Everest trek - Day 7 - Dingboche to Thukla

4350m to 4600m (+250m)
5.0km - 2 hours

100th post on this diary!

Almost no sleep last night. It didn't seem like an issue not being able to sleep, it was just some more time to kill, but in silent darkness. My brain felt fresh and wide-awake - I'd read that sleep deprivation was common but had assumed it would be intensely annoying and groggy. I listened to podcasts and music all night! Helen and Dave were also having broken sleep patterns.

There's two possible paths out of Dingboche; one is a gentle climb but longer, from the top of the town; the other is short and steep. We chose the latter which was an exhausting three steps, stop, get breath, three steps, stop, get breath, three steps... and so on to the Stupa. The weather was overcast and windy again, we wondered if we would ever see any mountains! Once past the Stupa and on the ridge the walk is a nice, open, steady climb. Far below on the left are the river and Penriche. We sat down to let an enormous group of trekkers, porters and guides overtake us.



The land is mostly barren now, but if  you look closely there's millions of beautiful tiny flowers carpeting the land!

The path follows the river up, and at the end of the valley is the rocky end of a glacier, a natural dam for a crystal blue glacial lake. Our brief dog companion today was George, who soon decided we weren't interesting enough and went the other way. The path turns right and meets with the river. There's an interesting bridge here, the first section being okay but the next part (which is sometimes washed away) is no more than two thin planks, so requires a little more balance. Over the bridge the path then heads into the three-building "village" of Thukla - the Yak lodge, the restaurant and the Sherpa lodge (no tourists allowed!).

End of a glacier - glacial lake just visible

That bridge!

Thukla

Fluffy exhibition yak!

We had some lunch (I had an amazing Sherpa stew) then the rains came. Also here were Tom, Verena, Martin and the friendly South African couple we'd seen in Dingboche. The South African man had an impressive watch with GPS, an altimeter and many other functions - I was a little jealous of his statistic collecting abilities! He'd received a weather report that the weather was going to break the day after tomorrow - this was great news if true! Two ladies came out of the rain into the restaurant, they'd been to base camp the previous day and said it was snowing, and they didn't see a thing. One of them said she had to try and sleep sitting up at Gorak Shep as she felt like she was suffocating while lying down. The South Africans said farewell, put their packs on and bravely melted into the mist, wind and rain!

Me, Verena, Helen, Dave, Martin, Tom, lodge owner

Our original plan was to stay two days in Dingboche but we read a good acclimatisation schedule suggesting one night in Dingboche and one night in Thukla. It's not immediately clear but there's two types of accommodation at the Yak lodge; one in the old building tucked away behind the restaurant (50 Rupees) and the other is in the more obvious new building (100 Rupees). We didn't see the old building and stayed in the new one but it seemed unfinished, and the toilet was bad! Also staying here were the monks from Tengboche monastery - they were heading to Mother Everest for an annual Puja.

The evening was freezing so the lodge workers popped some Yak "pancakes" into the stove - we all gathered around, scared to leave the warm and get into freezing beds!

Yak powered warmth

Everest trek - Preparation

The trek to Gorak Shep is incredible, passing through many diverse geographical and cultural landscapes. It's never really flat, there's a lot of ups and downs going both ways. Sometimes it's not particularly easy but with the correct acclimatisation, a sweaty determination and lots of scenery soaking most people will make it with no issues!

Statistics
The elevations I quote are taken from a local OS map, of which there are many different makes, with staggeringly differing heights - even the village lodges and restaurants can't seem to agree on the height printed on their signs! I wanted to find out exact distances but the internet let me down, so I resorted to cutting-edge technology, and pinned a piece of cotton out along the route then measured it to the scale! This is obviously very rough so if you can find better information please let me know! Here's a work in progress statistics spreadsheet, there's also a map on the right-hand sidebar. Below is an exceedingly  rough (drawn at 4000m with cold hands!) side profile of the trip, giving an idea of the uppy-downy-ness. I also drew the rivers you'll meet - you can see how the route dips down.

