Lobuche 28th Oct 17

Lobuche East via Gokyo Ri

28th October – 18th November 2017

Expedition Leader: Paul Etheridge

9th November

Summit Success on Lobuche!

Latest dispatch from the Lobuche team:

Tick – That’s another objective in the bag from the No#1 expedition team!

Yesterday we trekked from Lobuche village to base camp and went through the standard procedure of recapping the use of ice tools and ascending and descending fixed lines after a hearty Nepalese lunch of pasta, fish, chips and beans. We climbed up to high camp a couple of hours away with my friends and climbing Sherpas, Ongchhu Sherpa and Ngawang Sherpa .

We packed bags and planned a summit attempt from 01:00am and set about readying ourselves for the early start. With the obligatory briefing and kit check we had dinner served in our snow-covered tents, this time slightly more local style, garlic soup, Dal Bhat, popcorn and warm fruit salad.

01:00 am soon came around and as a team we set off for the climb. It started off with a two hour scramble up some loose rock before we were met with a 15m wall of ice which indicated the time to crampon up and get mountaineering. Gemma led the way with a sterling effort and summited at 06:30, with the rest of the team reaching the summit about 15-30 minutes later.

And wow…. we thought Gokyo gave great views but standing on top of a 6000m mountain gave us full HD views of the entire Khumbu Valley. A truly excellent day and a very, very proud, excited, happy, tired team and a great finish to what has been an awesome performance by all.

6th November

Today we got up nice and early to set off for Gokyo Ri up to 5300m, and as expected we were treated with the most amazing views of almost every major mountain in Nepal: Cho Oyu, Everest, Makalu, Lhotse, Taboche and many more. We were all gobsmacked by the beauty of the trek and views of such wonderful mountains. The team did so well with only a few headaches between us. We got up and down for 10:00am and dug deep into a well-deserved hearty breakfast.

We trekked through Gokyo village and onto the frozen landscape of the Ngozumpa glacier heading towards the village of Dragnag. The glacier seemed to feel like it went on for miles and miles but the sight of Dragnag just the far side of the glacier made it an achievable goal.

Dragnag is a cosy little village tucked beyond the morraine at the foot of the Cho La pass, with fantastic views, running water and hot tea… The team have been very domesticated this afternoon making the most of the afternoon sun to dry their previously washed socks and shirts.

Tomorrow we’ll get our first glimpse of Lobuche up close from the Cho La pass, before descending to Lobuche village in the main Khumbu valley.

5th November

The team are enjoying the awesome views at Gokyo today. Having trekked up the valley through the steep forest and eventually onto the moraine above Machermo we were met with the breathtaking sight of the Gokyo lakes. These six sacred lakes have to be seen to be believed. The colour blue or turquoise looks so false you would be forgiven to think pictures have been coloured in. Gokyo village sits nestled between the moraine and the third lake, and if you follow the moraine further up the valley you reach the other lesser-visited lakes.

Throughout the days trekking up we have been greeted with views of Cho Oyu (8201m) at the head of the valley, which looks absolutely enormous…and inviting!

The team are doing great with all appetites well intact having reached 4800m and still eating Dal Bhat with gusto!

Tomorrow we plan to trek up Gokyo Ri and see the lakes from 5200m, before a steady descent back down, through the village and across the Ngozumpa glacier to Dragnag.

We are currently a day ahead of our itinerary which will give us a training day at Lobuche and the chance to sort a few things before the ascent.

1st November

We’ve had an update through from our Lobuche Team who started the trek up from Lukla a couple of days ago. All of the group are thoroughly enjoying themselves currently drinking coffee and eating chocolate cake in Namche Bazaar. We all walked up to the Everest View Hotel (3880m) today and enjoyed more coffee over looking Ama Dablam and Everest which was a high point for the team. The team have immersed themselves into Nepalese culture and even order Mo-Mos and Dal Bhat by choice!

Looking forward to leaving the masses behind from the Everest Base Camp trail onto our next village above Namche.