Everest and the Khumbu Region | Updates October - November 2023

Everest, the Lhotse wall and Ama Dablam from the high route between Phortse and Pangboche 

I was in the Khumbu for around three weeks in October – November 2023. Here are some updates which would be useful for trekkers in the coming year.

Trek Card

There is a trek card now which is issued at Lukla. You can apply online for the trek card uploading your passport soft copy and your photo at https://trekcard.app/registration  When you reach Lukla you can get the trek card by paying Rs 2000 at the Lukla checkpost.  The Sagarmatha Park fees continue to be paid at the Monjo checkpost. 

Ama Dablam Base Camp | Update October 2021

The lodges of Ama Dablam base camp

 October 27th 2021

The information available on Ama Dablam Base Camp on the internet has mostly been sketchy and so I decided to go up with my group to see the base camp and check the route and the new lodges built there. 

We left Pangboche around 7- 15 am walked to the end of the village and passed the last Sonam Lodge. A little ahead of the Sonam Lodge there is a path going down to the river - take this path and in 5-10 minutes you are down to a bridge across the Imja Khola - cross the bridge and then start climbing steadily uphill for 30-45 minutes to reach the ridge line - there are some multiple trails but the general direction is uphill. 

Reach the ridge and swing left on a flattish trail for about 15-20 minutes. This trail then drops into a broad meadow where we found yaks grazing and a view to the west including Pumori on the Khumbu Glacier. From this point Pheriche could also be seen below. 

Everest | 29th May 1953 - The First Ascent

 Today is sixty eight  years since the first ascent of Everest.

On 29th May 1953 at 11.30 am, a Sherpa and a New Zealander became the first men to stand on top of the highest peak on this planet.  However the intervening years has seen a sea change as far as Everest is concerned. The mountain  has now become a playground for guided expeditions, with clients paying between thirty thousand  to  eighty thousand dollars or more to stand on the highest point on earth. The South Col route climbed in 1953 is now disdainfully referred to as the “yak trail”. The dangerous icefall below the Western Cwm is maintained by a team of sherpas right through the season led by a senior “Icefall Doctor.” and ropes are fixed from Base Camp to the summit to allow "clients" to reach the top of the mountain. 

Due to the covid pandemic there were no attempts on the mountain in 2020. 

A record number of 400 plus climbers and 40 plus expeditions were  issued climbing permits in 2021 despite the covid wave. 

The large number of climbers, sherpas and support staff at base camp around 1500 or so resulted in a covid outbreak at Base Camp  and as per information received around 100 to 150 covid cases were detected – a majority were evacuated to Kathmandu hospitals and the rest which  were milder cases remained isolated in tents at base camp. Lukas Furtenbach, an Austrian operator, decided to cancel his expedition midway due this high covid risk which he deemed unacceptable.

In an interesting development, a team from Mountain Professionals set out from the South Col at 5 am on May 23rd 2021 and reached the summit by afternoon - possibly the first time in many, many years that a team has climbed Everest in the day enjoying sunny weather, gazing at the magnificent views, warmer temperatures and above all no long lines, headlamps and struggling along in the cold dark night.  There were advised by a  meteorologist  that there would be a day window on the 23rd May and they gladly seized the opportunity and had the mountain to themselves.

However the effect of the two cyclones over India and Nepal hampered the progress of the teams. As I write this post Cyclone Yaas is over Nepal and depositing heavy snow on the slopes of Everest. 

For the first time the Icefall Doctors team have agreed to keep the Icefall open until 3rd June 2021, to allow the remaining teams on the mountain a chance to summit if they are able to get another weather window on 30/31st May 2021.

 Kami Rita Sherpa created a new record this year by summiting Everest 25  times as a part of the Sherpa team who fixed the ropes to the summit  -  perhaps next year Kami will break his own record.

However, this post recounts through photographs,  the 1953 climb, the historic ascent of the first two men to summit Everest and the team of climbers and sherpas who supported them through this endeavour.

Everest Reflections on the Solukhumbu

I spend five days at Archana Press Okhla, New Delhi printing our new book Everest - Reflections from the Solukhumbu.

The book will be launched on May 28th 2019 at Kathmandu.

