Three Passes Trek Nepal Day 5: Phortse — Dingboche
Start: Phortse, 3,840m above sea level. Destination: Dingboche, 4,410m above sea level. Date: March 16, 2023. Start in Phortse: 7:30 AM. Distance: 12.54 km. Duration: 6 hours and 6 minutes. Elevation Gain: 928m ascent, 435m descent. Highest Point: 4,320m above sea level. Change in Elevation for Sleeping: +480m. Trail Profile: Consistently well-built path. Accommodation: Hotel Countryside, Dingboche. Weather: Sunny, slightly cloudy start to the day. Windy, clouds rapidly increasing from noon. Temperature: 15°C. Wildlife: Yaks, eagles, butterflies. Food: Tibetan Bread with tea for breakfast, Masala Tea in Pangboche, Ginger Tea and Cinnamon Roll in Dingboche, Dal Bhat for dinner.
As I wake up just before 7:00 am, the sun is already shining. I pack my backpack and have Tibetan Bread with tea for breakfast in a very cold room. I need to move — the cold penetrates every fiber of my clothing. After Tashi Lama shows me a photo of Ueli Steck’s memorial so that I can find it on the way to Thugla, I start my journey. Today’s stage leads from Phortse via Pangboche to Dingboche. The trail is again stunningly beautiful, a high-altitude path taking me high above the valley with a view of Ama Dablam, Mount Everest, Lhotse, all the way to the small village of Pangboche. I enjoy the sun, the view, and the tranquility. Occasionally, eagles circle above me. At the entrance of Pangboche, I pass by a small lodge where a four-year-old girl speaks to me in English. The mother joins, offering me breakfast on the terrace. Although I’ve already had breakfast, the lively little girl convinces me to sit for a cup of Masala tea. One might call it a good strategy for luring trekkers into the lodge. Now I’m enjoying a warming cup of tea with a view of Ama Dablam and Lhotse and playing with the little girl named Sinsinbansi Sherpa. She playfully uses my GPS device for pretend phone calls, goes on a hike with my trekking poles, and radiates immense joy. A wonderful break that will stay in my memory for a long time. Eventually, I say goodbye with a heartfelt hug and continue walking through the village.
The wind intensifies, and I pull my neck gaiter up over both ears, now following a yak caravan at a very leisurely pace. There are few opportunities to overtake them on the narrow trail, so I trot behind them for a while and engage in conversation with the herder. Mingme, 24 years old, works for Seven Summit Treks. In addition to his role as a yak herder, he also works as a porter for mountain expeditions. His yaks are loaded with 64kg each and make the journey from Lukla to the base camps six times in a season. It’s fascinating how he shares a bit of his daily life with me in broken English. When the yaks stray or leap into steep slopes, they are brought back with loud calls and stone throws. I’m amazed at how they manage to do this despite their mass. At some point the yaks take a break, I say goodbye to Mingme and from then on I walk alone again towards Dingboche. Although I considered in the morning whether to make a detour to the Ama Dablam Base Camp, I dismiss the idea along the way. It would add several more kilometers, and the clouds are moving in rapidly. A bit later, I reach the junction to Dingboche, and I walk the final stretch along the clear and icy-looking Imja Khola River.
In the early afternoon, I reach Dingboche. Monic and Matt are already sitting in a bakery, getting my attention by tapping on the window. I, too, check into the Countryside Lodge, freshen up, change into my ‘clean’ evening clothes, and join them in the bakery, which is part of the lodge. Thanks to the large windows, it’s comfortably warm inside. I savor a cup of ginger tea and a cinnamon roll. They warm up every pastry here, a very welcome service in the cold environment. Eventually, Till and the couple I met in Monjo join us. The couple shares that they spontaneously hired a porter in Namche Bazaar because the backpack was too heavy for them. A man from Hong Kong adds his experiences to our conversation. It’s beautiful to hear stories from around the world. The coffeehouse atmosphere, with background music, the scent of baked goods, and lively conversations at over 4,000m above sea level, is somehow surreal and yet fitting. Eventually, everyone gets lost in their thoughts or buries their noses in books. I also pull out my Kindle and enjoy a good read.
As the bakery is unheated, it eventually becomes uncomfortable, and I move to the lodge’s main room, where they are just heating the stove with yak dung (we are now above the tree line, and firewood is scarce). Today, I meet more friendly people. A couple from Canada is traveling with their 4-year-old twin girls. They are on a several-month journey and plan to walk to Everest Base Camp with the girls. The surroundings are a big playground for the girls; they jump over rocks and stones and have covered the entire distance so far. They keep the stages shorter and take more time for it. So much is possible! In addition to Monic and Matt, Giuseppe, a German-Italian, joins us by the stove. What a great group we have! For dinner, I order Dal Bhat again and, just before crawling into my sleeping bag, have my bottle filled with hot water. A beautiful day with many lovely encounters and great impressions comes to an end. As I reflect on these moments, it starts snowing outside, and I drift into sleep within minutes.
I have a blog that further describes more of my adventures.
