Three Passes Trek- Everest Region
The spectacle of Everest, drawing visitors from around the world. According to the board at the park entrance, there were 17,000+ walkers during the previous October-November
The walking is easy on the way up with four hour days to gradually acclimatize to 18,500 feet
Very Nepali to name your business after an American corporation
Some trademarks creatively painted and placed on the buildings
The choice between the free toilet and the clean toilet. I would not consider Nepal to be an ideal destination for a germaphobe
Monastery in Tengpoche
Each town has a number of teahouses that provide lodging and food. They typically have a fireplace in the dining room for the evenings. Although legal to bring a tent and camp in the park, one of my favorite things about the walk was meeting a new group every night at dinner
As a solo walker doing the hike independently, the cost is about the same whether you carry your own food or eat at the lodges. If you eat dinner and breakfast then the room cost is 500 rupees. The room charges ranged from 2000-4000 rupees if you carry your own food. I budgeted around $35 USD (3500 rupees) per day for the walk and only carried clothes and a sleeping bag. The sleeping bag was probably overkill as the teahouses provide blankets but I brought one along for comfort as I tend to be a cold sleeper.
Yaks seem like jolly animals swaying their heads back and forth as they walk and I do not think they would purposefully knock you off a bridge, but the bridges sway and the animals have wide loads so balance can become an issue. A hiker trying to pass them on the bridge got knocked into the fence, and then the fence bounced him back into the yak. Very entertaining to watch but also dangerous, big drops to the bottom
The weather cleared in Dingboche and stayed nice for the remainder of the trip. Good timing for the clouds to disappear as I was about to start the first of the three passes
The village of Dingboche with Taboche (21,300ft) in the background
Yaks carrying a load back from Island Peak Base Camp, a popular mostly non-technical climb on the route
A child bringing a basket of collected yak dung to the field to dry out in the morning sun. The scentless dung (as I far as I could tell) is used for the fireplaces due to the lack of wood in the area
The cloudy white and half frozen Imja Tsho. The area around Chukhung has several side trips and worth spending an extra night if you have the time
Sunset from above the village of Chukhung
The easternmost pass (Kongma La) was the longest of the three and also the least crowded
Porters bring odd-shaped and bulky items that the yaks and donkeys cannot handle
After Kongma La, the Everest base camp route is joined again to the village of Gorak Shep. The village was in the clouds when I started the climb up Kala Patthar for sunset, which I hoped would keep the crowds down. My assumption was correct and I had the most popular viewpoint in the park to myself
Final light on Mount Everest, which surprisingly does not have a glacier on the Nepali side. The peak is referred to as the "Black Diamond" as strong winds blow snow off its summit. Nuptse, the peak on the righthand side of the moon, appears taller due to proximity
Panorama of Mount Everest, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam at sunset from Kala Patthar
Dusk glow on Mount Everest
Cholatse (21,100ft) on the route to Dzonglha
Lodge for the evening in the town of Dzonglha
The second pass (Chola La) required walking across a snowfield for about one mile. The route had many footprints and in a warm November I did not need any traction devices. Always possible to ask about conditions as many people are hiking here
Final mountain climb up Gokyo Ri
After crossing Renjo La, I went through the quiet western valley towards Thame and back to Namche Bazar
Lukla airport, known for its runway on an incline