The Khumbu Diaries, integral version
10 December 2010
For a month in the Fall of 2010, I joined a Jagged Globe expedition to the Khumbu region of Nepal. It featured lots of trekking, some easy climbing to high Himalayan summits, sickness and exhaustion, rain, snow, wind and sunshine, new friendships and random encounters and, of course, superb landscapes among the highest mountains in the world.
Gathered in a single page for convenience are my photos of the trip. Since this is a pretty huge post, you might want instead to browse the photo essays by day entries.
Day 1-2
Collecting all our kit bags at the decrepit Kathmandu airport.
Kathmandu at night.
A surprising welcome to the domestic terminal of Kathmandu airport.
Weighing our luggage for the flight to Lukla. Despite wearing our double boots and heaviest equipment, we were so overweight that a few kit bags traveled on later flights.
The cockpit of our twin otter to Lukla.
Terrace fields between Kathmandu and Lukla.
Landing and taking off from Lukla can be a scary experience...
Lukla about to be engulfed in the clouds.
Decorated lodge in Lukla.
The Lukla airstrip and one of the twin otters.
A dzo, one of the many yak/cow hybrids used for moving heavy loads on the Khumbu trails.
Local kids in Lukla.
The first of many days of trekking, still in the streets of Lukla.
A dzo on one of the many suspension bridges above the Dudh Kosi.
Rule number 1 of suspension bridges: yaks always have priority.
A dzo and its handler near Phakding.
A very curious and amateur photographer girl in our Phakding lodge.
The suspension bridge leading to Phakding.
The first glimpse of mountains in the night, above Phakding.
Day 3
Rachel stealing my job.
Horses are sometimes used on the trails by tired trekkers.
Kids playing on the trail.
Dave crossing a suspension bridge.
Illustration of rule number 1 of suspension bridges (see yesterday's post).
Sacred engravings at the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park.
Local Khumbu people on the trail.
Jo, John and Chris photographing the photographer.
All bridges are abundantly decorated with prayer flags.
Details of prayer flags on a bridge.
Local kid playing in a house on the trail to Namche.
A trekker showing her models the photo she has just taken.
A very high suspension bridge, to protect against floods of the Dudh Kosi, shortly before Namche.
John and Torben at the end of the uphill section before Namche.
Jo above the coloured roofs of Namche.
The sherpa capital of Namche, with Kongde in the background.
One of the ridges of Kongde showing through the clouds.
A Tibetan stupa next to Kongde in Namche.
Day 4
Everest and Lhotse at sunrise.
Examining photos of Everest, with sunrise on Kongde in the background.
Mark in front of Kongde.
Tibetan prayer wheels in front of Kongde.
Namche and Kongde from the Syangboche airstrip.
Jo, Rachel and John coming up the hill above Namche.
A skydiver about to land, in front of Khumbu Yul Lha, one of the most sacred mountain of the region.
A small airplane lands at the Syangboche airstrip, with Kongde in the background.
Dave and Chris looking at Kongde, with Khumbu Yul Lha in the background.
A vulture flying in front of Mt Everest.
A search and rescue helicopter flying up the Dingboche valley, with Everest in the background.
Chongba Sherpa hiking in front of Mt Everest.
Chongba Sherpa entering the famous Everest View Hotel on the heights above Namche.
The village of Phortse, below Taboche.
The stunning Ama Dablam in all its majesty. This view is the reason every climber coming through the Khumbu becomes obsessed with this mountain.
A paraglider in front of Kongde.
Our trekking group descending to Khumjung.
The village of Khumjung, with Ama Dablam in the background
A small yak caravan coming down to Namche from Khunde in afternoon mist.
Day 5
Stupa honouring Tenzing Norgay, in front of Lhotse South Face.
Prayer flags in front of Kangtega.
Lone tree on a ridge in front of Kongde, on the trail to Tengboche.
A dzo caravan below Ama Dablam.
Phortse and Taboche, at the head of the Gokyo valley.
One of the heroic porters carrying our kit bags up the trail to Tengboche.
