Everest Circuit Rerouted XII: The Most Beautiful Mountain

Monday, 21 October 2013 11:47 Hrs at 4330m (Dingboche)

The trail from Pangboche to Dingboche meanders along the Imja Kola. It is, at least in October, a well travelled route as today we passed by a very many trekkers, porters, local people and yaks both ascending and descending the Khumbu Valley. Opposite, Ama Dablam remained our constant companion, growing as we drew ever nearer. It is a no wonder that the monolithic peaks must be summated from the other side. Much of the mountainside backing onto the Khumbu Valley is covered in great rock slides. Although, trails can still be seen cleaving the snow on its sides.

Ama Dablam:

Dingboche is one of the largest villages we have had the pleasure of residing – if ever so briefly – in. At above 4000m, it too had seen snow fall. However we were spared trudging through it by the beautiful weather, for today it really is very beautiful. Hardly a cloud to mar the pristine blue sky as it clings only to the surrounding peaks. What snow remains, hides in the shadows of the Mani walls or juniper bushes or buildings, waiting for its inevitable turn to melt. It cannot be denied that we, all of us, were excited and relieved to spy the distinctive orange tents marking our campsite. The walk was not long nor was it arduous. But hiding noses burnt by our last foray into the snowy altitudes in excess of 4000m is no easy task. It was not enough to wear a cap or liberally apply SPF50 at 2 hour intervals to remain protected from the UV rays, or so I discovered. Instead, I tried to pull my buff up over my nose and ears, and tuck it beneath my grey cap and polarised sunglasses which was all very well and good until we started climbing again, as we invariably do, and the sun made breathing through the thin material a stifling, suffocating experience and I was forced to tear it down over my chin again, panting to catch my breath.

Having spent some time already of 4000m, and over a week above 3000m, I have developed some functional acclimatisation. We all have, as is evident by our faster ascent these last 2 days. The steep inclines are wearing, and paying heed to all the long distance running I did in training, I constantly remind myself to keep my breathing under control. It is not possible to align it to the pace of my steps, the terrain being largely irregular and thus so being my stride. But I normally aim for a 2 beat rhythm. In, in. Out, out. In, in. Out, out. The neck buff comes off when my breathing becomes erratic.

When it comes to mornings and evenings, however, as the villagers burn juniper, I am not so quick to remove it. The burning juniper, while having a rather pleasant aroma, does little for our dry throats. Central to Buddhism practiced in the Himalayas, juniper is considered purifying. It is said that when the Lama entered Nepal from Tibet, he cut his hair by the stupa he built in Pangboche and from it juniper sprouted. Even in Dingboche, well above the tree line, the hardy little shrub continues to grow. Indeed, I can see juniper grow right up until the black rock begins, several hundred metres above the town, where no other sizeable vegetation can be seen.

Perhaps tomorrow in Labouche, we will see the end of the juniper, our ascent 600m from Dingboche. This exceeds the mountain rule of 300m, however it will be, I understand, only 150m higher than our greatest altitude which we experienced in Gokyo only 3 nights ago. The trek will take approximately 6 hours with only a little melting snow, and then we will be back on our itinerary. Whether we next visit Kala Pattar or Everest Base Camp will depend on the weather. Having missed the opportunity to safely ascend Gokyo Ri, it is more important to ascend Kala Pattar on a clear day. Although, it must be mentioned that another guide we encountered during lunch at Portse 2 days ago advised our leader, Meet that the snow at Kala Pattar was waist high. Let us hope that it has sufficiently melted in the next few days. Likewise, we heard tonight that Everest Base Camp had been re-opened, following the unseasonable snow last week.

Stupa near Dingboche looking toward Taboche and Cholatse:

It is truly amazing how word of mouth is so important here. There is very little in the way of a scientific weather mapping system. Meet relies on the knowledge of the local villagers or our sirdar and guides, and other descending leaders and guides. This applies also to avalanche zones, through which our sirdar, Padam with his 30+ years of experience went ahead to review the conditions. It was only on the return journey that our other sherpa guide, D.B. shared his experience when a camp for which he was the cook made the sudden decision to abandon a camp between Machermo and Gokyo, and the kitchen team remained behind to mind the gear. D.B., after digging himself out of the subsequent avalanche, saved 4 more of the 5 remaining buried. It does not surprise me then that he was so uncomfortable in Gokyo.

