Everest Trek

Every resident of the modern metropolis, dreaming one day be far away from civilization, to be alone with nature, which does not operate mobile phones, where the way of life has not changed since the beginning of time, where the sunset beauty is matched only by the beauty of the dawn, and the spirit will captivate the greatness of eight thousandth glacial peaks, a mirror which reflects eternity. Time stops ... there is only you and the freedom ...

Itinerary includes: trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC Standard), ascent of Kala Pattar (5643 m), pass Cho La (5420 m), lakes Gokio, ascent to Gokyo Ri (5360 m), the track to 5 -th lake Gokio and foot Ojju Cho, La pass Range (5345 m).

Part 1: Lukla - Namche Bazar

Flight to Lukla. The capital of the Sherpa - Namche Bazaar. Everest View Hotel. Mysterious yeti scalp and endless Manistouny.

Trek to Everest Base Camp, I will continue to call it the EBC (Everest Base Camp) trek - is the most popular walking tours in the Himalayas. In the season - and it is in October-November / March-April - it trample thousands of feet of tourists, porters, yaks and mules.

Despite this, the route is ne of the most difficult and dangerous because of the high probability of altitude sickness.

The main route of the track to the Everest Base Camp, starting from the village - Lukla, which can be reached in two ways: first - to fly from Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, the second - on foot from the village Shivalayya.

In the first case, all the adventure (Lukla - EBC Standard - Kala Pattar - Lukla) takes about 2 weeks, the second - add another week, which will give an excellent opportunity to get involved in long-distance mode and "harden" to further elaborate transitions at high altitudes.

I'm with the band flew straight to Lukla, t. To. Our route within the photo expedition to demand the full 19 days, and a great time we did not have.

It is often flights to Lukla delayed or even put off because of bad weather. So it was with my team. The first few days in Kathmandu lil terrible downpour - the last of the season this year rains. Because of him, there was no way to even leave the hotel. It does not matter - an umbrella, a raincoat, suit - still get wet to the skin!

Fortunately for us the day the track in the clouds formed a window and we were a group of the lucky few who managed to slip through time into it!

Who once flew to Lukla - will never forget!

I got a place, "co-pilot" (!) On a plane for seven + luggage. At the same time, I still climbed to his seat, looked at me strictly pilot and Nepali, frowning sternly said: "Feet do not move, no buttons to press and does not move - otherwise not reach!"

Immediately after takeoff the feeling as if caught in a completely different world: after the bustling and noisy Kathmandu we were "the heavens", which offers endless views in all directions without obstacles ...

Below snaked meandering mountain rivers, serpentine roads and stretches of emerald-field terrace. Little by little the sky was delayed and went to shower. Right in my face from the window plane cracks start to splash the water, we were shaken and tossed from side to side, the pilot calmly twitching arms and shouted, "Okay, okay, gud-gud!" Guys for me to meditate on your favorite photo equipment, and I then and then had to turn back and smile from ear-to-ear with their thumbs and eyebrows up pretend "gud-gud, okay, okay, super super!"

Involuntarily remembers the plane crash, which occurred a year ago with the Japanese group on this flight are

After 35-40 minutes of flight, half of which are pretty mo damped reputation of photo equipment, finally seemed to saving the whole 527 meters and unforgettable 12% slope of the runway airport name "Tenzing and Hillary" (!) - First on Everest.

And then I remembered the story of my colleagues about this extreme landing! In fact, the score 527 meters lead from the airport building itself is the size of the band seems to be only 200.

A few minutes later we are happy to "sit" and experienced the wonderful feeling of "what a joy to have good karma!"

The workers started unloading the plane, and we proceeded to the little house with blue roofs on the left - the building of the airport.

In the eyes first thing rushed Buddhist monastery towering above the village.

Waiting for the arrival another 2 planes with "our", we went to the village Fakding.

Local kids are so used to tourists that almost do not notice the crowd passing by the feet.

I still noticed

The road passes through the mountain villages, sometimes directly through the gardens of local residents

The locals grow cabbage, potatoes, onions and many other cultures almost to the height of 3700 m. After 4000 m nothing grows but grass and barley ...! Barley is growing at an incredible height - up to 5000 meters above sea level.

