It’s commonly used for acclimatisation for crossing the high pass to Lobuje and for making the move to Isaland Peak Basecamp.
From the rocky exposed summit it’s possible to see all the way back down the valley to Namche, 2000m and 6 days ago !
The descent is much faster than the slow climb up and as the afternoon winds picked up we could see the enormous dust storms blasting up from the moraine walks all along the Imje Valley
It’s for this reason actually that our journey to island peak Basecamp today will be shorter. The normal Basecamp is s very bleak place – caught in a wind tunnel of dust with little shelter.
Instead we will place our Basecamp about 2 hours walk lower where our kitchen team can get access to water easily and give us a respite from the wind, dust and lack of hygiene at island peak Basecamp
It will mean a longer approach to high camp but the benifits outweigh the potential discomfit and hygiene risks
So after departing Chikung today our plan will be
- 8th Basecamp (today )
- 9th High camp (5700)
- 10th summit (6128) rtn to BC
- 11th Dingboche
- 12th Rest day Dingboche