingboche to Lobouche
Friday, 8th May, (4930 metres, about 16150 feet), 5 pm
| There was just a teensy, weensy bit of excitement between 1 30 and 1 45 am... | |
| Last night I had a great sleep
- about 8 30 to 1 30 am and from 1 45 to 5 30 am..
There was just a teensy, weensy bit of excitement between 1 30 and 1 45 am! I was going to the (outside) loo, and I saw this yak’s backside sticking out between the loo hut and a stone wall (a spot out of the wind for the yak). I ignored it - it was probably sleeping on its feet - and went into the loo. I concentrated on the business in hand. As I opened the loo door, I caught sight of these enormous horns facing me! Thank goodness that it was as scared of me as I was of it. It ran off, while I remained rooted to the spot! (It had probably seen my head torch flickering). |
A close encounter of the Yak kind at this hut |
Today we had an easy morning, gradually ascending to Dughla (just over 15,000 feet, around 4620 metres), but the afternoon session over the snout of the Khumbu Glacier was hellish steep over rough ground.
We passed the memorials to the Sherpas killed in Himalayan climbing expeditions. So many memorials (including one or two for western or Japanese climbers) and so remote.
Memorials to Sherpas killed in expeditions
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True to form, Colin and I went climbing the slope opposite our lodge at Lobouche. This was quite some fun. First it we followed a path, then it became a scramble, then we had to clamber over big boulders, and then it was scree. It was particularly ‘challenging’ coming down. We did get our first sights of Pumori, the 23 400 feet/7145 metres mountain out of which Kala Pattar, our objective at 18,200 feet/5545 metres high, grows like a sort of toe-nail. |
Looking down on Lobouche lodges |
‘Proper ‘ climbers don’t regard Kala Pattar as a peak. Nevertheless, we are not proper climbers and Kala Pattar is the summit of our ambitions.
We got a view of it today but it didn’t look very much of a challenge, being brown or black in colour (the name means black hill in Hindi), amid all these lofty snow covered peaks. It was overshadowed by far by the views of the Lhotse/Nuptse massif which hides Everest from the south. No doubt closer acquaintance will modify our opinions.
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