Mr. Feng is our old customer, who has been looking for us to participate in various travel routes in Tibetan areas all the year round. But he doesn't like us calling him Mr. Feng, but Xiaofeng. Xiaofeng is a person who doesn't talk too much. He doesn't ask us all kinds of questions before departure. After the trip, he will send us "An" or "Thank you" to finish, so that we seriously suspect that Xiaofeng is not I like to communicate with people. But this time Xiaofeng participated in our last hike in Karma Valley this year. Through his hiking diary, we found that Xiaofeng is a literary youth with a delicate heart and full of romantic feelings, and his writing is fluent and beautiful. The text is full of respect for nature and love of life! In the following text of this article, we will recount in Xiaofeng's own tone his trekking trip to Karma Valley during the National Day holiday.
At the beginning of September, after hiking from Zhayana, I felt a little sense of accomplishment. The four-day Zhayana hike was just a small test of plateau hiking for me. I have to come here once in a serious way. It is enjoyable to hike through the plateau. I happened to see that the company that often participates in the route is convening the National Day hike in the Karma Valley on the east slope of Mount Everest. After confirming that there is a place, I immediately signed up. I have all the plateau hiking equipment ready-made, there is no need to buy any more, just wait quietly to gather in Lhasa on 9.30. I can’t remember how many times I’ve come to Lhasa. This time I flew directly to the plateau. Fortunately, I’m basically immune to altitude sickness. I stayed at the hotel and had simple pre-departure meetings and dinners. On October 1st, we officially set off on the day of the National Day. We did not choose to go directly to Shigatse from National Highway 318. Instead, we detoured the provincial road and passed through Yamdrok Yongcuo. We saw Yanghu Lake again. Stay in Shigatse today.
On October 2, about the trekking in Karma Valley on the east slope of Mt. Everest "Some people say that any way of trying to get close to Mt. Everest is the ultimate expression of returning to nature. Facing the top of the world, even if you don't climb, you will cry impulse."
Starting from Shigatse, after a day of turbulence, we finally entered Everest National Park again. Unlike the last time I went to the north slope of Mount Everest, this time I went to the east slope of Mount Everest. Turn over the last pass and watch Mount Everest from a distance. The weather is fine, Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Shishapangma are lined up. It's so spectacular from a distance, but what about up close? expect!
Stay in Youpa Village, Qudang Township tonight, and tomorrow will officially start an 8-day trekking trip in the world's most beautiful valley - Karma Valley on the East Slope of Mount Everest.
2018-10-3 The first day of hiking
sunny
Itinerary: Youpa Village (3800M)→_→Xiaowu Camp (4700M)
Ascent altitude: 1000 meters
Walking distance: 10km
Time spent: 4.5 hours
Karma Valley is located in Karma Zangbo and the valley on the west side between Dingri County and Dingjie County. The whole valley is 55 kilometers long from east to west. It is a beautiful valley with an altitude of 2000 meters to more than 5000 meters. The huge drop makes the valley The ecological types here are very rich. There is the best-preserved and largest primeval forest in the Mount Everest region. Gorgeous rhododendrons, huge cypress trees, dense seabuckthorn trees, birds and beasts that appear and disappear, waterfalls, wetlands and lakes complement each other, presenting a wonderful and beautiful landscape. Strange natural picture scroll. This is a superb fantasy line for hiking and photography under the highest peak in the world, and it is a precious gift from the roof of the world to mankind.
Among the few ditches in the Himalayas, only Karma Ditch is not connected to roads. This place is far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and there is no outside intrusion. The only means of transportation is yaks. Today, few people still set foot here. This beautiful valley is nestled quietly in the arms of Mount Everest, enjoying the loneliness and tranquility of the snowy area. There are many rare wild animals and plants here, and the plateau lakes are dotted. You can watch the world's first peak - Mount Everest, the world's fourth peak - Lhotse, the world's fifth peak - Makalu, and the whole territory in China. The second peak in the world - Mount Everest (Editor's Note: There should be an error here, the second highest peak in the world is still controversial in the mountaineering industry). It is called: "the most beautiful valley in the world", "one of the top ten landscapes in the world", and "one of the top ten classic hiking routes in the world". This is the Karma Valley on the east slope of Mount Everest.
This is a top trekking route for domestic snow mountain adventure photography under the highest peak in the world. You can see the four peaks above 8,000 meters in the core of the Himalayas and many surrounding snow mountains of 6,000-7,000 meters.
Walking into this mysterious holy land, wandering in the embrace of snow mountains, you will enjoy an unprecedented feast of snow mountains, which you will never forget!
Today is the first day of our 8-day hike in Karma Valley. It gets light around 8:00 and gets dark around 20:00. In the morning, put the equipment into the bag and give it to the yak workers. They are responsible for carrying it to our camp today. We only need to carry drinking water, dry food and other necessary equipment on the road for the day. The yaks and yak workers here are arranged and dispatched by the village, and each village takes turns. Maybe the yak arranged for us is far away from here and arrived at 10 o'clock.
