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Makalu Photo Gallery - Trek From Tumlingtar to Sherson, crossing the Shipton La, and with views of Peak 7, Peak 6 Mount Tutse and Chamlang East.

Makalu Photo Gallery from October 2009

0 1 Google Earth Image Of Makalu Trek From Tumlingtar To Mumbuk Here is a Google Earth image of the first part of the Makalu trek from Tumlingtar (355m) to Mane Bhanjyang (1100m), Chichilla (1830m), Num (1500m), crossing the bridge over the Arun River (630m), ascending to Sedua (1460m), and on to Tashigaon (2160m), the last settlement in the valley. From Tashigaon, you climb in a lush cloud forest to the gateway into the Makalu-Barun National Park area at the top of the ridge (3190m), continue climbing to Kongma (3560m), and three passes including the Shipton La (4216m), before descending down to Mumbuk (3500m).

0 1 Google Earth Image Of Makalu Trek From Tumlingtar To Mumbuk

0 2 Google Earth Image Of Makalu Trek From Mumbuk To Makalu Base Camp South, Makalu Sandy Camp, East Col, and West Col Here is a Google Earth image of the second part of the Makalu trek from Mumbuk (3500m) down to the Barun Khola (3200m) and up the Barun Valley to Jark Kharka (4210m), Sherson (4660m) with the first views of Makalu, and Makalu Base Camp South (4850m). The trail then turns northwest and climbs the valley on the west side of the Barun Glacier to Makalu Sandy Camp (5300m), and then turns to the west to the East Col 6135m) and West Col (6143m) before descending to Baruntse Base Camp (5450m).

0 2 Google Earth Image Of Makalu Trek From Mumbuk To Makalu Base Camp South, Makalu Sandy Camp, East Col, and West Col

1 1 Kathmandu Domestic Airport, Gyan and Female Passenger, Agni Airplane After meeting my guide Gyan at the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport, we took a taxi for a minute to the chaotic Kathmandu domestic airport. Gyan’s luggage was overweight, so he arranged for a young woman fellow passenger to join our group temporarily. In return for her carrying some of our luggage, we agreed she could ride in our jeep from Tumlingtar.

1 1 Kathmandu Domestic Airport, Gyan and Female Passenger, Agni Airplane

1 2 Nepal Countryside On Flight From Kathmandu To Tumlingtar The flight finally left Kathmandu about two hours late, passing the terraced Nepalese hills on the way to Tumlingtar.

1 2 Nepal Countryside On Flight From Kathmandu To Tumlingtar

1 3 Landing At Tumlingtar Airport The flight from Kathmandu took just 40 minutes to land on the grass strip at Tumlingtar (355m), located on a shelf above the Arun River. I met the rest of our crew: Palde climbing Sherpa, Pemba Rinji cook, Pasang cook’s helper Tenzing porter, and Pal Dorje porter. We waited for our luggage to be wheeled across the field and had a quick lunch.

1 3 Landing At Tumlingtar Airport

1 4 Jeep From Tumlingtar To Khandbari and Mane Bhanjyang We jumped into the jeep Palde had arranged to start our drive to Mane Bhanjyang (cost was $65 in 2009). The rough jeep road from Tumlingtar climbs in one hour to Khandbari (1040m), a busy bazaar town with flagstoned pavements and three-storied, stone-built, shop-houses. From Khandbari the jeep road continues with a few ups and down taking only 30 minutes to the village of Mane Bhanjyang (1100m). Supposedly the road was too rough to continue any further, although we did see more jeeps on the road the next day.

1 4 Jeep From Tumlingtar To Khandbari and Mane Bhanjyang

1 5 Trek From Mane Bhanjyang Past Arun Than To Sheka And Our Camp Next To A House We hiked for 40 minutes from Mane Bhanjyang (1100m) with views towards Botebas through bamboo forests to Arun Than (1280m), where we stopped briefly to buy some fresh rice. It took only another 20 minutes to traverse across the hillside, still climbing through fields, bamboo groves and big rocks to Sheka (1350m), where we camped next to a house just below the local school. The overnight temperature was 20C with some light rain.

1 5 Trek From Mane Bhanjyang Past Arun Than To Sheka And Our Camp Next To A House

2 1 Sunrise Over Our Camp In Sheka I walked above our camp in Sheka (1350m) to watch the sunrise over a Hindu Shrine.

