Everest Base Camp Trek – Day 04 (Khumjung to Khunde View Point and Back to Khumjung)
Trek – Khumjung (3,790m) to Khunde View Point (Approximately
4,200m)
Total Distance – 6km (Khumjung-Khunde-Khunde View
Point-Khumjung)
Duration – Approximately 4hrs
The day opened to a world of snow-capped mountains. My
darling Ama Dablam rose majestically to the sky full of virgin snow and the
rest of mountains including Khunde Ri were looking so beautiful and fresh.
However I slept pitifully for the first time in the trek. Was it too much Dhal
Baath, I wouldn’t know.
Ama Dablam saying good morning to us
When I went down for breakfast the kid, Tshering wasn’t yet
up so the household was so quiet and Kingjum (lady of the house) greeted me
warmly and got my breakfast of hot and nutritious Sherpa Stew and ginger tea
ready.It’s a whole meal with a thick
soup full of fresh vegetables and homemade pasta and served hot in a nice round
soup bowl. It is a heavy meal and is something Sherpas regularly have thus they
call it Sherpa Stew. If they can find, they even put meat into this and I’m not
surprised those Sherpas are as strong as Yaks coz they do eat a lot of Sherpa
Stew.
Afterwards, we set off for Hillary Memorial View Point off
Khunde facing the mighty Khunde Ri. It’s funny how everything in Solo Khumbu has
something to do with Hillary. If you read the Day 03, you’d have seen the reason for this. My guide Ngima
said that the Sherpa people consider Hillary to be their king and I wasn’t
surprised after seeing all the good deeds he’s done for these people.
Ngima and I
Khumiu-La over the village as if protecting it
There’s a rock behind Khumjung and Khunde Villages known as
Khumbiu-La and it’s considered to be sacred and nobody is allowed to trek up to
that under any circumstances. People of Khumjung and Khunde consider this to be
a holy peak and they won’t allow people to go up there and contaminate it.
Meanwhile the trek became a laborious hike uphill and I was panting like a dog. Yet the views were just amazing and I kept stopping amid heavy protests by Ngima to take pics and videos.
On the way
Lifeline of Solo Khumbu
Common sight
Khunde Monastery - The monk was very friendly
Sign-postings
He was worried we’d miss seeing the Lady Chomolungma but there was so much my body, especially the legs, could take.
This was brutal punishment for all my limbs and joints. As
feared from the beginning, we were late to arrive at the view point and missed
seeing her narrowly. We decided to wait and see but there was this thick
menacing looking cloud blocking the view quite stubbornly and nothing seemed to
convince her to lift. However we could see Lhotse but only partially and once
again Mother Nature has decided to keep Chomolungma her closely guarded secret.
Scenery begins
Khunde-Khumjung and the valley below
Beautiful is an understatement
Endless
He was blocking our path
For a strange reason, I didn’t get disappointed for not
being able to see Everest as the views I saw all around were more than
worthwhile to last a few lifetimes so missing out on Everest wasn’t a big deal
for me. Ngima however felt bad for not making it in time coz as the guide he
must’ve felt obliged to get me the best of the views but I soothed him saying
when we’re going to the base camp, we’ll get our fill of Chomolungma so why
worry now. Instead let’s enjoy all the other mountains, I told him and this
seemed to satisfy him.
I couldn't get enough of this
Ama Dablam - Love at first sight
She really is one gorgeous lady
It's not all about mountains
Colorful
Helicopter taking off from Swyangboche
The surrounding views included the sweetheart Ama Dablam,
looking as gorgeous as ever. I think she’s the most beautiful mountain of the
Himalayas and closely followed by the Fish Tail Mountain or locally known as
Machapuchre that you come across when you’re doing Annapurna/Mardi Himal Treks.
I’m yet to do any of them but from what
I’ve seen, I think Fish Tail is second only to Ama Dablam in beauty. So me
being able to see Ama Dablam so clearly and dearly was more than enough.
We could also see the Swayangboche Airport between Khumjung
and Namche. In fact this had been the choice of airport after Lukla to develop
in order to bring tourists however according to Ngima this project had been met
with stiff resistance from the local villages between Lukla and Namche as
they’d have lost so much income had the tourists started flying all the way
from Kathmandu to Swayangboche Airport. Due to this, the project didn’t take
off but this dirt airfield is used by helicopters, especially the heavy ones
such as Mi-17, Mi-8 and even some fixed wing aircraft like Do-228 and Cessna to
bring in goods and even paid tourists here. If they’d built this airport, it’d
have cut the journey by almost 25%-30% and the most difficult bit from Monjo to
Namche. However, I’m glad it never worked out coz making this easier for people
would’ve attracted more tourists thus adding more footprints to this region.
We could also see a Yak Farm closer to Swayanboche Airport.
The most prominent thing was the Dhudh Kosi River so far below around 2,600m
where we came up to Namche on the day before. So within less than two days, we
had gained an elevation of over 1,600m (well over 5,000ft) to reach this view
point. On the base of the Khunde Ri was the path towards Thame where it leads
to Lungdeng and then all the way to Gokyo Lakes via Renjo La Pass. The High
Pass Trek which includes Renjo La and Cho La Pass goes through this way. Well,
if I were ever to do the Gokyo Lakes Trek, I’d once again be able to go through
this area. I managed to take so many pics and videos and also we took a nice
cozy break as there was nothing else programmed for the day for us. So after
about an hour of staying and enjoying these beautiful panoramic views, it was
time for us to get down.