Chyote, our sirdar (head sherpa), looking unusually worried on the trail to Tengboche.
Chongba Sherpa and a young dzo handler trying to restrain the powerful beast.
Buddhist monks rehearsing dances for an upcoming festival in the Tengboche monastery.
A buddhist monk directing the dance rehearsals in the Tengboche monastery.
The main prayer room of the Tengboche monastery, an important holy place for Tibetan buddhism in Nepal.
Two buddhist monks on the front steps of the Tengboche monastery.
Sunset over Lhotse from Deboche.
Sunset light over the sacred mountain Khumbu Yul Lha.
The summit of Cholatse (?) in evening mist, shortly before sunset.
Sunset over Khumbu Yul Lha, and a personal hommage to Galen Rowell and his famous "Mountain Light" book cover.
Day 6
Morning prayers in the Tengboche monastery.
The Tengboche monastery in front of Kongde.
Ama Dablam above the Imja Khola river.
Ama Dablam showing through prayer flags.
Two porters on the trail to Dingboche.
The group nearing a stupa on the trail, with Ama Dablam in the background.
A stupa in front of Ama Dablam.
Two Japanese trekkers near a stupa above the trail.
Taboche showing through clearing clouds.
The end of the Cho La valley, with a series of subsidiary peaks of the Taboche-Cholatse group.
Lhotse south face seen from the ridge above Dingboche.
The summit of Ama Dablam in evening light.
Evening light on Cholatse, seen from Dingboche.
Our first glimpse of Lobuje East, which was to be our third summit.
Prayer flags and Lhotse bathed in warm evening light.
Moonrise over Makalu, the 5th highest mountain in the world.
The now traditional evening mist over the Dingboche ridge from where I witnessed sunset.
Boris, a fellow Frenchman met on the ridge, admiring last light on Ama Dablam.
Day 7
Wind on the south face of Lhotse at sunrise.
The east face of Taboche.
Prayer flags in front of Lhotse on the ridge above Dingboche.
Rachel was the only other to get up early for sunrise in Dingboche. In the background, the north face of Ama Dablam.
This woman was making a (magnificent) oil painting of Taboche during sunrise.
A couple enjoying sunrise on Lhotse.
The Imja valley, showing Dingboche in the valley, Island Peak (also known as Imja Tse) and the south face of Lhotse.
Coming back up the ridge later in the day, with a porter team resting at the high point. In the background, Taboche was getting engulfed in afternoon clouds.
Island Peak from Dingboche. The summit ridge is visible, but the normal climbing route goes around the back.
A prayer mast was marking the highest reachable point on the ridge above Dingboche. Going any higher would require scrambling/easy climbing, and I was feeling the effects of the altitude by then.
The south face of Cholatse in rising mist, as the day progressed.
Day 8
Dingboche in front of Kongde (?).
A herd of yaks overtook us on the trail to Pokalde BC.
A sightseeing plane flying above Ombigaichan.
The group trekking up the Imja valley, with Taboche in the background.
Mungo walking up the valley, with Island Peak in the background, which we were to climb a few days later.
A flock of birds passing in front of the Nuptse-Lhotse wall.
The yaks carrying our kit bags on the way to Pokalde BC.
Heading back toward Taboche in the final section of the trail.
Rachel on the last few hundred meters before camp, with Makalu, the 5th highest mountain in the world, in the background.
Karma Sherpa bringing us refreshments after setting camp. We hadn't even arrived there yet!
Trekkers admiring the north face of Ama Dablam.
Two trekkers enjoying the scenery near Pokalde BC.
Karma coiling up rope for the fixed line exercises in Pokalde BC.
Jo practicing fixed line ascension in Pokalde BC.
The summit of Ama Dablam in evening light.
Ama Dablam shrouded in the traditional evening mist.
Lone figure below Ama Dablam engulfed in clouds once again.
Moonlight over Ama Dablam.
Our mess tent in front of Ama Dablam at night.
Day 9
The summit of Taboche showing up at sunrise.