2 1 Sunrise Over Our Camp In Sheka

2 2 House In Sheka Where We Camped While I waited for breakfast, I walked around the house where we camped, watching the chickens and sheep have their breakfast too.

2 2 House In Sheka Where We Camped

2 3 Hindu Shrine To Saraswati, School In Sheka I again walked above the house in Sheka and visited the Hindu shrine to Saraswati and the local school.

2 3 Hindu Shrine To Saraswati, School In Sheka

2 4 Jerome Ryan And Crew Trekking Past Local Houses From Sheka Towards Bhotebas After breakfast, we started our trek from Sheka in sunny weather, passing the local houses with their terraced fields.

2 4 Jerome Ryan And Crew Trekking Past Local Houses From Sheka Towards Bhotebas

2 5 Local House And Terraced Field On Trek From Sheka Towards Bhotebas After breakfast, we started our trek from Sheka in sunny weather, passing the local houses with their terraced fields.

2 5 Local House And Terraced Field On Trek From Sheka Towards Bhotebas

2 6 Mani Wall In Bhotebas, Jeep And Donkeys On Road From Bhotebas To Chichilla The sun quickly disappeared as the fog rolled in, and it took just one hour to trek from Sheka to Bhotebas (1740m) with a stone chorten and Buddhist rock paintings. From Bhotebas we shared the easy flat trail with jeeps and donkeys, taking just one hour to walk to Chichilla.

2 6 Mani Wall In Bhotebas, Jeep And Donkeys On Road From Bhotebas To Chichilla

2 7 Lunch Stop In Chichilla, Wild Orchids, Weight Scale We stopped at the small ridge-top village of Chichilla (1830m) to have lunch. I walked around the village admiring the beautiful wild orchids lining the side of the road, and a scale to weight merchandise.

2 7 Lunch Stop In Chichilla, Wild Orchids, Weight Scale

2 8 Trek To Sakurate, Deorali, Mure, And Down To Num The trail from Chichilla (1830m) reaches the end of the jeep road in 40 minutes, and then arrives in Sakurate (1895m) in another 10 minutes. The trail passes a few tea shops at Fururu (1965m), and then climbs again along the ridge line to the high point of Deorali in 40 minutes. The trail descends slightly to pass through the very small village of Mure (2000m), 35 minutes from Deorali, and then descends on a rocky eroded trail to the terraced fields of Num (1500m), 70 minutes from Mure.

2 8 Trek To Sakurate, Deorali, Mure, And Down To Num

2 9 Tent With Num Village Behind We met three teenage school girls on the trail returning from the Khandbari market to Num, walking with them much of the way. One of the school girls invited us to camp at her house in Num, which we gladly accepted. Num is a small village with a primary school situated on a ridge above an S-shaped bend in the Arun Kosi. The overnight temperature was 18C with some rain.

2 9 Tent With Num Village Behind

3 1 Grade 9 and Grade 10 Girls From House Where We camped In Num Two sisters, one in grade 9 and the one in grade 10 who invited us to camp at her house, get ready for school in Num.

3 1 Grade 9 and Grade 10 Girls From House Where We camped In Num

3 2 House Where We Camped In Num With View Across Valley To Sedua From the house in Num where we camped, we could see Sedua and Manigaon directly across the valley, but sadly 900m down and then up again.

3 2 House Where We Camped In Num With View Across Valley To Sedua

3 3 Descending Steeply From Num To Arun River Bridge The trail was exceptionally steep off the south side of the Num ridge, dropping on slippery rocks through jungle to a suspension bridge over the torrential Arun Kosi (630m), arriving after 70 minutes just dripping with sweat.

3 3 Descending Steeply From Num To Arun River Bridge

3 4 Crossing Arun River Bridge Between Num And Sedua After a brief rest, we crossed the bridge over the Arun Kosi (630m) and began the long hard climb to Sedua.

3 4 Crossing Arun River Bridge Between Num And Sedua

3 5 Jerome Ryan Climbing From Arun River Bridge To Sedua From the Arun River Bridge (630m) the trail climbs steeply to a primitive tea shop where Jerome Ryan had a Pepsi and some bananas to try and combat my dehydration. The trail then goes through rice, corn and buck wheat fields on the long, steep, rough climb to Sedua (1460m), taking 2:20 in walking time from the bridge. We registered with the Barun national park office next to the camping ground, and then had lunch.