The details of the book are:

EVEREST

Reflections on the Solukhumbu

Photographs by Sujoy Das | Text by Lisa Choegyal

Foreword by Sir Chris Bonington | Preface by Dr Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa

Drawings by Paula Sengupta

Some  photographs from the press while printing the book are below.

To find out more about the book and the release dates etc. do email me at sujoyrdas@gmail.com

Phaplu to Namche Bazar | The Long Road to Everest

Early morning on the trail near Puiyan

Kathmandu to Salleri to Phaplu by road 18th June 2018

After spending two mornings at Kathmandu airport without any luck as heavy clouds hanging over Lukla made it impossible to land any aircraft there, I decided to take one of my guides Bir Bahadur Tamang and head to Phaplu by jeep and then make my way to Khumjung. I had already lost two days so I was running behind schedule. I needed to be in the Solu Khumbu to photograph the Dumji Festival of the sherpas.

Jeep ticket counter at Chahabil - you need a Nepali transalator here!

The jeep was supposed to leave Chahabil Chowk at 5-15 am but as expected we did not get away until 6 am. To further delay matters the driver was picking up passengers from different locations off the main road around Bhaktapur and Thimi and this delayed us further by another hour possibly. It was around 7-30 am or so that we left Bhaktapur and headed towards Banepa and then onto Dhulikhel. From Dhulikhel which is around 1550 metres the road dropped to the valley of the Sun Kosi river around 550 metres and followed the Sun Kosi for around three hours. Around 12 noon the jeep reached the village of Ghurmi and then crossed the river through the stream as a new bridge was under construction.

The driver stopped around 12-30 pm across the bridge for a dal Bhat lunch at Harkapur - from here Okhaldunga was a climb for 41 km. We left after lunch around 1-20 pm and started climbing out of the valley. We reached a high point of around 2150 metres and then descended to Okhaldunga around 1600 metres at 3 pm. From here Salleri was marked at 41 km - the road started climbing again and reached the viewpoint of Pattale 2900 metres where on a clear day a huge panorama of peaks are visible.

Peakfinder map of  mountains from Pattale - on a clear morning it should be a glorious view

There are several new lodges coming up at Pattale. Finally around 5 pm -11 hours after we started from Kathmandu we reached Salleri and in ten minutes we were up at Phaplu where we stopped for the night. Compared to my May 2013 journey when I descended from Phaplu to Kathmandu, I found the road much improved and black topped for about 90% of the way.  This could well develop into one of the important alternatives to Lukla given that a new road is being developed up the valley which will eventually come to Kharikhola - the long term plan is to take this road to Surkhe from Kathmandu in a day and a half.

Phaplu to Adheri by jeep and then to Puiyan 19th June 2018

 I decided to try the new jeep service from Phaplu to Adheri - near Jubing and avoid the long climb across Traksindo and down to Nuntala.
We left Phaplu at 6-50 am and proceeded in an easterly direction climbing steadily upto a pass 3000 metres in around 50 minutes. Both Numbur and Karyolung could be seen on the way and also from the pass. From the pass the road plunged down to around 2000 metres in about 45 minutes and then proceeded to skirt the hillside in an east south easterly direction. Finally around 10 -25 am it reach the final stop of Adheri 1560 metres which was not marked on any of the shops or buildings. We had a quick cup of tea and left for Jubing. The trail followed the broad jeep able road for around 15 minutes and then took a narrow trail on top of the road which eventually went down and crossed a suspension bridge over the Dudh Khola river. It then started to climb steeply through the forest for around an hour until it reached the top of the hill and the lodges of Jubing could be seen below. It is not necessary to go down to Jubing - the trail continues to skirt and climb the hill before making a last steep 45 minute climb to the top of Kharikhola.

Sign before entering Kharikhola

We walked down from the top and in around 15 minutes the excellent Namaste Guest House presents itself where we stopped for lunch.

Namaste Guest House Kharikhola

 Post lunch the trail descends through the large village of Kharikhola crosses a suspension bridge and then makes the steep climb for Bupsa. From Bupsa the trail continued to climb up the hill to Khari which is reached in 50 minutes from Bupsa. From Khari the climb continues further for another 45 minutes before the top of the hill and the prayer flags which signal the pass are seen. From here it is about an hour and 15 minutes to Puiyan which we reached at 7 20 pm after starting from Adheri at 10 40 am.  As per the Health app of the IPhone the distance covered was a phenomenal 27.5 km in 8.5 hours approx and 50,000 steps!

