The first day out was a gentle walk up to above Namche, then over the airstrip of Syangboche, tucked away on a level platform above the town. Namche Bazaar becomes well defined below as we follow the ridge crest having spectacular views of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Kang Tega and Thamserku. After a short descent we arrive at the twin Sherpa villages of Khunde and Khumjung. Khunde is where Edmund Hillary opened the first hospital after his Everest ascent in 1953, where we were introduce to the local doctor. We continued on the trail to our ovenight stop at Kangjuma, where we had stunning views across the valley to Ama Dablam. From Kangjuma the main Everest trail drops down to Phunki, but we climb up to the Mon La (3900m.). Not really a pass, but it took us into the Gokyo Valley. However, we then had to go down almost 300 metres to Phortse Tenga just above the river where we had lunch. After lunch, we set off again and soon started to regain height, and on reaching the ridge, we were rewarded with our first view of Cho Oyo (8210 metres). Not long after, we reach the settlement of Dole where our camp had been established. After a night at Dole, we continued up the valley to Machermo village (4410 metres), where we camped for 2 nights.
From Machermo, we completed the final leg to reach the holy lakes at Gokyo. We climbed a steep rocky incline valley by the side of the glacier, passing the first lake ........ which is called the First Lake. And interestingly, the second lake is called the Second Lake! The third lake, known however as Dudh Pokhari, is where the summer settlement of Gokyo (4791m.) is located, where our camp site was. The summits of Cho Oyo and Gyachung Kang can be seen further up the valley. After lunch, some of us made an ascent of Gokyo Ri, rising to 5360 metres. (This was as an alternative to an early rise to summit Goyko Ri, then having to cross the high Cho La Pass.) Long day for us, but at least we would not be rising early for Goyko Ri. The second day, we went up the valley to summit The Nameless Tower, which lies between the fourth and fifth lakes. The ‘Tower ’ is actually three fingers of rock and ice, and at 5500 metres, the lowest of the fingers gives a scramble to an airy summit. There was long section of soft, and in places deep, snow to cross below the ridge to the summit. This snow crossing was made more trying having climbed up the steep slopes from the valley. After summiting, it was a long haul downhill back to camp, making it a tiring day out. Bed was welcome that night
Nearing the summit of Gokyo Ri
Crossing snowfields on the way to The nameless Tower peak
The rocky ridge up to The Nameless Tower summit.
Group photo on The nameless Tower
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