The Nepalese are truly a wonderful and giving people. Today being my birthday, Meet presented me with a khata (a cream traditional ceremonial Tibetan Buddhist scarf) similar to those that I have seen tied alongside the prayer flags on the suspension bridges and around religious monuments. He told me to wear it for the day which I happily did, tied neatly around my neck and tucked into the front of my shirt. It is presently folded away in my camera bag for safe return to Australia. And then to my utter surprise, this evening, Krishna the cook walked in with a sponge cake made without the use of an oven by a process that sounded very much like steaming the cake. It was one of the most lovely gestures of my day, after the khata and Meet giving me his own tent so that I could have one of my own. I do not know how I could ever possibly reply the generosity and kindness that he has demonstrated to me in just 12 short hours. I am just so overwhelmed by how caring almost total strangers can be, Nepalese and Australians alike (I’ll even include the naturalised Australians here, as our group does contain 2 very fine specimens).

It was a small shame that I could not get any reception on by phone here, but the weather and the company and the cake was all so very fine that it is such a small thing to miss. And no doubt my international roaming will kick in sooner or later and I can check for messages from my family and closest friends. But now it is getting late and I must retire. It has been a very long day.

Reviewing the Big Three - Part 2 The Sleeping Bag

Contrary to the first of the big three, my Aarn Featherlite Freedom 50 litre pack with the additional 12 litre balance pockets, I am not satisfied with my current sleeping system.

I made a rookie error in the purchase of my sleeping bag. I had researched a sub-zero degree Celsius bag for my Nepal trek months before my brother withdrew from our plans and I decided to go on a fully supported trek. However in my research, I believe now that I focused on what I wanted to read about that bag rather than what I needed to read.

The Sea to Summit Traverse XtII seemed fine in print. It had an EN13537 temperature rating of -5°C for comfort. 520 grams Ultra-Dry Down 850+ loft European goose down. Relaxed mummy convertible style and 3D NanoShell to repel water and manage condensation. It's reviews in the backpacker online magazines seemed positive. Sure, there were some dissenters on the bushwalking and backpacking forums but nothing was said that I had known would concern me.

The 170cm small bag has an advertised weight of 1175 grams. It weighs over 1200 grams in its stuff sack. That is rather heavy for its temperature rating, I have come to discover. It also has a 60/40 fill ratio providing greater warmth on top of the bag to better insulate back sleepers when I am, in fact, a side sleeper. It does not provide continuous baffles to allow me to correct that fill ratio. There is also a question as to the quality of the make of the bag. I have not owned a better quality bag to make comparison but in the forums, some posters opined that there were definitely better quality bags available.

The weight and fill ratio were not adequately considered in my early appraisals of that bag. Now I know a little more, they are important considerations now.

Feathered Friends is a Seattle based company specialising in down sleeping bags, clothing and quilts. Very few stores carry their gear so it is not so convenient to try their bags however I am satisfied with their listed bag dimensions and am prepared to wait for delivery. Bags can also be fill customised to allow for more down to be added to the bag for a price. The bags are often likened in reviews as similar quality to Western Mountaineering sleeping bags.

Feathered Friends Egret UL 20 is an 800 gram bag rated down to around -6°C. The 175cm medium has 491 grams of 900+ goose down. A womens' specific bag, it has a mummy shape that is narrower at the shoulders and feet than mens' bags but wider at the middle so one knee can be drawn up. Continuous horizontal baffles allow down to be moved to where it is needed. At US $469, the Egret UL 20 would slice 400 grams from my pack for a similar down weight and temperature rating as my existing bag.

The Egret UL 20:

The 20°F bag also comes in a non-ultralight version as well as three different men's fits in addition to the Egret: Hummingbird (skinny), Swallow (average) and Swift (wide). The Hummingbird 20 continues to be highly ranked by Outdoor Gear Lab.

