Trekking to Everest Base Camp, Namche Bazaar - Phototravel independent travel. From Kathmandu to Lukla

suspension bridges

In the morning we got up cold, but very satisfied. The friendly Himalayan sun has just touched with its rays the top of the nearest six-thousander, Tamserku. We lazily pulled out of our sleeping bags and followed into the dining hall.

The height in Tok-Tok is only 2700 m, we don’t experience any signs of mountain climbing or other discomforts, except for a slight morning chill. Maps show 5 hours of walking to the almost iconic Himalayan town, Namche Bazaar, where locals say we can easily find equipment shops and expensive liquor bars. Neither the first nor the second interests us absolutely, but the word "expensive" is becoming more and more relevant for the local realities. In many ways, pricing is influenced by the method of delivery of goods: everything that we see in stores flies to namche bazaar helicopters or rides on the backs of Sherpas, whose endurance and carrying capacity for me, so far, is an irrational phenomenon. Another "whale" of the Himalayan pricing is the tourist orientation of the region: all expeditions going towards Everest, Makalu, Cho-Yo, etc. pass through Namche Bazaar. Almost every cafe in Namche has a bunch of flags, relics and autographs. Here you can easily buy Edmund Hillary's right sock, rusty crampons of the 1963 model, or rent the same ones, but in a slightly more adequate condition. And in Namche Bazaar in the center, they bake stunning pizza, the taste of which was appreciated by Simone Morro himself, which he did not forget to mention with his stroke on a large poster with his own image.

The climb from Tok-Tok to Namche Bazaar is 700m, and quite abruptly. And until you pass this climb, it is better not to remember about pizza, rusty cats and Hillary's socks. This path was easy for Igorekha and I, but Lena was far behind. At some point on the trail, we met a Portuguese who was helped at the Kathmandu airport. It was strange to see how a physically strong guy suddenly goes down! The reason is banal: on the second day I ran to Mong (4000 m), got hit by a miner and the little head fell ill, which suddenly realized that there was no time for the track and we urgently needed to go down. Friends, the mountains do not like haste! Have extra days in case of weather force majeure and mandatory acclimatization! The latter is the alpha and omega of any high-mountain events. Without it, it demolishes the tower in every possible sense. Those to whom it is given with great difficulty take Diamox (sold in Kathmandu and Namche Bazaar). Due to the fact that this contraption is quite aggressive, it helps a lot. However, I would not recommend her!

On the way to Namche Bazaar - another check-post. They write down the same thing as everywhere else: TIMS, sometimes a passport and ... the brand of your camera. Why did the brand of my camera remain a mystery to them, the locals explained this by facilitating identification of a person during an emergency. However, they didn’t tell me exactly how the brand of my camera or phone can help, especially if it is the same as that of many, many others ... Apparently, some kind of local sacrament.

Namche bazaar life hack

In Namche Bazaar itself, there are plenty of places to stay and eat: there are luxurious suites for $ 20-30, there are modest lodges for 150 rupees. In the latter, sometimes there are no sockets, and recharging electronic devices costs money (about 200 r per hour). It saves a wonderful adapter that is screwed into the cartridge and where, together with a light bulb, you can connect 2 of some devices. Naturally, it is better for the owners not to show this device and not to give signs that you have it. The same adapter, by the way, also saves a lot in, where interruptions in light are normal. Guesthouses often have a generator that, for example, will power only 1 out of 3 light bulbs in your room. One minus: it is problematic to boil tea with it. You need, at least, Igorekha under 190 tall, who will substitute his head to install a mug with a boiler. And such Igorekha, as you understand, is not available to everyone)

My personal Namche Bazaar

Yes and Everyone will have their own Namche Bazaar... I found myself at home there. The smell of Tibetan incense and islands in the ocean of clouds clad in ice of the Himalayas - these are pictures of some paradise long forgotten by me, which so clearly begins to manifest itself here! I don't need oceans, palm trees, and permanently doing nothing. False prestige and comfort are not needed. I have returned to where, once upon a time, death may have taken me, and now with this homely feeling it makes it clear where I left and where I returned to. Everything here is real: mountains, people, words, and roads. Here the movements slow down, forcing your civilized mind to swim in its own ocean, with almost no jerks and attempts to prove something to someone...