Can see the Swayangboche and Yak Farm below
Towards Thame where Gokyo Trail is
What a place to relax
Clouds playing with us
I was happier here probably more than EBC
My love
Coming down was so god and we paid a visit to Khunde
Monastery as well. The Lama at residence opened the dor for us into the main
image house. Gosh! How wonderful it felt to just sit on the floor (kind Lama
even provided me with a cushion to sit on) and just close my eyes. I felt as if
all the pains and burdens were being lifted off me and in just a few minutes, I
felt rejuvenated. It was like being born again fully refreshed. Later, Lama
even offered us tea and then went onto invite us to stay for lunch too but we
politely rejected. Well this is yet another classic example for typical
Buddhist hospitality and compassion. Having thanked him profusely, we embarked
on our way back to the Mandala Guest House and the sheer thought of having to
leave this place the following day gave me goose bumps.
Getting back
Unique and properly arranged
Aerial view
At the Khunde Hospital. If you are a foreigner, this fee would give you a heart attack
Found at the hospital and very informative
Cutie fellow
Guess?
Delicious
Pretty
Tough life goes on
The lunch at the guest house was tastier not just coz the
lady can cook really well. Because I opted for my second hot shower during the
trek which cost me another $4. However this was money well spent and I even
managed to shave for the first time during the trek. The peace of mind I felt
at Khunde Monastery was amplified by the hot shower and the vegetable noodles
which was on offer for lunch tasted heavenly. While Ngima went to rest, I
decide to indulge myself for another luxury. I paid $5 for unlimited Wi-Fi for
one day as it was time for me to keep in touch with my friends and family to
let them know that I really was alive and doing well. I also wanted to know
what was happening outside the world so paying $5 seemed well worth it. Mind
you, for the next 12 days, I won’t have any connection to the outside world so
this seemed to be the best place and I also wanted to help the owners of this
wonderful place to make some more money. So taking a hot shower and opting for
Wi-Fi seemed to be two best ways for a win-win situation.
However I soon got bored with the internet as I just enjoyed
being close to the Mother Nature than the useless online forums. Only at times
like these you realize how useless the social media like Facebook, Whatsapp,
Viber, etc. are. When you have a calm and quiet environment to keep you company
and you’re in a world of your own, why on earth would you ever bother to spend
time browsing damn internet?
Today I was also lucky enough to meet the man of the house,
Doreji Sherpa who had summited Chomolungma twice in 2001 and 2003 respectively.
However when I enquired from him, he said both times the views weren’t as great
due to the clouds and fog. Any way you can see a pic of him on the summit
proudly displayed at the dining hall. I was sad to hear him say “I did it for
money son, not for record or fun or anything else”. If only I was lucky enough
to summit this beautiful lady at least once in my life were my thoughts right
throughout the evening till I went to sleep.
Then I asked him the life in Khumjung during the winter.
“Eating, drinking and baby making” said he and laughed heartily. This reminded
me of Dorjey Shanthi in Ladakh who was a great host in my visit to Ladakh in
the previous years, 2016. Talking to him was very good not only his English was
better but also he had so many things to share with me. Time passed quite fast
while we chatted in between hot lemon and black tea.
For dinner, I ordered vegetable soup with toast. I didn’t
sleep well last night and I thought it was the excessive Dhal Baath which was
to blame. So I decided to take something light in order to sleep well coz
tomorrow we’d be going all the way to Tengboche and I wanted to take a proper
rest before the long journey. Our plan was to spend the night at Tengboche and
then on the next day to visit Pangboche. However the fate didn’t allow me to
spend a night at Tengboche instead it pushed me all the way to Pangboche thus
saving me an extra day for my trek which I spent leisurely at Lukla on my way
back. Well, more about it later.
My being vegetarian has been going well now for 4 days and I
plan to make it 16 days somehow or other, fingers crossed. Any way it’s not
every day you get to enjoy organic and garden fresh vegetables so being
vegetarian suited me just fine. It’s gonna be yet another long day tomorrow and
Ngima predicted we mightn’t find lodging in Tengboche so asked me to get ready
to trek for extra two hours to Pangboche. Well, I trusted his judgment and told
my body to stay prepared. As usual my brain was up to the job but it was the
heart and legs who were wondering whether it was possible. The mental strength
I gained while climbing up to Khumjung when my oxygen levels were checked help
seal the deal with the heart and legs so I was as ready as I could be.
However, if I were to go all the way to Pangboche, this
would mean forgoing the famous chanting of monks at Tengboche Monastery. Yet I
told myself that my main goal was to reach EBC so having to miss this unique
thing was a small price to pay in order to achieve the primary goal. As Ngima
and most of the Nepali people say at times like these; “What to do Kathmandu?”
or “Don’t worry, Chicken Curry”.
Saying goodnight to everyone, including Tshering who was sad
of my leaving the following day, I went up to my room and got under the thick
blankets wondering what the next few days had in store for me. Is the Mother
Nature really going to help me achieve my target or does she have some hidden
agenda to make things difficult for me? I simply had no idea and thinking about
it didn’t seem to make things any better. Whatever happens, I’m going to EBC
were my final thoughts before I went into a deep and peaceful sleep.
This is Tshering
Well folks, I’ll see you tomorrow. Stay tuned and enjoy the
pics and videos. Until next time then! Stay safe and travel safe!
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