It was welcome relief to move on from Pangboche toward the higher ground of Dingboche, nearly six kilometres away.
Joy had bid his farewells to me and announced his plan to walk the Kongma La. I had visions of him with his mad hair and camera gear flapping all over the place, along with his gargantuan back pack, moving swiftly up the pass like a machine. I could see why he had changed his name to Joy; he was such a happy ebullient human; finding joy in the smallest of things..
The plan for me was to stay two nights in Dingboche with an acclimation climb up to Nangkartshang Peak; around 5000m. We left on a brisk but still clear blue day (I was beginning to understand that this was normal December weather for the Khumbu), with two dogs that dropped in at my heels, for a bit of company.
Every now and then they would stop by the side of the trail and stare down the deep valley or out over to the opposite side; perhaps imagining ghost dogs or illusive prey they would be too oxygen-deprived to bound after. They were thickly-coated and looked well-nourished; seemingly they enjoyed human company and stayed with me for several kilometres.
We arrived at Dingboche after what I considered to be an unchallenging few hours. I enjoyed the slow gradual incline; stopping only to photograph the mind-blowing scenery around me or to negotiate yak trains.
Passing a yak train always required an inside manoeuvre - the alternative was less appealing.
Dingboche (4410m) is an energetic little village that lies on the cleavage of two valleys - one leads to the Kongma La (the Chukhung Valley) ; and Imja Tse/Island Peak (a popular “trekking” peak of 6198m) and the other turns away to the left (the Khumbu Valley) to find itself at the feet of Chongolumga; Sagmartha ... Everest herself. It is a popular base for people embarking on expeditions to Island Peak, Makalu and other big peaks in the Makalu-Barun National Park. It can form an alternative and less busy trek than EBC, looping back to Namche via the Arun Valley - the deepest valley in the world.
Jeet knew the teahouse owners (a husband and wife team whose names I have forgotten) who donned mountaineering gear - hard alpine climbing boots were the everyday footwear staple for him, along with a one piece down suit, whilst she wore two hats; two puffers and thick climbing pants along with more sensible tramping boots. I suppose they slept in this gear too.
They very kindly gave me a room warmed by the afternoon sun. Here on the window ledge I could use my solar pack to charge my phone and not have to pay the 500 NRP per hour for charging. The tea house was 1500 per night (the higher you go the more expensive everything is); hot water 500 a fill; power charging 500/hr. The food was delicious however and the owners hospitable; giving me extra blankets and making sure I was comfortable. By now I was well-versed in how to maximise warmth for sleeping. I would place the second bed mattress on top of the bed I would sleep in as they were so thin the cold air would freeze you from underneath. I would put one blanket on top of the mattress then use all the others I had for sleeping.
At this elevation it was starting to get harder to do simple tasks without the heart racing - pulling the blankets up and snuggling down to sleep felt like running a 100m sprint.
At Dingboche there is a beautiful stupa which overlooks the village and stands opposite Ama Dablam, which by now is right above Dingboche. The stupa requires a short sharp hike to reach, and the views are stunning. There is also a very good cafe, selling pretty good coffee by Kiwi standards and a decent array of cakes and pastries.
The stupa above Dingboche and fittingly opposite Ama Dablam.
I had to sneak away there under the guise of “going to take photos” as Jeet and the teahouse owners felt I should be drinking coffee at their teahouse (no way! I wanted decent coffee!); and they questioned me closely on my return ...
Them: Where have you been?
Me: For a walk with my camera - so beautiful here!
Them: You go to proud cafe where all westerners drink coffee? (? ‘proud’ ?)
Me: Me?!! .... no no .... nooooo. (Face turns red; extreme feelings of guilt and shame well up inside).
Them: Good - you can drink coffee here.
The toilet even attempted to flush at this cafe - that alone was worth seeing.
