Most of a Tour du Mont Blanc

Just want to see the pictures?  They're in this Google+ album

Tour du Mont Blanc -- September 2013

The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 105-mile (170 km) hiking circuit around the Mont Blanc massif in France, Switzerland, and Italy. It is a very popular trail, well-marked, with plenty of lodging options ranging from camping to dormitories in mountain refuge huts to hotels in the small towns along the way.  There are 10 mountain passes to cross, and the total elevation gained and lost is about 33,000 feet (10,000 m). Some 10,000 hikers embark on the circuit every year; most take 10-12 days to do the circuit.

The TMB is a circle route, and can be done in either direction. The traditional, and most popular, direction is counter-clockwise. We decided to hike it clockwise: rather than hiking in a conga line with the same people every day, we would instead face a flurry of oncoming traffic for a while and then less congestion for the remainder of the day.

We started our TMB hike on September 9. This is relatively late in the season; by mid-September, some of the mountain huts are closing for the season and the weather can be hit-or-miss. We made a few adjustments to the “standard” clockwise tour in order to reach some huts before they closed. Notably, we decided to start in Chamonix (France) rather than Champex (Switzerland), and rode the cable car up to 2000m rather than slogging 1500m uphill from the Chamonix valley up to the summit of Le Brévent.

Day 1 – Sept  9 2013: Chamonix to Lac Blanc

From our hotel next to the Chamonix train station, we walked across town to the Plan Praz cable car, paid 12.50 Euros each, and hopped aboard.  Ten minutes later we were at Plan Praz (2036m). The summit of Le Brévent (2526m) was clouded over, so we didn’t see any need to ride the next tram or hike up to there. From Plan Praz we had two hours of relatively level walking to La Flégère (1875m), which is the usual stop for this stage of the tour. The skies cleared across the valley, and we had spectacular views of Mont Blanc and the rest of the massif. 

La Flégère is the usual stop on this leg of the clockwise route. But since we’d had the luxury of a cable car ride rather than a 1500m climb from the valley floor, we detoured from the main TMB for two hours to Lac Blanc (2352m) where we had reservations for the night at Refuge Lac Blanc. The Refuge is a comfortable place: lockers, toilets, and showers on the ground level, kitchen and dining area on the first floor, and dormitory sleeping on the second floor. The dormitory beds were arranged in pods of five. A second building contained additional dorm space. Half board (dinner, bed, and breakfast) cost 51 € each, and for an extra 9 € they packed us a lunch (or as they said it, a “pic-nic”) for the next day.

Distance:   12.2 km Door-to-door:    5:40

Day 2 – Sept 10: Lac Blanc to Trient 

Part of the standard route for this section includes the steepest section of the whole TMB. The Cicerone guidebook says

 “extremely steep, and has a series of near-vertical  ladders, rungs, platforms, and steps … and is not recommended for anyone with a tendency towards vertigo.”  

That was enough warning for me, and we took the somewhat longer alternative route.

While we were finishing breakfast and packing up, clouds and light sprinkles moved in at Lac Blanc. We hiked in rain gear for the first hour or so. The “easier” alternative route did have some steps and ladders, but none were particularly exposed or intimidating. It took us three hours from Lac Blanc to rejoin the main TMB route above the village of Tré-le-Champ; this was a descent of 900m, some of it was quite steep at times.

The guidebook recommended staying in Tré-le-Champ if the day’s route had been from La Flégère to Lac Blanc. When I was making reservations before the trip, lodging in Tré-le-Champ was booked full. Since we would be starting at Lac Blanc, 500m above La Flégère, I figured that we would  be okay going all the way to Trient; I had paid a deposit at a hotel in Trient. What I didn’t realize was how much vertical was actually going to be involved for the day, and how steep much of it was. In retrospect, splitting this section with an overnight in Montroc or Argentière would have been the winning answer, even at the expense of an extra few kilometers of level walking and an extra night’s lodging.

The first half hour of ascent from Tré-le-Champ at 1460m was very steep; maybe not as bad as the GPS profile suggests, but very steep nonetheless. The main TMB route here goes up to Aiguillette des Posettes (2201m), with a view that is supposed to be one of the highlights of the TMB. We looked at the low cloud ceiling, the extra 200m of ascent and descent, and the distance we had yet to cover, and decided to take a bypass going directly to Col des Posettes (1997m). The Aiguillette was mostly in the clouds when we hiked below it, so we wouldn’t have seen anything anyway…

From Col des Posettes, the trail climbed steadily to Col de Balme (2191m) on the border between France and Switzerland.  The descent from Col de Balme was on a rough rocky road that was approximately a 20% grade for five kilometers; it seemed unrelenting. 

Too much downhill! After a nine-hour day with over 3000’ of ascent and 6000’ of descent, we were tired puppies when we reached our hotel. Just as we got inside the hotel, it started raining hard; one more reason we were glad to be done. 

We had reserved dormitory space at the Auberge du Mont Blanc for 68.00 CHF each, half board. The Auberge had recently been purchased by a Brit named Chris Longbottom; he used to own a tour company that ran bicycle tours in Europe, and in years past we had done three bike tours in Italy through his company. We didn’t meet him, but his hotel didn’t seem to be run as well as his bicycle tours were; with a full hotel including a busload of Oriental tourists, meals were a bit of a circus. The Auberge is right next to a highway, there was intermittent traffic noise all night. There is another hotel just next door (name?) that I would be tempted to try next time, looked like a similar kind of place.

Distance:   20.5 km Door-to-door:    9:20

Day 3 – Trient to Champex

We decided to stick with the standard route for today, going all the way to Champex. From the Auberge, Jill called ahead to reserve rooms for us. 

