Nepal Unclimbed
Unfortunately our Unclimbed Peak remains so ...........
Our trip started with an eventful bus journey with an 80km trip taking 12 hours starting in Kathmandu with 5 of us plus around 10 Sherpas/Porters and a whole lot of kit, finishing in Syrabubensi with a bus crammed full of people after picking up more Porters on the way.
The journey through the Nepal countryside was amazing, punctuated with small villages where we appeared to be a bit of a novelty. We were embarking on our trip on the first day of the Dasain Festival so there was a holiday atmosphere in most of the villages with people decorating their vehicles, houses and faces and playing games in the street.
Recent landslides lead to a few hairy moments on the road with us having to walk across numerous sections. Nepalise bureaucracy made for some long hold ups at various army checkpoints but much arm waving, telephone calls and raised voices safely saw us on our way.
We finally made it to Syrabubensi to find the intended guest house was full so tents it was on the local playing field.
The next day we started our trek into the Langtang National Park with our destination a small group of Guest Houses called the Llama Hotel. As we were still at quite a low altitude the temperatures were pretty high and there was plenty of colourful plant life not to mention monkeys in the trees.
The next day we continued our trek heading towards the village of Langtang. Before long our first snowy peak was sited and we really started to feel like we were getting somewhere. From here we pushed onto Kyamijn Gyompa where we planned to spend a couple of days before heading up to Yala Peak Base Camp. By now we were at jut under 4000m and the altitude was starting to have its affect on most of the group. A couple of acclimatisation walks amongst the snowy peaks helped to raise spirits and at last we all felt like we were getting somewhere. We had been blessed with blue skies all the way and were hoping it would hold for the next couple of weeks .... how wrong we were! The camp at Kyamijn Gyompa felt really wild with Yaks all around us and using a dug latrine rather than villages toilets - much to Lea’s enjoyment
We then pushed onto the next camp at 4300m. This was a quick walk only taking a few hours but again the altituide was taking its toll. It was decided to take another rest day before pushing onto our main Base Camp at just over 5000m. From here we would attempt both Yala Peak for acclimatisation before setting an Advanced Base Camp and hopefully pushing onto the summit of our Unclimbed Peak.
This next stage soon left the green behind as we scrambled over glacial moraine to a beautiful spot beside a glacial lake with beautiful ice cliffs beyond. The camp was soon constructed amongst the rocks. Unfortunately no sooner were the tents up and it started to snow and so it continued for 3 days putting down nearly a metre in that time!!!!!!
The next day it was all doom and gloom. Avalanches had been rumbling all round the valley all night and although the location of our camp was pretty safe with conditions worsening it would get more dangerous a time went by. With this much snow it was obvious that our target would need at least 5 days before it would be safe to try and climb, time which we didn’t really have. With worsening conditions we decided to retreat to the relative safety of Kyamijn Gyompa where we could wait out the storm in more comfort.
The descent was long and hard, especially so for the porters that were by now wearing most of our kit. Some of the snow was very deep and it was a cold and wet team that crawled into Kyamijn Gyompa just as the light was beginning to fade. We spent a fantastic evening with the Sherpas & Porters sharing the warmth of the fire, not to mention the local wine
By morning it was still snowing and it was becoming increasingly obvious that our summit attempt had gone Sunshine in the afternoon lifted spirits and the valley was now covered in snow, a completely different picture to a few days before. News from other regions in Nepal was of worse conditions, especially in the Annapurna region where nearly 20 people were missing. This with the resumption of the snow at night fall made it increasingly obvious that we had made the right decision to descend.
The decision to abandon any hope of climbing was an easy one to make and the next morning we started the long march back to Syrabubensi. After a couple of hours we had descended beneath the snowline and the sun came out for us to enjoy a warm lunch stop. At this point the expedition split with a number of Sherpas and Porters staying behind to retrieve the remaining kit from Base Camp while the rest of us headed back to Kathmandu. Goodbyes were made and team photos taken before we continued our journey down.
It took us two days to return to the road head at Syrabubensi where a bus awaited to whisk us back to Kathmandu. It seems strange to be back in the city a week earlier than planned but with the news coming from other areas of the country we are happy with our decision to return.
Our plans are to spend the next few days exploring Kathmandu, the surrounding areas and enjoying the start of the Deepawali Festival.
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