For more information and to buy this book click here ISBN: 9781852844189 CICERONE Guides for walkers, trekkers, mountaineers, climbers and cyclists www.cicerone.co.uk
THE TREKS NEPAL Everest has a magic which cannot be explained away. Joe Tasker Everest The Cruel Way The Trail to Everest Prior to the outbreak of World War II all expeditions to Everest had to approach the mountain through Tibet as Nepal was firmly closed to foreigners. By the early 1950s the situation was reversed; Tibet was effectively closed by the Chinese invasion, but the doors to the once-forbidden kingdom of Nepal had slowly begun to open. A party of Indian scientists gained permission to enter the Khumbu in 1948, and in 1950 the first Westerners were given leave to explore the southern approaches to Mount Everest. The Indian party climbed to the trading pass of the Nangpa La on the Tibetan border west of Cho Oyu, but it was the small, privately organised group (hardly an expedition) led by the Americans, Oscar and Charles Houston, who first reached the Khumbu glacier below Everest itself. With Houston was the legendary mountaineer-explorer Bill Tilman, who had already Chaumrikharka, a short distance from Choplung, lies below Lukla 79
EVEREST A TREKKER S GUIDE been on two pre-war Everest expeditions, and who was now eager for an opportunity to study the mountain from the unknown south and west. Their route of approach began, not in Kathmandu, but way off to the southeast in Dharan. At first they followed the Arun river north towards Makalu before striking roughly westward across successive ridges that eventually brought them to the Dudh Kosi below Lukla. By the time they reached Chaumrikharka they had joined the main trail used by the majority of trekkers today, and followed it upvalley to Namche Bazaar and beyond, as far as the Khumbu glacier and the slopes of Kala Pattar. Houston and Tilman s route is still used today, although it is much less frequented than either the direct flight to Lukla, or the long approach from the roadhead at Jiri. Following Houston and Tilman s visit, and the 1951 reconnaissance led by Eric Shipton, a Swiss expedition made the first attempt to climb Everest from Nepal in 1952. Their route of approach began in the Kathmandu valley and took 23 days, including two rest days in Namche. Next, in the spring of 1953, came the successful British expedition under John Hunt s leadership, and they took basically the same route pioneered by the Swiss from Bhaktapur. In the wake of his team s success Hunt s book, The Ascent of Everest, proved enormously popular, as did the film made by Tom Stobart, which enjoyed a wide distribution. Together they made a huge impression on a generation of would-be mountaineers and fired the imagination of countless armchair adventurers who were excited not only by the success of Hillary and Tenzing in gaining the summit, but by the sheer beauty of the landscape leading to the mountain itself. Gokyo Ri, one of the great trekking viewpoints 80
THE TREKS Trekking, as it is known today, was subsequently invented by mountaineer and former Ghurka officer Jimmy Roberts, who rightly guessed that tourists would jump at the chance to follow in the footsteps of Hunt, Hillary, Tenzing and Co through those glorious valleys. Such people would not only enjoy but also pay for the privilege of sleeping in tents among such staggering scenery, and walk by day in the company of the fabled Sherpas with porters to carry their equipment and food. Not surprisingly, the first commercial trek ever organised in Nepal led across the foothills and along the valley of the Dudh Kosi towards Mount Everest. Soon the country was sprouting roads like unruly tendrils of bindweed. By the time the Chinese-built highway that now goes to Tibet had reached Lamosangu in 1970, the approach walk to Everest had been reduced in length by several days. Then a spur, built under Swiss direction, reached Jiri from Lamosangu in 1984, thus making it possible to trek to Kala Pattar in less than a fortnight from the roadhead. While the walk-in is maybe 10 days shorter than the Swiss took in 1952, once the road has been left behind the route is much the same, except the Swiss had to make a diversion over the Lumding La because the bridge over the Dudh Kosi below Manidingma had been washed away. Today s route is full of variety and daily charm, but not without an awful lot of height gain and loss. Anyone expecting an easy but persistent incline from Jiri to Namche is in for a shock. With the construction of an airstrip to Lukla, the long trek from the foothills has been overtaken in popularity by a much shorter approach. From Lukla, Namche is less than two days walk away, and is therefore within the range of most people s holiday allocation. It is now possible to walk to the base of Everest and out again in less than two weeks, although no one who flies in to Lukla should consider making a rushed visit to Kala Pattar or Base Camp because they will need time to acclimatise. CHOICE OF LODGES A final word there is a homing instinct among many trekkers who, seeing one particular lodge being patronised by Westerners, will automatically choose that one too, while the place next door, which may be identical in every other respect or even better in some remains empty. Unless there s a very good reason for doing otherwise, please spread the load, thus giving all the lodges an equal share of business. Teahouse trekking helps stimulate the local economy, and the few rupees you spend in a particular lodge or shop can have a positive effect. 81
EVEREST A TREKKER S GUIDE Kusum Kangguru is seen to good effect when descending to the Dudh Kosi below Manidingma
TREK 1 JIRI TO NAMCHE BAZAAR VIA LUKLA There is much to be said for a simple mountain journey, whose object... is just to get from one place to another. Eric Shipton Mountains of Tartary Trek summary Distance Time Max altitude Start Finish Trekking style Getting there Options 94km (58 miles) 7 9 days Lamjura La (3530m: 11,581ft) Jiri (1905m: 6250ft) Namche Bazaar (3446m: 11,306ft) Teahouse (lodge accommodation) or camping Public bus or taxi from Kathmandu to Jiri Flight from Kathmandu to Phaplu or Lukla From the foothills to the foot of the high Himalaya, this first trek crosses a series of ridges separated by deep river valleys. It s a corrugated route, for the main ridges long arthritic fingers of land project southward, while the trail heads east across them. Between the ridges glacial rivers pour down to the valley of the Sun Kosi that flows at right angles through eastern Nepal. As Jiri lies west of the Dudh Kosi (the river that drains the Khumbu), it follows that in order to reach this valley there s no alternative but to head across the grain of the land. Only when the Dudh Kosi has been gained below Manidingma can the trek assume its longed-for direction upvalley towards the north, towards Namche and Everest itself. The first few days, then, are energetic days; climbing out of warm river valleys, up terraced hillsides, through forest and over high crests with far views to enjoy, then As John Hunt wrote in The Ascent of Everest, this is big country, with long views across broad expanses of mountainside, vast, fertile and dotted with friendly cottages. 83
EVEREST A TREKKER S GUIDE 84
End of extract from EVEREST A TREKKER S GUIDE For more information and to buy this book click here ISBN: 9781852844189 CICERONE Guides for walkers, trekkers, mountaineers, climbers and cyclists www.cicerone.co.uk