Porters and guides
My bag was only 11kg and I could see no need for a porter (Helen and Dave's bags were even lighter). I couldn't watch someone else sweating up the mountains with my stuff, and I like the achievement of doing it myself! If you decide to hire one I would urge you to research carefully how much the porter actually gets, especially if using a large agency - it's probably less than you think.

We decided not to have a guide for the freedom to walk at our own pace and to choose which guest houses we liked. I know this is completely different in the high season with guides and porters rushing on ahead to bag the best places - we had no such issues - most lodges were empty! Instead we had a good OS map, a compass and specialist Everest guide book.

Equipment
Keep in mind that we trekked early to late September so your kit list would be quite different outside these times - I was told that mineral water bottles in lodge restaurants freeze in December at Labouche! The only thing I wished for were gloves (and curiously you can't find them to buy above Namche). A compass, protractor and coloured pens for sweeter looking graphs would also have been nice. The only thing I wish I'd not taken were my waterproof trousers, which weren't used once. The fake stuff in Kathmandu or Pokhara isn't actually that bad, and will at least see you through this trek if not more; my double-sided fleece is great!

Rucksack - I use an Osprey Kestrel 38L
Daybag - Lowepro DSLR 150w. To keep the camera safe and dry.
Boots - My trusty old Salomons, well worn-in! (+ spare laces)
Socks - 150 Rupee North face rip-offs from Pokhara did the job fine.
Trousers - Warm, quick drying material, not denim.
Shorts (2 pairs) - Could've survived with one pair. Didn't wear them higher than Tengboche.
Sunglasses - Fake Oakleys with UV. 300 Rupees from Pokhara. Essential!
Hats - warm beanie for the mornings; rimmed hat for midday
Light scarf - protect the neck from scorching sunshine or keep the wind out.
Waterproof jacket - It's been with me for years - genuine and quality!
Waterproof trousers - I didn't use these once - wished I'd never packed them.
Fleece - Double-sided fake North Face from Pokhara - 500 Rupees. Surprisingly warm!
Water bottle - Fake "SIGG" - 200 Rupees from Pokhara.
T-Shirts (3) - I wore all three at the same time in Gorak Shep!
Underwear (5) - I could've got away with 2 easily - one day, one night (no joke!)
Sleeping bag - I only had a light silk sleeper. Lodge blankets were always available
Headlamp (+ spare batteries) - Essential
Camera - Canon 5D MkII & 24-70 USM L lens with polariser
Adaptor & charger - I used these once - charging is expensive at 3000m
Spare batteries - As many as you have
Money - £300 changed to Rupees in Kathmandu (you'll get a better rate changing big notes)
Compass - nice to have, and to know which mountain is looming over you
Music - I took my MP3 player, loaded with podcasts and tuneage,
Books - I didn't do much reading - too cold to hold the book in the rooms above 4000m
TIMS card - (Trekkers information management system) - get from Pokhara or Kathmandu
Area permit - This can be obtained at the gate to the Everest national park (3000 Rupees)
Flight tickets - (if applicable)

Plasters & surgical tape - wrap up those blisters
Lipsil - your lips will be dry most of the time
Earplugs - the lodge walls are thin
Iodene tablets - essential water purification - you will save a LOT of money
Asprin - Can help ease altitude sickness - seek advice before taking with diamox
Paracetamol - all purpose usefulness
Diamox - for altitude sickness
Immodium - the un-seasoned will get sick, I guarantee.
Multi-vitamins - Fruit and veg. are hard to come by
Baby wipes - Showers are expensive, and you won't want to take your clothes off in the cold - do you?
Banocin - Great for those little cuts and scrapes
Vaseline - Good for preventing and soothing "walkers bum"
Sunblock - Essential!

Food
Although you have to eat breakfast and dinner at over-inflated prices in the lodges lunch is a free-for-all. We crammed a ton of instant noodles and a metal mug into the bags and bought some hot water for 50 Rupees. We had masses of peanut bars and some sweets for those morning energy boosts. I would also recommend the 40 Rupee (in KTM and Pokhara) coconut biscuits, and make sure you get the yellow packet, not the fake orange packet that looks the same, but tastes inferior!

MonstaB and some supplies!