FAQ- Three Passes Trek, Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Part-one!

I thought I would put together a group of what I believe are questions that people may well be requiring an answer to. Most of this information is as we experienced it during our trek in September and October 2014. These are in no particular order.

First of all,  if you are going to go this Anjan is you man - http://www.nepalhightrek.com

What clothing and sleeping equipment did we take?
In the interest of attempting to travel reasonably light we took with us our basic trekking clothing which included a full change of clothes, and extra pair of underwear and three pairs of socks. We had thermals to walk in and thermals for night-time and/or sleeping as required. We also had a down jacket which was essential as we walked to the higher altitudes. Beanie, gloves and neck warmers
We took a sleeping bag, liner and pillow case. we met people who had decided to travel without a bag. I will talk more about the accommodation but every teahouse we stayed at supplied a basic dacron doona and pillow, if needed we could have asked for more blankets at most teahouses. We also took our exped pillow but this was not necessary.

Information on teahouses
Teahouses are located in all the major villages along the trek and provide a warm dining room heated by a potbelly style stove that generally burns yak dung. After 19 days experiencing the acrid smell gets up your nose in more ways than one, but it does mean that you have a warm room at least until 8pm. The rest of the teahouse is not heated so it is quickly into you sleeping bag to stay warm.

Depending on the location we were charged between 3300nrp (around Au$30) and 7500nrp (Au$70) for accommodation, dinner and breakfast. In terms of the food provided there isn't a great deal of difference from one teahouse to the next. In fact, I think most of the menus were the same. While there seems to be a great deal of choice, after a few days you find it difficult to decide what to eat.
All teahouses request that you stay and eat with them, if you decide to go somewhere else to eat you will be charged extra for the room. The Fitzroy Inn at Gokyo provide the best meals for the trip.

Beds were all okay to sleep on. We took our sleeping mat but it was used twice as the mattresses were quite hard. We didn't really need the mat as we could place the doona underneath for extra padding.

Some of the teahouses offered ensuites (which we took advantage of whenever possible). Some provided a toilet, while others went all the way and offered a shower as well. Not all teahouses had showers available but we were able to shower at Namche, Tengboche, Chhukhung, Gokyo and Phakding . In terms of toilets, western style toilets were offered in more than half of the teahouses we stayed at. Waste paper can't be flushed so it goes into a bin for burning later. Generally, toilets were flushed using a tin filled with water from a large contain next to the toilet.

Most teahouses run on 12 volt solar electricity with minimal battery back up. If you have devices that require charging most of the teahouses we stayed at offered this service for 300 - 400nrp. One of the teahouses or bunk rooms we stayed in had wonderful lighting during the day, but nothing once the sun set for the day.

You could also get bottled water, snacks such as Mars and Snickers bars, biscuits, pringles, soft drinks and beer etc.. A couple of teahouses offered Johnny Walker Black and other top-shelf drinks, But, while at altitude we resisted the urge to drink alcohol. They also sold batteries, toilet paper, tissues and other basic supplies.

Water
An information board along the trek requested that people refrain from purchasing bottled water due to the issue of removing the plastic bottles. The information board suggested that for every bottle of water you purchase there are 30000 more bottles bought by trekkers, all of which has to be disposed of, or as we saw all too frequently, left by trekkers lying on the ground. We used a steripen for most of our water, only purchasing bottled water on rare occasions.

Boots and/or shoes
We walked mostly in our hiking boots, mainly to provide support for our ankles. The surface is very rarely flat and even. More often it is rocky, shale paths, boulders across the glaciers or steps made from the local rock. We also took along some lighter weight hiking shoes that we wore on occasion to give our feet a rest from the hiking boots. We did not experience blisters at all, but did have tied feet on several of the days. We also took a pair of crocs to use in the evenings or around the teahouse.
We saw some people wearing runners and many of the porters wearing thongs and dunlop volleys.
All in all, we were happy with our choice of foot wear and remained comfortable throughout the trek.

Waterproof gear. 
In terms of wet weather gear we took over pants that never came out of our pack, i would still have them just incase. We also took along a light weight wind, rain proof coat that we used on several occasions to provide insulation from the wind. We encountered snow two times and the jackets worked well to keep us dry. Friends took along heavy goretex jackets that they said they would leave behind next time.

Other equipment:
You will need a head torch and spare batteries.
Walking sticks. We started off using them all the time but eventually left them on our day pack and only used them on the steeper ascents or descents over each pass.
I took a tripod, in retrospect I think I would leave this at home next time.

