Archive for October, 2006

Scene on the way down from Tengboche

After breakfast at our lodge in Tengboche we began our trek back down the way we had ascended. The wind in the village was still stiff and bitterly cold when we left. The lodge at Tengboche is on a ridge and so it would be naturally quite a wind-swept place most of the time.

Immediately we started down the steps on the southern edge of this ridge we were mostly in full sunshine and sheltered from the worst of the wind. It was not long and most of us had taken off our coats, then jumpers and most ended up in T-shirts for the descent to the river crossing.

Related articles:

• Tengboche to Namche Bazar – my travel journal written at the time of the trek.

• The trek down from Tengboche – more extracts from my travel journal.

Group Photo at Tengboche

The wind howled all night when we were at Tengboche. I was snug in my sleeping bag and I was very pleased I was not out in that wind. I feared that bad weather was brewing as there had been some cloud coming our way the previous day.

We were up at dawn again to see the sunrise over Mt Everest. As the sun rose we were delighted to see a beautifully clear sky. The cold wind hadn’t disappeared though. It was bitingly cold. Even though we were all dressed with the warmest clothes we had, it was still bitter. Our leader insisted that we line up for a group photo.

Good idea – bad execution. Everyone had a camera. By the time the photographer, one of the porters, had taken several shots with every camera, we were frozen stiff. I was so pleased when we went inside for breakfast – and a lovely warm fire.

Village of Tengboche, Nepal

During our brief stay at Tengboche in Nepal some of the trekking group went to visit the local monastery. I didn’t go because I was still recovering from the effects of the climb.

Later, when I had recovered, I took the above photo of this quaint little village. Earlier I was rather slow and missed taking an even better, and rather bizarre, photo of some young monks in their flowing crimson robes wearing sneakers and playing a very willing game of soccer.

I was often amazed at sights like this. It seemed such a clash of cultures, yet the young men were still young at heart, despite their spartan lifestyle in the monastery.

Our lodge in Tengboche.

On our arrival at Tengboche in the Everest region of Nepal, we all needed a well-earned rest. Our lodge was adequate without being top of the range. On reaching the ridge where our lodge was situated we came out on a sort of plateau, the location of the small village of Tengboche. On the climb we were largely sheltered from the wind. Once at the lodge we were fully exposed to the biting wind which soon saw us all diving for our warm jackets. There were a few tables and chairs in front of the lodge which were on the sheltered side of the building and thankfully in the sun.

During the night the wind increased markedly and it became bitterly cold. I was pleased to have a very warm sleeping bag. I half expected bad weather the following morning as the clouds had been working up during the previous evening. It dawned quite clear of cloud for which we were grateful but the wind was still bitter first thing. I was so pleased that the fire was still burning in the dining room at breakfast time.

Mt Everest from Tengboche

The views upon reaching Tengboche are truly awe inspiring. Truly this is called The Roof of the World. What it would be like from the very top of Everest I can only imagine. This was our goal, so I had to be satisfied with the view as it was. And was it spectacular! Mighty mountains in all directions.

In the above photo of Everest taken from our lodge in Tengboche it is the dark mountain just left of centre. It is not a particularly impressive mountain from this vantage point, but that doesn’t matter.

I made it.

The enormous effort was worth it.

Writing this some nine months later it still amazes me that I was actually there. It astounds me that I achieved it. Since then I have been diagnosed as having diabetes. How I managed to get to Tengboche knowing that I had this condition totally puzzles me. Yes, to be honest, I did feel rather distressed at the time, but I put this down to slight altitude sickness, sheer exhaustion, lack of food due to poor appetite and an emotional response to having achieved my goal.

Related article:

• Avalanche! From my travel journal written during the trek.