Solo Trekking

Five days ago, I left the most visited and civilized aspects of the Khumbu behind and headed into more remote valleys.

The morning I left Namche, the owner of the lodge, Mingma, surprised me with a ceremony to ask the gods for good luck on Cholatse. It was the same ceremony he performed for our Everest team in 2021, and consisted of dipping my ring finger in sacred water and flicking it three times in the direction of the mountain gods who live above the village. I was touched. Here is a photo of Mingma and me, with the kata scarf he put over my head at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Then I hit the trail, leaving the popular trekking routes behind and climbing up into a valley on the western edge of the Everest region. Immediately, I was struck by how uncrowded the trails are, and how much the traditional Sherpa way of life endures. Each trail choice can take you, if you want, further from the crowds and more into a feeling of timelessness. In this vast area where villages are connected only by trails, it is the US equivalent of driving through the countryside on an interstate and then getting off onto secondary roads and country lanes.

In order to moderate my rate of altitude gain, I spent a couple of nights in the village of Thame. On my “layover day”, I walked several hours up into a vast glacial valley, which I had pretty much to myself. With time and the right expedition support, I could have continued for weeks. Here is a view from the trail just above the village as I began my exploration.

And here is the valley I walked into.

Leaving Thame behind, I climbed higher up the Bhote Kosi valley to the village of Lungden. I saw other trekking groups, but less than ten percent of what I had seen on the Everest route. And I passed trails branching into valleys that, had I ventured there, the percent would have been close to zero.

From Lungden I crossed the 17,600 foot Renjo La pass to the village of Gokyo. This was a long day, with some steep ascents and descents. Wanting to cross the pass with the highest likelihood of good weather, I started at 5:00am and hiked the first hour by headlamp. It was cold, but I warmed up once moving. As dawn arrived, I had one of those transcendental mountain moments. Here is the view looking back down toward Lungden, with some porters on the trail heading up toward the pass as well.

The final climb to the pass itself was less transcendental. Unlike most of the people on this route, I am not traveling with a guide or porter, and my pack weighs a solid 35 lbs. Whether it was the pack, the brutally steep rock ledges, or the altitude, (likely all three), it was far harder work than I had expected. I had to keep stopping to catch my breath and keep my head from spinning. But I got there, and my reward was this view. That is Everest on the left, and Cholatse on the right.

The descent to Gokyo was also harder than expected, (again, blame it on the pack). When I pulled into my lodge I was thoroughly spent, but satisfied. For those of you who recall a topic introduced in one of my past posts, this day had a lot of Type 2 fun in it.

Overall, trekking by myself is providing the pleasure I anticipated. I love the freedom to move at my own pace, and to stop whenever I want to rejoice in my surroundings. My mind wanders to interesting places, (at least to me), and I don’t feel lonely. The lodges I am staying in have plenty of other trekkers from all over the world, so there is no shortage of conversation if I want it. At the same time, there are occasional low moments. These tend to occur after a long, exhausting day, when the clouds have rolled in and obscured the sun, the mountains feel less welcoming, and I am trying to dry my sweaty, smelly clothes in a cold bunk room. I begin to wonder if this is worth all the effort that goes into it. Then I pull on a dry shirt, crawl into my warm sleeping bag, and all is right again.

I am spending three nights here in Gokyo, doing day hikes and acclimatizing, before heading to Cholatse base camp on November 3. This morning I hiked up a 17,500 foot promontory behind the village. Here is the view as I started up. You can see Gokyo at the bottom of the photo by the shore of the lake, and the Ngozumpa Glacier running down the valley behind it. The mountain behind the glacier, center-right, is Cholatse. We will climb the glacier to the notch between the two peaks, then follow the ridge right to left to the summit.

While, at 21,100 feet, substantially lower than Everest, Cholatse will be challenging. It is far more “technical “, with steep sections where you have nothing but air beneath you. As I trek toward it, I look up at those steep ridges and wonder what it will be like. Climbing with Holly, as cherished as it will be, also adds a feeling of responsibility. We will be prudent and conservative in our approach. More on all of this to come.

Tomorrow, I will do a long round trip hike along the edge of the glacier to the base of Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world. Then, the following morning I will leave early to walk across the glacier and down the valley to meet Holly and the team at base camp. It will be great to see all of them, including two of the Sherpas I climbed to the summit of Everest with.

One funny thing about Cholatse base camp: I don’t know exactly where it is. I have a pretty good sense, but it isn’t marked on any maps and there is no trail going there. I tried to get Phil Crampton, our Expedition Leader, to send me a screen shot of a map with an “X” on the spot, but – in classic Phil fashion – he claimed he doesn’t know. He just walks there by feel and sight. His advice to me: “look for the yak huts”. So I will.

While there are apparently yak huts nearby, there is no internet. My next post will be whenever I can walk a few hours from base camp to a place that has a signal.

Meanwhile, heartfelt thanks for your continued interest, and Namaste to all!