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I wake up and look out the window, behind which a stunning landscape of snow-capped mountains opens. I realize that we have a long and difficult path ahead of us, but still believe that everything will be fine.

This day will be a day of awareness of the gratitude of life.

Very cold. There is an opportunity to get wet cold water but the desire is missing. I am making another everyday discovery: it is one thing to take a cold shower and enter a warm room, and another thing to enter an icy loggia. With a chatter of teeth I wash my face and put myself in order.

We have breakfast and set off. The road from Lukla to Namche Bazaar is one of the most difficult sections of our route. Nine hours with a load on mountain roads up and down - a difficult test.

Magnificent landscapes open up to us: mountains of divine beauty with snow-capped peaks, stormy mountain rivers and noisy waterfalls. The eye is pleased with bright pink rhododendrons, blazing like huge bonfires, against the backdrop of gray mountains. We pass over swinging suspension bridges. We meet many Sherpas carrying unbearable loads for Europeans. We are smiling happy tourists going down. “Namaste” sounds from all sides - a magnificent Nepalese greeting, which literally means “I salute God in your face”. Herds of yaks with bells on their necks, donkeys, mules... Here it is - the national flavor!

Halfway we make a halt near a picturesque waterfall. We dip our feet into the icy water flowing down from the mountains. We refresh ourselves with pieces of sausage, bacon, crackers, dried fruits, chocolate, drink hot tea. However, after such crazy pleasure, we draw a sad conclusion: this is the first and last time, because lunch is so relaxing that the last thing you want to move on is. But while there is no other way out: we collect things and go ahead ...

The road becomes even more difficult, and the load is even heavier. My friend next to me supports me with all his might. It seems to me that I overcame this transition only thanks to him. His sincere concern and subtle humor played an invaluable role in my survival. I measure every step, move on to setting mini goals: “to that tree, bush, stone…”. I count fifteen steps, ten, five ...

Later, reworking my diary, I received information that up to ten people die on this route every year. It's a good thing I didn't know that then, otherwise I would have died for sure!

And finally, Namche Bazaar! Namche Bazaar! Namche Bazaar!

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

We are at an altitude of 3440 m above sea level!

We settled in a very decent hotel by local standards. There wasn't enough hot water for everyone. I was lucky, they let me go ahead. The shower is given 5-7 minutes! What happiness - and for only three hundred rupees!

We read in books about the gratitude of life for everything, even for small pleasures, and we pretend that we agree (but we just pretend), because in fact it is possible to assess the presence of something only in its absence. That's the way man is! Go to the mountains and you will take a different look at your life, your life, your place in the world and learn to truly be grateful for everything that you have.

We are advised to drink plenty of water and start taking medicines in order to “not catch the mountain” (mountain sickness, in which there is a general weakness, drowsiness, bad mood, headache, nausea, etc.).

We have Sherpa soup for dinner. (Simple and very tasty!)

We go to bed without a bag, in a clean bed. And this, as it turned out, is a great happiness!

I conclude: the beginning of the path is always the most difficult - it will be easier further on. At least, I hope so and do not even allow other thoughts.

Note: see the series of Nepalese photographs "Himalayan mountains", "Buddhist stupas", "People of Nepal", "Flowers and trees of Nepal".

Nika Vernikova
for site site

Brief information about Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar is a village located at an altitude of 3440 m.

To the east of Namche Bazaar is Mount Thamserku (6623 m.), To the west is Kongde Ri (6187 m.)

The climate is cold: winters are frosty and summers are rainy.

The village is widely known among tourists, as it is located on the road to Everest. It has many hotels, restaurants, shops. Here you can relax and prepare for the trip.

Namche Bazaar houses the police control, post office, bank and Nepalese army barracks.

Namche Bazaar is the main point for traveling to Everest, to the mountain and lake of Gokyo.

At an altitude of 3800 m above Namche Bazaar is the Everest View Hotel. If the weather is good, Everest can be seen from its terrace. The hotel is additionally equipped with a dome and oxygen supply to the rooms. Wealthy tourists come here, but they often suffer from acute mountain sickness associated with a sharp rise to a great height.

There are several Tibetan monasteries in the vicinity of the village.