These bags appear to be comparative in specifications to the better known Western Mountaineering Ultralight 20. The 180cm medium Ultralight has an 850+ fill down weight of 450 grams with a total bag weight of 820 grams and is rated down to around -7°C. It also has continuous baffles to allow down to be moved horizontally throughout the bag. This bag retails at USD $484.95 but cannot be shipped internationally. In Australia it is currently retailing for AUD $729.95. As a tried and tested bag it appears to rank very similarly to the Feathered Friends UL 20 bags.

I confess that I first had designs on the Feathered Friends Murre Ex 0 when initially researching their company, intended for use in my higher altitude escapades. Specifically I had wanted the approximately -16°C rated bag for Mount Kilimanjaro. The male version, the Snowbunting received the Editor's Choice award in the Outdoor Gear Lab Best Winter Down Sleeping Bag Review conducted 2011.

The Murre Ex 0 175cm medium contains 723 grams 850+ goose down and weighs on average 1276 grams. A similar weight to the Sea to Summit Traverse XtII which is rated for comfort at 10°C higher and has 200 grams less down.

Bags for cold sleepers like myself are often more comfortable in temperatures 10°C - 15°C higher than their rating.  That same bag can be too cold at the rating given without intervention. I assure you that I froze in the XtII at temperatures of approximately 5°C which were in fact 10°C above its comfort level rating. I gave in to using my space blanket for retaining warmth as I had not yet owned a down jacket and down booties and it did not occur to me to try to trap heat with my eVent shell gear.

I would not be so concerned now using -6°C rated bag in the middle of a Victorian winter with the additional insulation measures I have since established. Camping in the high country or Tasmania would warrant a lower rated bag but until then a -6°C bag will suffice. Preferably one that weighs less than my current configuration with a silk sleeping bag liner instead of the Sea to Summit Thermoreactor Plus liner to shed extra weight.

Today I placed my order for the Azure (blue) Feathered Friends Egret UL 20. The AUD is trading fairly low at the moment so with shipping USD $509 came to AUD $676 which is still significantly better than the comparative Western Mountaineering Ultralight currently retailing for AUD $729.95 at Paddy Pallin. I also purchased a silk liner last weekend at half the weight of the Sea to Summit Thermoreactor Plus liner originally acquired.

Now all I need do is wait ever so impatiently for delivery of my new bag and to trial my completely new sleep system in the weeks following the its arrival!

Reviewing the Big Three - Part 1 The Pack

I have wiled away many an evening considering how best to reduce my base pack weight. Burned the electric candle past midnight. Set my alarm and put my phone down for the night only to reach for it again after 20 or 30 minutes of ruminating on the subject to research a new angle. It is little wonder I look so haggardly and cannot find the motivation for a pre-work jog. I can hardly will myself to sleep lest I forget about substiting my 458 gram Keen Clearwater CNX sandals for a barefoot ultralight shoe equivalent.

As I try to work on burning away the latent layer of Christmas pudding, I have attempted to refocus my attention onto trimming further pack weight from the big three in any hiker's repertoire: pack, sleeping bag and shelter.

I have an Aarn Featherlite Freedom. A 50 litre pack. It has the capacity for an additional 12 litres to be attached by using the New Zealand brand's unique 'balance pockets'. Two removable pockets that buckle across the front of the chest.

The Aarn Featherlite Freedom pack:

The 50 litre pack weighs 1200 grams including the waterproof liner. The shop assistant sold me on the idea that I could float that baby down a river and the contents would remain dry. Not that I would ever have reason to try.

I used this as my day pack in Nepal. After a good drenching in and around Namche Bazaar sans pack cover, I find myself without having reason to disagree. The pack relies on a roll top configuration much in the same way waterproof stuffsacks do except that it buckles down to the sides of the pack.

The balance pockets weigh another 600 grams. This seems rather a lot for only 12 additional litres but the pockets' location on the front of the body allows for the weight contained therein to be transferred directly onto the hips. Loading heavy items into the pockets reduces the loading of that weight onto the shoulders. The wearer does not seem to strain forward against the shoulder straps either. Their centre of gravity is not pulled backward by the weight of the pack behind them as the weight in front helps to balance the overall load.