Unidentified mountains to the south-east of Ama Dablam, at sunrise.
Taboche above morning frost on the plateau above Pokalde BC.
Base Camp at sunrise from the plateau. Pokalde is the snowed-up summit on the right side.
The Nuptse-Lhotse wall almost in its entirety.
Ascending to Pokalde High Camp, with Ama Dablam in the background.
Mark and Ama Dablam.
Karma handling a yak while another sherpa was fastening a load which had fallen.
Torben coming up to High Camp.
Makalu from Pokalde High Camp.
Mungo on the way to the Kongma La pass. Pokalde High Camp can be seen just above the lake.
Prayer flags marking the Kongma La pass, in front of the Nuptse-Lhotse wall.
360° panorama from the Kongma La pass. Pokalde is the summit at the end of the ridge, on the right side of the picture. Both Makalu and the Nuptse-Lhotse wall can also be seen.
Click on the image for a larger version.
On the other side of the Kongma La.
Our High Camp below Makalu.
Mungo looking up at Pokalde from the Kongma La.
Prayer flags on the Kongma La.
Chyote, our sirdar, in front of Makalu during sunset.
Sunset scene from Pokalde High Camp, framed by Lhotse on the left and Ama Dablam on the right.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Sunset view from High Camp.
Day 10
A traversing section of the climb up Pokalde, as a new day was dawning.
Easy scramble on snow up the flanks of Pokalde.
Chyote was leading the way, as always. In the background, first light over Makalu.
John on the stop we made to undress and put sunglasses on, as soon as the sun reached us.
Rachel, John and Mark coming up Pokalde.
Mark getting close to the summit, with the Nuptse-Lhotse wall in the background.
The group coming up over a magnificent backdrop.
Chyote on the traverse below the summit, going ahead to fix ropes. In the background, the Taboche-Cholatse group.
Karma fixing rope below the summit.
The summit cairn of Pokalde. 5806m.
360° panorama from the summit of Pokalde, showing from left to right, the Kongma La pass, Nuptse, Lhotse, Island Peak, Makalu, Ama Dablam, Taboche, Cholatse, Lobuje East and Pumori (and of course many, many others).
Click on the image for a larger version.
The rest of the group coming up the last few meters below the summit.
Chyote and Mungo waving to the first summiter.
Torben coming up the fixed line. Though the final section was a bit exposed, the main danger was falling stones as the ground was extremely loose.
Chongba below the summit block.
Chongba helps Mark up. The last section had to be soloed as the summit blocks were too loose to fix rope.
Amazingly, despite half a dozen expeditions to the mountain, Mungo had never been on the actual top! Chyote celebrates his first Pokalde summit. Mungo still remains the only Jagged Globe not to have summited Mont Blanc.
Karma supervises Mark setting up an abseil from the summit.
Back in Base Camp, Norrie admires sunset over Ama Dablam.
After quite a few botched tries, I finally managed to get a startrail photo over Ama Dablam. 30 minutes exposure.
Day 11-12
The Imja valley, with Island Peak at its head, on the way down from Pokalde BC.
The village of Pheriche, home of the local health post, and overshadowed by Taboche.
A small stupa in front of Taboche. Its unofficial nickname is "The Ego Mountain".
Another stupa in front of the same angry Taboche.
High winds making the prayer flags around a stupa in Dingboche dance.
Prayer flags in front of Taboche.
The summit of Taboche in high winds.
Crows playing with the winds in front of Taboche.
Susie, one of the volunteer doctors at the Pheriche health post, warming up a puppy.
More puppy love from Suzie, the other doctor at Pheriche.
Trekkers on the Dingboche ridge, in front of the west face of Island Peak.
Crows fly in front of Kongde getting engulfed by clouds.
Trekkers coming down the Imja valley, with Island Peak in the background.
A trekker in front of a fluted snow face, above Chukhung.
Day 13
High winds blowing snow off the summit ridges of Lhotse and Lhotse Shar.
Mungo in an intense session of toothbrushing at Island Peak BC.