If I ever sit down to make a list of the most unusual cities world, then it will include Venice on the islands, the Turkish Derinkuyu underground, the Chinese ghost town of Ordos and the Chinese city of dwarfs. Namche will also be visible in it, as the personification of the fact that a city does not necessarily have a lot of flat surface. Namche is a city built on a wooded mountainside with a magnificent amphitheater. It is not very large, although by far the largest among the Sherpa settlements and one of the most famous outside of Nepal, second only to Kathmandu. All those three days that we got here from the capital, he remained literally and figuratively a sky-high goal. And so, here we are.

The first day the city stubbornly remained transcendental

Namche Bazaar originated in ancient times as a trading settlement. Some echoes of those times can be observed here on Saturdays, when Sherpas from all the surrounding valleys converge to the fair. They bargain, buy, sell goods, and then, together with relatives and friends, who have a chance to meet only here on Saturdays, they sit down to drink alcohol, gamble and even sometimes eat meat! To be honest, I only read about these Saturdays, our movements, even with acclimatization delays, were allowed to spend three days in Namche, but none of them fell on Saturday. Of course it is sad...

Namche arose on the main trade route of the Tibetans and Sherpas, crossing the Main Himalayan Range through the Nangpa La pass (5860). It's in the direction of the northwest towards Gok'o and Cho Oyu from here. From the northeast, the path from the Khumbu valley adjoins Namche. The Nangpa La pass is quite easy for Tibetans, Nepalese and Yaks, but has been closed for many years and is a military zone. Which did not seem to stop the penetration of pilgrims and smugglers much. Until the tragedy of 2006, when Chinese border guards simply went and fired at a refugee line, killing a 17-year-old nun and arresting three dozen refugees, half of whom were under 14. All this took place in front of the eyes (video and photo cameras) of foreign climbers who were at that time in the Cho-Oyu Base Camp.

But these are all Chinese affairs, which have nothing to do with Namche. Instead of a lost trade value, the city acquired a tourist one. Sherpas feed, lodge, accompany tourists, of which there are very, very many here. Namche is growing up the hill at the expense of more and more hotels. It certainly has its own atmosphere: cobbled streets that have not seen the tread of a car or a moped, constantly turning into stairs, prayer flags and drums, the clatter of yak hooves, stunning views of the peaks through the windows and into the narrow cracks of the alleys. The smell of bakeries, dalbat and masala, exciting appetite and slight dizziness, for the guests who ran here too quickly from below.

We met with Nemadorche in Binkar, chatted. As a result, his son Dava became our porter.
Pay attention to our difference in approach to the issue of "trekking shoes". For myself, I could come up with only one option for facilitating trekking shoes - the same shoes, but not laced. If the trail is not extremely difficult, the legs relax better.

Namche Bazaar is a city of endless stone stairs. Up down, down up. Even the alleys-terraces across them, no, no, and they will break back and forth with a couple of steps.

Supply creates demand. In addition to hotels and eateries attached to them, there are a myriad of souvenir and outdoor shops. I’m not an expert on souvenirs, but you can safely buy equipment here, in Moscow branded ones the quality is not better, and the price is most likely higher. Grocery, too, desperately pleased me. It was here (and not in the lower Lukla) that we managed to find the minimum cost of a jar or bottle of cola at 150 rupees. There was also a place where there was absolutely unprecedented blasphemy in terms of sales: two-liter torpedoes of cola and sprite. Shops with their assortment enter into competition for the buyer. With the advent of darkness, the city plunges into the endless Himalayan sky and seems to fall asleep too. In any case, shops are closed, although some bars may have some parties. All of our three nights in Namche fell asleep without hind legs, so we could not check or even hear the relevance of night festivities.

City map in Nepalese style

The map states that this is a key intersection of the city. Which is in the upper right part of the diagram
The white horse acts as a traffic controller.

and this is a fork in two important roads - to Everest and up to Khumjung

Classic view of Namche, stairs, pizzerias, pub and mountains

The height above sea level here is officially considered to be 3440 meters. In fact, you can safely add plus or minus 50, or even all 100. They get here mainly on foot from Lukla and no one immediately goes further, because this is how it is supposed to gradually acclimatize. For this, all the possibilities are two good tracks for a day walk, and in Namche itself, walk along the perimeter. This is even a little unusual, because until now the settlements were squeezed into the gorge and there was nowhere to take a walk there.

