Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch

May 1, 2011 – From Thame to Khumjung

Thame is a special village to us for a number of reasons. You can feel the presence of the Tibetan border just north of town on the glaciated pass at Nangpa La. The history of this part of the Himalayas, the salt trade and the movement of Buddhism is tangible to us. The only way to move supplies is by foot or by yak. The history of Everest and the exploration of the great peaks is also immediate to us; Thame is the home of many of the greatest Sherpa climbers from Tenzing Norgay to Apa.

Our lodge in Thame is also the home of Dr. Kami Temba Sherpa, chief physician at the Khunde Hospital. Since we were visiting on a Saturday, we were lucky to see Dr. Kami on his weekly day off visit with his wife and family. He walks back home each Friday night.

Saturday morning dawned beautifully, with high clouds still ringing some of the peaks around us, but with blue skies overhead. We walked up the ridge above Kami’s lodge to view the trail north to Tibet. We also saw the top of Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world, which lies on the border.

We began trekking right after breakfast. We returned to Khunde, Khumjung area on the opposite side of the Bhote Kosi. Dennis proclaimed “this is one of the best walks I have ever done!” This is Dennis’ fourth trip to the Khumbu, but it is the first time he walked on this side of the river. The Rhododendrons were brilliant and the path seemed remote and forgotten. In a short time however, we reached the powerhouse of the Khumbu Bijuli Company, the Sherpa administered small hydro project which brings electricity for light, cooking and communications to the Khumbu Valley. Our Sherpa friend Mingma Rita was waiting at the powerhouse to give us a tour.

We were back across the river and climbing the enjoyable, scenic grade through fields lined with mani stones and chortens after lunch. Soon we walked out of the mist onto the Sangboche airfield, which serves the Sherpa people and expedition as a helicopter cargo destination. Sangboche has also famously been the landing point of the Swiss built single-engine Poitis Porter airplanes since the 70’s when the Japanese built the nearby Everest View Hotel.

Khunde and Khumgjung are the classic Sherpa resident villages of Nepal. Namche is about trading, Khunde and Khumjung are about home life, the cycle of the seasons and agriculture. Soon after we entered Khunde, we stopped to see Ang Temba’s 94 year old grandmother who has lived in this village all her life.

Our next stop was the Khunde Hospital which has operated with funds from the Sir Edmond Hillary Foundation of Canada since 1966. Dr. Kami had returned to work from Thame early in the morning. Doc Martin from our group had spent Saturday night at Nuru’s house near the hospital and the two old friends were together for a visit in the midst of Kami’s busy day seeing patients.

By the time we arrived, Dr. Kami had cleared enough time to give us a quick tour of his facility. He told us that last year Khunde Hospital treated over 7000 Sherpa and Nepalese patients, and only 45 foreign trekkers. Thirty-five babies were delivered in the clinic last year.

After spending the morning with Dr. Kami, Doc Martin had moved on to our lodge in Khumjung, which is located near the Hillary School. The Hillary School is even older than Khundu Hospital, this month the school will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. Doc Martin had visited the school kids and was waiting to greet us in the lodge by the time we arrived around 4:00 pm. We’d been walking in the rain for much of the afternoon, so dining room with a warm stove was a welcomed destination. We had hot showers before dinner. Dr. Kami walked down to share dinner with us. By the time our cook staff was putting the dishes away, everyone was ready to go upstairs to the rooms and crawl into sleeping bags. It had been a long full day.