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Section - 2 Along the Dudh Kosi to Namchee Bazarr
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| 9th April 1998:
We awoke to a clear morning with fantastic views of Khunde. It was a nice easy walk in fine weather and the damp of the last few days began to evaporate.
After the usual leisurely lunch we continued up the valley. The cloud rolled in again and there was light rain and thunder but nothing like the previous few days. The camp at Puiyan was cold but dry. Cloud cleared again that night with good views across the valley.
10th April 1998:
The morning was clear and cool. The temperature was about 3 deg and it was a chilly breakfast.
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Puiyan
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| It was a splendid mornings walk with views of Cho Oyu as we followed the Dudh Kosi north beneath Lukla. The weather was still fine for lunch and I managed a brief hair wash. The Imodium I have been taking seems to be having the desired effect. This area is far more developed than the Ria areas we were in before, and the people seem brighter.
The afternoon stayed sunny for a change with scattered cloud. It was lovely walking with high peaks all around but it was a long day. We did not make camp till after 1700.
We camped at Phakding, on a dry level green beside the Dudh Kosi. It was a warmer night and the moon was almost full. Later that night it lit the surrounding peaks and the river.
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| 11th April 1998: |
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| Another sunny day with an easy walk along the Dudh Kosi. We entered the Sagamatha National Park at Monjo where there were guards with machine guns. We waited quietly whilst our papers were checked.
We lunched on the rubble strewn banks of the Dudh Kosi. I had read so much about this river, and now being this close I wanted to touch it, so I did. It was just wet, but as I looked around the reality of where I was dawned on me. Not far away was the fabled village of Namchee Bazaar.
That afternoon we had to climb up to Namchee. It was steep and busy with a constant stream of Yaks going in both directions, and the altitude was making me a bit breathless.
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Near Monjo
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| We soon came to the point where a small diversion takes you to a spot where Everest is visible. I could not walk past this although the rest of our group did. I headed off with Ganesh, one of our guides, following. He was worried that one of the poodles might escape. I could not believe the view. Everest was standing there peering over the Nuptse ridge over with its peak clear of cloud and a plume extending from the summit. I had thought about Everest for so many years, read so many books and for so long had not thought it would ever be possible to actually see it. This view, distant as it was, it was quite overwhelming and I thought that I would now die a happy man. |
First view of Everest Summit
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| However, whilst I was being overcome with these rather odd feelings Ganesh was getting a bit twitchy as we were now way behind the rest of the group so off we went. He set off at a jog which was a bit hard to match at these altitudes especially as we were heading up, but the crunch came when he decided to overtake a group of yaks by going over the edge of the path and come up in front of them. I made it but was gasping for breath when we got back to the track. The yaks were not far behind so there was no chance of a rest as they would have overtaken us. I felt all this was ok as I had seen Everest. |
| When we got to the village (3400m) we had to keep going up as our camp was in the upper part of town. It was with some relief that I dropped my pack for the day and did some videoing. It was such an overwhelming spot that I did not feel too tired and although we were now higher than the Salpa La I was not having any of those nasty symptoms I had there.
12th April 1998:
Today we had a rest day. We made a pre sunrise visit to the visitor centre above the camp. There was frost on the ground but the views were magnificent. Lhotse visible in its entirety and Everest shyly peaking over the ridge of Nuptse. It was very pleasant not to have to stuff all our stuff into the kit bag and have a lazy breakfast in the sun.
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Camp at namchee Bazarr
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| We went for a walk round town in the morning. In the afternoon I went for a walk whilst Sue had a little snooze. I went up the hill behind the camp. It was steep and the camp soon seemed a long way below. I went passed the Pangboche Panorama Hotel and sat for a while admiring Ama Dablam and the other notable peaks in this area. It looked a long way down to the Dudh Kosi valley.
Back at the camp we watched an Everest video in the tea house. Later I was able to charge my video batteries, 400Rs well spent. This was the first and last point on the trek where there was power.
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View from Visitor Centre
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