Chicken on the background of the Himalayas. Despite the fact that chicken soup was declared on almost every menu, there were not very many chickens even in Namche and on the road from Lukla.

The consequences of the earthquake:
For the first time, I noticed them, by and large, in Nepal only here, towards the evening of the fourth day

Prayer wheels are stacked in the garage, until better times...

In general, no matter how blasphemous it may sound, one gets the feeling that the earthquake benefited Namche. Now new buildings, guesthouses, stupas are being built. The garbage stream is about to turn into a beautiful embankment with lanterns, the roads are strengthened and widened. Now, a year later, here only this stupa reminds of the elements...

Cattle are a frequent visitor to the streets of Namche, like any similar settlement on both sides of the Himalayan range
Clothes can be dried only under a canopy. Weather variability is one of the characteristics of Namche. Rain can come out of nowhere in 5 minutes, and after 10 minutes it's all over.

reminders of spring

the beginning of our journey "along the bypass". Underfoot - the whole city. You can clearly see the golden roof of Namche Gompa (temple), where we tried to reach. True, despite its excellent visibility from here, for some reason we decided that the temple was somewhere around the corner. We climbed to the very top into the stone chaos (which turned out to be some kind of analogue of an abandoned European cemetery) and then for a long time broke through from there to the temple.

As a result, Z-shaped climbs, only half of which are visible in the photo above, we climbed into the stone chaos. At the same time, a cloud climbed there with us.
Romance. I again felt like a seven-year-old who first came to the Crimean Valley of Ghosts. Another analogue, perhaps, is London's Highgate Cemetery.

In the end, we managed to orient ourselves, get out of underworld and return to civilization. The first signs were facilities for receiving waste in a separate way, as is popular here. Only the building material was unusual - plastic bottles clogged with sand.

Taking the urn as a landmark, we were able to go to the temple

The temple, (is it a monastery?), is fenced along the perimeter with a wall with niches of prayer drums. Buddhists walk clockwise around, pull the handle and the drums spin again clockwise. A long time ago I read about the idea of ​​generating additional electricity in the Moscow metro through turnstiles rotated by passengers. There, the idea remained an idea, but it seems to me that if the Nepalese and Tibetans were a little more savvy in electrodynamics, it would be much more real to receive current from countless prayer wheels scattered across the expanses of the Himalayas and Tibet. So far, they have thought of only water prayer mills (where water falls on the blades that rotate all the same drums).

By evening it began to clear up. I already had time here for two days to be upset that the rest of the trip with us would pass in alternately thickening, then all-consuming clouds.

The next day promised to be interesting.
And so it happened.

Surprisingly, in a conversation with Nemadorche, I found out that right inside Namche (you don’t have to climb somewhere high and walk for hours) there is a point from where Everest is observed. Moreover, the clear sky since the morning of May 9 directly disposed to advance there, and only then turn kilometers of the trail and hundreds of meters of acclimation up. This place is called Sagarmatha NP Office. 15 minutes from the city center (5 minutes for a Sherpa). It is located above, that is, on the outskirts of Namche, just on the other side of the amphitheater relative to the stone jungle, where we wandered yesterday.

As soon as the weather cleared up, the birds began to chirp. Helicopters from Lukla (and Kathmandu?) to Namche or beyond (sometimes refueling at Namche). There were a lot of them, even to me, a guest of the city, it seemed that it was unnecessary. Around the idyll, the wind stirs the crowns of trees, glaciers sparkle, prayer flags sway. And then there are the helicopters. Even more often than the 368th minibus at rush hour in Dogoprudny!

Well, yes, we saw off the first and second with genuine childish interest. Later, they became annoying, like annoying flies. You can still somehow understand rescue helicopters, which are often the only chance for climbers in difficult situations. But here 90% of air traffic was made up of cargo and tourist flights. This is complete nonsense! Fly immediately to the level of 3-4 thousand from below in order to grab a miner an hour after disembarking from the cabin.

Nuptse wall, and behind it - the pyramid of Everest. And a helicopter.

