Archive for the 'Trekking' Category

Ama Dablam, Nepal

On my trek in the Himalayas I did not get an exceptional view of Mt Everest. Sure, it was there sticking up above several other nearer peaks, but at no stage on the trek was it an impressive peak. Not from my perspective anyway. Despite that I was just happy to have been in the vicinity and to have seen the world’s tallest mountain up close.

Ama Dablam, nearby, however, was as spectacular as anything I have ever seen. This towering peak was prominent above us in the latter stages of the climb, and a constant reminder of the ruggedness of these mountains on the way down. We had picture perfect views from many vantage points. The weather on our descent was unbelievable.

And the photos I took are a constant reminder of the magnificence of this country.

I have a daily reminder of this great peak every time I fire up my computer. One of the shots similar to the one above is featured on my desktop. Other photos taken that day are highlighted on my screen saver programme. They are a constant reminder of the trek and the wonderful mountains of Nepal.

Mountain near Tengboche Nepal

On our way down from Tengboche the track drops rapidly to the river crossing below. While there is much less physical exertion than ascending, the descent is even more hazardous. I was aware all the way down of the need to walk extremely carefully. Any small slip or twist of the foot and one could incur a severe injury.

This part of the trek caused severe bruising to most of my toes. The pressure on the toe nails from the front of my boots as I descended the steep track caused severe bruising. This bruising did not disappear for several months after the trek. The nails took even longer to fully recover.

Despite the pain, discomfort and the need to tread carefully, the scenery more than made up for these inconveniences. Typical of the unbelievable scenery is the photo above. On my frequent rests along the way I would get out the camera. Or I would just stare. Mountains like that shownabove seem to be cut with a knife out of some gigantic cake made out of ice. Others were forlornly bare and stark rock. I could hardly comprehend the ruggedness, the steepness and the grandeur of these mighty mountains.

Related article:

• The trek down from Tengboche – extracts from my travel journal written during the trek in Nepal.

Scene on the way down from Tengboche

After breakfast at our lodge in Tengboche we began our trek back down the way we had ascended. The wind in the village was still stiff and bitterly cold when we left. The lodge at Tengboche is on a ridge and so it would be naturally quite a wind-swept place most of the time.

Immediately we started down the steps on the southern edge of this ridge we were mostly in full sunshine and sheltered from the worst of the wind. It was not long and most of us had taken off our coats, then jumpers and most ended up in T-shirts for the descent to the river crossing.

Related articles:

• Tengboche to Namche Bazar – my travel journal written at the time of the trek.

• The trek down from Tengboche – more extracts from my travel journal.

Group Photo at Tengboche

The wind howled all night when we were at Tengboche. I was snug in my sleeping bag and I was very pleased I was not out in that wind. I feared that bad weather was brewing as there had been some cloud coming our way the previous day.

We were up at dawn again to see the sunrise over Mt Everest. As the sun rose we were delighted to see a beautifully clear sky. The cold wind hadn’t disappeared though. It was bitingly cold. Even though we were all dressed with the warmest clothes we had, it was still bitter. Our leader insisted that we line up for a group photo.

Good idea – bad execution. Everyone had a camera. By the time the photographer, one of the porters, had taken several shots with every camera, we were frozen stiff. I was so pleased when we went inside for breakfast – and a lovely warm fire.

Village of Tengboche, Nepal

During our brief stay at Tengboche in Nepal some of the trekking group went to visit the local monastery. I didn’t go because I was still recovering from the effects of the climb.

Later, when I had recovered, I took the above photo of this quaint little village. Earlier I was rather slow and missed taking an even better, and rather bizarre, photo of some young monks in their flowing crimson robes wearing sneakers and playing a very willing game of soccer.

I was often amazed at sights like this. It seemed such a clash of cultures, yet the young men were still young at heart, despite their spartan lifestyle in the monastery.