From Trient (1279m) it was 7km of steady steep uphill to Collet Portallo (2040m). While we ate lunch at the Collet, the clouds parted long enough to give us some brief views of Mont Blanc. The weather was chilly and damp, and we stopped for hot chocolate at a remote buvette (snack shop) not far below the Collet. It was a steep descent on trails down to 1575m, then easy road walking the rest of the way. We encountered a British mountain biker wearing a Jackson Hole t-shirt, a bit of a surprise for us.

When we came to Champex, I was responsible for some minor confusion over where we had reservations; I led us to the wrong place (with a similar name). That detour added 20 minutes or so, but fortunately no extra uphill. Perhaps we were all still worn out from Day 2, but we were definitely glad to finally arrive at the Au Club Alpin in Champex. We had the luxury of twin bed rooms with sinks and heat, hot showers down the hall, and an excellent meal in the dining room. Half board was 82.00 CHF each. Champex is a cute little resort town by a lake, and it was very quiet in mid-September. The rooms on the street-side were a bit noisier, it is on the main road in Champex.

Distance:   18.9 km Door-to-door:    8:20

Day 4 – Champex to La Fouly

This was a fairly easy day. We took our time and stretched a nominal five hours of walking into almost an 8-hour day. It started with a somewhat steep downhill to Issert at 1055m. The trail ran through a mushroom preserve area, with lots of signs about different types of mushrooms, and also a couple dozen interesting wood carvings on tree stumps along the trail. 

The villages of Issert and Praz de Fort were interesting with some great examples of very old (ca. 1700) barn construction. From Issert to La Fouly the trail was one long gradual uphill on a mix of paved and gravel roads with a few sections of walking trail. Nearing La Fouly there were some very nice cascade waterfalls coming down from glaciers that were up out of our sight. There was a interpretive nature trail for kids with the mascot “Charlotte la Marmotte”. At La Fouly we stayed at the Hotel l’Edelweiss, 61.50 CHF each for half board in the dorm. It seemed like a nice hotel, rooms were quite a bit more expensive though (100 CHF each). The showers were hot, the restaurant was nice.

Distance:    18.5 km Door-to-door:    7:50

Day 5 – La Fouly to Rifugio Elena

The standard guidebook route suggests going all the way to Rifugio Bonatti, another 2½ hours of walking. We decided that we liked to move at a slower pace than that given in the guidebook, so we reserved space at the Rifugio Elena instead. It was a steady, generally easy grade all the way from La Fouly to Grand Col Ferret (2537). The skies were mostly clear, and the views were spectacular. It was noticeably cooler today, and at the Col it was windy and cold. Views from the Col looking down Val Ferret on the Italian side were amazing, with glaciers on the south-facing at a remarkably low elevation. Doug picked out the prominent peak as the Grandes Jorasses, although I wasn’t convinced at the time.

The descent from the Grand Col Ferret down to Rifugio Elena is a 500m descent in 2.5km, it’s steep but  consistent, not quite as brutal as we were expecting. Rifugio Elena was a score, our favorite for the trip! We booked rooms for 57.50 € each, half board; the rooms are nice modern hotel rooms, small but comfortable with en suite facilities and plenty of hot water. It was breezy on the deck (killer views!), but we found a sheltered spot around the corner of the building to enjoy a beer in the sunshine. The Rifugio was not very busy, they were closing for the season in two more days on the 15th. 

Distance:    13.7 km Door-to-door:    6:30

Day 6 – Rifugio Elena to Rifugio Bertone

The hiking times in the guidebook suggested that we could go all the way to Courmayeur in about 6½ hours of walking. We decided on a shorter day, staying at Rifugio Bertone. That would leave us a very short day to get into Courmayeur, have time to find a hotel, do laundry if needed, sightsee, and make phone calls to figure out whether Rifugio  Elisabetta was still open and how to plan the next stages from Courmayeur. The manager at Elena called ahead to Bertone for us, reserving rooms rather than dorms.

The skies were clear early in the day, and we had spectacular views of Val Ferret,  the glaciers, the Grandes Jorasses (reminded us of the Grand Teton!) and Mont Blanc. Later in the afternoon it clouded over, and started to rain after we reached Bertone.

We had a leisurely lunch on the deck at Rifugio Bonatti. There was a lot of activity there associated with the Tor des Geants, a 330 km endurance race that had been going on all week and was ending in Courmayeur that day. Bonatti has spectacular views, a large modern (and busy) restaurant, and lots of day traffic; the refuge is just a 30-minute hike up from the road at the valley floor.

When we reached Rifugio Bertone, the weather was cool and damp and on the verge of showers. At check-in, I didn’t comprehend enough Italian to understand it all but apparently there were no rooms ever, or no rooms available because they were double-booked, and the main dorm was full so we had to wait while they unlock and mop and clean a second dortoir room. The manager seemed a bit unfriendly to me, a bit annoyed that we were there or something. To reach the toilets you had to walk outside, there seemed to be only one working toilet for all of the guests (perhaps 25). There was a long wait for showers so I didn’t bother, knowing there would be one in Courmayeur tomorrow. Fortunately we had the second dortoir room all to ourselves. Half board in the dorm costs 40.00 € each, certainly cheap enough; it was our least favorite accommodations but was actually closest to what we were expecting from the huts. It rained lightly for most of the night…

Distance:    16.5 km Door-to-door:    7:30

Day 7 – Rifugio Bertone to Courmayeur

We left Bertone in the fog and some light sprinkles. The trail is a steady descent all the way to Courmayeur, where the rain was getting steadier. After a stop for expresso (and the best hot chocolate ever, for Jill), we went to the tourist office and booked a hotel, the two-star Hotel Edelweiss. Rooms are 80.00 €, bed and breakfast for two people; the rooms were comfortable enough and very reasonably priced.