Porters on their way to the "true" Island Peak BC, with Taboche in the background.
Jo, Dave and the others trek up Island Peak, with the moon and Taboche looking down on us.
A break below the west face of Island Peak.
A giant slide (over a kilometre high) on the Nuptse-Lhotse wall. I intend to climb it someday, but picking up a safe line will certainly be a challenge...
Mark on the long plateau below the true Island Peak BC.
A cairn on the trail, next to Taboche.
Panorama of the view above Island Peak BC, showing the dangerous Ambulapcha pass and a large glacier moraine.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Going up to High Camp from Base Camp, above the glacial lakes of the Ambulapcha.
Rachel, Jo and Mungo coming up to a very windy and dusty High Camp.
The view from High Camp, showing the snow face of Amphu.
Norrie nursing a bad cough at High Camp. We went up the gully on the top-right edge of the photo the next morning.
Day 14
3am, the start of the climb on the rock buttress by headlamps.
The start of the glacier section, with the top of the rock buttress visible in the background.
Going up the glacier.
A rope team bypassing a deep crevasse on the glacier.
The path on the glacier zigzagged a lot to avoid the many crevasses.
Rising sun over the rope team on the Island Peak glacier.
Chyote leads the way at the end of the glacier, with the headwall and the summit ridge a short way in front of us.
Mungo and the others coming up to the bottom of the headwall, the last major obstacle before the summit.
Chyote trying to untangle the polyprop rope used to fix the headwall.
Two climbers descending the summit ridge, with Ama Dablam in front.
Karma on top of the headwall, with Ama Dablam in the background.
A climber coming up the last few meters of the summit ridge.
Norrie finishing the summit ridge.
Summit mugshot, with Lhotse in the background. From left to right, standing: Chongba, Chyote, Norrie, Rachel, Jo, Karma, Mungo. Sitting: Mark, Chris, Dave.
Karma descending the traffic jam on the summit ridge. The sherpas ended up having to fix a second line for other climbers to ascend simultaneously.
Panorama from the summit ridge. Only the much higher Lhotse-Nuptse wall is not shown here.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Chongba starting the abseil of the headwall.
A solo climber above a crevasse on the Island Peak glacier.
The bottom of the glacier, showing the Ambulapcha lakes and the top of the rock buttress.
Rachel looking one last time at the summit from the bottom of the glacier.
A climber enjoying the view from the top of the rock buttress.
Chongba starting the descent of the rock buttress.
Back in Base Camp, the Milky Way made an appearance to finish a beautiful day.
Day 15
The view from our alternative Island Peak BC.
Rachel enjoying some reading in Island Peak BC, despite a chilling wind.
The summit of Ama Dablam under peculiar cloud formations.
Ama Dablam above the trail going down the Imja valley.
A yak caravan going up to Island Peak.
Norrie below Taboche.
Norrie admiring Ama Dablam, with Taboche in the background.
360° panorama above Chukhung, showing from left to right, Taboche, Cholatse, Pokalde, Chukhung Ri, Pumori, Nuptse, Lhotse, Lhotse Shar, Island Peak, Amphu and Ama Dablam.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Mungo and Rachel being Mungo and Rachel.
Toilets with a view.
Thawing river on the Imja valley, with Taboche in the background.
The same river below Ama Dablam.
Memorial to Jerry Kukuczka, the second man to climb all 14 summits above 8000m, and who tragically died putting a new route on the visible south face of Lhotse.
The mountains above Namche, seen from Chukhung.
Going back from Island Peak.
Prayer flags on a background of rock and ice, on the east face of Taboche.
A massive lenticular cloud above Lhotse, forecasting the bad weather that hit us the next day.
Day 16/h2>
Taboche in the last bit of sunlight we would see for the entire day.
Mungo and John departing the lodge in Dingboche, wearing the Nepali scarfs that had just been given to us to wish us a safe journey.
One last look at the Imja valley and Island Peak.
A rescue helicopter flying next to the east face of Taboche.