A picture from the Aarn website explaining the weight distribution:

It might look unusual - and even downright ungainly - but I love the Featherlite Freedom's comfort and adaptability. It served me exceptionally well during my three week hike in Nepal where I did not need the balance pockets. I used it in the months leading up to Nepal also, loading the pack and pockets with up to 18 kilograms as part of my training. It is a superbly comfortable pack up until around 15 kilograms (without the pockets) at which time it does suffer a marked reduction in the comfort factor.

There is no frame to the pack body, only a single removable vertical stay. Each balance pocket configuration includes a vertical stay which attaches to the hip belt and shoulder straps. They fasten across the chest. Both pockets must be worn or none at all. It can be worn by women without issue and I say that as someone who does not fall into the petite or athletic stereotype.

I love the Aarn Featherlite Freedom too much at present to consider researching a lighter option pack. I know that if I reduce the volume of gear required, it should be possible to fit my base pack weight and weekend food into just the 50 litre pack. That in itself is a 600 gram reduction at no additional cost that I look forward to trying to achieve.

I will attempt to find weight savings elsewhere in that big three in the meantime.

Everest Circuit Rerouted XI: Khumbu Valley

Sunday, 20 October 2013 17:30 Hrs at 3930m (Pangboche)

After a morning of retracing our steps to Porste Tenga, we made the climb to the village of Portse where we had lunch overlooking the small potato farming town. The potato harvest had taken place a day or so before as in a number of small rock-walled paddocks, villagers continued to sort their harvest as we passed them by. We then proceeded up the Khumbu Valley to where we are presently wilderness camping in a field in Pangboche.

The trail was narrower here than in the Gokyo Valley and the drop more sheer. Above the tree line, yaks and naks challenged gravity as they grazed both above and below the trail on a mountainside that was for any large biped, such as ourselves, impossibly steep. It was here that we saw our first glimpses of Ama Dablam and Lhotse amidst the afternoon cloud. They loomed high above the Khumbu Valley and one could almost believe that they erupted from the sky and not the earth. Their infamous neighbour Everest, however, could not yet be seen.

Pangboche is home to a very small, very old monastery. Older even than the more famous monastery in Tengboche. Upon entry into the village from our camp, we passed by a large prayer wheel that is continuously turned by the water rushing beneath it. Mani walls line much of the short walk there and we see also two small stupa fallen into varying stages of disrepair. As with all Nepalese villages visited thus far, prayer flags hang from almost every rooftop and from the trees. Yaks also populate the small paddocks and they wander freely the narrow streets, occasionally to be shooed away by one of the villagers.

The people of Pangboche and Portse are, according to our leader Meet, Sherpa climbers. These are the people that take Westerners to the summit of the great peaks such as Ama Dablam, a technical peak more difficult than Everest. They are a small and hardy folk, with the wide, flat faces of their Tibetan heritage as it passed into this valley 400 years before.

(Postscript: Leaders, sherpa guides, cooks and porters supporting non-technical treks in and around the Khumbu region are often from the mid- and lowlands. It is not uncommon for them to be sustainence farmers that find work during the busy tourist trekking season to better support their families and send their children to be privately educated that they can live a life of greater choice. Our leader was from the Annapurnas, while our guides were a few days walk further down the valley from Lukla.

Sherpa people from Khumbu are generally accepted as being climbing guides and elite mountaineers supporting more technical treks and climbs at higher altitudes. Their greater acclimation could be attributed to both genetic high altitude adaptation as well as being born and raised at higher altitude and therefore having a greater base of acclimatisation to build upon. Climbing guides make substantially more than their less technical counterparts. Many young men from the Khumbu villages go on to be expert mountaineers but it comes at greater risk as evidenced by the 2014 avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall's Popcorn Field.)

Weighing In

As I forge on with my goal of becoming a lightweight backpacker, I ordered my Optimus Terra Solo cookset, Vargo titanium pegs (weighing at 6 grams apiece) and a few other tid bit items I felt would add value to my pack at only a dozen grams apiece. An England based store, Ultralight Outdoor Gear had a free shipping promotion to Australia for the month of January. So even though the AUD($) is trading at practically half the GBP(£), without shipping the costs continued to be a little less than it would have been had I purchased from an Australian store.