Distance:    6.0 km Door-to-door:    2:15

Declaring Victory in Courmayeur

The weather forecast for the next few days was discouraging: rain today, heavier rain tomorrow with snow line well below 2000m, rain possible the day after tomorrow. We all readily decided to declare victory in Courmayeur; there didn’t seem to be any point in hiking the next couple of days (which will be long, due to some huts closed for the season) in rain and clouds and snow.  We booked hotel rooms back in Chamonix for the next night, and reserved seats on the late afternoon bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel  from Courmayeur to Chamonix.  Doug and Sue made plans for a trip to Torino, Jill and I made plans for a rental car and the French Riviera. In Chamonix the next evening, it was raining hard most of the evening; in the morning the snow line was down to about 1500m. We were quite pleased with our decision!

Total distance from GPS log : 106 km

Some Random Thoughts on the TMB

• The daily stages in the Kev Reynolds book were longer than we wanted. Doable, but generally longer than enjoyable. We liked it better when we took shorter stages and took plenty of time for pictures, lunches, scenery gazing, etc. Most sections we could hike at the nominal pace indicated in the book and on trail signs, but we preferred a more leisurely pace. Better to break it up into shorter chunks, take a couple extra days as needed.
• The trail conditions are not as good as we are accustomed to in National Parks and good National Forest trails, with steeper gradients, very little tread maintenance, etc. The sections that we thought of as steep were at least as steep as Snow King, and at times more like the trail in Hanging Canyon. This made for slower hiking than I expected just looking at distances and elevations
• Maps: the 1:50,000 IGN map Pays du Mont-Blanc was adequate, but I bought the 1:25,000 IGN maps instead and they were money well spent. Every bookstore in Chamonix and Courmayeur has them by the dozen, they are available in a water-resistant version as well. 
• Weight: Jill and I were each carrying 30-31 pounds including water. Too much, I had one extra change of clothes for the hut that I didn’t need. “Wear one, wash one” is fine but note that the drying conditions were often less than ideal. I was glad to have a third set of socks.
• Reservations: After the first two nights, we just called ahead each day (or the evening before) for the next lodging. This worked fine, and I strongly recommend having flexibility rather than having reservations on a fixed itinerary that would be costly to cancel. Of course it could be more of a problem in peak season, but we were always able to reserve at our first choice of lodging.
• Hiking clockwise worked well. When we encountered larger groups (sometimes 10-15 or more) it was easy enough to step aside and let them pass; much easier than dealing with trying to pass them going in the same direction (or them passing us).
• Starting in Chamonix by riding the cable car up to Plan Praz was great, we didn’t feel any need to do the 1500m slog uphill from Les Houches to Le Brevent and then 500m down to Plan Praz. Had we been going counter-clockwise, we would have gladly spent the money to ride the cable car down from Le Brevent rather than doing a 1500m downhill!  Getting to Chamonix or Courmayeur is easier than getting to Champex for a clockwise start.
• Season: we started hiking on 9 September. A week earlier would have been better. In 2013, some huts started closing on 14th or 15th of September, Rifugio Elisabetta (a key stopover) was scheduled to close (or at least be unstaffed) September 18th . Also, the cable cars at Plan Praz and La Flegere closed on September 15th as well; after that, you’d be committed to at least 1000m up or down between Chamonix and the La Flegere / Plan Praz terrace.  Going before 1 September would mean dealing with August crowds and/or the huge mobs associated with the Ultra-TMB race that is usually held around September 1st , definitely want to check those dates.
• Courmayeur would also be a nice place to start, though uphill either direction. Going clockwise, Courmayeur to Rifugio Elisabetta (5 hrs, 1560m gained) would be a brutal first day but could be broken up into a short day to Maison Vielle for starters.
• Lodging:  Excellent information and online booking options at http://montourdumontblanc.com , also see the hut listings (and closing dates!) online at http://www.ohm-chamonix.com/   Next time, I would also use booking.com or venere.com to explore a wider range of hotel options, though possibly at a higher price.
• Weather: best weather info I  found was at http://www.ohm-chamonix.com/  but there might be some better. It would be worth researching this beforehand if you have smartphone with data plan along; some lodgings had WiFi but sometimes at a cost. Cell/data coverage was available most places though sometimes marginal; Rifugio Elena was the exception.
• Chamonix lodging: We stayed at the Mercure Chamonix Centre before the trip, and the Langley Hotel Gustavia after the trip. Both were adequate, the Mercure claims 5 stars vs the Langley 2 or 3 but it is more expensive. Both are very convenient, right next to the train station and bus stop. Both had luggage storage rooms that we could use without charge if we had been hotel guests. 
• Courmayeur lodging: the Hotel Edelweiss was fine. It is 10 minutes walk from the bus station, uphill, would not be fun if you had a lot of luggage. The Courmayeur visitor center, at the bus station, had lots of good information and was very helpful; an essential stop if you haven’t booked ahead.
• Hut stuff: Our friend Janet had recommended bringing your own pillowcase, in addition to a sleeping bag liner (mandatory). A good idea, and also very handy for carrying your stuff in places like Refuge Lac Blanc, where the packs stay on the ground floor and the dorm is on the second floor.  Most huts had slippers or Crocs for guest use, but Jill and I were glad to have our own along, much easier than trying to find a pair that fits, etc. Most places had bins to store hiking boots out of the sleeping areas. Jill was glad to have her air mattress along, I did okay without.
• Picnic lunches from the hut/hotel were expensive (though good), do these only when you won’t have access to a grocery to make your own or a patisserie to buy pre-made sandwiches.
• Laundry: Chamonix has one self-service laundry, across the street from the Aiguille du Midi cable car. Courmayeur does not have one, as best we could determine.

the last part about Nepal

.. continued from Part 4

Just want to see the pictures? Follow these...

Sightseeing in Kathmandu

Trekking in Nepal

Our last full day in Kathmandu was originally planned as free time on our own, but better things were in store...