Phaplu to Adheri by jeep 3 hrs 30 min to 4 hours depending on stops - on the return due to the monsoon and landslides it took us 8 hours!
Andheri to the top of Jubing 1 hr 30 min Top of Jubing to Kharikhola 1 hr  20 min
Kharikhola to Bupsa 1 hr 15 min Bupsa to Khari 50 min Khari to Khari la 45 min
Khari La to Puiyan 1 hr 15 min

Puiyan to Namche  Bazaar June 20th 2018 

This is a two day walk but was completed by me in one day as I needed to reach Namche and Khumjung for the Dumji festival
It was raining at night and when I awoke before 5 am it was still drizzling. We got ready and left around 5 35 am in a light drizzle. The trail continued to be very muddy and slushy due to the mule caravans. We passed through a number of other lodges also marked Puiyan and then after about an hour’s walking crossed a pass called Puiyan La around 2800 metres. From this pass the trail steadily started going down through the forest and after a long series of descents in wet and muddy conditions finally reached Surkhe at 7 50 am. From Surkhe there are two trails which divide one going to Lukla and the other going to Namche.

Trail junction above Surke - Chaurikharkha is 45 min from here uphill

 We stopped at the trail junction for a cup of tea and then started the climb to Chaurikharkha - we passed a number of mani walls and prayer wheels some of them newly painted - we also passed groups of children going to school as the morning rain had given way to a sunny morning. We passed Chaurikharkha and joined the main Everest base camp trail at Cheplung - the lodges were much grander with garden chairs and flowers. We stopped at 11 am at Ghat for a late breakfast and reached Phakding by 12 15 pm.  We were now following the standard Everest base camp first day trail out of Lukla. At 5-30 pm I walked into Hotel Namche almost 12 hours after I had started out. The timings are given below. Sensible walkers should provide two days for this route breaking journey at Phakding or Benkar.
Puiyan to Surkhe 2 hrs 20 min Surkhe to Chaurikharkha 1 hr Chaurikharkha to Cheplung 20 min Cheplung to Ghat 50 min; Ghat to Phakding 45 min Phakding to Benkar 1 hour Benkar to Monjo 50 min Monjo to Jorsale 20 min Jorsale to last bridge befor Namche 40 min Last Bridge to Top Danda 45 min Top Danda to Namche 1 hr 15 min. 

For a description of my May 2013  journey from Lukla to Phaplu  please do visit  http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.com/2013/10/lukla-to-phaplu-long-road-back-to.html

Everest May 29th 1953 | Sixty Five Years since the 1st Ascent

Hillary and Tenzing arriving at Advance Base Camp 30th May 1953 after the successful summit.  On the left is Charles Evans and to the left of Tenzing is Tom Bourdillon and George Band. 

Today is sixty five years since the first ascent of Everest.

On 29th May 1953 at 11.30 am, a Sherpa and a New Zealander became the first men to stand on top of the highest peak on this planet.  However the intervening years has seen a sea change as far as Everest is concerned. The mountain   has now become a playground for guided expeditions, with clients paying between twenty five to sixty thousand dollars or more to stand on the highest point on earth. The South Col route climbed in 1953 is now disdainfully referred to as the “yak trail”. The dangerous icefall below the Western Cwm is maintained by a team of sherpas right through the season led by a senior “Icefall Doctor.” 

In order to make it possible for the clients to summit Everest, the entire mountain has fixed rope from bottom to top. This year 2018 the first ascent of the mountain was made by a team of  sherpas from different expeditions who fixed  the rope right to the summit and they were followed by the guided clients. 

 The summer of 2018 has been a record year on Everest. There has been 700+ summits till date from both the south and north side and for the first time there were eleven straight summit days when the weather was favourable for the climb.  Kami Rita Sherpa made his 22nd ascent of Everest - the highest number of Everest ascents till date. Lhakpa Sherpa climbed Everest from the north for the ninth time - the most Everest climbs by a woman. 

A Chinese double amputee Xiya Boyu made a successful ascent of Everest while astronaut Maurizio Cheli also successfully made the summit becoming the first man to have flown in space and climbed the highest mountain in the world.

There was also a major problem this year  with faulty oxygen bottle regulators on the Tibet north  route and some teams had to cancel  their summit attempts. 

