By Peter Krug - December 2002
Where does one start? Another trip to Nepal (my third) and another adventure of a lifetime! In previous years I have trekked into Annapurna Sanctuary and the Everest region both of which proved to be very beautiful but were incredibly busy and I fancied going somewhere quieter and I wanted to bag a peak if at all possible.
In the end I chose to trek in the Rolwaling Valley which lies just west of the Solu-Khumbu region (i.e. Everest National Park) and the trip I chose offered the opportunity to bag two trekking peaks - Ramdang and Parchemo. As this area could only be accessed on a mountaineering permit we did not expect to meet too many other trekking groups.
Having landed in Kathmandu and met the rest of our group, which totalled seven plus our western trek leader and spent a day sightseeing we were driven to the small town of Biriabesi where we meet up with our crew. As we arrived the loads were being shared out amongst the porters (some thirty or so). In addition to the porters we had a sirdar, two or three climbing sherpas and the cook crew. Our sirdar, Kunga had climbed Everest, Cho Oyu and Annapurna and one of the climbing sherpas had climbed Lhotse. Our cook had cooked for Chris Bonnington so we were in illustrious company!
The first few days of the trek were generally fairly easy-going as we walked the paths through the terraced fields of the middle Himalaya. It was very pleasant passing through the many villages such as Delangse, Bigu, Chilanka, Bulung, Jagat, Simigaon, Douan and Beding. The terraced fields were very impressive in their extent and the pictures that I took do not reflect the steepness of the slopes being farmed. The crops were mainly rice and millet. Wherever we were in between villages we were encompassed by fairly thick-forested jungle, which provided some relief from the heat of the day.
The villages were initially Buddhist as we approached the Rolwaling area, then there was an area that was mainly Hindu and then as we reached the upper Rolwaling valley we were back into Buddhist territory.
On top of that we were treated to waterfalls, water powered grain milling, wild monkeys, a new-born goat (like one minute old), school visits, visited Bigu Gompa and a Nepalese "cultural evening" when we were entertaining by the villagers doing their traditional dances which we joined in and we reciprocated (if that is the correct word!) by doing the "Okey Cokey." We had to climb the Tinsang La, which was 3,319 metres high but provided us our first views of the Rolwaling area and a stunning first sighting of Gauri Shankar.
One interesting event which reflects on the current political situation Nepal (decidedly dodgy) was the fact that we were "taxed" by Maoists but they did give us a receipt! As we were walking we were stopped by a couple of guys wearing army fatigues but fortunately not armed. Our sirdar and leader told us to keep on going whilst they negotiated. In the end we were taxed some 500 rupees per head. Incidentally, the receipt did help because we were later stopped at another Maoist checkpoint and they let us through without further charge once we waved our receipt.
However, all this provided the build up to the main event, which were the bagging of some peaks and more importantly the crossing of the Tesi Lapcha (5,750 m). It was the latter which was effectively the crux of the trip because we had to get over this pass into Solu-Khumbu otherwise we would have had to return from whence we came. The peaks were optional.
By the time we reached Na some eight days into the trek we were at over 4,000 metres and left the fields and forest of the lower regions behind and the vegetation, which was scrubland. We had also left the warmth behind and the nights were now decidedly chilly!
We had a rest day in Na and the whole party took the opportunity to visit the Tsho Rolpa, which provided a good opportunity to acclimatise. This was a lake near the head of the Rolwaling Valley, which was held back by moraine and is being continuously monitored. The fear is that it would break through this natural dam and wipe out the entire valley. Once again the views were stupendous as we surrounded by Himalayan giants such as Melungste, Tsoboje and Chukyima Go whilst before us lay our route toward the Tesi Lapcha.
However, before all that we had an appointment with Ramdang Peak and the next day we left Na, hung a right turn and climbed up into a hanging valley where our base camp was situated. We had another "rest-day" and again and naturally we were given another opportunity to errr 'acclimatise' by doing exactly the opposite! The "opportunity" was to climb the Yalung Ri, which at 5,650 metres was going to provide a bit of a challenge.
