Nepal 1998 - Khumbu Trekking & Island Peak Climb

Ama Dablam, Kala Pattar, and Gokyo
Sunset on Ama Dablam from Khumjung - 640x480 JPEG, 28K Trekking in front of Ama Dablam - 640x398 JPEG, 50K
Ama Dablam really ought to be a higher mountain. At 6856 meters (22,493 feet), it's a fairly minor summit in terms of elevation by Nepalese standards. (It is a significant technical challenge, however, and a popular climbing destination.) It is just such a perfect looking mountain that it just somehow doesn't seem fair that it should be dwarfed by big ugly, hulking rocks such as Everest. (See the view of Everest at the bottom of the page from Kala Pattar.)

In one of the glacial fingers leading down from the vicinity of Cho Oyu (at 8153 meters, one of the fourteen 8000 meter peaks), sit the Gokyo Lakes and the small village of Gokyo. Gokyo is largely geared towards trekkers; in the more distant past it was primarily just a summer yak pasture. Today it even has a "five star" resort lodge although that ranking must be taken VERY much in light of location. On the other hand, it was a very nice place to hang out when the snows came.
Yaks after snowstorm in Gokyo - 480x640 JPEG, 25K Closeup of well-decorated yak - 426x640 JPEG, 43K Yaks with backdrop of Cho Oyu - 419x618 JPEG, 49K
Yes, the snows. The yaks seemed quite content. As one person in our group said: "If this isn't a yak's idea of heaven, they certainly don't see it as a significant negative event." But then, this is an animal with so much body fat and hair that it can't even live below about 10,000 feet or so. People are in a somewhat different situation.

The snow and clouds presented us from obtaining the vistas from Gokyo Ri, a large hill (i.e. a mountain in most places) above the village, which is one of the main reasons for heading up to Gokyo. They did lift for a time, allowing for fine views of Cho Oyu, but did close in again shortly after we departed. In the end, the weather was changeable for several days although it did eventually clear and almost universally blue skies remained for the rest of the trip. However, the freshly-fallen snow necessitated retracing our steps through the valleys since the high passes were closed.
Village of Phortse - 480x640 JPEG, 97K Everest and Khumbu Glacier from Kala Pattar - 421x640 JPEG, 63K Bridge crossing Dudh Khosi - 327x640 JPEG, 75K
From Gokyo, we headed over towards Island Peak which is covered on the next page. These bottom three photographs are from various other points on the trek that didn't really fit anywhere else. The middle picture is a view of Everest and the Khumbu Glacier from Kala Pattar. Kala Pattar sits above Gorak Shep and Labouche in the next valley east from Gokyo. It's the typical high spot on "Everest Base Camp" treks and affords better views of Everest than from the base camp itself (which is too close). Base camp sits around the edge of the glacier in the center left of the photo - below the Khumbu Icefall. Although Everest is the star attraction, Kala Pattar commands a view of any number of spectacular peaks. (It, along with Gokyo Ri, is a standard location for taking those "Top of the World" panoramas.) It's a straightforward walk up, or it would be if it weren't at over 18,000 feet.
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