Trip Reports

Everest 3 Peaks 3 Passes - 28 Apr to 22 May '16

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, June 2016

This trek has to be just about the ultimate exploration of the Khumbu for a three week itinerary, taking in three peaks, three passes, Everest Base Camp and a trail that wherever you are has you amongst some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world. It is what is says though ñ peaks and passes in the Himalaya - with all the challenging ingredients of some steep mountain terrain, altitude, weather and conditions underfoot. The big advantage of this trek over many of the ìCircuitî treks like Annapurna, Kangchenjunga or Dhaulagiri is that by shuffling the itinerary (I keep saying that the itineraryís only in pencil!) itís possible to ìcompleteî the trek by-passing objectives along the way in order to accommodate the variables of a particular trip.

So shuffle it we did, deciding on arrival in Namche to reverse the direction of the trek and head up towards Chukkung first and finish on the Renjo La. By the time we got back to Namche we had had team members up all three peaks, over all three passes and the whole group had enjoyed the hospitality of Rachel and Ant in Jagged Globeís dining tent at Everest BC. So although overall ìsuccessfulî in expedition terms of achieving all the objectives, it was disappointing for some to have to accept the sense of ìfailureî in that not everyone did everything. But this was expeditioning, and how often do we all get to achieve everything? We were all able to enjoy three weeks in the Khumbu and it felt good to be there, able to provide some business for the folk there who so depend now on the trekking and climbing groups which this season were noticeably absent.

The rebuilding that has been completed since the earthquakes of last spring is quite astonishing. Apparently the Nepal government has provided little or no assistance but lodge owners and residents have simply got on with repairing the damage and the place is very much back to normal and open for business. The only evidence of the devastation needs to be looked for ñ occasional buildings still collapsed, scars on the hillsides, and cracks in many of the stupas: seemingly it takes more than a couple of major earthquakes to crack the resilience of the people of the Khumbu. Estimates suggest that tourist business is 60% down, most of the lodges were almost empty, the trail was very quiet a lot of the time, the Sherpas and porters making do with what little work they can get. But we experienced the usual warm, friendly, nothing-is-too-much-trouble hospitality and service from these people who are what makes trekking in Nepal so special. If thereís a sure way to help rebuild and support Nepal itís by going there and giving them the business they need; the landscape and the infrastructure can accommodate a lot of visitors, the people desperately need the crowds back.

Mungo Ross, Expedition Leader « Previous report | Next report »

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