However, this post recounts through photographs,  the 1953 climb, the historic ascent of the first two men to summit Everest and the team of climbers and sherpas who supported them through this endeavour.

Bourdillon and Evans on their return from the South Summit on May 26th 1953 - Bourdillon had wanted to make a push for the summit

Nawang Gombu crossing the icefall ladders - Gombu later became the first man to climb Everest twice in 1963 and 1965

The five men who helped  Hillary and Tenzing to carry to Camp 9  27,800 feet - John Hunt, Da Namgyal, Alf Gregory, Any Nyima and George Lowe - Photo George Lowe Collection

The map of the Khumbu icefall and the route followed by the 1953 expedition

From left: John Hunt, Ed Hillary, Tenzing, Ang Nyima,  Alfred Gregory and George Lowe after the ascent

The code which was later used in the telegram to send the news before the Queen's coronation

The telegram sent by John Hunt after the ascent

Hunt, Hillary and Tenzing in London

The full expedition team with the sherpas

Tenzing and his mother at Tengboche monastery after the climb

Tenzing and Hillary at Tengboche monastery after the successful climb

Sketch map drawn by Tenzing for his biographer James Ramsay Ullman 

The signed colour supplement of The Times

All photographs in this post are copyright the ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY and the respective owners.

The Cost of an Everest Base Camp Trek

There has recently been  a flurry of articles on the internet and also in print medium on the cost of climbing Mount Everest as part of a guided group with full support.

But, more often that not, I am asked the question" how much does it cost to trek to Everest Base Camp?"

So this post attempts to answer that question given the many options available! I have assumed that the trekker will fly in and out of Lukla as that is the route majority of trekkers would take. In case you walk in and out of Jiri you would save your air fare but spend another ten days or so on lodge accommodation, food and porters/guides!

1 Luxury Trek with  an  International Trekking Company
These treks are usually run by leading  international companies and provide you with all the frills:

• Five star accommodation in Kathmandu
• Best lodges in Namche often with plush attached toilets, abundant hot showers for free and heated electric blankets!
• Best possible lodges on the trail many with attached bathrooms and nice sunny rooms
•  Knowledgeable English speaking guides from overseas, many of whom have done the Everest route many times and once in a while you may get an Everest summiteer guiding you!
• Special food, snacks, freshly ground coffee from overseas to supplement the lodge meals - once in Gokyo I found that cognac was also being served after dinner!
• Boiled or filtered water would be provided every day to the group!

The cost of one of these treks could range between US $ 3000 to 4000 depending on the facilities!

Kwangde from the airstrip of Shyanboche

2 Trek with Local Nepal Trekking Company
These treks are usually run by Kathmandu based trekking companies. They could be fixed departure treks where you sign on to an existing trek or they could be customised for your group only provided you have a decent number - four is usually acceptable.
You would usually get:

• Three star hotels in Kathmandu usually located in Thamel.
• Reasonable lodges on the route, some with attached bathrooms in Namche and Lukla usually.
• A local Nepali guide who would lead the team along with the porters to carry your bags - he would speak some English!
• Meals would be usually at the lodges and would be fixed in some manner. 
• Flights in and out to Lukla, airport transfers, permits etc would all be covered.

The cost of one of these treks would be between US $ 1500 to 2500 depending on the company concerned!

3 Do it Yourself Trek hiring a Guide/Porter as you need
You could decide to do your own trek to EBC and work out your own cost as under:

• Sagarmatha Permits and TIMS-  US $35 for foreigners and US $15 for SAARC citizens; TIMS US $20 for independent foreign trekkers and US $10 for SAARC citizens.
• Flight to and fro Lukla return - US $356 for foreign passports holders and USD $212 for  Indian citizens presently.
• Room at lodges - can vary from US $ 5 to 35 per night depending on where you stay - this excludes the top end lodges like Yeti Mountain Home, Summit Lodges etc. In Namche good lodges like Hotel Namche would charge between $25 to $35 for rooms with attached bathrooms, hot showers etc.
• Food at lodges - You can budget US $ 25-30 per day on an average, This does not include cokes, beer, apple pies and yak steaks! It includes three good meals, tea, coffee, hot water etc.
• Guide - the cost of a guide with his meals and stay included would be between US $ 25 to 30 per day. A guide would not carry your load.
• Porters - The cost of a porter would be US $ 18 to 20 per day with meals and stay.

