Tag: Nepal

Relaxed and with nice weather, we continued to walked down beautiful and quiet Bhote Koshi valley. To Namche for chocolate cake at Namche Bakery and then down to Monjo, where we stayed for the night in the same lodge as on the way up (Mount Kailash Lodge). Thame to Monjo is ~13 km. The next day, as we walked another 13 km to Lukla, the weather was still good and we heard all the planes in the air – encouraging sign as we were hopping to fly out of Lukla early next morning. No luck, the weather got worse and we got stuck. Got to the airport before sunrise, checked in and went through security, and spent the whole day there – not a single flight arrived or departed that day because of clouds somewhere between Lukla and Kathmandu. Cargo helicopters were flying, some people payed for helicopters, but still were not able to fly out that day. Groups were rebooked for early morning flights next day, but individuals couldn’t change their tickets until ~4 pm and we got only late 10 am departure slot. Stayed in an overpriced and not so friendly lodge (moved to a different one for the second night). On the second day of waiting for our flight to Kathmandu, we also went to the airport at sunrise, but we’re not able to switch to an earlier flight. Clouds  were on and off and flights were way behind the schedule. With our late slot we had no chance.  After watching how people flying cargo and passengers operate at Lukla, we decided an escape at any cost (perhaps not the $500 they were asking for helicopter flight) was our best bet, although some flights were coming in (and going out).

Lukla airstrip

Landing at Lukla airstrip

 
We took an offer to fly to Ramechhap, a local egg and fuel hub, to put our feet on the ground in the lowlands. Five-hour bus ride to Kathmandu completed the adventure. The bus ride required constant active management,  business models of the driver and the passengers were divergent. Despite some hiking fatigue setting in, we missed the high mountains already.

After visiting remote Gokyo Lake V and scrambling up Gokyo Ri, it was time to cross Renjo Pass, one of the famous passes in the Khumbu/Everest region – considered the easies and with best panoramic view of the high mountains. With perfect weather we were not disappointed!

From Gokyo to Lunden (a.k.a. Lungden or  Lumde, first village with lodges on the other side of the pass )  is ~11 km, 4.5 km and 600 m up to Renjo La, and then 1000 m down. Our porter-guide hired for half a day helped us carry the load up, so we could relax and enjoy the scenery. We also wanted to reach the pass as early as possible, as the weather pattern with clouds in the afternoon was what we were getting every day. The trail is relatively easy (without backpacks) with some steep sectors. The ascent is nicer and easier (although longer) than Gokyo Ri. We were on the pass before the clouds and the views were amazing, best panorama on our trek.  We spent an hour at the pass in perfect weather, sun and no wind, admiring the views.

View from Renjo La

View from Renjo La

 
There were probably 40-50 people on the trail that morning. We started hiking shortly after sunrise in subzero temps ( -6℃), but we warmed up quickly when the Sun got higher (in some quiet spots to above 20℃). Hiked down a steep section of the trail rebuilt after 2015 earthquake, took back our backpacks, had lunch at a lake near the base of the pass, and continued to Lunden. Despite heavy cloud cover and temps dropping below freezing again, it was very nice hike down the beautiful Renjo Khola valley with quite magical views of the mountains appearing/disappearing quickly between clouds. We took a wrong path towards Arye (we knew about the “Y”), but quickly realized the mistake and crossed some pastures to return to the correct trail – we surprised yak herder (who spoke perfect English) when we showed up on his pasture out of nowhere. We spent the night at a newly renovated and good Renjo Pass Support Lodge (recommended) with several other hikers who also came down from the pass. Nice rooms with (small) toilets. Very nice host. One fellow hiker was recovering from a bout of altitude sickness after being helped down the mountain (failed attempt to cross Renjo pass).  The next day it was easy and lazy/slow hike down the Bhote Koshi valley, along an old trading route from Tibet. Nice villages, very few people on the trail.  From Lunden to Thame is another 9.5 km. We were too lazy to visit Thame gompa, just looked from the ridge. Stayed in nice Valley View Lodge and played with giggly owner’s daughter. We were the only guests. Thame is a big and nice village. We used our reserve day earlier so no day hike towards Tashi Labsta.