Everest Region December 2003 - Day 2

Phakding to Namche

You can see a slideshow of my best pics from Everest on flickr.
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We followed the Dudh Koshi river northward, in and out of some forests, past waterfalls and crossing rushing streams. Being winter, the region hadn't had much precipitation recently, and the track was very dusty. So each of these wet features brought with them a particular attraction. Sadly, whilst the water looks inviting, to drink it is foolish. In the Everest region, many "toilets" simply drain straight into a creek, so all poop heads into the river systems. It must be great for growing plants, but it would grow other things if you drank it. We chose to be very careful with our water, and both filtered and purified everything that wasn't boiled. We used a good quality MSR hand-pumped filter suitable for four of us, and topped it off with MicroPur Forté tablets. After two hours, it should have taken care of all bacteria, giardia and viruses.

Looking south east to Kusum Kanguru (6369m) from the ridge climbing up to Namche. I simply had to include this pic because it is so pretty. One needs distractions like this on this stretch of track due to the fact that the ascent to Namche from crossing the Dudh Koshi is 590m without any down bits to relieve you (unless you turn around!). Fortunately, there are some nice distractions, including a sneak peek at Everest and Lhotse about half way up the climb, so long as it's not too hazy or too cloudy. Nevertheless, Kusum Kanguru stole the "pretty mountain" award for that afternoon.

The village of Namche (Nauche, Nabuche), often called Namche Bazaar, is quite a "happening thang". Nestled out of sight above the Bhote Koshi, and opposite Kongde Ri (pictured left), it becomes the launching place for trips up the Imja Khola valley to Everest/Chomolungma, up the Dudh Koshi to Gokyo, and up the Bhote Koshi to Nangpa (reportedly closed to visitors), the westernmost valley of the Dudh Koshi catchment. Here, the rivers are all very active, and mini-hydro schemes service many of the villages, including Namche, and nearby Khumjung and Khunde. This shot was taken the next day, from above Namche.

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As seen on Andrew Purdam's Bushwalking Treasure Box blog.