3 5 Jerome Ryan Climbing From Arun River Bridge To Sedua

3 6 Trekking From Sedua To Chyksadanda, Num, Camp Next To Buddha Painting The trail climbs the ridge above Sedua (1460m) and then climbs gently northwards through rice fields to Manigaon (1780m) on the next ridge, with splendid views back to Num across the valley. From Manigaon the trail turns west and makes a gradual climb high above the Kasuwa Khola to a mani wall at Chyksadanda (1890m), just 75 minutes from Sedua. Once again we camped at one of the local houses, with a small rock painting of Buddha next to my tent. The overnight temperature was 18C with lots of rain.

3 6 Trekking From Sedua To Chyksadanda, Num, Camp Next To Buddha Painting

4 1 Trekking From Chyksadanda To Tashigaon The trail from Chyksadanda was wet and slippery from the overnight rain, and went through terraced fields and forested areas, passing the villages of Hindrungma and Ropesa, to reach the stone staircase connecting the bottom of Tashigaon (2070m) with the top of Tashigaon (2160m). It took just 75 minutes to trek from Chyksadanda to Tashigaon, the last settlement in the valley where we had an early lunch next to the campground.

4 1 Trekking From Chyksadanda To Tashigaon

4 2 Trekking From Tashigaon Over Ridge To Camp At Unshisha The trail goes north From Tashigaon, crossing a few streams in a lush cloud forest, and then onto a ridge where there is a small herder’s hut. The trail levels out, and then climbs to another shepherd’s hut atop another ridge. The route now becomes steeper, switch backing on rain-soaked slippery rocks up the ridge in forests to a kharka. A stone chorten and prayer flags mark the gateway into the Makalu-Barun National Park area at the top of the ridge (3190m). The trail descends in more open country on the west side of the ridge to Unshisha (3180m), a tiny soggy meadow, where Palde, Pemba Rinjii and Pasang cleared spots for the kitchen tent and my tent. It took 3:10 to trek from Tashigaon to Unshisha. The overnight temperature was 8C with heavy rain. My tent leaked, and I had to keep moving to avoid the puddles,

4 2 Trekking From Tashigaon Over Ridge To Camp At Unshisha

5 1 Trek From Unshisha To Kongma To Kongma La To First Pass The trail from Unshisa (3180m) gets even steeper and becomes a series of rough stone stairs ascending to the top of the ridge and then descends a bit to the few buildings and campsite of Kongma (3560m) in 50 minutes from Unshisha, The trail from Kongma twists and turns steeply, passing through forest before emerging in just 35 minutes at the Kongma La (3850m) where there is a stone chorten adorned with prayer flags. The trail follows the ridge through rhododendrons for a while, and then ascends a stone staircase. After a few false summits the trail climbs over the first of three passes (4055m) in just 40 minutes from Kongma La.

5 1 Trek From Unshisha To Kongma To Kongma La To First Pass

5 2 Trek Past Lake To Shipton La To Lodge To Third Pass The trail descends from the first pass to the Thulo Pokhari (3990m, big pond), and then climbs steeply up a shallow rocky gully to the prayer flags and stone chorten at Shipton La (4216m), in 60 minutes from the first pass. The Shipton La was named after Eric Shipton who, with Edmund Hillary, used this route to trek out from their 1952 Everest reconnaissance. The trail descends from the Shipton La in just 15 minutes to two lakes (4030m), with a few buildings where we ate our lunch. The trail then ascends through large boulders for another 20 minutes to the third pass at 4145m.

5 2 Trek Past Lake To Shipton La To Lodge To Third Pass

5 3 Trek Down In Stream To Dobato To Camp At Mumbuk On the other side of the three passes the route enters a valley filled with rhododendron forests, and descends often in the middle of a stream to a few buildings in a meadow below the pass called Dobato, taking 50 minutes from the third pass. The route traverses through huge rhododendrons, finally making a steep descent through a pine forest to the Mumbuk (3500m) camp site in another 45 minutes. Mumbuk is a small clearing place for camping in the middle of the woods of pines, hemlock, birch and rhododendrons. The overnight temperature was 5C with no rain.