Several small shops supply mountaineering equipment and one had a veritable array of pharmaceuticals which in New Zealand would require a prescription - such as diamox. Dingboche had a lively feel to it; I liked it and could have stayed three nights quite happily.
For acclimation I was quite keen to explore the Chukhung valley up towards Island Peak BC. Jeet however, was not keen. “Better we climb Nangkartshang” he informed me with an air of great authority - “better for you and good view for camera”.
So we did. Setting out on the short term trail to the ridge above Dingboche I quickly felt the effects of having gained 500m from the day before. My legs felt heavy and tired and I was walking at snails pace. Every step was a mammoth effort - step, step, stop … step, step, stop. A mild headache ensued.
Stopping to breathe above Dingboche. Island Peak in the background.
“You must be like Joy with the camera’s” Jeet told me; “he eat very much and you don’t eat enough. You need for energy”.
I was having a large three-egg omelette for my breakfasts along with other fantastic Nepalese food, so I didn’t feel there was an issue. Besides Joy was a man-mountain. He needed to fuel the beast. I had plenty of fuel storesI had been saving up all year on my body!
The day was beautiful and what had started at around -22 degrees rapidly warmed and before long I was peeling off my down jacket. We slowly ascended, taking in the incredible 360 degree views. I could see Makalu, Lotse, Nuptse but Everest was hiding behind the flank of Nupste - I couldn’t even get a ‘sneak peak’.
We took a couple of hours to walk up that hill to just over 5000m. My camera battery gave way part way up - possibly due to the cold, I’m not sure.
It was tough going for me and by the time we got back to the teahouse, I was rocking a mild headache. I went out in search of Panadol and found some Panadeine at the make-shift “every drug you could ever need” store, across the path. This removed the head pain and I once again felt good - happy at my effort and having reached an elevation milestone. In hindsight, going from Dingboche to this peak may have been too high too soon, but I was not to know this at that time.
That evening I had the best pizza I have ever eaten (of course). It was utterly delicious, full of vegetables, topped with nak cheese and a home made crust. It was a decent size and I scoffed the lot. That was an expensive 600nrp ($6-ish), the most I had spent on food so far. Well worth the splurge.
“You eat too much” said Jeet.
No pleasing him.
As the night grew dark and cold, the teahouse filled up with locals, who came to use the wifi and huddle around the yak dung stove. It was a funny sight; about 10-15 people in this basic teahouse around a basic fire in the middle of the mountains - heads down watching YouTube clips of western daredevil stunt motorcyclists, or music clips. I felt a bit annoyed as I had paid 500nrp for internet and all the band width was being hoovered up by everyone downloading.
The pot of water on a centre dung-fired stove, is standard heating in the Sherpa village teahouse. I came to love these things.
I contemplated heading outside to do some night photography, mildly encouraged by the clear sky at this altitude, but the walk to my room from the dining room was a plunge of at least 20 degrees (my room would have been -5 to -10 at night), so I decided that standing in the frigid mountain air was a daft idea and went to bed instead. Tomorrow we were moving higher; I had spent two nights at Dingboche and Everest Base Camp was rapidly becoming tangible. Tomorrow I was off to Lobouche and this meant I was two days from Base Camp. I was mere kilometres away from the mountain of all my childhood dreams. I was feeling good and was eager for the days ahead.
I pulled up the thick warm blankets, pulled my hat around my ears and drifted off to the sound of dogs barking in the bone-chilling air outside. It seemed to me, that as night approached, the dogs became restless and barked repeatedly.
Perhaps it was an innate way to create some body warmth.
Here’s the rub:
Start: Pangboche (13,074 ft / 3,985 m)
End: Dingboche (14,461 ft / 4,410 m)
Distance: 4.3 mi / 6.96 km
Sleeping elevation change: +1,387 ft / 425 m
Day's elevation change: +2,024 ft / 617 m
Total time: 3:02:18
Moving time: 2:39:39
Acclimation day elevation change: 675m