We had booked the trek through REI Adventures, their Everest Lodge-to-Lodge Trek. The REI people were great, including their travel agent Dan Marks who did all of the flight booking for Lee, Jill, and I on some complicated itineraries. But as you might expect (at least if you're a veteran world traveler), REI does not actually run the tour. In this case, the local tour operator is a company called Last Frontiers Trekking. Last Frontiers has been the REI partner in Nepal for many years. The company was founded by, and is owned by, Mingma Dorje Sherpa. We spent several hours chatting with him over coffee on the previous day, while we were waiting for our hotel rooms to become available. He has an impressive range of business interests in Nepal, even more impressive having started out simply as the son of a well-known Everest porter. I enjoyed talking with him...

One of his businesses is a small elegant lodge in the hills above Kathmandu, called Chhahari Lodge. (They don't have a web site, but they do have a Facebook page). Mingma invited our group up to the lodge for lunch and an afternoon respite. We all said yes, of course!

So we spent our final afternoon in Kathmandu enjoying the views and serenity in a quiet lodge up in the hills -- what a lovely place! I would definitely recommend it as an escape from the noise and crowds of Kathmandu proper. 

That evening our group got together for drinks on the rooftop terrace at the hotel, and then said our goodbyes over dinner in the Indian restaurant at the hotel. Most of our group would be heading back to the US the next day; Scott was headed for another part of Nepal for a few days, Terrie was going to India to meet a friend for a couple weeks, Lee and I were off to Hanoi where Jill would meet us for the next adventure.

Some random thoughts about Nepal, Kathmandu, and trekking in the Khumbu region

• I was very impressed with how well the trek was managed. The best way I can describe it is "carefully planned and meticulously executed". I never saw so much as a hiccup regarding meals (including four birthday/anniversary cakes), and daily tea, and baggage, and leadership on the trail, and ...  I was quite satisfied with Team Kilimanjaro on our Kili trip last year, but this trip was a noticeably crisper operation. Big props to Last Frontiers Trekking and our lead guide Nima Tenzing Sherpa.
• Would I go back? Yes, absolutely! ... though maybe not to the Khumbu unless it was for a more remote trek. The sheer number of people on the trail got to be tiring after a while, it was like hiking the Hidden Falls trail in Grand Teton Park in mid-summer, or the Bright Angel trail from the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Getting off the main corridor trail was much more enjoyable.
• Would I do it on my own, without a tour operator? Yes, having been there I can see where it would be easy to hire a porter or two and do a totally on-your-own trek, no problem. But one thing I really liked about the REI/Last Frontiers arrangement was that we had our own kitchen crew. The guide was emphatic about us "only eating food that we prepare for you" in order to minimize the risk of getting some food- or water-borne bugs. A few people in our group did have some GI issues (I didn't), but I thought this approach was a big plus compared to randomly picking guest houses and cafes along the way.
• Kathmandu wasn't as bad as I expected. One acquaintance of mine has been to Nepal a dozen times, she warned "Kathmandu is a sh**hole". Well, it wasn't clean, or quiet, and in the tourist areas the shop clerks were not easily discouraged. But it was much cleaner and quieter than Arusha in Tanzania, which was my previous experience with Third-World-get-me-outta-here-now noise and air pollution and aggressive touts. After a total of four nights in Kathmandu, I felt like I was done with the place; but it wasn't like Arusha where I hated to even go outside the hotel room. Walking the streets in Kathmandu outside of the tourist area, in the local market areas, was quite a lot of fun; we were the only non-Nepalese around, nobody hassled us or tried to sell us something, or tried to convince us to hire them as local guides.
• The scale of the landscape here is staggering. When I go from Jackson to, say, the Selkirk backcountry in British Columbia, I am blown away by the scale of the scenery there compared to what I see at home (which is gorgeous in its own right). The Khumbu region of Nepal is that much more again.... wow, this place is ...
  Absolutely. Spectacular.

A trip to Nepal -- Part 4

... continued from Part 3

Just want to see the pictures? Follow these...

Sightseeing in Kathmandu

Trekking in Nepal

We started Day 7 with a one-hour walk up the hill to the Thame Monastery at 13,100'. That was the highest elevation we reached on our trek. The monastery there is smaller than the ones we saw at Tengboche and Khumjung; it had a very intimate feel to it. 

And it's all downhill from here, or at least mostly downhill. We headed down the Bhote Kosi valley back to Namche Bazar, and stayed at the Hotel Snow Land again. This time we have sunny skies in Namche. Though we didn't get a room with killer views, it's still a pretty nice spot. After six nights on the trail, I decided it was worth throwing down a few hundred rupees for a hot shower; it felt pretty good! The propane-fired shower there at the hotel was a bit dodgy; Melissa and Lee both got the cold-water versions :( 

For Day 8, we walked from Namche Bazar back to Phakding where we had spent the first night on the trek. We did finally see some danfe, or Himalayan Monal  (pheasant). It is the national bird of Nepal, the males are a brilliant blue color. My pictures didn't turn out very well, so you'll have to rely on the picture from Wikipedia. When we got to Phakding, the skies were still bluebird and temperatures were in the upper 50s. Our guides and cook crew said "come on into the dining room for afternoon tea", but Lee, Howard, Karen, and I couldn't resist having a beer in the sunshine out on the patio.

Day 9 was the last trekking day; we walked from Phakding back to Lukla. It all seemed a bit anti-climactic except for the promise of hot showers at the hotel in Lukla. Yes, you read it correctly, hot showers. The Hotel La Villa Sherpani had a large water tank on the roof, made of black plastic to serve as a solar hot water heater. Our room there was quite nice, ensuite toilet and shower, even a telephone! Unfortunately the sliding door for the bathroom didn't work, so Lee and I took turns sitting in the sun outside, giving the other some privacy to take a not-hot-but-definitely-quite-warm shower. Our hotel room was right next to the airport runway, like maybe 30 feet from edge of the runway. It was noisy, but we had a good time sitting outside, drinking beers and watching the takeoffs and landings.

