UP GOKYO PEAK
(5,360m)

We are up early with our cuppa and our bowl of warm water.  Fortunately I have made it through the night without a toilet trip, but the others tell their stories of getting to the ablutions in the dark of night ensuring hilarious breakfast conversation.  

 
Looking down at the Village of Gokyo

We were supposed to be doing a sunrise walk.   We should have left at 4.30am or so, and Mr G is already fuming that we were not woken up and he has missed out on the exciting prospect of extraordinary photos from the summit.  Maybe he should have joined the German trekkers as they were the dedicated ones who left early and were back from Gokyo Peak before we had even brushed our teeth!!!!!

After breakfast we pack our bags and sit in the glass room to ready ourselves for the day ahead. The mist has risen and we can see we are definitely in wonderland.  A white and blue shimmering world.   I mean this is really something else!!!!

Looking down

Neema discusses today’s plan.  It will be the toughest day we will put in so far but everyone says they are fit and ready to do the summit to Goyko Peak.  This peak itself is not that high (640m) but we will be climbing up to 5,360 metres so altitude will take its toll. 

We rug up but for some insane reason we do not wear our Down or Gortex jackets!!!!!

And again....and we can see Gokyo village clinging to the side of the glacier.

But for now, we feel pretty warm as we start chugging up the Peak.  The trail is only a bit of a sheep track and is very steep and slippery under foot.   

The one thing about going slowly, and I mean about eight steps and stop,  gasp for air, recover and move on again, is that you get time to enjoy the views. 


And the views are exquisite
 
I am surrounded by some of the tallest mountains in the world, and can follow the line of the Ngozumpa Glacier as it slowly moves down the valley.  I can see the blue lakes with their icy surface and I must be breathing the best air anywhere in the world.  This is bliss, just bliss..... 

The walk from the bottom of the Peak takes us nearly three hours and is all about determination and endurance.  I want to make it to the top, no question about that.  I grit my teeth and don’t give in. The air is crisp, the sky is blue, and I concentrate on two things – breathing and the scenery.  

I notice that Mike and Alasdair are having a bit of a silent dual.  I can see the thrill of being 'first at the summit' is driving them on at a ridiculous pace.  They have no opposition from me, I just hope to make the summit.  I don’t need to be first, I just need to get there!

I am also busily taking photos and then I stupidly drop my lenses cover.  It takes off like a projectile down the Peak jumping and bumping and spiralling away out of sight.  I make absolutely no effort to go after it.  The thought of running down to find it and then climbing back up is not an option for me.  “Leave it” I say to Ergon as he starts to scamper down the hill.  I am still grateful that he was able to find it and return it to me.

I have made it...

Finally, after hours of chugging upwards, I am at the top. 
Wow, I have made it and I am seized with euphoria.  What a view!!

Our literature tells us this is one of the best panoramas in the Khumbu.  This is actually why we opted for this trek to Gokyo rather than the Everest Base Trek and we are not disappointed. 

Mr G surrounded by prayer flags

As I haul myself around the summit  “I can see forever”.  We are all brimming with excite
ment and busy ourselves with photographs from every angle.

 
What a view

There is Everest 8848m, Cho-Oyo 8153m, Lhotse 8511m and Makalu 8481.  But we can also see Gyachung Kang 7922m, Cholatse 6440, Taweche 6542m and Kangchung 6103m. 

Everest is 'that away'

On one side we can see the mountains of Nepal and the other we are looking at Tibet.  And did I mention it was freezing.  My sweaty body is now cooling off from the uphill exertion and Neema tells us it is about minus 10 with a minus 10 wind chill and the ever energised Ergon hands out hot chocolate.  What would we do without Ergon and his hot chocolates I wonder!

Mr G and I can't believe we are here

This is spectacular, this is awe inspiring, this is phenomenal.  I am beside myself with glee that I have made it.

But now I have something special to do.  Before I left home I took a small lock of hair from my mother and my daughter which I put into a small plastic bag with a lock of my own.  I take out the plastic bag and sprinkle the contents into the wind in front of Everest.  Three generations of my families DNA is now lying in this icy terrain and who knows what that means!!!!

The hair blows away in the breeze

We are all wearing smiles as wide as our faces. 

Hurray, we have made it

I have personally achieved more that I thought was possible.  I have pushed myself beyond what I thought were my limitations.  I have climbed to heights that I could never imagined.

Prayer flags blow in the breeze

As we sit or wander around this incredible location I can’t begin to tell you how utterly fantastic a feeling it is in every way.  Not only can I see true wonders of the world, I have found out lots about myself.  I know I can now conquer my own fears and the limitations that I place on myself. 

I would have never thought that I could do this trek in a million years, and yet here I am.  And because I pushed myself way outside my comfort zone I have been rewarded a thousand fold for the belief I had in myself.  As all these sensations and triumphs swirl around me, my soul is absorbing and being enriched. 

But the moment comes to an end because the clouds are starting to roll in and the wind blows up.  Plus we have the long walk all the way back to Machhermo.   Reluctantly, we turn our backs on the summit and begin in the direction of  the beginning.

There are still six more days of the trek to complete.  On those days I almost died from hypothermia on that very walk to the Taj Mahal,  sit in the Monastery at Thyanboche mesmerised by the chants of the monks, see a Yeti scalp, get lost in fog above Namche Bazaar and dance the night away in triumph and success with the Sherpas back in Lukla.
 

Back in Lukla - safe and sound



Our support crew and Neema, our leader in orange jacket

But this armchair trek has come to end for you now.  You have walked with me as I have pushed myself along the glorious mountainsides of Nepal and experienced the Teahouses and their funny quirks.

Mr G & I, adorned with our precious Nepalese scarves presented to us by to our Sherpa support crew, wait for the plane back to Kathmandu.

Hopefully, above all else I have given you a peep into a world that maybe you thought was impossible, only to find out it really is possible.  That given some fitness and determination, that you too could also make it to the top of Gokyo Peak and see the grand and spectacular mountains of Nepal with your very own eyes. 

If you don’t make it there yourself, I hope you have enjoyed the trip and now know a little of what it might be like to visit this unbelievable paradise on earth.

Wise woman © Wise Womens World