Nepal Day 13 - Round trip from Gorak Shep to EBC plus descent to Lobouche

 8.42 miles, 1599’ climbing

Hotel New EBC, Lobuche, 16,210’ elevation

High Point: EBC 17,598’

A lot of people have trouble sleeping at Gorak Shep because of the elevation. It’s also noisy with people coming and going. We even heard a yak train pass at 2am. It’s cold, too. Like all of these lodges, the rooms are unheated and windows have gaps. Warm quilts keep you cozy and also reluctant to get out of bed. Ed slept like a baby while Sarah was awake from 2am onwards. 

A little after 7am, we started our walk to Everest Base Camp (EBC). The trail was a little rougher than most of what we’ve been on with loose rocks, small boulders to negotiate, snow, mud. 

We passed a huge number of yak trains going in both directions. We usually get off trail on the uphill side, behind a rock, when yaks pass. Today part of the trail was on a narrow ridge which made it trickier. Yaks have big horns. When loaded, they could easily knock you over. Most seem docile, but once in a while, one ventures off the track in our direction. Bire yells and waves his arms to shoo them away. They aren’t tied together. Their handler typically walks behind them, shouting, if needed, and waving a stick. They are currently making two round trips a day, 4.25 miles each time.

We also yield the trail to porters going in both directions to be considerate and to respect the incredibly hard work they are doing. A lot of porters here are making two round trips a day at this time of year, carrying expedition gear to EBC, up to 100kgs per load (220 lbs), balanced on their backs and held with a wide band across their foreheads. Besides being incredibly heavy, a lot of the loads look awkward: sheets of plywood with blue plastic barrels tied on one side, long metal frames that will be assembled into something, lopsided mixed bundles that are so wide that they catch on rocks. This is the tradition in this region, and it’s the available work, but it’s still kind of painful to see.

Everest base camp was a hive of activity when we arrived. Bright colored tents were scattered over a few square miles. Areas were roped off with rope and fabric signs where different expeditions were reserving space. Bire told us that in about 15 days, there will be no space left between the tents as mountaineering season goes into full swing. Today, yaks and porters were dropping off loads. Workers in different camps were preparing sites for tents (tricky on a melting glacier). Some larger cooking and dining tents were up. There was a hum from all the work in progress.

We stopped at the trekkers endpoint (not allowed in the  expeditions area), snapped some pictures with Everest and the khumbu ice fall which Bire has been through many times. Bire showed us where an avalanche across the valley in 2015 caused such a shock wave that tents and ropes were found all the way up at the ice fall; a lot of people died.

We headed back to Gorak Shep, again dodging yaks and porters. Clouds were coming in. We were incredibly fortunate to get clear skies for both our days around Gorak Shep.

On a ridge, a pair of Tibetan Woodcock, locally called Kongma, walked towards us. They were unafraid and as large as chickens, beautiful birds.

Back at Gorak Shep we had lunch, then walked slowly back to Lobuche. Where it was slippery packed snow from yesterday, it was now mud or wet dirt. The day was growing cold and windy, but we could feel the difference the loss of 700-800’ makes.