That afternoon we collected all the tip money for our group (averaged $330 each, in case you were wondering). After dinner, we had a tipping ceremony for the staff, all 18 of them. There was a large table piled high with gear that each of us was leaving behind as donations to the staff -- hats, gloves, jackets, sweaters, boots, and such -- that was parceled out to each member of the trekking staff by random drawing. Following those ceremonies, there was dancing to a mixture of pop and traditional Nepalese music; how did we ever have a party without an iPod? Everybody joined in the dancing around the fireplace in the dining room (yes, even me and Greg!) Some of the assistant guides were really styling on with the dance moves; our guide Tenzing explained that it is very common for Nepalese men to dance, often by themselves, sort of strutting their stuff for the ladies -- and that Nepalese women tend not to dance as much as the men do in that sort of gathering. Interesting...

Our trekking plans for Day 10 were very simple: fly from Lukla back to Kathmandu. When the weather in Lukla turns bad, all flight operations shut down, sometimes for days. The good news was we currently had clear weather. The bad news was

1. Saturday (our Day 10) was scheduled to have the highest number of air passengers for the entire season. Between Tara Air (our airline), Yeti Air, and other airlines, there were 75 flights scheduled out of Lukla on Saturday. Even on the best day, it was highly unlikely that all 75 flights would operate before dark. We were reserved on flight number 25.
2. The weather forecast was for increasing clouds and continuing bad weather starting sometime mid-day on Saturday. For Sunday and after that, the weather forecast was not looking good for flight operations. In previous years, the airport has been shut down for as much as a week at a time, causing food and hotel room shortages in Lukla

The good news was, our tour operator definitely had some clout. After dinner, our guide informed us that we were now rescheduled for the first flight out in the morning; the plane had come in just before dark and was overnighting in Lukla. Our guides were scheduled on a much later flight, and it looked like they might be spending some extra nights in Lukla. There was one other tiny bit of bad news: the 4:00 am wakeup call. So we had breakfast at 4:30 am, and at 5:30 we left the hotel for the 5-minute walk in the dark to the airport.

Not long after sunrise, we boarded the plane and our flight was indeed the first departure from Lukla that morning. I have to wonder how many strings got pulled to make that happen, but more about that later. At 7:30 am we were back at our hotel in Kathmandu. Of course our rooms weren't ready at that hour, so we spent most of the morning in the dining room, drinking coffee and chatting with the owner of the tour company. 

Shortly before lunchtime, our rooms became available and we went for the hot shower routine. Since Lee and I were heading for Vietnam after this trip and needed some clean clothes for that, we sent 2 large bags down for laundry service. (Between the two of us, it cost us almost $50 for laundry!). 

That afternoon, Greg, Dianne, Terrie, Lee, and I took a taxi to the CIWEC Clinic, a travel medicine center in Kathmandu. Dr David Shlim in Jackson was the medical director there for many years, and he had sent a duffel bag of medical supplies over with Lee as checked baggage. We retrieved his now-empty duffel bag, and walked the streets of Kathmandu over to the Thamel district for another meal at the Rum Doodle Bar. They really do have world-class pizza there...

After Thamel, we negotiated a taxi to take the five of us (Greg, Dianne, Lee, Terrie, me) over to the Tibetan Refugee Camp, and then to Boudhanath, for some final shopping. Five passengers plus the driver in a Suzuki Swift -- the standard taxi in Kathmandu -- is a very tight squeeze, at least for those in the back seat; I rode shotgun. As night fell in Kathmandu, we were having dinner in the Stupa View Restaurant overlooking the stupa at Boudhanath. The food was great (thanks Dr Shlim for the recommendation) but I was a tired whipped puppy after a long day that started at 4:00 am.

...continued in the final part

A trip to Nepal -- Part 3

... continued from Part 2

Just want to see the pictures? Follow these...

Sightseeing in Kathmandu

Trekking in Nepal

For Day 5, our destination is Khumjung (12,434’). We headed back down the busy main trail (busy, as in hundreds of trekkers daily) for a few hours until we reach the trail junction for Khumjung. You might notice the sign says 2 hours to Tengboche, 20 minutes to Khumjung, for a total of 2:20. We did it in 4:30 flat: yep, a gentle pace indeed. Once we leave the main trail between Lukla - Namche Bazar - Tengboche, there is a dramatic reduction in the volume of traffic on the trail; we don't have the trail to ourselves, but it is much more peaceful.

The village of Khumjung sets in a broad kilometer-wide valley, much different from the ruggedly narrow valleys we've been in from Lukla to Tengboche. Khumjung is home to the Khumjung Secondary School, founded by Sir Edmund Hilary in 1961; it is the only secondary school in the Khumbu region. On a hill outside the village there is a chorten dedicated to Hilary; he is highly revered in this part of Nepal.

Khumjung does have a fair supply of trekking lodges and craft vendors, but much less so than anyplace else we've been so far. It has a much more authentic feel to it; the small farm plots (potatoes, mostly) are ringed by stone fences, and it is clear that the valley is not totally dependent on tourist business. 

Khumjung is also home to a small monastery. The monastery is no longer active (no monks living there) and is only used on special occasions. However, the temple does house a yeti scalp in a locked cabinet (!). After we all contributed some rupees, the caretaker unlocked the cabinet for our viewing pleasure. I won't waste pixels here on the picture I took, you can Google "yeti scalp Khumjung" if want to see some pictures. Some scientific analyses have indicated that it was once part of an antelope rump; but hey, I've paid more and got less ... I mean, how often do you get a roadside attraction tourist trap that is a yeti skull?

In Khumjung, we stayed at the Sherpa Land Lodge and Restaurant, "Internet Service and Wi-Fi available". Surprising, perhaps, but typical of most of the lodges we've seen. We also have great cell phone service, four bars worth. We've had good cellphone service all along the trek, and the guide says there is good coverage all the way to Everest Base Camp. Nonetheless, the toilets are down the hall and there is only cold running water in the sink; I'm not complaining here, just reporting...

