Namche BazarApr 30, 2008
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| OMG NAMCHE!!!! Well today we are heading into Namche, this for me is the first mile stone and a major achievment, for those who have seen my laptop they would have seen the picture of Namche Bazzar for the last 9 months. the town is so beautiful sitting high on a ridge with mountains all around it. but i am getting ahead of myself, first the trip there. the Day started like most others up at 7 for a quick wash, pack our gear and head down for breakfast, by 8am we were ready to hit the road and 8:10 had our feet on the trak for Namche. Just as we were leaving the town we had to have our bags searched just incase we were bringing in anti chinese or free Tibet shirts , papers or flags etc, the chinese have become quite paraniod. Our bags given the all clear we headed out, just as we were to enter the national park we had to have our porter carried gear checked and as i had locked my bags i had to unlo ck it, watch him rumage through my stuff (took a photo of him ) and then relock the bag (Trust no one!). ok now we are really on the way. The start of the walk is along the river bed , we crossed the river 3 times over relativly new bridges most were under 5 years old with the remains of the old ones s till visable beside the new. Now this part of the trek was easy but i knew from a conversation i had with a German cple yesterday that this was about to end and the wall of p[ain was about to hit me. when we cross the last (and longest bridge) we were at 2800 now Namche is at 3400 you do the mathe, we had to go up and do it in a short period of time. this is also where Gavin's world collasped around him, he was buggered from a cold he was carrying and it hit him hard. the assent is probably the worst we have other than Kalapatar, it is a winding track that does nothing but go up, by the time we were halfway though Gavin's bag was being carried by a sherpa and he was just plodding along as best he could. There is no doubt i was struggling as well but just kept putting one foot in front of the other and slowly moved upwards and then it happened..... Mount Everest and Lotse appeared. It is hard to describe how you feel when you lok up and see them, this was why i was here and there they were, i guess i was dumb struck. I got out the tripod and tried my best to take a photo i could be proud of. Everest was as i imagined it would be, the cloud was whisping by the summit and it was in full sun, god i hope the photo comes out. Gavin caught up and i told him to turn around, he could not believe the sight and i am sure then and there he didn't feel as bad. We continued on up to Namche, and i dont mind saying i have never lived through anything as hard as that climb (come Kala Patar i might think differently), then there was Namche, first it was a blue roof followed quickly by the other buildings. The town is the most incredible site, stuck high on a ridge with a huge drop off to the river below, the buildings are blue or greens, photos dont do it justice. the only problem is that with it being built on the side of a mountain all the damn roads go up or down and at this hight that means hard lung busting work for us silly trekkers. The afdternoon was spent up at the Sherpa Museum, there was a wonderful slide show of the area and it's people before we went in to look at photos and news clippings from all over the world about Sherpa and this region, there was even one from the Herald Sun showing the difference in hight between Kossi and Everest, hey i'm almost twice as high as our highest point :P. After dinner headed down to a local bar and played some pool, listened to some Pink Fl oyd and looked at the collection of tshirts from people who have been here and done the big climbs. I sat back and thought of all the climbers who had been here before me, Hillary, Rob Hall, Scott Fisher the list goes on I guess i can add Paul Adler who last year inspired me to try this feat of madness. This town of Sherpas is where it all begins it end is greatness for some and disaster for others. Namche bazzar Day 2 Well here we are on our "rest" day, yeah right, what sort of rest day includes a hike into the hills to add another 400M in 2 hours??? Ours did :). I woke this morning feeling pretty low, the stomach was rolling, i just felt yuck. As the hike started i began to feel worse, I made my way to the tail of the group finially i found myself walking with the other sickie of the group gavin. After about another 30 mins the guides took my pack from me so it would be easier, it wasn't much easier i can tell you. We hit the ridge top in about 1.5 hours and OMG there they were again, Everest and Lhoste doing what they do best towering over the nearby mountains. everest looked spectacular with a massive snow trail coming from it's summit, there must have been one hell of a wind up there. W sat for about 30 mins just taking in the vista around us, what a site, it is a shame a photo will never bring to life the view i have experienced today, I seriously hope one of my photos comes out so I can relive this moment time and again. We started to head down (up to now my favourite direction) but cming down i hyper extended my left knee (yep the bad one) lucky for me i was using trekking poles so most of my weight was on the pole not my leg. 2 hours of ice pack and i can get around, it hurts every now and again, i just need to work out what causes the pain and not do it! Funny thing was Gavin came into the tea room and was asked how he felt, he replied that he was getting better and would rather have a cold than screw his knee, or foot and have to walk the next 10 days. I and a couple of the guys started laughing, he didnt know i had just hurt my knee and i was sitting there with an ice pack on it. Had a great chat with wifie and chris today, Chris gave me a huge smile our conversation went something like this Me:- how you doing buddy? Chris:- I'm good how are you? Me:- tired Chris:- Tired, did you go walking again? Me:- yes, 3 hour walk Chris:- but your website said today was a rest day Me:- i know (laughing) Tomorrow we head off to Thyangboche, a buddhist temple at 3875M, it will be a killer of a day, my knee will probably be sore and we have a 6 hour hike ahead of us. The walk is apparently a very picturesquec one. until my next update be good :) |
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