Day 4: Namche Bazar to Dole
After our day of acclimation in Namche, our next goal was Gokyo Lakes where we would be summiting Gokyo-Ri, a 17,600 foot peak with incredible views. This three day section of our trek would take us from 11,200 feet up to 15,500 with the final summit being an acclimation hike.
Day 4 of our trek. This is the typical room of the teahouses that we stayed in. Nothing fancy, but at least we didn’t have to set up camp each night.
Leaving Namche Bazar for the final time. This was such a beautiful place to spend two nights. From this point on we would be ascending in altitude past our normal comfort level. This meant we had to hike slowly and carefully so as to avoid altitude sickness. So far we only felt runny noses and sore throats from all the burning yak dung.
An enormous stupa. Always walk to the left we were told.
This section was a slow, steady climb along nicely kept trails.
The last tea house before things got steep. We were beginning to recognize peaks at this point in the trek and it was fun to see them come in and out of view and eventually get bigger and bigger. That’s Ama Dablam in the background.
Mint tea, the perfect drink along the trek.
Each day had a different feel to it, much to our surprise. This was a day full of lush, dense forests and massive snow-capped peaks peaking through the trees.
Sometimes it was nice to come across a perfectly placed set of stairs. Whoever built this set got the height of the steps just right.
Another stupa looming over our lunch spot.
More mint tea. By this time we were starting to be very careful about what we ate. This isn’t the place to have an upset stomach, as two of us would learn later.
Ama Dablam, or “Mother’s necklace”, is a 20,200 foot peak that we were slowly working our way past.
Around this time we separated paths from the normal route up the Khumbu Valley and headed up the Gokyo Valley, a less traveled and more scenic route. Across the valley you can see the village of Phortse.
We found these two Himalayan tahrs grazing on the mountain above us. They didn’t seem bothered, but kept an eye on us just in case.
Making sure we go the right way. One wrong turn and you can easily hike miles down the wrong valley.
More wild forests. The light was leaving us and the temperature was quickly dropping. You definitely don’t want to be caught out in the dark up there without proper gear!
When we reached Dole, our stop for the night, we looked back and had an absolutely perfect view of Kangtega, also known as The Snow Saddle. I set up a time lapse and froze while waiting for the sun to set. As the battery died and the SD card filled up, a wall of clouds filled the valley and Kangtega disappeared.
Our cozy little tea house in Dole.
Day 5: Dole to Gokyo Lake
Warming up, a little breakfast, and some boot repair before a long day of trekking.
More on this later, but we found a treasure trove of yak dung.
After a cold, cold night, we set out for day five. The sun was out and it looked like another day of perfect weather. I was sad because I had to put my shorts away. My legs were sun burned from the previous days exposure.
Finding some fun rocks to pose on.
And finally, we hit the jackpot. We found a fenced in area with several yaks lazily grazing in the sun. We had planned on shooting a yak video, and ended up with the yaks for at least an hour. Luckily our guide was patient!
You can easily tell a yak from a nak (female yak) by how the hair is cut. Females are shaved below so they can be easily milked.
A long way to go.
The view of our lunch stop.
Noodles without the spices for everyone.
The few flat areas were a welcome break for our tired legs.
Many distinct monuments, flags, stupas, and villages marked the trails, making each section a memorable experience.
The trail was getting more rugged as we got higher
Icy river. No one dared take a quick swim.
Nearing the end of the day, we found the first and smallest of the Gokyo Lakes. Hard to believe
there were ducks in the icy water.
Incredible turquoise water. At this point we were racing to stay in the sun. The difference between sun and shade was at least 10 or 15 degrees.
Gokyo Lake, and that’s our tea house with the red roof on the water. Such a welcome sight!
Sun setting on a nearby peak.
Stars over Gokyo Lake.
Day 6: Gokyo Ri summit.
Day six was an acclimation day. We were to hike from our tea house at 15,500 feet to the summit of Gokyo Ri at 17,500 fee
Beautiful reflections on the lake as we quickly climbed above.
Ram, one of our super-human porters.
Our tea house owner’s family had these two yaks that wandered the nearby mountains. He said they could sense bad weather and would return home if a storm was approaching.
No switchbacks. We just went straight up.
Heavy duty cairns.
From this height we could see the Ngozumpa glacier, the largest glacier in the Himalayas. We would be crossing it the next day. That’s Cholatse in the background beyond the glacier.
We reached the summit of Gokyo Ri without incident. We were all tired, but no signs of altitude sickness.
We had the summit all to ourselves.
Jumping at this altitude is not an easy task. Not sure how many times it took to get these jumping pictures right, but it was totally worth it! Thu is almost touching Everest.
This was easily our best view of the entire trek. We could have turned around at this point and been satisfied with our experience. The number of notable peaks in view from this summit was astounding.
Everest looming over everything.
Breathtaking. Maybe the best view I’ve ever encountered.
Finally we had to tear ourselves away from the view and head back down. This was a successful acclimation hike, and left us a little bit more confident in our upcoming challenges on the trek. We had another night stay down at the lake, then we would be traversing the section between Gokyo Valley and Khumbu Valley over the next few days, with Cho La Pass the main obstacle and very reason we needed to be fully acclimated.