Track conditions
Prepare to be walking on uneven rocky ground for most of the trek. You will also need to prepare to walk up and down hills just about all day. Very rarely do you get the chance to walk along flat ground. The track ranged from easy to walk on to extremely challenging. An example of this is walking across the glacial moraines. Small to large loose boulders were the norm, this was matched will unstable ground that provide plenty of slipping and sliding opportunities.
Descents from all three passes was steep and at times very slippery as snow and ice had formed overnight. Poles were very handy in these situations.
All of the passes require confidence in walking around steep exposed areas, sometimes traversing around steep cliffs and climbing large rocks. There is no need for ropes, but at times it can be nerve racking if you are susceptible to issues with height.

Clockwise or counter-clockwise. 
This was a big question along the trek, but for us it was a no brainer and some of the data I developed around average metres ascended each day bears this out.
we completed kongma La first followed by Cho La and finally, Renjo Pass.
Here is some data:
Kongma La is an 805 climb to the Pass. This is followed by 625m descent into Lobuche. The problem is the descent is incredibly steep and rocky all the way and you have to finish off with the walk across the Kumbu glacier. It was tiring enough at the end of the walk, I am not sure that I would want to commence the walk across the glacier first.
Cho La is a 590m ascent followed by a 720m descent and Renjo is 570m ascent from Gokyo and 992m descent to Lungdhen.
On average we climbed 413m a day and descended 580m a day.

In terms of acclimatisation I believe the route that we took also assisted in preparing us to be at 4800m+ for several days. (See the trek summary blog for the details of each days walking.)
Here is a graph of the altitude at many of the villages an passes along our route:


Medication
We took a veritable pharmacy with us! We used diamox from Tengboche. We were starting to experience mild headaches and made the decision to use whatever resources we could to assist us and ensure that we enjoyed the trek. We did not experience any symptoms of AMS, this could have been due to our training or the medication. The advice we got was that is is best to commence before the symptoms worsened. We experienced some minor tingling of fingers and toes, generally after crossing our legs.
We took plenty of hydralite which assisted in replacing fluids after I experienced a bout of gastro. We also used Zantac as we experienced several bouts of indigestion. I will provide a list of the medications we took with us on the trek in part-two.

More information will be explored in part-two.

Summary of our Three Passes Trek

Trek Summary

Travel with: http://www.nepalhightrek.com Anjan was awesome and made the trip!

All rumours of Wifi throughout the Khumbu Region have been greatly exaggerated! Well, it exists but it is slower than a the old dial up network!

In the mean time if I can get to connect to said internet snail link I will upload this summary of our trip so far, minus photos. 

After a one day delay we boarded the plane at Kathmandu airport and flew to Lukla, and amazing flight with an awesome landing! Take off will be just as interesting.

Day 1. Lukla (2840m) to Phakding (2610). An uneventful day, the highlight was getting on an aircraft to Lukla and the flight from Kathmandu. We where ushered into our first teahouse for a cup of tea and prepare for the walk to Phakding. The first stage was all down hill, this doesn't bode well for our return. We were totally blown away by the porters and what they were carrying. It was our first introduction to the villages and the people.  

Day 2. Phakding to Namche (Namche Bazar – 3440m) This was our first real experience above 3000m and we were coping well. After following the river valley for have the trip the track pointed skyward and climbed from our lunch stop at Jorsalle (2740m) to Namche (3440m). This step climb would prepare us for the days ahead and the constant climb up hill.

Day 3. Rest day in Namche, so to speak. We still need to acclimatize so we took the work to the highest hotel in the world, the Everest View Hotel. Unfortunately the clouds weren’t helping is and all we managed to see was brief glimpses of Ama Dablam. Hint to anyone venturing the the hotel....DON'T eat the club sandwich, it contains cat food!

Day 4. Namche to Tengboche (3860m). This was a spectacular walk through the mountains culminating with the arrival at the monastery. We has a fantastic room that over looked the valley towards to Mt Everest. In the morning we were blessed with our first view of Mt Everest and spectacular views of Lhotse and Ama Dablam. Ama Dablam would become our friend over the coming days.

Day 5. Tengboche to Dingboche (4410m). This was essentially a stop over prior to reaching Chhukhung. Walking thourgh spectacular mountains, river valleys and more views of Ama Dablam.

Day 6. Dingboche to Chhukhung (4730m). Everyday we are walking deeper and deeper into the dominating peaks. We are now surrounded by Ama Dablam (6856m), Imja – (Island Peak – 6189m). Lohtse (8414m) and Lohtse Shar (8393m) and many many other mountains that Anjan refers to as hills because they don’t reach the 5000m mark.

Day 7. Acclimatization day, but unfortunately I had a slight bowel issue, (ten issues actually!). So, it was decided I needed a day to recover. I think we were all grateful for the rest and spent the day reading, writing, drawing and playing cards.

