The Not Quite Goeche-La Trek (part 2) |
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It was a magnificent setting, Pandim (6690m) towered 2500m above us and to its right the glaciers of Jopuno (5935m) glistened in the sunlight. Our tents transformed into tiny yellow dots, paling into insignificance in the the immensity of this landscape. Once again the cold wind sprang up by late morning and we put on an extra layer of clothing as we climbed up the rocky morain and then descended into the bowl holding the dark turquoise waters of Samiti Lake (4300m) - the lake of small blessings. |
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Not quite Goeche-La! |
4 am - a knock on the tent with a cup of hot tea woke us in the bitter pre-dawn cold. It was time to get up to head once more up the valley to watch the sun rise over Kangchenjunga. Until a year ago this day would have taken us all the way up to the Goeche-La, a pass just below 5000m that faced the southern ramparts of Kangchenjunga. However, last season, three porters were killed on a steep and icy section of the track and the Sikkimese government no longer allows trekkers to go to the pass without a special permit. So, today's goal was a viewpoint at 4600m and a few kilometres further away from the 8586m peak; not as close, but still right in the heart of these great mountains. Heading off, we soon reached Lake Samiti again. Pam, who was suffering a little from the altitude, chose to stay there with a thermos of hot tea and enjoy the beautiful reflections of the surrounding mountains in the still waters of the lake. |
The rest of us pushed on with Sunder, slowly climbing the last 300m, lungs gasping in the thin air, to a point overlooking the enormous glacial bowl below Goeche-La. Around us, glaciers lined the sides of the mighty peaks of Kabru Dome, Goeche Peak and mighty Kangchenjunga itself, glistening as the sun rose above the eastern wall of mountains. Behind us, another glacier seemed to split the conical north-west face of Pandim, as it plunged 2000m down the steep wall of the mountain. Below lay the debris covered ice of the Onglakthang glacier. |
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Our descent did not stop there. After an early lunch, 11.30am we set off from Lamaney into the face of a cold wind, as high cloud began rolling in from the west - the weather was beginning to look a bit ominous. |
We headed down across the alpine heath and babbling streams beneath the long snow and ice capped ridgeline, over the Thamsing meadow where tents were already popping up for the next wave of trekkers, down the steep morain and through the jumbled mossy boulders and stunted rhododendrons, and into the firs that line the lower Prek Chu. Crossing the river on a rickety wooden bridge, we reached Kokchurong trekkers' hut, a simple three-roomed shelter, just as the mists rose up and enveloped the valley. |
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Given the anticipated cold night ahead, we planned to stay there. However, the one available room, big enough for 12, was taken up by an older German couple, who didn't seem to know the meaning of the word "share" or even "teilen". After a minor diplomatic incident, they did a large dummy-spit and moved out into a tent. Three cheerful young French trekkers soon arrived and we ended up spending a much more convivial night than had originally seemed likely. At 3am, the fair Nello went outside, as one needs to. She came back and whispered in my ear "it's snowing!". |
Kokchurong to Tshoka - a walk in Narnia |
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Tshoka to Yoksum - back home again |
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Pasang admiring a giant vine |
Mist over the green Rathong Valley |
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