We were somewhere between Renjo La and Cho La, two mountain passes in the Khumbu Valley, Nepal, somewhere west of Everest Base Camp. We had crossed 90 per cent of the glacier, but large bodies of freezing water and impassable walls of ice blocked the final leg to the other side.
We trudged far and wide, searching for a way through, always returning to the same spot. We were getting desperate. A member of our quartet, perhaps delirious with fatigue, made the laughable suggestion that we throw huge boulders into one of the lakes to allow us to step-stone across.
"Damn you, global warming!" cried Andy, a trail-runner from Colorado, lamenting the glacier-melt and the impenetrable, watery obstacles at every turn.
With darkness approaching, we conceded defeat and trudged two hours back to the Namaste Lodge in the small mountain hamlet of Gokyo. Inside the lodge, we found an updated map. It showed a new path across the glacier – far higher than the one on our map.
This is one of the risks of trekking unassisted in the Himalayas. Usually, there are enough guided parties around and, if in doubt, you can just follow one. But this day, we had ventured off on our own, oblivious to the dead-end ahead. And yet, nestled among glaciers and the most aesthetic peaks in the world, it wasn't a bad place to be stuck.
Lukla airport is the beginning of the adventure for most hikers in the Khumbu Valley, home to Mt Everest and its surroundings of incomparable beauty.
It also has the infamous reputation of having one of the world's most challenging airstrips to navigate. It comprises a thin, short lick of pavement, literally cut into the side of a steep mountain gorge that faces another cliff face.
Denne historien er fra October - November 2019-utgaven av Adventure Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra October - November 2019-utgaven av Adventure Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Papua New Guinea
Four reasons to add Papua New Guinea to your bucket list
The benefits of being a Multi-Trick Pony
"A broad skill base and how you can draw from one platform to the next – women often pigeon hole themselves"
The RELUCTANT adventurer
An eighteen-year-old princess, who paints his (yes, his) nails and dyes his hair bleach blonde, embarking on an adventure trip with his family, sounds like a plot for a bad 80s movie.
The Meaning of Tramping
What does tramping mean to you?
Keala Kennelly owns Red Bull Magnitude
The North Shore season of 1957 is recognized in the surfing world as the start of an era. When Greg Noll, a young Mickey Munoz and company went out and rode Waimea for the first time, it was a glimpse of what could be in the world of big-wave surfing.
North West Circuit Stewart Island
I found myself in limbo during the winter of 2020, in between jobs in a strained covid economy. And so, I did what any outdoors person would do with a large amount of free time on their hands. It was time to pack up my belongings and hit the road. It was time to leave behind home comforts and go adventure-seeking.
Emilie's adventure to Angelus Hut
“I want to be the leader!” Miss Six announced, pushing past me in her determination to be in front. Momentarily off-balance with my heavy pack, I narrowly avoided twisting an ankle on the sharp rocks and silently swore while cracking a bright smile.
Nancy Jiang Breaking stereotypes
I recently watched a youtube movie entitled, “Her Way” (check it out on the Adventure Website) which introduced a woman who had an overwhelming passion for running. The preface at the bottom of the clip, read as follows:
Adversity at Altitude
The wind and snow is whipping at my face. I’ve readjusted the stiff frozen fleece buff around my neck and mouth, desperately trying to protect myself from the -20 degree bitter wind. Adrenaline is still pumping through my body but I know I’ll start to get cold soon.
Last Great Mountaineering Challenge
Ground-breaking mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja MBE has attained an incredible new world record by submitting K2 as part of a collaborative team in the depths of winter. Until now, it was a record that was believed to be impossible to accomplish and was famously known as the ‘last great mountaineering challenge’.