Another one flew. Amadablam's clove is clearly visible

In this place, in addition to the Head Office (whose presence I never felt), the military unit (noticeable by the barbed wire enveloping it), there is also a Museum with free admission. By and large, the exposition is about nothing, and the country is completely non-museum, but ... There is something to photograph:

Red panda, it seems that even in Nepal it can be found

Here I was impressed by the Great Himalayan trekking. The whole country can be walked along the Main Himalayan Range. Obviously not within the same season. But since now you already know that the summers are not so rainy, and the winters, albeit harsh, but the Sherpas do not leave their villages, then by combining two seasons and one off-season, you can take a chance. It's a task no doubt compared to Forrest Gump's run from the Atlantic to the Pacific. For interest, I looked at how our "Three Passes" join in this Great Campaign. As expected - from the west Tashe Laptso (technically difficult, with a rope) to the Rolvalinga valley, which did not succumb to our company in the spring of 2009. From the east it is no less interesting, and much more severe judging by the pictures of Amphu Laptso, 5845. The pass that translates this Great Way from the valley of the Island peak (where he entered through Kongma la from the Khumbu valley, that is, Everest) to the valley of the eight-thousander Makalu. In addition to ropes and guides, snow shoes, etc., additional camps are also required for the passage of Tashe Laptso and Amphu Laptso. That is trekking without tents and gas burners- not an option.

Scarecrow of a climber in this museum

Outside in sunny weather is certainly more interesting and spectacular than inside. There is only one man-made exhibit - a monument to Norgey Tenzing on observation deck with a backdrop of the Nuptse wall and Everest. Here for the first time I regretted that I did not know how to make panoramas (although it would seem simple). So I just asked carefully and wrote it down. what kind of peaks surround a person who has got here in a round dance.

Thamserku - Kusum - Kongde - Papchamo - Getcho - Khumbila (holy) - Tobuche - Everest - Lhotse - Amadablam

This is the main trek around: Namche - Syangboche - Everest View Hotel - Khumjung - Khunde - Namche. The second track went towards Thame and back. In theory, we were supposed to return from there 15 days later, so they were not very interested in the second acclimatization track.

Walk this track:

As soon as you start climbing the path up towards Syangboche, Namche flies down and appears a little differently:

you can see the school building and the sports ground - a football field near it. Just the same case when a ball knocked out over the fence may not return at all

the last steps of the ascent to Syangboche and the sacred mountain Khumbila
The takeoff here is very long and exhausting.

Directly above Namche is its airport. Previously, it was possible to fly directly here, and not to Lukla. The place is called Siyangboche Airstrip. Currently, only helicopter takeoffs and landings are performed, but the runway remains in more or less good condition. I suspect that the plane can land here in the same way as the Tenzing and Hillary airport, but perhaps not on the asphalt, but on the primer. However, this is prohibited. There are two versions. First: the Sherpas themselves banned it. for the slope sacred mountain Khumjung and in general the loss of authenticity, globalization and commercialization is hasty, let the best slowly rise on foot here. Second version: medical (see above). It's just dangerous for people who are not ready to land immediately at 3800.

By the way, it is here that skydivers land, jumping in the company under the brand name "Jump from Everest" in October 2008. After all, they jump not from the top, but from a helicopter (plane?). It’s just that during the jump there is an opportunity to look towards Everest (if at all before that ...)

The trail runs through Syangboche twice. At the bottom of the strip (pictured) and on the way back - at the top

In the lower part, the feeling that the helicopter is landing right on you does not leave. There is a similar place in Sheremetyevo, between the 1st and 2nd terminals. People often stop there and just take pictures of the planes. We sat down, ate a sandwich with water, and just took pictures of the helicopters..

perfect alpine meadows, bushes + two beauties: Thamserku and Kusum

and this is Amadablam, the beauty of beauties. Himalayan Matterhorn
the name refers to the jewelry worn by Sherpa grandmothers (Ama). The decoration is a hanging glacier for grandmothers, and the side ridges are divorced in greeting and the desire to hug hands. Wikipedia writes that this mountain later became the mountain from the Aqua Minerale label. It seems to me that Vicki is lying - there is still the Matterhorn. But where Amadablam is definitely there, it is in Nepalese rupees. Our track (Three Passes) finally showed this mountain from three sides. And every time we looked at her and tried with horror to imagine who these people were trying to climb on her. And why is it needed at all? The mountain, by the way, is only 6814 m.