It actually was not that bad. We left camp, walked up a ridge to the foot of a glacier then donned plastic boots and crampons. Then we roped up and off we went moving steadily up the glacier weaving around a couple of crevasses. The final section to the summit ridge was very steep and strenuous but the views from the top, which included a sighting of Cho Oyu, were magnificent. We were stopped about 40 metres short of the summit as the final section involved rock-climbing in plastic boots which was not on the agenda but all in all a good morning's work!
The next day we moved up to high camp, which situated in a stunning position on a glacier for our attempt on Ramdang Peak. We had an unbelievably cold night (minus 30 Celsius) and set off at about 6.00 a.m. and within an hour of setting off two of the group had given leaving just three of us clients (two others had decided not to go for the peak and were at base camp) to carry the flag. The initial climb up from camp was pretty steep and then we reached a plateau. However, we still had to climb a wall of ice about 30 metres high, which had been fixed by the guides the previous day, which involved jumaring.
Once we had reached the top of this ridge we were onto a col, which was at about 5,750 metres, and we could see the snow-capped dome, which was the summit of Ramdang about three kilometres away. Now we had a two and a half hour trudge over the glacier, which was energy sapping before we reached the top to much joy!
The rewards that were provided by our endeavours were incredible mountain vistas and we could see Everest to the east and the Annapurna massif to the west and countless other mountains. Then there was the long march back to base camp which proved to be exceedingly arduous.
The next couple of days were spent moving back down from Ramdang, then up the valley, past the Tsho Rolpa and then weaving in and out of the moraine of the Trakarding Glacier until we were camped at the bottom of the Drolumbau Glacier. It is safe to say that this was not the most pleasant campsite that I have stayed at in view of the fact we were sleeping on mounds of rock! On our walk-in we had to cope with fairly heavy snow, which prompted, fortunately unfounded, worries about our attempt on the Tesi Lapcha and sadly we passed a body right next to the path.
The next day was our big day as we were due to climb the Tesi Lapcha and it proved to be quite a worrying day. Even from the start I noticed that the group was struggling and this fact was not unnoticed by our porters. It seemed to be a combination of tiredness in some cases and a lack of acclimatisation in others. Our route involved a scramble up a rocky gully, which for us western tourists was "fixed" (but not for our nimble porters with their 35-40 kilogram loads). Then next for a few hours we were on mixed ground (sometimes rocky moraine and sometimes snow and ice) as we progressed exceedingly slowly up the Drolumbau Glacier passing below Parchemo until we reached the foot of the Tesi Lapcha.
Incidentally, the group had decided not to climb Parchemo because we felt that after the previous couple of days getting to and over the Tesi Lapcha we would not have the energy left to take this on.
After a short break we set off up the snow and then some rocky ground until we reached another glacier. It was now mid-afternoon and there was no sight of the top of the col. Our guides were worried I could see it (probably because I was the only one that was on top form) and I was trying to will the others to get a move on. We weren't roped up so in the end I just decided to go for it and see if my pace would elicit some response from my fellow trekkers. I use the term "pace" somewhat loosely because I was not exactly sprinting up the mountain!
Anyway after several false summits I reached the top at 3.57 p.m just as the sun started to disappear behind the flanks of Parchemo and as it did the temperature plummeted. I had plenty of time to take in the views and to take some photographs whilst the rest of the party started to arrive. Then in the gathering gloom we dashed down the other side to our campsite a few hundred meters below for yet another cold night.
Fortunately, now we could relax as we now made our way down the Thame valley and towards warmth and sucked in the oxygen rich air. We had had over a week of nighttime temperatures of well below minus 15 Celsius and this had taken its toll on all of us. Having spent the previous fortnight trekking in remote areas we found ourselves in much more crowded surroundings and we met loads of people both trekkers and locals as we approached first Namche Bazaar and then Lukla which made me realise why I chose the Rolwaling in the first instance! Mind you in spite of the number of people the area is still very beautiful as we now in the area, which included magnificent mountains such as Ama Dablam, Thamserku and Kusum Kangguru.
In no time at all we were back to the relative comforts of Kathmandu (a bath and a shave) and then it was time to go home and to reflect on the events of the past month and also admire the qualities of the magnificent sherpa people we had passed the time with. The physical strength, fortitude and cheerfulness of these people never fails to amaze me. Thanks guys!
Peter