So if two trekkers are doing a fifteen day Kathmandu to Kathmandu trek with one guide and one porter and sharing an ordinary  room,  the cost should be around US $ 1300-1400 per head or so per person. For Indian/Nepali  trekkers you can budget US $ 1100-1200 per head. Hotels in Kathmandu are not covered in this cost. If you take the guide from Kathmandu then you have to add his Lukla return fare as well!

4 Do it Yourself Trek carrying your own Backpack
You could eliminate the cost of the guide/porter from No 3 above- for two persons it would be US $ 900-1000 per  person  and for  Indian/Nepali citizens US $ 800-900 per person due to the differential in the Lukla air fare.

View from Luza - Thamserku

5 Speciality Photography Treks and Workshops 

• These treks to the Everest region are often conducted by companies who specialize in photography tours, treks and workshops. They are sometimes conducted by individual photographers who have vast experience in the Himalayas in general and Everest in particular. Like the luxury treks these treks are top end as they provide for fifteen days, the services of a dedicated top notch photographer on the trail who mentors and assists the team of trekkers. Other than the photography leader, the  team would have a Nepali guide and porters who would look after local logistics, loads, lodges, meals and other creature comforts for the team! The photography leader would know the best spots for photographs, the time of the day, off the beaten track locations, local colour, interaction with the local population, monastery interiors, night photography etc.

These photo treks would be around US $ 3000 to 4500 per person including hotels in Kathmandu on the way in and out and would include most of the luxuries of No 1 above maybe with the cognac left out!

So which of the options is for you?
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South Col Expeditions runs treks and photo workshops in the Everest region every year personally led by Sujoy Das. Our next Everest trek is November 11th to 24th 2018.   For more details do visit www.southcol.com.

Ama Dablam | Mountain of Dreams

Ama Dablam from Khumjung - dawn

Ama Dablam (6856 metres) is possibly one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Located in the Khumbu region of Nepal it is it the "jewel in the crown"   for all trekkers to the Everest Base Camp and Kala Pattar. The mountain was first climbed in 1961 by Mike Gill (NZ), Barry Bishop (USA), Mike Ward (UK) and Wally Romanes (NZ) via the Southwest Ridge. They were part of the Silver Hut expedition led by Edmung Hillary in 1960-61. 

I have been photographing Ama Dablam for more than twenty years now. 

Some photographs of the mountain taken over the years are in this post:

Ama Dablam from Dzongla below the Cho La Pass

Ama Dablam from Pheriche after a winter snow storm

Ama Dablam from Pangboche at dusk

Morning light at Kyanjuma near Namche Bazar

Ama Dablam from the climb to Chukung Ri in the Imja Khola valley

Lammergier floats towards the peak of Ama Dablam on the trail between Pangboche and Dingboche

Reflections in a lodge window - Sonam Lodge Pangboche

For more photographs of the Himalaya do visit www.sujoydas.com

The Magical Khumbu

Ama Dablam

This is the first April after many years that I will not be in the Khumbu - doing a trek either to Kala Pattar or Gokyo or both! There has been a lot of writing on different blogs about the different expeditions and their entry into the Khumbu There was a long spell of bad weather and snow and this both delayed and cancelled the infamous flight to Lukla! That has now improved though it is still raining/snowing every afternoon!

Lukla airport

Many of the teams are there to trek to Everest base camp and that magical high point Kala Pattar, while the more intrepid get ready to make an attempt on Everest itself.

Namche Bazar and Kwangde

The Icefall doctors have completed their new route through the Khumbu icefall and the expeditions begin to move through Namche Bazar. After the mandatory two acclimatisation days, they head onto base camp through Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche and Gorak Shep.

There is a feeling of longing of wanting to be there - is that beautiful pink rhododendron just below the Sagarmatha National Park headquarters - it it in full bloom again? The trail comes up in vivid colour with those enormous peaks piercing the clouds as the trekkers climb up the famous Namche hill - a nemesis for many!

Rhododendron tree near Jorsale

So what will I be doing this spring? Heading to Mustang the fabled forbidden former kingdom of Lho tomorrow and then in May on a sixteen day circuit of Manaslu!

And the Khumbu? It will be November this year!

Kangtega and Thamserku from Luza