Kusum Kangri, 6367 meters. It also continues along its ridge with two almost perfect pyramids (in the photo where the weather cleared up in the evening)

Alena on the background of Thamserku, 6608 m
I suddenly found very much about the first ascent of the SW wall by Russian climbers in 2014

From Everest View Hotel you can see not only Everest. More precisely, we just didn’t see Everest because of the cloudiness, which rolls onto the ridges by noon. But the village of Phorche nicely nestled on the opposite edge of the gorge leading to Gokyo.

The hotel was built in memory of the pioneer of Japanese mountaineering. Here, as in other hotels, a mandatory helipad. But only here special pressure chambers are equipped for the gradual adaptation of the body.

Thamserku

Khumjung

If Namche is in many ways a Potemkin village, then Khumjung is a real one. Here the Sherpas live, raise cattle, grow potatoes, go to school and so on. Tourists practically do not live here, sometimes only, like us, walk past. In addition, it seems that Khumjung, and not Namche, is the administrative center of the region, because the addresses of all other villages up the Khumbu valley began with the words Khumjung District

Hillary stupa on the outskirts of Khumjung, with beautiful views into the distance somewhere far into the fog

We enter Khumjung. Far in the distance is the village of Khunde

Khumjung roundabout with manistoons, unusually flat and wide streets

obligatory for every Nepalese village stupa

The main attraction here is Khumjung Gompa, the local temple. We deliberately did not go into it, we wanted some kind of calm inner walk, but there was clearly action going on. Despite the fact that he was on the other side of the village, trumpets were blaring, drums were beating, bells were jingling, and a whole crowd of worshipers were walking clockwise around the temple, turning prayer wheels. at some point, the entire religious crowd began to climb up the slope, because somewhere there is another shrine - a cave in which Guru Rimpoche himself lived (here I may be wrong, but someone definitely lived in this cave). Inside the temple itself there is a shrine - a piece of a skull and a yeti brush. Forbidden to photograph, so the photo is not mine:

Gumjung is home to a school founded by Sir Edmund Hillary. Now about 350 children from the surrounding villages are studying in it. For Sherpa schools, this is quite a lot, it seems even a record.

long manistowns, for bypass. So long that I was even too lazy to improve my karma this time

the vast majority of inscriptions in stones were carved centuries ago by stubborn pravdeniki. But there is also this, just a felt-tip pen

Khunde

The second village that hid behind Khumjung and is separated from it by a ravine, through which a powerful mudflow clearly passed during the earthquake. For some reason, it turned out to be completely empty. In strong contrast to Khumjung. Where the whole population went is not clear. Working, studying? There is a Gompa (temple), it also looked completely empty. It certainly added charm and mysticism to the village ..

on the streets of Khunde

We leave after the population of Khunde and we go back towards Namche

mysterious yellow-tailed beak in the forests around Namche

the path from Khunde to Namche looks like a fairy tale at times, made of yellow bricks

the place marked on the map as Yak Farm. However, no interactive, not even Yak Cheese found

fork

we pass the Syangboche airport again, now in its upper part. Moreover, the path crosses runway. The trail is an endless stream of hikers, yaks, porters, and the like. For Nepal, it is equivalent to a highway. I know of only a couple of other places in the world where the UPU also intersects. Highway in Gibraltar, and Railway in Gisborne (New Zealand)!


UPU Gisborne

And here is another wonderful miracle:

How did an escalator appear in an area where there is not a single road? and what and where can he do here? It is obvious that he was bombarded in parts by helicopters and brought here on the backs of porters. Then they were assembled into a single whole. Not used yet.

meeting on the trail

and here again Namche, we go back from Khunde and the upper part of Syangboche

View of Namche from Kongde:
(this is from the very other side, which the amphitheater of all Namche looks at). The photo is not mine - found on the Internet

Here you can see all of Namche, the airport runway above it, the bump with the Everest View Hotel and the valley where the villages of Khumjung and Khunde fit. Well, at the same time, all the peaks (including Everest), as from the observation point of Namche itself. Only a little more qualitatively and Everest is more impressive. I really wanted to get into this Kongde. Kongde is not a village at all, but a mountain, on the slope of which the hotel of the same name fits. And here trekking is like, not mentioned in all guidebooks, but indicated on the map. It is definitely extremely spectacular and extremely sparsely populated. In addition - a good option for an alternative descent to Lukla (past Namche). I think the only drawback is the impossibility to buy air tickets (air ticket offices are in Namche) "departure for the day after tomorrow", as we did in the end at the end of the trip.