We started hiking from Yupa Village at 3800M at 11:30. We first walked up a gentle slope along a river valley. The clouds and mist floating in the mountains and the dazzling sunshine make you believe that you have entered the real Tibet. Climb all the way to Xiaowula Pass at 4800M. At this time, light snow began to fall in the sky, and the temperature dropped quickly. The down jacket was carried by the yak in the pack, so we could only speed up and approach the camp. We arrived at the Xiaowucuo camp at 4700M at 3:30 in the afternoon. The yaks hadn’t arrived because they started too late. At this time, the snow was still falling and the temperature was getting lower and lower. The team members who arrived early could only squeeze into the stone huts of the herdsmen. Warm yourself by the fire.
Xiaowucuo is an alpine lake under the Xiaowula Pass. The water of the lake is crystal clear. The drinking water for tonight and tomorrow is taken from here. At around five o'clock, the yak finally arrived. After setting up the tent, I first boiled some hot water with my own portable kitchen, and went to the public big tent to drink tea and chat with the team members. After dinner, the snow was still falling, but stars could be seen in the sky.
The weather was bad today, so I didn't get any beautiful pictures. Hope it clears up tomorrow.
2018-10-4 The second day of hiking
Weather: light snow
Itinerary: Xiaowu Camp (4700M)→_→--Zhuoxiang (4000M)
Ascent 250 meters, descent 1000 meters
Walking distance: 10km
Time spent: 7 hours
It snowed all night, the temperature dropped rapidly, and it was below zero at night. After listening to the sound of the wind, the sound of snow beating the tent, and the yak's copper bells all night, I was also worried that the snow would collapse the tent, so I fell asleep in the middle of the night.
I got up at 7:30 in the morning, and the snow was still falling. It seemed that the Sunshine Golden Mountains of Makalu and Everest and their reflections in Xiaowucuo were no longer visible. Just when everyone felt that there was no hope, the snow suddenly stopped, Makalu Peak was slowly exposed, and a ray of sunshine sprinkled on Makalu Peak in time. At this time, someone shouted: Makalu sunshine shines on Jinshan. But the clouds were too thick, and it was only vaguely visible. Even so, everyone was very happy. The sunshine on Jinshan lasted for about 2 or 3 minutes, and then it began to snow again.
Originally, I wanted to wait for the snow to stop before setting off, crossing the Xiaowula pass, but the snow did not stop until 10:30, so I had to set off in the snow. Due to the snow that fell all night, crossing the Xiaowula pass has become a snow-climbing mountain, and the difficulty has increased a lot. The road down the mountain is basically gravel and muddy roads stepped on by yaks. In addition, it was very difficult to walk in the snow. Several team members fell, but fortunately they were not injured. After crossing the pass, all the way down, most of them are rocky roads along the river valley, and with snow, the physical exertion is very high. Due to the snow, neither Makalu nor Karma Valley can be seen from the pass.
The moment I went down to the bottom of the valley, I was stunned by the beautiful scenery in front of me. A stream rushed down. Both sides of the stream were covered with alpine rhododendrons. Various wild flowers were distributed among them. The whole valley was rich in color and gorgeous. This is the Xueruo River Valley. Due to the low altitude and the influence of the warm and humid air flow from the Indian Ocean, the rainfall here is abundant, the vegetation is dense, and the plants are rich in variety and full of vitality. It is also known as the Orchid Valley. Because of the snow, the fog in the valley was so foggy that the photo was not effective. To reach the Zhuoxiang Camp at the end of the valley through the Xueruo River Valley, you have to go through a long section of rocky riverbank, which is also very difficult to walk. Although the distance today is only 10 kilometers, the team members are quite tired due to the snow and slippery road. After eating, I went into the tent to rest, and I didn't have the energy to chat. Still only mobile 2G.
It has turned to sleet at night, and I hope the rain will stop tomorrow. Otherwise, not to mention the beautiful scenery, the journey will be very difficult.
2018-10-5 The third day of hiking
Weather: light snow turns sunny
Itinerary: On the third day of hiking: Zhuoxiang (4000M) - Tangxiang (4550M) - Regar (3800M)
Rising height: 700M
Walking distance: 14km
Time spent: 6 hours
Zhuoxiang was camped last night. It snowed all night, and it cleared up in the morning. Looking around the camp, there are snow mountains everywhere. The team members held their cameras and waited for the Rizhao Jinshan to appear (Figure 1). Zhuoxiang is a demarcation point of the vegetation in Garma Valley. Below Zhuoxiang (4000M), the vegetation presents the characteristics of diversity. In this season, wild flowers are blooming, and the leaves of some plants have also begun to change color, and the colors are very rich. Zhuoxiang and above
It is basically dominated by coniferous forests, and the vegetation is relatively simple. Further up is the alpine meadow. Zhuoxiang is also the upper limit of the virgin forest distribution in Karma Valley. (figure 2)
Today we set off through a virgin forest and cross the first pass. The primeval forest is muddy due to the melting snow. After crossing the pass, you will come to a second-level step on the north side of Gamagou. Here we can see Karma Valley (Figure 3) and Chentang Valley (Figure 4) at the same time. Afterwards, we walked among the alpine meadows of the Himalayas, going up and down the mountains, and passing through Cuolang Lake (Figure 5), Tasong Ranch, and Shannon Ranch. Maybe it was snowing and the weather was fine, and the team members were in a good mood, and started to pose for pictures ( Figure 6). After crossing the last pass today, I saw the Tangxiang Observation Deck (Figure 7), and also saw the first glacier of this trip (Figure 8). However, due to the lack of water in Tangxiang, which could not meet the living needs of the team, they temporarily moved to Rega at the bottom of the valley to camp (Figure 9).