Two trekkers on the Dingboche ridge, with a buttress of Ama Dablam in the background.
A trekker above Pheriche.
Mungo on the trail.
Cholatse, still far ahead.
A hut, maybe used by yak herders, with Cholatse in the background.
Heavy mist on the east face of Cholatse.
A yak caravan and heavily ladden porters going down valley back to Dingboche or Namche.
Yaks on the trail.
Prayer flags below a barely visible Cholatse.
Another yak caravan headed to Lobuje East BC.
The valley we had just followed, with Ama Dablam in the back and Pheriche visible below the ridge.
Jo on the trail, shortly before snow hit us.
The long promised snow finally arrives while we are still an hour away from BC.
Day 17
Early morning in glorious sunshine and buried tents despite our efforts during the night.
John checking the weather in a very noncommital way.
The very steep north face of Cholatse purges some of the freshly fallen snow.
One place where I definitely didn't want to be...
There's nothing like sunshine after a big storm.
A sub-summit of the Taboche-Cholatse group.
Rachel on the big plateau at the edge of which we established Base Camp.
Trekkers coming down from the Cho La pass, with Taboche in the background.
360° panorama from the ridge above BC. From left to right, Ama Dablam, Malangphulang, Taboche, Cholatse, Cho La pass, Lobuje East, Lhotse.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Malangphulang and part of the north face of Taboche.
The group expresses its creativity in a temproary modern art installation.
Light effects and high winds blasting fresh snow off the summit of Cholatse.
Weird sun effect in the Nepali sky.
Base Camp below Ama Dablam and Malangphulang.
Ama Dablam and the Malangphulang group.
Malangphulang and a friend.
Sunset behind the north face of Cholatse.
Lobuje East, with the slabs in the shade and the summit ridge catching the last rays of sun.
Day 18
Taboche and Cholatse from BC, in early morning light.
Dave and Chyote on the way to High Camp.
Mungo, our fearless leader.
Chongba, always smiling.
One of the porters, shortly before High Camp.
Mark and Norrie arriving in High Camp.
Amazingly, the yaks followed us to all the high camps.
What I believe to be an eagle making a low reconnaissance flight above our camp.
An eagle flying above a sub-buttress of Lobuje.
Ama Dablam above the High Camp lake.
Evening mist below Ama Dablam.
Spontaneous modeling from the group, keen on helping me get better pictures...
Sunset mist below Cholatse.
Panorama of the view from above camp, with the Nuptse-Lhotse wall, Ama Dablam and Taboche-Cholatse.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Kongde (?) making another appearance.
High Camp from above.
Ama Dablam, a mountain I never get tired of photographing.
Members of a Canadian expedition camped next to us, after summitting Island Peak on the same day, a week earlier.
Nuptse-Lhotse catching the last rays.
Ama Dablam seconds away from sunset.
Rachel admiring Ama Dablam from High Camp.
Day 19
A member of the cook team taking a break in High Camp, with a windy Ama Dablam in the background.
Mungo and Mark starting the descent back to Base Camp.
Taboche and Cholatse on the way down from High Camp.
Two porters on the way down to Base Camp.
Jo climbing back up the ridge above Base Camp, with the north face of Cholatse in the background.
A glacial lake below Cholatse. We came a few days earlier from the left side of the image and would cross the Cho La pass, extreme right, the next day.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Mungo, Jo and John below Cholatse.
The team moving upvalley toward the Cho La pass (visible as the second skyline notch from the right).
A porter relaxing in our new camp.
High winds again on the north face of Cholatse.
Evening mist making yet another appearance.
The tip of Malangphulang showing through the clouds above Taboche.
Day 20
The last stars disappear shortly before sunrise above the north face of Cholatse.
Details of the north face of Cholatse at sunrise.
We were already on the way by first light.
Saying good bye to Cholatse, after admiring its north face for days on end.
Continuing the collection of places where I didn't want to be.
Jo and Chris halfway up the Cho La pass.
The hand of one of the porters, who were carrying these short sticks to use as both poles and rests for their loads.
