From Chhukung to Lobuche – We Got Through It (2nd Blog today)

Today was the first of the three high passes and we expected, at a similar height to Chhukung Ri yesterday, that the conditions crossing Kongma La pass would be similar. We were quickly disabused.

Setting off at 6am with a whiff of sun about, and sufficient gaps in the clouds to spot the peaks, we were confident and prepared.

The path immediately struck uphill. There were fewer groups walking this way, compared to the lower routes to Everest, although we knew that this would be the case. On higher routes cairns lead the way.

The promise of sun didn’t last as the mountain became steeper and our path wound along and up steep sides cut deep by melting ice. Cut deep by melting ice is it? Hark at ee!

The cloud drew in further. And as it started to snow I realised I needed to get covered up!

Nir was leading by costume example.

Before I could get my gear on I started to get awful stomach cramps and my legs and lungs got a bit wobbly. Nipping behind a boulder I evacuated the runs again. Luckily David had his Imodium handy so I dropped two straight away.

Then the climbing got really tough as we hit a three or four hundred foot stone wall, and the path got steeper and steeper. The snow got heavier and then eased and a drop of sun sneaked through. Only to be obliterated by snow again.

David was drawing on his reserves and climbing well but I felt ill and lagged behind. It took hours to scale to the next level, which featured a few small lakes, culminating at a larger lake surrounded by another wall of rock. Nir pointed out the top of the pass and I couldn’t imagine a way up. Horror of horrors there had been considerable snowfall the previous night.

David and Amar led, with Nir following behind me. There was snow and pack ice along the narrow ledge that we followed, without ropes or crampons. One slip and it was game over. David’s video sums it up as I’m appearing up the track behind him.

We eventually dragged ourselves up to the top of the pass, at 18160 feet altitude, with fresh snow and ice, with 50% of the oxygen in the air compared to sea level, with no climbing equipment and completely knackered. A member of another group took this for us. I think you can say that this is relief on our faces. But it was short lived. We had to go down.

On the Lobuche side of the pass the mountainside was steep and covered in boulders. The boulders were in turn covered in snow and the route of the path was obliterated.

The first people up before us had guessed at the path and had packed down a narrow route which had resulted in snow turning to ice again. At times this disappeared and we had to guess where the gap was between boulders covered in snow and where a foot might slip through and twist an ankle. At other times the narrow path was so slippery that it was completely daunting. The drop would be bone breaking.

I couldn’t even reach for my iPad to take photos as we needed to grip our poles hard. These were truly the Boulders of Broken Bones. And they extended ahead of us for hours.

We were buggered. We couldn’t go back down the Lord of the Rings narrow ledge, we couldn’t get a helicopter to pick us up, we had to go on. And at the bottom was a glacier between ourselves and Lobuche which we had to cross.

It took us hours to gingerly tread our path down the mountain. It was exhausting and extremely concerning. There were about four groups snaking down and despite most of us slipping it is a miracle that only one bloke tumbled and damaged himself. A bruised buttock. David slipped onto his wrist and was hurt but uninjured. At last we were down, but then had to climb up the side moraine of rocks, sand and soil, which contained the glacier.

This is the Khumbu Glacier running from the foot of Everest down across our path. It is melting and is covered in large boulders like this, as well as smaller scree. It’s difficult to see the ice and there are many small lakes connected by a subterranean river, which you can hear through the gaps in the Boulders of Death! We had to cross the river from boulder to boulder without slipping.

By the time we arrived in Lobuche we were mentally and physically exhausted. It had taken 9 hours. This was not going to happen again. I felt that I was too old, too unfit and too tired for this kind of Indiana Jones risky bollocks and David was of an equally firm and similar mind. We needed a cards on the table pow wow when we had rehumanised and clarified how we felt.

Night night.