Therefore, barley is the most common culture in the Himalayan highlands

Along the way there are huge manistouny manivoly and taking its name from the main Buddhist mantras O Mani Adme Hum (one of translations - "The jewel in the Lotus Center"), carved with mantras, prayers. According to the beliefs of Buddhists, the mantra reads the wind and carries them through the valleys, thereby ennobling space and charging it with positive vibrations.

We rushed after the mantras.

It is often in the Himalayas can be seen the image of a saint, painted in the most inaccessible place

Constantly overcomes curiosity, when and who built these huge manivoly and carved these inscriptions in stone, because they occur quite often in considerable quantities

Here is the home of local people, away from the tourist towns.

The famous suspension bridge them. Hillary built at the expense of the Fund of State Hillary founded the first conquerors of Everest. On account of this School Foundation, bridges, hospitals and a variety of projects designed to help the residents of remote areas.

Among the climbers and ordinary trackers have a tradition of Buddhist flags hang on the railing of the bridge, which must be accompanied by a successful expedition!

After the bridge, the trail climbs rapidly

After 2 days, we came to the capital of the Sherpa - Namche Bazaar. Sherpas - is fundamental and the most numerous nationalities living in the region. Sherpas - (!) One of the most powerful and hardy people on Earth They make it possible to climb on top of the world - Mount Everest. There is a joke in the mountaineering world - climbers are the first high-altitude camp, the Sherpas have already laid out a second, climbers go in the second, the Sherpas in the third drink tea! The most interesting thing in this joke - this is not a joke :)

Lukla is located at an altitude of 2840 meters, so two days we gathered 843 meters altitude and passed about 20 kilometers

In Namche Bazaar we had to spend the night acclimatization.

To reduce the chance of altitude sickness, need a good acclimatization. Acclimatization means that one day say 500-800 meter climb. After remaining at a given height a sufficient amount of time - from 2-4 hours up to a day, the body gets used to the amount of oxygen and pressure. With the passage passes with the amplitude heights of more than 800 m is undesirable delayed more than an hour at the peak. But I will not get ahead of ourselves - all in good time

We stayed in one of the best hotels high above the village. Inside we were greeted by the legendary long-liver in the region - 19-year-old dog, very similar to the yeti! Dog is almost does not see, not hear, and barely breathing, but it is known to many climbers who have gone through this hotel! At the time of writing this post she was 21!

Early the next morning we moved to the radial acclimatization walk to the high-rise hotel Everest View, townships Khumdzhung, Khumde and Syangboche. On this day, we had to climb to 460 m, and it again "lose". In the photo above - night view of Namche Bazaar

are slowly beginning to dawn and the top Tamserku (6623 m), shrouded in mystical clouds, threw epic shadow on the same cloud. Very soon Tamserku looked like this:

Soon quite light and gradually began to open up the mountains. The guys started to prepare his camera gun! Indeed, already at the third day of the trek we had to open the Everest!

Meanwhile, the others were already sitting at the table and drank a delicious hot tea with milk and spices, watching the same picture only from the window!

I took a photo of the reflection in the window from the outside of the hotel

In the photo above a reflection of my red-haired tail and 4th height eightthousanders Lhotse (8516 m) for its "protruding ears" is very similar to a cat. Not directly Lhotse and LKOTtse!

In this photo Lhotse and clearly one of the most beautiful peaks of the world - Ama Dablam (6816 m)

"Ama" - means a mother or grandmother, and "double" - a special suspension, in which old women sherpas are precious things. On the mountain there is a hanging glacier, which resembles a double, and radiating to the side ridge presented as maternal hands, divorced for a hug.

And here I am! I demonstrate what glasses you should not take to the mountains, so as not to burn the retina of the eye

In this photo managed to shoot a "piece" of Mount Everest, which barely showed us his side, and immediately plunged into the clouds. In the photo from left Lhotse in the clouds fragment

After drinking plenty of tea, we went to the next village along the route of our walk.