On Day 6, we headed up over a low saddle, passed the Syangboche airstrip that we saw on Day 3, and headed up the Bhote Kosi valley to the small village of Thame. Bhote Kosi means "river from Tibet"; this was (and is) a major trade route from the Khumbu region of Nepal over into Tibet and eventually into China.  I'm quite taken with the beauty of this valley, the views east and downstream to the peaks Kangtega and Thamserku, and the peaks Nupla, Tarukha, and Teng Kang Poche to our south. These peaks are all "just" 6000m-class peaks, but they are stunning nonetheless.

Thame is a small village at 12,467'. We stayed at the Everest Summiteer Lodge, which is owned by Apa Sherpa. He holds the record for the most times summiting Mount Everest: 21 times as of 2011. The dining room walls are covered with framed certificates from the Guinness Book of World Records for each time he set a new record, as well as other mementos. He now lives in Salt Lake City, and it was a bit incongruous to also see framed certificates for his children making the honor roll at Alta High School! Speaking of incongruous, there was a television in the dining room, and the innkeepers' two young children (ages 4 or 5) spent hours watching the Cartoon Channel (yes, in English). For the record, we had great views from our lodge room, and the toilets were down the hall.

We had clear skies and spectacular views in Thame. Our guide was equally amazed, he said it was the first time he had ever been in Thame without clouds and fog. I had taken lots of pictures of Everest and Ama Dablam and etc on this trip, but I absolutely fell in love with the views here in Thame. Looks vaguely like the Tetons from the Jackson Hole side, doesn't it?

continued in Part 4 ...

A trip to Nepal -- Part 2

... continued from Part 1

Just want to see the pictures? Follow these...

Sightseeing in Kathmandu

Trekking in Nepal

Our destination for Day 2 was the village of Namche Bazar, at an elevation of 11,286'. We officially entered the Sagarmatha National Park -- I say officially because trekking permits are required, and were checked at the entrance station and periodically along the trail. Sagarmatha is the Nepalese name for Mount Everest; however, that name was only coined in the 1960s to supplant the Tibetan (and Chinese) name Chomolungma which has been in use for several centuries. I've been trying to adopt the practice of referring to places in foreign countries by their "native" names, but saying "Everest" is a hard habit to break... 

The trail spent most of the morning winding along the Dudh Kosi ("Milk River"). A friend of mine was part of the first descent of the Dudh Kosi in 1972; seeing the river firsthand, I'm very impressed and can't help but try to imagine what this area looked like then, and what kind of outrageous adventure it must have been.

Leaving the Dudh Kosi, the trail climbed steeply to Namche Bazar (or Bazaar, but the Nepalese spelling is Bazar). Namche Bazar is a village of some 2000 people; as you might guess from the name, it is the main trading center in the Khumbu region of Nepal, and is also the main gateway for trekkers and climbers going into the Himalayas. Most of the buildings that you see in the pictures of Namche are hotels, restaurants, and shops catering to trekkers. There is also a busy Nepali street market. We stayed at the Hotel Snow Land; Lee and I scored a corner room on the top floor with great views overlooking the village. Alas, only cold running water in the shower; propane-fired hot showers were available in a booth at the back of the hotel for a few hundred rupees (two or three dollars).

 

Namche Bazar is busy enough to support three tourist bars; I couldn't resist the incongruity of having a beer at the "Irish Pub" in Namche, so several of us met there for cocktail hour. There wasn't anything Irish about the place, and unfortunately Guinness was not on draft. In fact, there weren't any beers on draft, which isn't all that surprising when you consider it all has to be carried to Namche on a porter's back. They did have cans of Guinness for some outrageous price (like $7.00 US) so I settled for a $1.50 San Miguel. 

Our itinerary called for two nights in Namche Bazar, intended to let us acclimate to the altitude. On the layover day, we did a dayhike to the Hotel Everest View, at 12,730' it bills itself as "the highest placed hotel in the world". (I wonder about hotels in Peru and Bolivia though...). There was one Everest viewpoint yesterday on the trail up to Namche Bazar, but the mountains were totally clouded over then. The typical weather pattern for this time of year is clear in the mornings, and clouding up as the day goes on. So, we haven't had any views of Everest yet, until we round a corner on the trail, and wow! Cholatse (20,784'), Taboche Peak (21,309'), Everest (29,029'), Lhotse (27,940'), and Ama Dablam (22,349'). Mount Everest is the one with the cloud coming off the summit block.

As you can see, the weather was perfect. We parked ourselves on the deck at the Hotel Everest View, ordered hot chocolate and snacks, relaxed in the sun, and gloried in the view.

On Day 4, we spent 7 hours walking from Namche Bazar to the smaller village of Tengboche (12,717'). Yes, it was a gentle pace. David Shlim (our travel medicine doc in Jackson, who spent some 15 years in Nepal) had told us that, of anywhere in the Khumbu region, Tengboche has the best views of Everest. Well, on a gray cloudy afternoon, maybe not so much. 

Tengboche is home to an active Tibetan monastery, housing some sixty monks. They were conducting afternoon prayers when we arrived, and the temple was open to visitors. There were perhaps fifteen monks participating in the afternoon prayers, and fifty shoeless trekkers sitting on the floor in the back of the room. Of course I didn't understand a word I heard, and had no clue about the symbolism in the elaborate carvings, paintings, and figurines in the temple; nonetheless, it was interesting to watch and listen for a while.

The lodge in Tengboche was more rustic than our previous accommodations. No ensuite facilities here, but there were two toilet rooms at the end of the hall: one with a Western-style throne toilet and one with the typical Nepal porcelain trench on the floor. Lee and I landed a room on the Everest-facing side of the lodge, and we had high hopes for the morning sunrise views. We were not disappointed...

