Khumbu Trek 2010

My college friends Wes and Ellen invited me to join them on a trek through the Mt. Everest region of Nepal.  Since it had long been a dream of mine to see this part of the world, I jumped at the chance.  I joined a group of 16 "seniors" on a three-week trek through the Khumbu region.

The experience was so different from anything I had ever done before that it is hard to write about it.  This account, while lengthy, gives only the most superficial description of the daily activities.  This is supplemented by a number of brief discussions of some topics that characterized the whole experience.

In general the trek was more physically and mentally demanding than I had anticipated.  I was well prepared for the demands of hiking: this was not the problem.  But half way through the trip I got a sore throat, which went into a chest cold, which progressed into a sinus infection, and finally a lingering cough.  This made everything much harder.  Also, I was not prepared to spend 13 hours every night in my tent: it was mentally wearing and disrupted my ability to get a good night's sleep. 

On the other hand, the scenery was spectacular, the weather was mostly great, and the people and sights of the Khumbu region were a great pleasure.  On balance, a great trip, but not one I would want to repeat without making some changes.

Map

map-t.jpgThis map is not suitable for navigation, but can be used to see the locations dicussed here.

Day By Day

PA250001t.jpgOct 25 Kathmandu
PA260022t.jpgOct 26 Kathmandu
PA270543t.jpgOct 27 Phakding
PA280196t.jpgOct 28 Namche
PA290588t.jpgOct 29 Namche
PA300250t.jpgOct 30 Deboche
PA300597t.jpgOct 31 Deboche
PB010288t.jpgNov 1 Deboche
PB030331t.jpgNov 2 Dingboche
PB040337t.jpgNov 3 Dingboche
PB040341t.jpgNov 4 Lobuche
PB050659t.jpgNov 5 Lobuche
PB070362t.jpgNov 6 Pangboche
PB070384t.jpgNov 7 Phortse Tenga
PB080405t.jpgNov 8 Khumjung
PB090430t.jpgNov 9 Namche
PB110464t.jpgNov 10 Toktuk
PA270093t.jpgNov 11 Lukla
PB120672t.jpg Nov 12 Kathmandu
PB140826t.jpgNov 13 Kathmandu

Topics

PB010292t.jpgThe Cold
PB040341t.jpgAltitude
PA290201t.jpgLong Night Hours
PA300235t.jpgOur Cheerful and Helpful Staff
PB100448t.jpgPorters
PA310283t.jpgYaks
PA270107t.jpgThe Food
PA300259t.jpgHuddling for Warmth at Dinner
PA280176t.jpgSplitting Up
PB100436t.jpgThe Crowd of Trekkers

Notes

Larger versions of each photo is available by clicking on the photo.  This leads to a Picasa album, in which all photos are geo-referenced, so you can see exactly where the photo was taken.

Other members of our party have their own pictures and stories. 

A GPS track record is available, so that you can see exactly where we were at all times.
Khumbu Track

If you have any questions or comments, or notice any errors, please let me know by sending email to the address given below.

oGo back to Charles Hayden's Home Page

cchayden@gmail.com