my travel blog: Part II - 3 Passes, 4 Summits, lakes and EBC: The Three Passes Trek

Day 9 Chukhung (4730m) - Kongma-La Pass (5535m) - Lobuche (4910m): 800m down, 1000m up

Probably the hardest day of the entire trek. Even after three acclimatisation days, my head is pounding and I am breathing through a straw. By now I have teamed up with a lovely Canadian couple Briana and Claude and together with my Sherpa Dawa we are attempting the crossing of the Kongma-La Pass. Lucky we had snow the night before so that we could not see any path or any landmarks. Hence our money was set on Dawa who - with his age of 46 - did not worry and brought us across safely. While we were breathing like a broken steamboat, Dawa seemed not to notice that we only had 50% of the oxygen around us...

After an intense couple of hours up the pass, we made it with our last energy to the top just to see the what we had to cross before we would get to Lobuche, the Khumbu Glacier - a maze of towering walls of rocks and ice.

Somewhere over the ridge is the way...but where?

Or was it here somewhere?

Walk around the lake and go up and up and up...over the ridge...

...until you get here: The top of the Kongma La Pass at 5535m.

Now only down to the bottom then up and then...

...across the Khumbu Glacier: the little ants are Bri and Claude...this thing is a massive maze...

...and if you keep walking straight you end up at Mt Everest. Good Luck

Evening light and the moon in Lobuche

Day 10 Lobuche (4910m) - Gorak Shep (5140m) - Everest Base Camp (5364m) - Gorak Shep(5140m): 230m down, 560m up

What a change, we are back on the main highway to Everest Base Camp (EBC). I feel like on the first school holiday day on the Autobahn - one group after the other makes it way up North or South. The good message is, we will leave the Autobahn in a day again.

The bad message is, it is the first day of snow and heavy clouds. Visibility is zero. Why are we going to EBC? To see Mt Everest? It probably won't happen but we have to give it a go.

So we leave in the morning and after an easy 1.5hrs we already reach Gorak Shep - quite frankly a little cold shithole. So, the only way to get away from it is to leave for EBC, another 2 hrs of walk about the Western side of the Khumbu Glacier until it turns into the infamous Khumbu Icefalls. Will we see the icefall doctors? (Note: the so called icefall doctors is a group of very experienced sherpas who risk their lifes for some little money to prepare the mandatory crossing of the icefalls for any Mt Everest climber) No, we didn't see the icedoctors but we saw a lot of frustrated climbers and sherpas.

Not much to see today

Are you guys serious? Traffic jam on the way to EBC

Chomolungma (Mt Everest) is angry this year, told us some sherpas. Usually the first half of May is the 'window' to climb Everest. It is a window of maybe 2 weeks to allow the 300 climbers and the 300 sherpas to the summit. That's it for the year - if you don't make then I will see you next year - if you can afford it. A summit bid costs between $45.000 and $70.000, dependent on company and the support you get. The money is gone, no matter how far you get.

However this year, the angry year, a couple of expeditions have already packed up and went home. One of them is HIMEX with its leader Russell Brice. He left the mountain early May after already five casulaties during the preparations. Apparently there is an enormous amount of ice and rock on the Lhotse face and within the icefalls which makes climbing a deadly gamble. One of the camps has been wiped out by an avalanche, one sherpa has been hit by rocks and split his jaw, another one fell in a crevasse... the list is long. While we were there we saw a Japanese climber being carried to a helicopter - she did not look good either. Due to the conditions the sherpas could only establish Camp 1 and 2 and nobody has reached Camp 3, 4 or the summit yet. No fixed rope, which is sherpa's responsibility, has bee fixed beyond Camp 2 yet. Overall is does not sound good. Maybe the other expeditions should move out as well to avoid another 1996 disaster?

Tent city central around the Khumbu icefalls: 300 climbers, 300 sherpas + support staff...insane

Probably the most used tent at base camp

The pressure is on. Well, unfortunately the pressure and most of the risk is on the sherpas. The 'client' - the 'climber' - does not have to do too much more than to most importantly pay and then carry himself up the mountain. The hard work is done by the sherpas who set up the tents, cook, secure the route and wait for the clients with a hot drink in the tent when they do their tours to the high camps... is this still the adventure we all think of?

I am not sure here anymore. We met Carsten - a Danish climber - and a couple of other 'climbers' along the track. To be honest each one of them had to proof something to somebody. All seemed to be single in life, had a massive ego and were full of themselves - quite impressive (not) - rather disgusting. To my question if he had saved the cash for next year's attempt he just said that money is not a problem...hah.

Do they really think that they are the heros if they are almost carried up to the top of the world? Why don't you guys climb some little lower peaks but do it yourselves? Try Ama Dablam for a change...