Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
CooperTroopersTravels
DAY 7
Machhermo (4410m) to Gokyo (4750m)
It had snowed overnight so we walked up in the snow passing an empty lodge, some fields and a couple of trekkers coming down. The path followed the milky river, and had been chipped out of the cliff face. At one section of the path, there was no path. The stone steps had fallen away, down to the river below. There was a team of men carrying new rocks down, to re-build the steps up. We were forced to scramble up in un-dignified hands and knees style, up an almost vertical face of loose stones and rocks, wobbling wildly as our backpacks put us off balance, to continue up the path. While all the Nepalese men stopped work to watch us, smiling and giggling together, to see if we could make it up without falling back down.
At the top of the ridge the path leveled out and we found a small lake, the colour of emerald green. A yak stood in the river, taking a slow drink. Bored people had been building hundreds of small cairns with the loose rocks and the area around us was littered with these mini building projects.
We walked on past another beautiful green lake and sighted Gokyo by lunchtime. Gokyo is a tiny settlement of around eight lodges next to the lake side. The mountain Cho Oyu, which is said to be the easiest to climb of the fourteen 8000m+ mountains of this world, framed the background, so we picked the Cho Oyu view lodge and were welcomed in by the owner, happy for some business in such low season. There was a comfortable living room on the first floor, it had glass windows all around, helping the sun to warm the air inside. We stretched out on the benches which get decorated with rugs and relaxed in the afternoon.
It snowed heavily in the afternoon and we talked to a couple of American lads about the best time to set off in the early morning and climb up Gokyo Ri to see Everest. Tired of the usual pasta and bad vegetables, I ordered an unusual mix of packet mix tomato soup, two boiled eggs and popcorn for the evening meal. At least it tasted ok and covered the main food groups of carbs, protein and vegetables. A few diomox to ward off AMS and off to bed.
Cooper Out
Love Dan & Kat
Machhermo (4410m) to Gokyo (4750m)
It had snowed overnight so we walked up in the snow passing an empty lodge, some fields and a couple of trekkers coming down. The path followed the milky river, and had been chipped out of the cliff face. At one section of the path, there was no path. The stone steps had fallen away, down to the river below. There was a team of men carrying new rocks down, to re-build the steps up. We were forced to scramble up in un-dignified hands and knees style, up an almost vertical face of loose stones and rocks, wobbling wildly as our backpacks put us off balance, to continue up the path. While all the Nepalese men stopped work to watch us, smiling and giggling together, to see if we could make it up without falling back down.
At the top of the ridge the path leveled out and we found a small lake, the colour of emerald green. A yak stood in the river, taking a slow drink. Bored people had been building hundreds of small cairns with the loose rocks and the area around us was littered with these mini building projects.
We walked on past another beautiful green lake and sighted Gokyo by lunchtime. Gokyo is a tiny settlement of around eight lodges next to the lake side. The mountain Cho Oyu, which is said to be the easiest to climb of the fourteen 8000m+ mountains of this world, framed the background, so we picked the Cho Oyu view lodge and were welcomed in by the owner, happy for some business in such low season. There was a comfortable living room on the first floor, it had glass windows all around, helping the sun to warm the air inside. We stretched out on the benches which get decorated with rugs and relaxed in the afternoon.
It snowed heavily in the afternoon and we talked to a couple of American lads about the best time to set off in the early morning and climb up Gokyo Ri to see Everest. Tired of the usual pasta and bad vegetables, I ordered an unusual mix of packet mix tomato soup, two boiled eggs and popcorn for the evening meal. At least it tasted ok and covered the main food groups of carbs, protein and vegetables. A few diomox to ward off AMS and off to bed.
Cooper Out
Love Dan & Kat
- comments