We started from Khumjung in very nice weather, but soon clouds came in and we hiked in fog most of the day. At 4000 masl and with Sun behind heavy clouds it was quite cold, small streams and waterfalls were frozen on the surface. We were now hiking north up the Dudh Koshi valley towards Ngozumpa Glacier. The tourist crowd disappeared as the main trail to EBC turns East/North-East after Namche. We passed Mong La (pass) and stayed for the night in Dole at Alpine Cottage Lodge (looked good from the outside, but it was our coldest night with temp in the room dropping to -1°C). The good weather returned the next day, sunny mornings but still clouds every afternoon, as we continued to Machermo. Nice day, good views, nice trail in the valley, not crowded at all, relaxing. Very good Sherpa Land Lodge with nice hosts, great atmosphere, the warmest fire of the entire trek. We are gaining altitude. Again very nice walk next day to Gokyo with stops at Lake I and II. Hike from Khumjung to Gokyo (two days) = ~ 20 km. Since we heard that sometimes there were not enough rooms in Gokyo available for late comers, we reserved Cho Oyu View Lodge – it had empty rooms, but other lodges were full. It was OK, but old and quite cold (again ~ 0°C at night in our room). We were both fighting Khumbu cough and cold, so we decided to moved for second and third night to (new) Thanka Inn with insulated walls and sealed windows. It was more expensive, but so much warmer – it was 8°C at night! And food was delicious.
We planned two day hikes from Gokyo: to Lake V and possibly Lake VI, and summiting Gokyo Ri. We went for a relaxed walk to Lake V first despite discouraging weather which made some other hikers turn back. It was a great day (with packed lunch), wonderful views of Ngozumpa glacier, Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse. View of Everest was the excellent from this angle. One of the best days of the trek. Lake VI was beyond our reach, we ran out of time as we spent a lot of time around the lower lakes and on the side moraine watching the glacier and all the big mountains around. Taking pictures. We were almost alone there. Quite stunning views from the moraine above the lake (Scoundrel’s Point).
Ngozumpa Glacier view from Scoundrel’s Point
Ngozumpa Glacier view from Scoundrel’s Point
Hike from Gokyo to Lake V and back = ~ 12 km. The next day Joanna made it to Gokyo Ri summit. I took my rest day and slept most of the day. Gokyi Ri trail is short (~4 km round trip) but very steep (600 m altitude gain), straightforward but strenuous hike. The views on the way up and from the top were great – four 8000 m peaks (Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu), lakes and the glacier. Clouds started coming in up the valley when I was approaching the summit, making for some interesting photos. I stayed there about an hour.
View from Gokyo Ri
View from Gokyo Ri
There was no wind.Very few or at times no people at the top (I started later than most). Going down was much easier and fast. The clouds were getting quite thick in the afternoon. Long sleep in warm room, and Piotr started recovering from the cough.
We were quite lucky as a group of guides/porters who came with tourist staying in our lodge had a break the next day and one of them agreed to help us carry our stuff up to Renjo La pass after looking at and weighing our backpacks in his hands: “Oh, daypacks”. It made us feel good as we really tried to travel light (most of our warm clothes were on us at this point). He was actually a porter guide and spoke good english.