Chyote on the Cho La glacier.
He had no less than four photographers shooting him in this pose. In the back, Cholatse.
Mungo trying to prove he could perform a traditional Scottish dance at 5400m of altitude.
The porters on the Cho La glacier.
Jo and Rachel on the glacier, with Lobuje West in the background.
Norrie and Dave getting close to the high point of the pass.
The view on the other side of the Cho La, with the Gokyo valley and a bunch of new mountains.
Nuptse-Lhotse and Lobuje West from the Cho La.
Chongba, Dave and John on the lengthy descent from the Cho La.
Cholatse showing a new side, almost as beautiful as its north face.
One of our porters shortly before Dragnak, our stop for the night.
Crossing the mile wide Gokyo glacier.
Kongde (?) down the valley, shrouded in afternoon clouds.
A small lake in the middle of the giant glacier. Hidden in the clouds, Cho Oyu, the 6th highest mountain in the world.
The village of Gokyo, on the west bank of the glacier and base to many formidable daytrips.
Day 21
Sunrise on Cho Oyu.
A cairn on the path up to the fifth lake, with the ridge separating Nepal from Tibet in the background.
7922m high Gyachung Kang, which would be a lot better know if only it was 78m higher...
Above the fifth lake, featuring a few of the world's highest mountains.
360° panorama from above the fifth lake, showing Gyachung Kang, Chakung, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Lobuje, the two Kangchung peaks, Kusum Kanguru and Pharilapche.
Click on the image for a larger version.
Three of the five highest mountains in the world: Everest, Lhotse and Makalu.
Everest, showing parts of the normal route (and original ascent line), with the South Col, South Summit and Hillary Step.
Two trekkers coming up the mountain above the fifth lake, with the impressive Gokyo glacier below us.
Two trekkers below Cho Oyu.
Hiking next to the fourth lake, with Cho Oyu in the background.
Our group going up Gokyo Ri for sunset. I had to give up shortly afterward, out of exhaustion.
Cholatse and Taboche above Gokyo.
The last rays of sunset on Taboche, while Cholatse is already in the shade.
High winds and clouds reflecting sunset light near the summit of Lhotse.
Unidentified mountain (Kusum Kanguru?) at sunset, seen from Gokyo Ri.
Gokyo, nested next to the third lake, below Cholatse and Taboche.
The third lake at dusk.
Day 22-23
Mungo and Rachel, chatting on the way down from Gokyo.
The river coming from the Ngzoumba glacier speeds down the Gokyo valley.
View from Machermo on what I believe to be Kyajo Ri.
Taboche seen from the south.
Jo and Chyote headed down the Gokyo valley.
Kangtega (?) from the bottom of the Gokyo valley, with the Phortse ridge in the foreground.
Phortse and Ama Dablam from Mong La.
Early morning light on a stupa in Mong La.
Porters having a break in front of Kongde.
Ama Dablam and the trail above Namche.
Chris and Chongba above Namche, with Lhotse in the background.
Sacred engravings in Namche.
Malangphulang from Namche.
An unidentified mountain above the first trees we had seen in three weeks.
A porter on the steep hill leading to Namche.
Prayer flags on the first and highest suspension bridge above the Dudh Kosi.
The first suspension bridge, very high above the river.
Day 24-25
Interesting facial expression from this woman, shortly above Phakding.
Cultivated fields between Phakding and Lukla.
Either a Buddhist temple or a very cool house in the valley near Lukla.
The entrance to Lukla. We were officially done.
What I believe to be the summit of Karyolung, showing through the clouds above Lukla.
Lukla kids.
Their games seemed to involve a lot of racing each other.
Our ride back, the Twin Otter, in Lukla.
Unlike on the way in, we had a good look at the mountains during the half hour flight to Kathmandu.
Terrace fields on the way to Kathmandu.
Kathmandu skyline, seconds before touch down.
Our landing in Kathmandu, on a runway a bit longer than the one in Lukla!
One last look at the Himalayas from the airport. This is also the last photo I took on the trip.