5 3 Trek Down In Stream To Dobato To Camp At Mumbuk

6 1 Descend From Mumbuk To Barun Khola And First View Of Mountains It was clear in the morning at Mumbuk with views through the trees to the mountains. From Mumbuk, the trail descends in just 35 minutes 300m down a steep, rocky gully to the Barun Khola at the bottom of the Barun Valley, with a good view of Peak 7 (6105m) up the valley.

6 1 Descend From Mumbuk To Barun Khola And First View Of Mountains

6 2 Peak 7 From Barun Khola Below Mumbuk Peak 7 (6105m) from the Barun Valley below Mumbuk.

6 2 Peak 7 From Barun Khola Below Mumbuk

6 3 Crossing Landslides and Streams Next to Barun Khola On Way To Yangle Kharka The trail traverses up and down alongside the Barun Khola until it reaches an open landslide area in another 35 minutes. It took 40 minutes to cross this long landslide area just above the Barun Khola, with lots of boulder hopping and streams to jump across. Beyond the landslides, the valley widens and the forest gives way to rolling alpine meadows.

6 3 Crossing Landslides and Streams Next to Barun Khola On Way To Yangle Kharka

6 4 Crossing Bridge Over Barun Khola To Yangle Kharka It took another 95 minutes to trek from beyond the landslides to the bridge over the Barun Khola and on to Yangle Kharka.

6 4 Crossing Bridge Over Barun Khola To Yangle Kharka

6 5 Lunch At Yangle Kharka, Trek Past Nehe Kharka, And Through Forest Towards Riphuk Kharka Yangle Kharka (3600m) is a large meadow with some teahouses, where we had lunch. The Barun River valley becomes increasingly steep from Yangle Kharka, with waterfalls gushing down sheer rock faces on the sides of the river. The climb starts out gently from Yangle Kharka, and after just 35 minutes passes Nehe Kharka (3750m), a large, open, grassy plain on the opposite side of the Barun Khola. Beyond Nehe Kharka, the trail climbs above the river through a forest as the river makes a huge S-shaped curve and the walls rise almost vertically 1500 to 2000m above the river.

6 5 Lunch At Yangle Kharka, Trek Past Nehe Kharka, And Through Forest Towards Riphuk Kharka

6 6 Pal Dorje, Tenzing, And Pasang Carrying Loads From Riphuk Kharka To Jark Kharka, My Tent At Jark Kharka The trail reaches a single house at Riphuk Kharka (3930m), and then climbs again to Jark Kharka (4210m), arriving after 1:50 from Nehe Kharka. The overnight temperature was 0C.

6 6 Pal Dorje, Tenzing, And Pasang Carrying Loads From Riphuk Kharka To Jark Kharka, My Tent At Jark Kharka

7 1 Chamlang East From Jark Kharka Chamlang East (7235m) shone in the early morning sun from just beyond Jark Kharka.

7 1 Chamlang East From Jark Kharka

7 2 Peak 6 Mount Tutse From Beyond Jark Kharka The East Face of Peak 6 / Mount Tutse (6758m) was visible from just beyond Jark Kharka.

7 2 Peak 6 Mount Tutse From Beyond Jark Kharka

7 3 Peak 6 Mount Tutse Close Up From Beyond Jark Kharka The summit of the East Face of Peak 6 / Mount Tutse (6758m) was visible from just beyond Jark Kharka.

7 3 Peak 6 Mount Tutse Close Up From Beyond Jark Kharka

7 4 Trekking From Jark Kharka To Langmale Kharka, Along Barun Khola To Sherson With Chamlang East The trail from Jark Kharka (4210m) takes only 25 minutes to climb to the meadows of Langmale Kharka (4405m, also called Yak Kharka) where there is a hotel and shop. Beyond Langmale Kharka the trail climbs over a ridge and ascends alongside a moraine to Merek (4570m) a few sandy campsites above the river, taking 40 minutes from Langmale Kharka. Just after Merek, the valley turns west with views to Chamlang East and then slightly north to Sherson (4660m) on a grassy plain, taking another 55 minutes.

7 4 Trekking From Jark Kharka To Langmale Kharka, Along Barun Khola To Sherson With Chamlang East


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