Heather and I are now actually down in Phortse – only about 3 hours from Namche. Over the last 7 days we’ve been slowly making our way to Gokyo Ri to acclimatise ourselves to the altitude we need to enable us to function at Camp 1 on Kyajo Ri
A slow trek is an absolute must for any high altitude expedition – you maybe walking directly to BC or – as in our case – acclimating elsewhere before heading towards your objective
In general –
- only gain on average 300m/ day
- try to go a little higher at the end of each day before returning to your lodge / camp for the night
- every 3 days or 1000m gained have a full rest day ( 2 nights at same altitude )- this also includes a walk to higher altitude and return to your lodge / camp to sleep
- dint drink alcohol
- drink at least 4 litres of fluid
- dont get sunburnt
- walk slowly and drink tea and rest if you feel the need
- don’t continue higher if you have signs of AMS
- if you do get AMS, rest – DO NOT CONTINUE ASCENDING
- if AMS gets worse DESCEND DESCEND DESCEND
Whikst our trek up to Gokyo has been filled with laughs, heavy packs and slow walking we’ve also seen many helicopter rescues that could have been avoided if groups and Guides had followed simple acclimation rules
Walking under the shadows of previous peaks, drinking tea and chatting with new and old friends in tea houses, resting high on ‘rest days’ reading books and simply watching the weather – it’s been a fantastic acclimation trek
Today I leave for Namche ahead of Heather to get a few things sorted whilst she remains for a few more hours in Phortse at the KHUMBU CLIMBING CENTRE where she will be volunteering after our climbing expedition to get the new centre ready for the grand opening
3 hours wander ahead of me soon – then amazing coffee time in Namche. Enjoy the images below of our journey from Namche to Gokyo Ri and back to Phortse
