The Nepalese people of the Himalayas are a compact hardy folk. Much smaller than those of the lowlands. Whether by genes or other environmental or organic factors, such as reduced oxygen saturation of the air or carrying heavy loads from a young age, there is a marked difference. Their facial features differ also. The higher we get: broad flat faces with beautiful catlike eyes and rose cheeks. Men and women alike are much older than they appear by Western standards. It is becoming easier to distinguish the porters and the guides that have come from the lowlands and middle hills from those native to Khumbu. Indeed, our leader, Meet is from the Annapurnas and our sherpa guide, Basu is a lowlander. He is much taller than the locals. Head and shoulders above some of them.
The higher we ascend, the more we see youths carrying loads that would make a grown Western man cringe. Mere boys of thirteen or so hunched beneath the great weight of bottled drinks and chocolate and toilet paper for our consumption. And it is largely for the hoards of tourists that they haul these things – the Nepalese do not use toilet paper, they use water – the cost progressively increasing the higher we ascend. The mules and dzopko (cow-yak crossbred) we often give way to on the trails appear, more often than not, to be transporting fuels such as kerosene or pressed dry grass for fodder. These beasts of burden also carry the yields of vegetables we see growing in the terraced paddocks to be sold at Namche Bazaar. It is quite a sight to watch as the laden animals negotiate the slippery rock stairs and the great hanging suspension bridges that cross and re-cross the Dudh Kosi, all to the whistles and calls of their handlers.
The mules must be easier to manage than the dzopkos as they are driven in herds of between six and ten, and appear to respond to a command to stop and another to proceed. The dzopko, however, appears usually in groups of two and three. They are a fascinating animal. Short coat like a cow, often black and white or closer to a buckskin colour similar to a jersey cow. Their tails are closer to that of a horse or mule than a cow, and they have narrow forward facing horns as inherited from their yak fathers. Yaks do not live below 3000m and having only ascended above 3000m today, we are as yet to see any.
Last night in Monjo we shared our camp with another World Expeditions tour descending from a trek to Gokyo Ri. They arrived in the camp late, well after 16:00 hrs and had been hiking 9 hour days after their 11 day trek was delayed 2 days in Kathmandu due to weather. They looked especially weary compared to our group, most of whom had elected not to undertake yesterday afternoon’s excursion. This was the first of the other World Expeditions tour groups we came across, however today we have passed porters transporting the distinctive red and black kit bags toward Lukla, and at least one other group have arrived at the eco-lodge in Namche Bazaar today. This last group did not have our fortune with the weather. The clouds that clustered around the mountainside yesterday at approximately 16:00 hrs did not lift and by 11:00 hrs this morning there was drizzle. The sky opened a little after we arrived here at 12:00 hrs and this group has not long arrived.
The eco-lodge is a sherpa hotel and is affiliated with the Namche Bazaar Museum to which we will be shortly visiting. The accommodation is sparse, much like our tents, only the room has a toilet for our convenience and panelled windows which afford spectacular views, even with the hanging grey sky. Yesterday’s wet washing hangs from the line I have strung between the window handles hoping to dry. My kit bag is stored neatly at the end of my bed with my boots. My day pack is beneath the window next to the other end of my bed and I am making full use of the spare down blankets with their velvet maroon covers to keep me warm, as the room is without heating.
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