In the Himalayas, growing many different yummy, if you know what they look like - it can be a good idea to diversify the diet. In the photo above - Himalayan barberry.

You've probably also heard a great deal about the mysterious and mystical flower that grows high in the mountains, and only the most daring and successful climbers opens its kind!

I imagine - Edelweiss in person! That's how it looks in reality - a small white flower that looks like an asterisk, wrapped in gray "shaggy".

But this miracle bump - I have no idea what. Our guide said that it is inedible. Although very appetizing in appearance. On the question of the name of this plant, he said - Pine Cone (bump)!

Soon we reached the village Khumdzhung and its main attractions Khumjung Gompa, or in other words the local Buddhist temple. Upon entering it once adorned manistoun.

Beautiful prayer wheels promised to harmonize the state, plus in karma to everyone who they untwist!

In each of these scrolls are the mantras that are spinning, man "animates" their energy, which works just like a breeze with manistounami.

In one of the houses with a large prayer wheels sat here such dedus Sherpa explicitly charged positive from the very drum!

Inside the temple, we found a huge statue of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava - one of the great Indian spiritual teachers and mystics of Tantric Buddhism. He was one of those who "brought" Buddhism in Nepal and Tibet. The Himalayas are quite common caves in which he meditated.

To the right of it is a statue of Tara, which is welcomed with folded hands "Namaste" (welcome gesture) one of "our"

The shelves along the walls of the temple in the deep recesses are scrolls of scriptures

In addition, the center of the temple in a safe resting yeti skull (!), Which locals consider sacred relic.

Yeti comes from the name of Tibetan yeh - "Snow Valley" and teh - "man." According to many legends, yeti lives in regions that are not affected by modern civilization. The Legend of Bigfoot meet American legends of Bigfoot and Australian of Youi.

The history of the legends in search of the yeti does not send another expedition. The earliest "Western" Yeti mention dated 1889, when British Army Major has found a huge following in Sikkimme, Sev. India.

is a belief among the Sherpas goes - "the one who had seen the yeti, less than a year left to live"

Most evidence of the existence of the Yeti in the history of the renowned names in the Everest region. Here, according to the beliefs of Nepalis, is the entrance to the mystical country - Shambhala.

In 1960, Edmund Hillary Ser drove the artifact for analysis to the United States, which showed that the "skull" is made of fur and antelope skins. However, this has not shaken the faith of Nepalese in the existence of mystical creatures.

And this is very interesting triangle on the alleged skull with a great sense of special importance to the tourists gets special woman from the safe. In this look at these things may wonder-marvelous each has paid a certain amount in Nepal rupees

On the street we have already seen smiling children wishing to enjoy a candy overseas. Children - they are all children!

Although the boy tried to Something Wicked interest.

After the temple we went along the streets of the village. The afternoon sky was densely clouded clouds, but suddenly out of the waves emerged, showing its tail majestic Tamserku and again disappeared into the depths of the clouds.

As time is the time the potato collection ...

After a while we reached another small Buddhist temple, at the entrance to which we have already met the old lama.

Next for him right outside the door bulged eyes yak mask on us

Inside everything seemed very old. Along the walls of "sitting" insulated mantle monks in which they wrap up during the service. The temperature inside the temple pull up to 10-12 degrees.

The white multi-armed Avalokitecvara statue - the central deity compassion in Buddhism recognized as embodied by the world is Dalai-Lama depicted in the photographs below.

It should be noted that in the temples reigns absolutely incredible energy, to dive in which a real pleasure. Feels like in his veins flows the peace and serenity, and interspersed with tall and did observe the blissful state of harmony and peace of mind within. This Himalayan fairytale.

One of the lamas chanted sacred text

Here is one of the ancient engravings depicted the eternal unity of the spirit and its companion - matter.

After a few hours spent at a height of about 4 thousand meters, began a little dizzy and began to feel less oxygen. We all decided to go back to the hotel and have rest before the subsequent duration of the transition, which is waiting for us the next day.

Gradually, the cloud came down and enveloped all around, adding mystique scenery and sleepy mood.