75 Ama Dablam BC, Gokyo 4th Lake, Rhenjo-La Pass & Thamichhe Valley

Trek Summary:

My porter again was Bicheray Shrestha, of Baseri village . He was very adjusting to my slow pace and sudden desires to halt at smaller and more simple & beautiful Teahouse places. And he would hold my hand firmly when going down steep places and thus speed up my pace considerably!  He was a great help in descending in the snow bound  Rhenjo-La Pass.

The entire trek got done in nicely, schedule-wise. However the weather in May was "iffy & cloudy" ...  and so snow peak views were to be had only in the mornings.  Everything went fine until the day we crossed Rhenjo-La Pass; even that day morning was sunny and good  during the ascent to RhenjoLa from Gokyo ... but in the afternoon while descending from the Pass there was a severe white-out and very low visibility  and we could not see ahead beyond 8-10 feet ... while descending in difficult snow conditions. Fortunately, there was no live snowfall, rain or wind while coming down. And though we walked for a long 15 hours .... and we made it to Lungde in the dark with torch  lights!

In the end, I completed 4 out 5  "bits" that I had planned. But missed the Eastern Trail to Gokyo via Thore. (Porter reluctance and advise, against that Eastern trail) .... Rest 4 of 5 achieved. 

btw:  When in Pangboche Teahouse I met this nice young Guide, Kirat Rai, who after listening to my past exploits in the region, said I  can easily do Chola-Pass crossing now (since they have cut steps and hung iron-ropes in difficult parts during Lockdown). He was super persuasive  or my  Rakshi soaked brain was easily convinced! So I added  Chola-pass  as a new objective and sent Bicharey to buy me Micro-Crampon from a local Pangboche shop (NRs 4K). But next day reality set in  and old fears returned; so instead of heading North to Pheriche & Dughla, I turned South towards  Phortse! 

I was thinking I wasted NRs  4000/- on that Micro-Crampons, but that was super useful on the Rhenjo-La pass descent  ...where snow was in plenty  and  sliding down in steep portions. This was the first time I ever used a crampon  on my hiking boots and found it extremely useful. Full Nrs 4000 was "paisa vasool" .

Have to report that there  no single day of live rain or snow that I faced during trek hours. But on most days after 11am or Noon the clouds would move in and there were no snow peaks after that.

Phone Cameras:  A strange development happened before and during this trip.. And a significant learning experience!!  My old P&S  camera, Panasonic  Lumix ZS40, had not been used for two years during the Pandemic. It had developed "some fungus" like haziness; and even on getting it cleaned it till was not giving satisfactory clarity. Of course, I am not sure if it was camera lens or cataract in my eyes that was the issue! And by a strange coincidence my Smart-Phone (Xiomi-A2), also started acting up just before the trip. Its  display had turned fully B&W, instead of color.  I had to postpone my flight from 19th to 24th May ... and I quickly went out to buy a new phone. To my request for  "a smart-phone with a good camera" the sales guy suggested Samsung A52s-5G, a recent 2021 model, that he was said was a 'super good" choice for my Nepal trip. He quickly showed me its 4 cameras functions and the camera-software features. I got convinced  and bought it for INR 32K approx. Later ,on the trip I found its pictures & videos so good, that I stopped using the P&S Camera and continued with the extremely convenient new phone camera! Many FB followers of my daily posts, while on trek, noticed the great quality of the phone pictures!  Never thought a Smart-Phone camera would reach such sophistication (in my lifetime)!! 

My Phone captured Locations with GPS On: I realized that my new smart-phone was recording "Lat-Long" coordinates with each picture in EXIF  info!

Internet  Connections: At most Teahouses (below 4000M)  I was getting good Data Signals (often 4G, with my Ncell Data Package). Some teahouses above 4000M were offering all-day  internet access through there Routers, for an extra charge of Nrs  300 to 500 for unlimited data using their Wi-Fi.  

Phone Battery Charging:  My new phone had heavy-duty battery with fast-charging. I could recharge the phone battery, in 1-2 hours, in most Teahouses below 4000M had local power supply (from Small Hydel power sets) . They allowed me to recharge the Phone Free of cost. 

Some Teahouses (mostly above 4000M) where there was no power supply, I could use their Solar Power Supply to full recharge my phone for a cost of NRs 300-500 . 

Itinerary: See the day-wise itinerary and actual walking times for me in the footer below.

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 Day-wise  Trek Diaries: There are 5 sub-pages under this Tour-75 page; that describe the day wise treks with a few day-specific pictures and videos. You may  access the sub-pages by clicking on the Menu drop-down button (at the  top Left corner)  and clicking on Tour 75 button to expand and see the sub-pages.. 

Gokyo 4th Lake - a view from the North end of it ..after 2-3 hours walk beyond main 3rd Gokyo Lake