2018-10-6 The fourth day of hiking
Weather: moderate to light snow
Itinerary: Regar camp (4200M) rest in place
Yesterday, some team members had a dispute with the team leader for not being able to camp in Tangxiang. The reason is that Tangxiang is the best viewing platform for watching Mount Everest and Makalu during this trip, and the team leader thinks that Tangxiang did not have enough time during this trip. The water supply does not meet the conditions for camping. Some of the team members are photography enthusiasts. These thoughts are understandable. The team leader made the right decision for the safety and security of the whole team. Sometimes, things have two sides, and there is no absolute right or wrong. If we can let go of some attachments, we will be more happy. It takes eight days to get close to the Himalayas, at the foot of Mount Everest, the roof of the world, in the most beautiful valley in the world, where the sky is the tent, the ground is the bed, and it is integrated with nature.
Hiking has different goals for everyone. For me, it is an experience, a memory, and a wealth. I've been here, I've seen it, I've thought about it... just fine.
It snowed all night again. I didn’t camp in Tangxiang yesterday, so I don’t have to go down the big slope of Tangxiang in the snow today; I can’t see anything from the viewing platform in snowy days, and I feel less regretful; I walked more on a sunny day yesterday. You can walk less on the snowy day today. Looking back now, everything was the best arrangement.
The snow is still falling, and the landslide section ahead is impassable. The mobile signal is gone. At noon, the team leader will use the satellite phone to contact the outside world to learn about the weather trend outside. Prepare with both hands: if the general trend of the weather is continuous heavy snowfall, then retreat when the snow is light. If the snowfall is only the microclimate of Gamagou, then wait for the snow to stop before continuing to move forward. But no matter what the situation, safety first is always the only criterion.
At noon, it was determined that there was a landslide in the road ahead. In order to ensure safety, we will rest in place today. The team members took out their own food preparations for dinner, sipped tea, drank wine, and chatted. In the evening, the team leader and the yak worker led the team members to dance around the bonfire in Guozhuang. A leisurely day.
Tomorrow, camping point - Egar (4700M). Hope the weather improves.
2018-10-7 Fifth day of hiking
Weather: light snow
Itinerary: Rega Camp (4200M) - Erga Camp (4700M)
Ascent height: 600
Walking distance: 7 kilometers
Time spent: 5 hours
I got up early and the snow was still falling, and the sky began to clear around 9 o'clock. Looking at this trend, I can see the beautiful scenery of the snow-capped mountains today. Breakfast, pack your bags. And then... it started snowing again.
There has been no signal for two days. The mobile base stations here are all powered by solar energy. If it snows, there will be no power supply.
At 10:30, the snow was still falling. The team leader notified the departure of the camp. Today's journey is about 7 kilometers, and the difficulty lies in climbing a rocky landslide at an altitude of 4800M. Due to the snow, the difficulty of climbing increased a lot. About an hour and a half after setting off, we climbed the first hillside, and the team leader told us to rest in the herdsman's stone house first, and wait for the yak team in the "hiking China" in front of us to go down the rocky slope before starting to prevent the yaks from stepping on the rocky roll Falling behind hurts. The team members can only warm up in the stone house and wait. During the National Day, the Karma Valley on the east slope of Mt. The team, the three teams add up to about 70 people, and the yak workers are close to 100 people. The "Hiking China" yak team came down at 13 o'clock, and we started to climb the mountain. The hillside was full of rocks, and it was very difficult to climb the mountain. This section consumes the most physical strength. When approaching the top of the mountain, it begins to cut across a gentle slope, and then descends to the Erga camp at 4700M.
Around 5:30 in the afternoon, our first group of team members had arrived at the camp. Erga Camp is an alpine pasture located at an altitude of 4,700 meters, with clear streams and lush pastures, making it an excellent camping spot. Today I picked a piece of land by the stream and set up a tent, which can be regarded as a water view tent.
Tomorrow all players have three options:
1. Stay in the camp and sleep until you wake up naturally. View Makalu, Lhotse, and Mount Everest from a distance in the camp.
2. Departure to Mount Everest BC Base Camp at 6:00 and return to the camp before 2:00 pm.
3. Those who go to Baidang to watch Makalu Peak at a close distance also start at 6 o'clock and can return to the camp before noon.
If it is still snowing tomorrow morning. All the team members stood by and did not need to go anywhere.
It is 22:30 and the snow is still falling. The alarm clock is set for five o'clock tomorrow morning, and when the snow stops, I will go to work in vain, and continue to sleep if it doesn't stop.
To be continued~