Yes, that was the view from our room: Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. It had snowed briefly the previous evening, then cleared off to a nearly full moon and spectacular views of enormous snowy mountains on a clear night. The morning was cold, it was 32F inside our room before we opened the window to take pictures. It wasn't much colder outside, about 25F.

After breakfast and "please just a few more minutes here for pictures", it was time to leave Tengboche and head back down the trail for a few hours.

continued in Part 3 ...

A trip to Nepal -- Part 1

Just want to see the pictures? Follow these...

Sightseeing in Kathmandu

Trekking in Nepal

Back in November 2011, my friend Greg emailed to say that viewing Everest had been on his bucket list for almost thirty years, and that he had booked a trekking trip to go do it. Trekking in Nepal has been on my to-do list as well, so I signed on shortly thereafter.

Jill decided to skip this trip. She went trekking in the same area back in the mid-1980s -- before it was spoiled, so to speak -- and didn't want to ruin those memories by seeing how the area had changed. Greg's wife Dianne decided to go, and our friend Lee signed on as well. This trek was a bit too tame for Lee's boyfriend (he summited Ama Dablam a couple years ago), so Lee and I went as roomies. (Thus explaining the blond woman in the hotel room pictures...) Terrie signed up a couple months later, so our crew made up 5 of the 14 slots on the trek.

We bought plane tickets in May, boarded the plane in Jackson on 20 October, and arrived in Kathmandu on the 22nd. Korean Air is my new favorite airline: lots of legroom, comfortable seats, good service, and a USB charging port at every seat!

The arrival day in Kathmandu was mostly unstructured time. After checking in to the hotel and unpacking our bags, the five of us squeezed into a taxi to the Thamel district (the backpackers/foreign-travelers part of the city) to look around, do a little shopping, and find some dinner. Traffic in Kathmandu was crazy, though not quite as bad as I had expected it to be. It turned out that we had arrived during Dashain, a major religious festival/holiday, so traffic volume was much lighter than usual. After a few days I acclimated enough that I could ride in the front seat of a taxi without stomping my foot on the brake pedal that wasn't there.

For the second day, our trekking package included a guided tour of some of the sights around Kathmandu.We visited the Boudhanath, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal; the picture above is the stupa at Boudhanath. It is an impressive monument, and a serene spot in spite of the crowds. After lunch in a Tibetan restaurant, we were off to the Monkey Temple (named for the sacred monkeys there) and then the Durbar Square area in Patan for more ancient temples and royal residences.

The next morning, we had a break-of-daylight departure from the hotel to the airport. We flew from Kathmandu to Lukla, a 27-minute flight into the most dramatic airport I've ever seen. Landing at Lukla (elevation 9380'),  the very short runway ends in a vertical wall of granite; taking off, the runway ends when the ground suddenly disappears down a 1000-foot cliff. No second chances here... On the left side of the plane we had spectacular views of the Himalaya, and the view on the right side was almost as amazing. The plane was a Twin Otter, a classic short takeoff/landing aircraft. There was no door between the cockpit and the passenger cabin; it was very interesting to watch through the cockpit windscreen during the approach and landing.

After arriving in Lukla, we walked over to a nearby hotel. The porters carried our duffel bags from the airport. We had tea on the lawn, and sorted through duffel bags and daypacks for some last-minute equipment shuffling. At 9:30 am, we started walking and were finally officially trekking in Nepal! 

There are no motor vehicles driving around Lukla except for very few motorbikes. The streets are crowded with trekkers' hotels, equipment shops, and restaurants; it's a busy place. After ten minutes or so, we were outside of the town. Since there aren't any roads in this region, the trail is the main thoroughfare for the Khumbu region. The trail is a busy mix of trekkers with daypacks or backpacks, locals on their way to wherever, porters carrying staggering loads suspended from their heads, and other beasts of burden.

Our group casts a large footprint on the trail, perhaps larger than some other trekking groups because we have our own kitchen team. We have 14 trekkers, 1 chief guide, 3 assistant guides, a cook and an assistant cook, a sirdar (chief of porters), 3 porters, 7 kitchen boys, a dzopio driver, and a packstring of dzopios. (A dzopio is a cow-yak cross, used as a beast of burden). While we're on the trail, it's just us and the guides hiking together, while the support staff is well ahead of us. The guides set a slow hiking pace; not as slow as the pole-pole pace on Kilimanjaro, but noticeably slower than my regular pace. The same two or three of us were usually at the head of the group just behind the lead guide, ready to hike a little faster if only we could.

After five hours on the trail, including a lunch stop, we arrived at our first night's lodging in Phakding (elevation 8487'). The views are spectacular, and we haven't even got to the good stuff yet! Our lodge rooms are rustic twin-bed setups, with a dim overhead light and ensuite facilities. Alas, cold water only.

The lodge routine is almost identical to what we saw on the Kilimanjaro trip. Shortly after we arrive, the porters bring pans of warm "washing water" to our rooms, and then it's time for tea and cookies in the dining room (unlike Kili, we didn't have popcorn daily). Mornings start with "bed tea" (or coffee, or drinking chocolate) delivered to our room at the appointed hour, usually 6:00 am. On the Kili trip we slept in tents and could just reach out to grab the teacup; here in the lodges we have to get out of bed and open the door. Fifteen minutes later the porters bring washing water, and we have time to get dressed and pack our duffels before breakfast at 7:00 am. While we eat breakfast in the dining room, the porters are loading our duffels onto the dzopios. We are usually walking by about 7:45 am.

Continued in Part 2...

Dunanda Falls

Thirty-plus years in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming, and I'd never gone backpacking in the  Bechler Meadows region of Yellowstone National Park. About twenty years ago I went dayhiking there to do some fishing. That trip didn't work out very well; after a two hour drive from home and a two hour hike in to where I wanted to fish, I found that I had left my fly reel back in the truck. Oops... Back in the parking lot, I met a former park employee who had just spent a couple of nights near Dunanda Falls and couldn't stop crowing about the best fishing he'd ever had, not to mention the hot springs that fed some wonderful soaking pools at the base of the falls. Um, not exactly what I needed to hear right then, but I did file Dunanda Falls away for future reference.

