16 Gorakshep
Everest Base Camp and Kalapathar Trek
Days 16 > Lobuche to Gorak-Shep (and to EBC in the afternoon > next page)
Day-16 10th Oct 2007: Lobuche (4930M) to Gorakshep (5160M)
Next morning I was up at 6:00AM and found weather outside was cold, misty & cloudy. We started on the last leg of the trek to Gorakshep early at 6:30AM. The trail was along the true right of the Khumbu Galcier all the way. At 8:15AM we met the German ladies' (Brigette's) group, returning from Gorakshep. We had last parted way at Lamjura-La, where we stayed a night, but they had carried on to Junbesi.
Morning at Lobuche .... very misty and cloudy
Looking back at Lobuche as we leave
View from trail Lobuche to Gorak-shep
A closer look at the Khumbu Glacier moraine .... with mud, pebbles, rocks, frozen ice and green water pools
The Changri-Nup glacier crossing - a mass of mud, rocks and pebbles. You can see some trekkers ahead of us crossing it.
Brigette was happy to see Bhavnath, whom she had renamed as "Enrique" because of his handsome "Italian" looks!
Yes that is Khumbu Glacier, Icefall, and Mt Everest above the vclouds. Khumbu Glacier's rocky & icy river mess was always alongside our trail from Lobuche to Gorakshep
We are now crossing the side Glaciers - Changri Nup and Changri Shar ... you can see the dark hill of Kalapthar ahead ... and the snow-covered conical Pumori beyond that. Gorakshep huts must be below in the valley. Also see Bhavnath (in red T-shirt) up ahead on the rocky mess waiting for me to join him after taking this picture.
The Nuptse Icefall ....... The clouds are hiding Nuptse.
9:30AM - Reached Gorak Shep, in one piece after a 16-day trek from Jiri! Was feeling elated!! Celebrated by taking a shave and getting rid of the thick beard grown over last 5-6 days! BTW: I had taken a hot-water showers in 3-4 places (last at Namche). Showers cost NR 100-200 each time. It wasn't too cold here, at least during day-time. Perhaps around 10*C in the afternoon; but at night it must have fallen to freezing point because I did see frost and ice on the tables left exposed, outside in the front yard of the GH. Could not see any of the peaks of Everest or Nuptse from here today, due to cloud cover. The lower level glaciers and icefalls, of course, could be easily seen, if you climbed upto the higher ridges surrounding Gorak Shep.
I talked to several Nepali Guides who had escorted their clients to Gorak Shep about going to EBC & Kalapathar .... and how to fit them both into one day stay at Gorak? Most of them said Kalapather, is a must for sunrise view of Everest, at dawn. But trekking 6 hrs to and fro EBC, was not really worth as it was mostly glacier rubble all the way and no major expeditions were currently camped there (except one from Thailand, camped deep inside near the Khumbu Icefall). After discussing with Bhavnath we decided to go to EBC immediately today (i.e. till we are able to see the EBC-camp-site from a distance) and return to Gorak Shep. Tomorrow morning (if weather is clear and good) we climb Kalapathar and get back to Gorak Shep and after breakfast return to Lobuche.
And if in the morning weather is cloudy and not OK, we stay one more night at Gorak Shep and try Kalapathar for next morning.
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After climbing a ridge we finally see the Gorak Shep GHs & the flat bed of the dry lake ... up ahead at 9:30am!
Thats me outside the Buddha GH - where we took a room .... a much better place than the Lobuche GHs.
The Gorak Shep Lodges
Dining Hall of Buddha GH is pretty neat! ... considering how remote a place this Gorak Shep at 5160M is from civilization.
Day-wise details see sub-pages listed in left margin column