Optimus Terra HE Weekend and Terra Solo cooksets either side of a 100 gram canister and Soto Windmaster:

There are two things that particularly frustrate me when it comes to purchasing outdoor gear from Australian stores. Firstly, we are so incredibly overcharged for the same goods compared to America and Britain. This might seem more understandable when the AUD is not particularly strong as it is now, however the same was true when the AUD was greater than the USD. We experienced no saving even though the manufacturer's dollar was weaker.

Fluctuations in the trading dollar or even shipping costs cannot explain differences of a third or even a half extra added to the price of an item. Presumably the local importers and distributers are at least partly responsible for the exorbitant inflation. Perhaps even the manufacturer is selling at an inflated rate, as could be inferred by the restrictions some manufacturers place on their brands being shipped internationally by US based online stores. Whatever the reason, if it continues to be more expensive to purchase outdoor gear in Australia, I will continue to purchase my gear online internationally where the rates are more competitive and a sale is actually a sale. Britain's shipping fees are generally very reasonable and they have no international shipping restrictions (that I am aware of). They also have a better selection than many Australian retailers.

That brings me to my second gripe, and really it is only because I am trying to be so weight conscious, but Australian online outdoor gear specialists need to work on their specialty a little more. I do not classify myself a serious backpacker. I would like to be. I would like to have the funds and time to commit to some really fantastic through hikes in the Americas and Europe in addition to my African and South American aspirations. Irrespective, I look at the weight listed of almost every product that I purchase. I imagine that to be true of more serious backpackers as well. The outdoor gear store clerk is touted as being an avid outdoor gear lover and with experience in the field and yet they sell gear often with little care for the person who will have to lug it around.

If you do not list a weight on an outdoor gear item online, I will not purchase it from you. Advertising yourself as an outdoor gear specialist but not making the effort to meet my needs as an outdoor gear customer will not induce me into ratifying that customer-store relationship with a money purchase. List the weight of your hiking and backpacking gear, it's that simple. Anything less is plain lax and not worth my support.

While I'm on the point of advertising weights, I confess myself pleasantly surprised that the Ultralight Outdoor Gear store not only listed weights within the product description, they made them as easily available as price when scrolling through a page of potential items so that I did not have to navigate each product page to see that one product was more suitable for my weight range requirements than another. They also provided store review of many of the products that they were carrying. The price was not extraordinarily cheaper purchasing from this store, given the recent drop in AUD against GBP, but the whole experience of using this site to select suitable replacement gear was such that I elected to buy from them anyway instead of buying local. I still prefer the quick gratification of buying at a physical store rather than await delivery but not at unnecessary personal expense, as it seems to be these days.

My package arrived from Ultralight Outdoor Gear store this afternoon and I have recalculated my base pack weight as being within 100 grams of 9 kilograms. I await only replacement of the sleeping bag liner and my first big weight cull is compete. Already I am trying to recalculate the numbers to make the most out of them. The biggest weight savings to be made (aside from leaving behind extraneous and unnecessary luxuries) are also the most expensive. Still, I find myself seriously considering the investment.

Everest Circuit Rerouted X: You Shall Not Pass!

Saturday, 19 October 2013 14:35 Hrs at 4000m (Dole)

The snow we initially encountered just above our last visit to Dole grew substantially deeper as we made the push for Gokyo yesterday. There was some debate regarding whether we should try for Gokyo at all or reroute directly from Machermo. The passage to Gokyo passing through an avalanche zone after a few days warm weather since the snow was deposited in the valley – the worst snow experienced at this time of year for 17 years, according to the locals – we relied on local knowledge and the experience of our leader and sirdar. It was clear on both our journey to and from Gokyo that there had been a number of small avalanches. Ice steps had been tramped or cut into the sides of some of these, as other trekkers or porters cut the trail earlier in the morning. We had to pass through the avalanche zone in the morning before the sun made the snow too slick. As it was, even though we re-crossed it this morning earlier than yesterday, the ice steps were not as firm and we, at times, found ourselves skidding frequently, even with our trekking poles out to assist us.