The southwest corner of the park is home to some very flat areas (hence the Meadows), and also some lovely rivers, waterfalls and hot springs. The meadows are very boggy, often knee-deep in water through much of the summer; the Bechler region is very much a fall trip after the meadows have dried out and the brutal hordes of mosquitoes have met a frosty death. The classic Bechler backpacking trip is to spend four or five days on the 30 miles between Old Faithful and the Bechler Ranger Station at the southwest corner of the park. 

We had a good weather forecast and a few days of uncommitted time; Jill suggested backpacking into the Bechler. She had never been there, so it would be essentially new territory for both of us. We planned a two-night trip, enough to get a taste of the place. The morning we planned to leave, we woke up to the sound of a thunderstorm and steady rain. We decided against hiking in that weather, and scaled back to an overnight trip leaving the next day.

At the ranger station, we were fortunate to find our first choice of campsites was still available -- Boundary Creek site 9A2, about 6.5 miles from the trailhead, and 1.5 miles from Dunanda Falls. We took the shorter of two routes: the Boundary Creek trail rather than the Bechler Meadows trail. This route is a half-mile shorter, at the expense of two additional stream crossings. Both crossings (Bartlett Slough and Boundary Creek) were easy knee-deep crossings in water that wasn't as cold as I had expected.

After a third stream crossing (this one unavoidable), we reached our campsite, set up camp, lightened our packs, and hiked on to Dunanda Falls. The maintained trail stays high, above the top of the falls. There is a very steep trail down to the base of the falls, it would be dangerous when wet and muddy. The falls are indeed very scenic. We found a couple of hot pools on the edge of the creek, and one of them was just about perfect for a soak. We had the place to ourselves, and stayed there until it was a race against sunset to hike back to camp and prepare dinner.

After a chilly night (29 degrees inside the tent at 8am), we cooked breakfast and waited for the sun to bake the frost off of our tent. We decided to hike out via the slightly longer route through Bechler Meadows, mostly to see more new territory but also to skip two of the stream crossings. Bechler Meadows is a surprising expanse of flat terrain, quite a contrast to the elevation changes we're accustomed to when hiking in the Tetons.

 The Bechler Meadows trail has a suspension bridge across Boundary Creek.

I didn't take fishing gear on this trip; I was lazy and didn't want to carry the extra weight, and also didn't think I'd have enough time to really do it justice. But I do want to go back equipped with a fly rod and more time...

Sneaking up on Red Peak

Every time I go hiking in the Snake River range, I think to myself "one of these days I need to go up to Red Peak". Not because it's anything spectacular, but hey, because it's there. On Tuesday I was looking for a off-the-beaten-path hike, not wanting to deal with the peak of summer crowds in the Tetons. I settled on Red Creek, down in the Snake River canyon.

The Red Creek trail gets very little use; the first two miles had many sections that were almost overgrown with waist- to head-high vegetation. Riding a mountain bike would not be an enjoyable proposition here. When you could see, the views were impressive.

After about 1.5 miles, the trail veers northeast up a side canyon, and eventually gains a ridge after about two miles. Getting up into the grass and sage was a welcome relief after the dense vegetation  down in the canyon bottom. The scenery also improved considerably.

In Rebecca Woods' book Jackson Hole Hikes, her commentary on this trail says that the map shows a trail heading north toward Red Peak at the 3.1 mile mark, but she didn't see any sign of it on the ground. I didn't either, some 15 years later, and blithely followed the obvious trail that kept heading east toward Dry Fork Canyon. The views were gorgeous, but the trail wasn't taking me where I wanted to go. 

By the time I realized that there wasn't a junction with a trail up to Red Peak, I was about a kilometer northeast of where the junction should have been. No matter though, there was another gentle ridge that headed toward Red Peak, and the terrain was a mix of grass and low sage that made for easy walking. The weather was warm, winds were almost calm, and in some places the wildflowers were a spectacular carpet of color.

After about a kilometer of easy off-trail travel I gained the main ridge leading up to Red Peak, and found the trail at that point. 

I started fairly late; didn't leave the trailhead until 1:45 pm. I figured that 6pm was going to be my turn-around time so that I wouldn't be hiking out in the dark. Even with taking the long way around, I made it to the summit about 5:30pm.

The summit of Red Peak is 9736', which is a respectable hike from the trailhead at 5800'. The temperature was in the upper 70s, the winds were almost calm; the only minor issue was the smoky haze that spoiled the gorgeous 360-degree views here. I didn't see another person for the entire hike, although there was a band of sheep being herded along the next ridge to the northwest. The plume of dust in this picture (looking northwest) is from the sheep.

The views were spectacular in every direction. This is looking west to Deadhorse Peak; the map shows a trail that loops over to Deadhorse Peak and then back down Little Red Creek. I could see the trail on the ridge heading west, but I decided to save that adventure for another day when I wasn't short on daylight. 

Looking to the north, the Tetons were just barely visible through the haze. I took a picture but they aren't visible in it. Oh well..

I spent about 15 minutes on top of the peak, had a snack and savored the views. Then it was time to head down. I followed the trail down the ridgeline -- it was easy to follow in some places, and totally obscured in others. Eventually I came to the cross trail that I had ascended on, right at an unusual rock where I had stopped for a short break on the way up. The trail up the ridge was totally invisible at that point, no wonder I'd missed it. So, if you're headed to Red Peak and you crest a low ridge and see these unusual rocks, turn left!

It was about six miles back to the car, and I covered it in about two hours; it was of course much easier going downhill! All in all, it took me just over six hours for the round trip. I didn't see another soul the entire route, the weather was perfect, the views were spectacular... wow.