Here is the described route, a photo of the map from which we walked ... It will take three days (we will assume that 1 of them is for relaxation and observation in the Kongde viewpoint area)

Drying clothes overlooking Kongde

All our adventures in May 2016

In early May, a small two-week weather window opens, when dozens of climbers finally have the opportunity to storm Everest. Some of them will surely die - the Mountain always takes the annual sacrifice, the payment for an encroachment on its authority.

Just a few months after my Everest trip, 16 people died on the Khumbu Glacier.
A few days ago, after a powerful earthquake in Nepal and subsequent avalanches, at least 19 people died at the base camp of Everest under lavia.
2015 was the first year in 50 years that not a single person climbed to the top.

But so far the story is not about Everest itself, but about the road to it. And famous village Sherpa Namche Bazaar.

Today was a difficult day.

Simply, even because the legendary grueling climb to Namche Bazaar was waiting for me ahead. According to the reviews of predecessors - in general, the most difficult section of the route on the way to Everest.
I had to climb 600 meters, which, given my not very good condition (see the previous chapter on colds), seemed to be an extremely difficult task. But the Russians do not give up.

Moving out of Monjo, the path went pine forest sharp rises and descents along the eastern bank of the Dud-Koshi mountain stream. East coast, overgrown with tall pines - the place is always shady. The morning earth had not yet dried out, so it was hard on the rises - the clay was moving underfoot, and in order not to slide down, one had to jump on the roots of trees like a mountain goat.

Having reached a key point - a long suspension bridge across Dud-Kushi with beautiful views- I was already wet to the skin and the sweat flowed from me in streams.

2.

I wanted to drink incredibly, but it was undesirable to drink.
Beyond the bridge began an endless 500-meter climb to Namche to a height of 3447 meters. Drinking water meant increasing blood flow to the stomach, taking it away from the muscles, which would lead to a decrease in endurance and physical performance. In addition, a liter of water drunk is partially absorbed into the bloodstream and increases the load on the heart due to the increased volume of circulating blood. There are a number of other unpleasant phenomena - for example, a liter of water drunk can cause hyponatremia (a sharp decrease in sodium in the blood caused by profuse sweating) and acute renal failure (and the kidneys in the mountains do not work 100% anyway).
In short, it was impossible to drink much, just as it was impossible to immediately absorb food for many days of a starving person. While I let oncoming yaks cross the bridge, I took out a thermos and took only a couple of sips of tea. It was not possible to quench the thirst, but the sharpness subsided a little.

3.

After waiting for the yaks to pass, I crossed the suspension bridge and, like a tractor bucket, drilled into the rise.

4.

The ascent to Namche really turned out to be the most difficult route the entire Everest trek. Neither the ascent to the Tengboche Monastery (~450 meters) nor even the crossing of the snow-covered Cho-La Pass (5350 meters) seemed to me as difficult as this exhausting and monotonous climb.

5.

You go up the path, and joyful tourists run towards you, returning “from there” and it’s easy for them, because they go down. For you, the rise turns into a kind of game "believe it or not."
A typical situation is in front of you 30 meters of a very steep ascent, sometimes reaching 50 or even 60 degrees. Then the trail turns somewhere and its continuation is not visible. You pass these 30 meters, hoping that a horizontal platform or even 5-10 meters of a horizontal road will finally appear around the turn - to take a break - but you reach the turn and see with regret that the Path turns sharply, but again goes somewhere in height.

Making brief stops, I climbed, climbed and climbed, and after about five turns I saw a small (and the only one on the entire climb) horizontal platform, on which several people hung out. Having ascended this platform, I took off my backpack with great relief and saw in the distance what I had embarked on this adventure for.
Through the branches of pine trees, in a bright blue sky, far, far away on the very horizon, the grandiose eight-thousandth snow wall of Lhotse towered, from behind which Everest itself looked out.