Cho La being completely closed at present and more snow forecasted, a decision was made to spend only one night in Gokyo and to forgo the ascent of Gokyo Ri to ensure we were well clear of Gokyo before it became snowed in again. After an early start of trekking at 07:00hrs, we had descended to Marchermo by 09:50hrs (the slower group arrived nearer to 10:30hrs) and had an early lunch. We subsequently departed Machermo at 12:00hrs and after an initial ascent, descended to Dole by 14:00hrs. The recent good weather saw much of the snow melted within an hour of Dole. The path had become slick with mud instead of snow slush. Being a Saturday, it was fortunate that there were not so many yaks muddying up the trail any further.

View of Gokyo Valley:

Tonight we stay at a permanent campsite in Dole and tomorrow we will return to Portse Tenga where we will take the trail up the Khumbu Valley. We will make a wilderness camp at Pangboche. Then we will spend a night at Dingboche and pick up our itinerary at Labouche, which is before Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp.

Gokyo Ri, as of yesterday, was only summitable by mountaineers. The trail had only been broken to within 20 metres of the summit and with the snow already waist deep in Gokyo, it was even more heavily snowed in again. As unfortunate as it was not to be able to climb Gokyo Ri or pass through the Cho La, we still have opportunity to make Everest Base Camp and Kala Pattar without adding any really long days to our schedule. Today was 5 hours of trekking for the faster group lead by Basu. Had we remained in Gokyo to ascend Gokyo Ri, there would have been a 9 – 10 hour hike to Portse Tenga and an 8 hour hike to Dingboche (if we did not get snowed in). Due to melting snow, we could not have as safely departed from Gokyo in the afternoon.

The lakes of Gokyo, however, were well worth seeing and it was no great loss to pass them by twice. There are, I believe, 5 in total. We saw the first 3, the township of Gokyo overlooking the third on one side with Renjo La on the other and Gokyo Ri appearing deceptively small just up the valley in front of Cho Oyu. When the afternoon sun struck the third lake, it was a beautiful green amidst all the white snow and black rock. Truly stunning. I spent the afternoon traipsing through the paths cut by the locals, tripod in one hand, camera in the other, tyring to take a photograph that would do this beautiful lake justice and sinking waist deep into virgin snow for my troubles. (Trying to get back out of waist deep snow without using my hands must have been quite a sight as I was not long legged enough just to high step out of it!)

The perfect shot:

Surely it must be snowing in Gokyo presently. It is now after dinner and we have retired to our tents. After a good 15 or 20 minutes organising my gear on the spare bed for morning, it is still only 19:20hrs. Outside, the cloud is very low, clinging to our head lamps as we negotiate our way to the dining hall, the toilets and the tents. There was even light precipitation and tomorrow, I am told, it may rain again. All this drawing the Nepalese to the conclusion that it must be snowing at higher altitude and, therefore, it was lucky we left today before we were snowed in.

Routine has become very important to us. So much of our daily activities being outside our control or influence, we rely on the routine set for us and are as a group happiest when the routine is met. “6, 7, 8.” That is Meet’s way of informing us that we will proceed with our normal morning routine of tea at 06:00hrs, breakfast at 07:00hrs and departing camp at 08:00hrs. Washing water normally appears at our door (tent or otherwise) at 06:15 and 15:30hrs. Afternoon tea is at 16:00hrs. Dinner at 18:00hrs. Lunch depends on when we arrive at certain destinations and could be anywhere between 11:00 and 13:00hrs. We have learnt to take our own snacks for morning tea. I have a stash of mini Mars bars and Toblerone which I take one of each with me every day. Often I will take something squirreled from breakfast, like a boiled egg or peanut butter and jam on toast. I have never eaten so well as I have here, although yesterday at almost 5000m, my appetite was waning. I could hardly stomach one piece of buffalo and after that, everything else on the plate did not appeal to me. The others fared similarly.


Postscript: A lack in appetite at 5000+ metres is associated with the altitude. I personally had stomach only for soup and Pringles, and was not the only one in our group that felt that way. I think we all craved salt from sweating under the even moderate exertion of the trek.