Day 8. We completed our walk to Chhukhung Ri (5550m). Unfortunately the weather was not playing ball with us and we made it to 5400m before deciding to retreat. It was also a very steep unstable walk, which wasn’t worth the risk of going higher. Still, we made 5400m and another stage in preparing for the next week.  

Day 9. The big one! Kongma La Pass at 5535m was would be the second highest we would reach for the entire trek. It was tough for several reasons. The first being destroying my camera as it plummeted down a step hill before coming to a stop 50m below. Lens totally destroyed and the camera in bad shape! The walk was spectacular and extremely challengeing, steep cliff walks, sharp inclines and declines over boulders and rocks. This was finished off with a exhausting walk across the Khumbu Glacier. Our final resting place some 10 hours later at Lobuche (4910m). Without doing the actual altitude gain and loss, we commence our walk at 4730m, peaked at 5535m and ended at 4910m, in what was to be one of our worst teahouses for the trek.

Day 10. Lobuche to Gorek Shep (5140m).  This will be our highest teahouse for the trek and was a reasonably good one. After the previous day the trek to Gorek Shep was very easy and we decided to head onto EBC (5364m) after lunch. This was not so easy but it had to be done! 

Day 11. Gorek Shep (the refrigerator)  to Dzonghla 4830m. Prior to setting off we walked to the summit of Kala Patthar (5550m), this would be the highest altiude we would reach for the trek and it certainly felt it. We walked over snow covered ground as we climbed steeply to the top! The views were  unbelievable. After we we commenced our walk back down the mountain. This too, was a long walk as Liz had initially planned to stop at Lobuche, I am glad that we didn’t as Andrea was unwell overnight and we had our own ensuite which made things much more bearable.

Day 12. As Andrea had been unwell over night we ended up having a fantastic rest day, playing cards and meeting many people who were staying out our teahouse. We meet two Jewish boys Mor and Yarden who have been with us all the way through to Gokyo.

Day 13. Another Pass, this time Cho La Pass (5420m). This was a fantastic day and the highlight of the trip for me. We walked across open plains surrounded by extraordinary mountains, climbed up steep rock walls to find ourselves walking across snow and a glacier before reaching the Pass. The walk down was extremely long again but much easier than our Kongma La descent. We made the decision to stop at Tangnag (4700m). We were the only trekkers in the teahouse and enjoyed an afternoon and evening with the family.

Day 14. Saw us crossing the Ngozumba Glacier prior to heading into Gokyo (4790m), the ultimate goal of the trip. Arriving at the top of the hill and looking down on Gokyo Lake was a magic moment. We were all relieved that we had crossed our last Glacier but also actually made our goal of enjoying the vista in front of us. It didn’t take long to head down into Gokyo and select the best teahouse with our own private bathroom including toilet and shower! Once again, we have made good friends with the younger kids, playing cards, chatting and enjoying each others company (stuff the old farts!).

Day 15.  Our second day at Gokyo and we climbed Gokyo Ri (5360m). A very steep climb that afforded views over the gokyo valley, Solu and through into Mt Everest. Unfortunately, the clouds spoiled the day with only a couple of pictures taken of Mt Everest and the surrounding mountains.

Day 16. Gokyo – Renjo Pass (5360m) and Lungdhen (4380m) Heading off at 6.30am from Gokyo came with mixed feelings as this would lead us to our last challenge – Renjo La Pass. The climb would afford us our last glimpse of Everest and the clouds didn’t fail to get in the way. Fortunately, halfway up to the pass the clouds cleared and we were able to get photos of the highest mountain in the world. Renjo Pass is the easiest of the three passes, while still a challenge. Nothing is easy when you are walking at 5000m. Once we took photos and had some snacks we left the pass for the long down hill walk to Lungdhen nearly 1km below. It took us 7 hours. Tired but very pleased with ourselves as we had met all the challenges and won.

Day 17. Lungdhen (4380m) – Namche (3440m). 17 kms today to get to Namche for a two-night stay. Breathing at this altitude is soooo easy compared to the last 14 days. Waking to a crisp cold morning with the sun filling the valley. Still surrounded by mountains twice the height of our tallest and yet they don’t carry a name because they are insignificant compared to the 5000m+ peaks that we have been waking up and down and through! We have may head up to Kumchung tomorrow, then it is down to Phakding and finally, Lukla.

I will add the last couple of days in the coming days. 

On a sad note I destroyed my camera on the way across the Kongmala Pass. I stole Andrea's camera which is good, but not quite to the standard of the DSLR.