| |
Cho la Pass and Onward
Thursday, 06 May 2010
We had a casual morning with milk tea and french toast, and began our hike around 7am. There was a lot of up. We meandered our way through a scenic valley until we finally reached the base of Cho la pass. The morning was clear and the sky was a brilliant blue. This pass was more technical than Renjo la the previous day. Plus, we had our full packs with us instead of just light day packs. The rock was very loose and I had to use my hands for balance. It reminded me a bit of the mountaineers route on Mt Whitney. Except that this pass was a few thousand feet higher and a bit looser. There was a lot of potential for rock fall, so I waited until a few groups of exuberant porters came down from above. Although it was challenging I felt psyched. It wasn’t just the natural high of the mountains and the wilderness that brought this awesome emotion on. It was a psyched feeling I had been missing for years. It was fantastic to be psyched for hours as I snailed my way up to the top. Reuben and I were both thankful for the acclimatization we did on Renjo la the previous day. It some how made this pass do-able.
The decent was through a gorgeous valley, and the fresh viewpoint was rewarding. Ama Dablam stretched skyward and north face of Cholatse was disturbingly stunning. We walked down the glacier on top of 50 feet of solid ice beneath our feet. The color was a light sky blue. The rock embedded within the ice was a dark gray. It was fascinating to look at. After about 30 minutes we came to an open meadow. I stretched out and had a nice Yoga session. It felt good to be out of the thin air!
As the next few days passed we continued our decent toward Lukla. Under the tree line and back into the multi-colored blooming rhododendrons, and the purple-globe & yellow wildflowers. This meant that we were also back on the main-vain of the Everest Base Camp trekkers. The guest houses were top end to us. Inside flushing toilets, tables with chairs, napkins, real milk, espresso machines, internet, phones, even a bakery. It was nice, but at the same time.....embarrassing. I think people should rough it more. I mean come on, you’re at 15,000 feet! Carry your own bag, make your own food! There was a group of Russian people who were complaining because there was no red wine by the glass and the pizza was not to their liking. They then complained that there was nothing to do in the town they were staying in, Periche. These porters (aged 10 to 60) bring up gigantic loads of food, water, wood for building, kerosene for cooking, beer, wine, toilet paper, EVERYTHING so that us tourists can be in the mountains. Ok, the fresh apple pie was awesome, and I appreciated every bed I slept on, still...I felt a bit guilty every time a porter walked by. I was told that this is their life, how they were raised and how it just...is. I was satisfied with this answer until I met a man by the name of Kazi Sherpa in a little village name Jorsalle.
Posted: 05.06.2010
|
|
