A personal journal recording and reflecting on my walks around the world.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It has two other names however, names that it had long before it was renamed after the Surveyor General of India, Sir George Everest. Although to be fair to Sir George he did object to this typical act of British Empire Colonialism.
Continue reading “Lens Artists Challenge – Only One Picture”
Trekking in Nepal. From Lukla to Everest Base Camp and then a taste of ‘real’ Nepal walking out to Jiri. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to see the route.
Today we will enter the third country on our walk around Mont Blanc. This country is a land of mountains, cuckoo clocks and precision timing, holey cheese, delicious chocolate and secretive bank accounts. And of course the Swiss Army knife, one of which I have in my rucksack. We cross into Switzerland over Grand Col Ferret. At 2532m (8,307ft) the col will also be the highest point we will reach on our walk as we’re following the regular Tour du Mont Blanc route without variants.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Seven – Rifugio Bonatti to La Fouly”
Day Seven (Part 1) – Summit Day – Barafu Camp (15,295ft) to Uhuru Peak 19,341ft
It’s two minutes past midnight and we are ‘pulling the trigger’ on our summit bid as Joshua put it in his briefing. Another phrase that struck me in his pre-summit briefing was “give me the next six hours of your life and I’ll get you to the Roof of Africa”. I’ve dreamed of climbing Kilimanjaro for years, I’ve planned and prepared for this trip for nearly seven months, I’ve walked for six days to get to this point and now, all that remains is six hours, six hours to fulfill a dream.
Continue reading “Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak”
Day Five – Barranco Camp (13,077ft) to Karanga Camp (13,235ft)
Day five dawns bright and cold in the Barranco valley and my tiredness and somewhat melancholic mood of yesterday has lifted along with the early morning mist. Barranco camp is big and busy, unlike the others we have stayed at up to now. It also looks very different, it’s very rocky and almost pushed up against the Barranco Wall which dominates the camp like some huge Giant standing over us. The ‘Senicio Kilimanjari’ trees are also dotted all about the valley and I keep thinking about ‘the day of the triffids’ and wondering if they are going to come alive.
Continue reading “Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp”
Bhandar 7,198ft to Shivalaya 5,905ft
It’s another leisurely start to the day. Breakfast outside in the sunshine again and we were joined by the female lodge owner and some of her family. No porridge on offer so had boiled eggs instead and I have never seen such a Yellow yolk before. Got some pictures of birds on the wall and a great picture of a little girl who wandered over to see who the strange, scruffy and smelly white guys were.
Namche Bazaar 11,306ft to Choplung 8,727ft
After the hard work of the last week we enjoyed a well earned rest day in Namche yesterday which we spent drinking coffee and eating cake. Today, we are back on the trail and saying farewell to the high mountains that have been our companion for the last week. In some ways I have completed what I came here to do, I have fulfilled my dream of seeing Everest, and more having trekked back to Namche via the Cho La Pass and Gokyo valley. But what we have done up to now is what many trekkers do on a visit to Nepal. What we are about to do however is a bit different, we are going to walk out to Jiri and the road head. Continue reading “Nepal – Namche Bazaar to Jubing”
Dzongla 15,846ft to Dragnag 15,387ft over the Cho la pass 17,782ft
We were up early, 5.30am for what will be a long day today heading up and over the Cho La Pass and then down to Dragnag in the Gokyo valley. It was freezing overnight, -16c but I slept OK in the tent thanks to a good Rab sleeping bag and wearing all my clothes except boots and down jacket. It was good to get into the lodge for breakfast however and warm up a bit. We left Dzongla at 6.50am, just as the Sun was starting to light up the peaks around us.
Continue reading “Nepal – Dzongla to Dragnag via Cho La Pass”
Loubuche 16,175ft to Dzongla 15,846ft
Today has that feeling to it, the feeling that you have after your own wedding, the birth of your child or some other major event in your life that has been months or years in the waiting. That feeling of relief and happiness that it has finally happened, mixed with a slight sadness that it is actually over. For months you have planned and prepared for the event, the day has arrived and then, all too suddenly it is over and you are left, seemingly with no purpose anymore.
Namche 11,306ft to Tengboche 12,687ft
The walk from Namche Bazaar to Tynbouche (or Tengboche) is a pure delight every step of the way. The path is good, the views are incredible and there is a real sense at the end of the day that you are entering into the heart of the Khumbu. We set off at about 8am in bright, glorious sunshine and head up through the streets of Namche Bazaar. Leaving the shops and guest houses behind we climb up out of town and reach the trail that leads to Tengboche. Continue reading “Nepal – Namche Bazaar to Tengboche”