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Photography, as always, does not convey the fabulous grandeur of the mountains (but better than mountains, as you know, there can only be mountains), so I will try to convey my impressions in words. Imagine the Ostankino tower you see in the distance. The Ostankino tower is only 500 meters high. And Lhotse is the fourth eight-thousander in the world. The height of the Lhotse wall is 8000 meters. These are as many as 15 Ostankino towers stacked on top of each other! By the way, to imagine such a height is very difficult. The mind is able to realize the height of about 5 towers. And here there are as many as 15. Well, we are looking from a height of 3000 meters, which means we see a 5-kilometer rocky-snow giant towering above us, the bulk of which you only need to see.

A spectacle a spectacle, but we had to move on. Rise after rise again, turn after turn. The trail seemed to have no end. After an hour and a half of ascent, when it seems that Namche Bazaar is about to appear at every turn, the path again and again went up. The only motivation was not to let yourself be overtaken by those following you.

At one point, I reached the border booth, where they once again checked the TIMS (track permit document). I was pleased that in the same place for purely symbolic money it was possible to buy a certificate certifying the fact of climbing Kala Pattar (5545 meters). Having finished the formalities and gathered all my will into a fist, I moved further up the rise. And when the forces were completely running out, Namche Bazaar suddenly appeared.

It's amazing how motivation gives new strength. As if there were no 500 meters of height behind me - with enthusiasm I entered the city of Sherpas.

Here he is - the legendary Namche. The city, about which I read in the books of all the legendary climbers of Everest. The last stronghold of civilization in the Khumbu region and the famous capital of the Sherpas.
Well hello Namche!

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16. Yachy manure is collected and dried. Kizyak is used here instead of firewood

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18. Sherpa woman

19. Life in the mountains is hard work

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21. Nepalese relaxation

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27. Yak

28. Behind me is the wall of Lhotse and a small piece of the summit of Everest behind it

29. Lhotse and Everest (in the background left of center) close-up

30. Tourists piss off as best they can

31. "Gold" ore

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This is a small village at an altitude of 3440 meters, surrounded from the east by Mount Thamserku (6623 m) and from the west by Kongde Ri (6187 m). Since ancient times, this place served as the main trading and transit center in the Khumbu region. And now, on Saturdays, a bazaar opens here, where both residents of nearby villages and Tibetans rush with Chinese goods. To do this, they overcome passes with a height of more than 5000 meters. For foreigners, Namche Bazaar is the intersection of popular climbing and tourist routes.

There are about a hundred houses in the village, which is considered quite a lot by local standards, and they are all located on artificial ledges. Small stone houses are crowded next to each other, and the local streets are very similar to labyrinths. As a rule, all trade and tourist shops are located on the first floors, where you can always find everything you need for a trip. Tourist equipment purchased in them before traveling to the mountains can be returned on the way back at a reasonable price.

Behind Namche Bazaar, at an altitude of 3880 meters, is luxury hotel"Everest View point" (View of Everest). An airfield is located here, but it is not used by tourists, since it is difficult for a person to immediately acclimatize at such a height. Therefore, tourists use a small airfield in Lukla, and get to Namche Bazaar on foot.

The path to it, passing through national park Sagarmatha, allows you to enjoy the amazing beauty of nature. In the vicinity of the village you can visit the monasteries of Tengboche and Pangboche. Tengboche Temple is located on one of the passes (3867 m). This main temple Sherpa was erected in 1923. Tjangboche maintains close ties with the Tibetan Rongbuk Monastery, which is located on the opposite side of Everest. They were founded by the same lama. An eye is painted on each side of his spire, so he watches over people and mountains. Here you can stop for the night, chat with the monks and watch their rituals. Pangboche Monastery is higher than its "brother" and it is much smaller, but older.

The Sherpas themselves are very welcoming and friendly. They practice Buddhism. Sherpas still do not have their own written language and until recently were far from civilization. A thriving tourism is one of the Sherpas' main livelihoods. Due to their endurance, good health and excellent knowledge of the mountains, Sherpas work as porters, guides, participate in expeditions to the most high points Himalayas. They are the only people in the world besides the Tibetans living at altitudes over 4,000 meters above sea level.