Trekking in Himalaya - Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri

Everest

 Gokyo Lakes are oligotrophic lakes in Nepal's Sagarmatha National Park, located at an altitude of 4,700–5,000 m (15,400–16,000 ft) above sea level. These lakes are the world’s highest freshwater lake system comprising six main lakes, of which Thonak Lake is the largest. In September 2007, Gokyo and associated wetlands of 7,770 ha (30.0 sq mi) have been designated a Ramsar site.
The Gokyo lake system of 19 lakes is spread over an area of 196.2 ha (485 acres) lying between 4,600 and 5,100 m (15,100 and 16,700 ft). The wetland lies on the head of the Dudh Kosi, which descends from Cho Oyo.

Gokyo Route-map

Gokyo is among the most popular tourist destinations leading towards the Sagarmatha base camp and other areas. Gokyo village at 4,790 metres (15,720 ft) elevation is a major centre in the area. The site is two days walk uphill from Namche Bazaar. A visit to the area often includes climbing Gokyo Ri.

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Gokyo Ri, aka Gokyo Peak (5357 m, 17 575 ft above sea level) is a peak in the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalayas. It is located on the west side of the Ngozumpa Glacier, which is the largest glacier in Nepal, and reputed to be the largest in the whole Himalayas. Gokyo (4750 m, 15 583 ft above sea level), at the base of Gokyo Ri, is a small hamlet of a few stone houses. From Gokyo Ri it is possible to see five 8,000 metre peaks - Mount Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Kangchenjunga, and Cho Oyu.
The Gokyo trek is a fairly popular trekking route. The route itself ends at Gokyo Ri, and trekkers typically turn around at this point and retrace their steps back to the trailhead. There is an alternative mountaineering route that begins near the southern tip of Ngozumpa Glacier and just south of Taujun Lake. This alternative route leads east over the Cho La, a pass at 5420 m (17 782 ft), where it meets with the main Everest Base Camp trek.
There is another higher summit just north of where the main Gokyo trek route ends. It stands at an altitude of 5483 m (17 988 ft) above sea level.

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Mt. Everest Gokyo Lake Trekking - 12-14 days

This trek begins at the mountain airstrip at Lukla a one hour flight from Kathmandu. The trek is an alternative for those who aspire to trek in Khumbu but want to avoid crowd and savour the tranquil nature in the high Himalayas with spectacular panoramic view of Himalayas. We follow the main trail of Everest base camp passing picturesque Sherpa villages and enjoying Sherpa hospitality up to Namche and take a different route ascending along the Dudh Koshi river through rhododendron and conifer forest to the yak herders' settlement of Gokyo valley. Serene beauty of Gokyo lakes in the shadow of snowcapped mountains and the spectacular view of high Himalayas including four of the world's highest 8000 meters peaks (Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Mt. Everest. ) from Gokyo Ri enhance the trek. A traverse to Renjo La take us to tranquil Bhotekoshi valley following the historical trade route between Nepal and Tibet. Renjo La pass offers the unparallel panoramic views of snow capped mountains including Everest. We return to Lukla passing through Thame, a vantage point for the dramatic views of snow capped mountains not seen from anywhere in Khumbu.

Itinerary
Day 01: Khamandu - Lukla by flight. Trek to Phakding.

Day 02: Trek to Namche Bazaar.

Day 03: Rest at Namche Bazar for acclimatization.(you may stay here one more day)

Day 04: Trek to Phortsethanga.

Day 05: Trek to Dole

Day 06: Trek to Machhermo

Day 07: Trek to Gokyo.

Day 08: Climb to Gokyo Ri.

Day 09: Trek to Renjo Pass - Lungden

Day 10: Trek to Thame

Day 11: Trek to Namche Bazar.

Day 12: Trek to Lukla.

Day 13: Lukla - Kathamandu by flight.

Gokyo lake nepal

Trekking Equipments
The following equipment lists are suggested and essential for both camping & teahouse trekking in all trekking routes of NEpal. Make use of this list as a guideline proposal. Some of the Trekking equipments can be hired or bought in the many shops in Katmandu.

Equipments check lists

• Fleece jacket or pullover
• Warm cotton trousers
• Shirts and T-shirts
• Large plastic bag to put inside the bag
• Thermal underwear
• Lightweight cotton long pants
• Long under wear
• Short under wear
• Trekking boot
• Wollen socks
• Light socks
• Camp shoes /Sandals
• Sun hat or scarf
• Lightweight gloves
• Rain Proof coat
• Heavyweight gloves or mittens with a waterproof
• Sleeping bag
• Thermarest:
• Down jacket
• Daypack
• Water bottle
• Sun cream
• Sunglasses with UV protection
• Touch/headlamp with spare bulbs and batteries
• Lip care

Gokyo Cho Oyu Ridge To Gyachung Kang From Fourth Lake

Altitude Sickness
High altitude or mountain sickness is defined when someone feels sick at high altitudes, such as in the mountains or any other altitude-related sicknesses. It is hard to determine who will be affected by altitude-sickness as there are no specific factors that compare with this susceptibility to altitude sickness. However, most people can climb up to 2500 meters (8000 feet) normally.
Generally, different people have different susceptibilities to altitude sickness. For some otherwise healthy people, Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) can begin to appear at around 2000 meters (6,500 feet) above sea level, such as at many mountain ski resorts, equivalent to a pressure of 80 kPa. AMS is the most frequent type of altitude sickness encountered. Symptoms often manifest themselves 6-10 hours after ascent and generally subside in 1 to 2 days, but they occasionally develop into the more serious conditions. Symptoms include headache, fatigue, stomach illness, dizziness, and sleep disturbance.
If you have altitude sickness, you must stay at least two nights at the same altitude until the symptoms have not gone away. If the symptoms of altitude are, worsen descends immediately.

Symptoms of acute mountains sickness (AMS)
1. Nausea
2. loss of appetite
3. Mild shortness of breath with exertion
4. sleep disturbance
5. Breathing irregularity, usually during sleep
6. Dizziness or light headaches
7. Mild weakness
8. Slight swelling of hand and face

Prevention of altitude sickness:
1. Drink at least three litters of water
2. escape from cold
3. ascent slowly
4. Never ascend with obvious symptoms
5. stay one or two more nights at the same altitude
6. avoid alcohol
7. avoid taking narcotic pain medications in more than modest doses
8. descends immediately if symptoms worsen

What do we do in case of high altitude sickness emergency?
 In the cases of mild symptoms, we suggest you to spend one or two night at the same altitude until the symptoms are not improved. In the case of emergency, you must visit to the nearest health post.

In case of emergency helicopter rescue service is available, required a guarantee for payment before the helicopter actually takes off.

Gokyo Fifth Lake

Trekking Season 
Trekking in Nepal is possible at any time of the year depending on where you are going. The most popular seasons are Autumn and Spring.

Autumn: Sep-Nov October and November are really Nepal's highest months - offering excellent weather and tantalizing mountain views.

Winter: Dec-Feb This season is noted for occasional snowfall only at higher elevations. Mountain passes may be snowbound, hence it is ideal for trekking at lower elevations, generally below 3000 meters.

Spring: Mar-May Different varieties of wild flowers, specially the rhododendrons, make the hillside above 5000 meters a haunting paradise during this season. It is mildly warm at lower elevations and at higher elevation over 4000 meters the mountain views are excellent and temperature is quite moderate.

Summer: Jun-Aug Summer months really continue up to mid-September making travel wet and warm. These times are blessed for the keen botanist as the higher valleys and meadows blossom with flowers and lush vegetation. Insect repellent is a nice addition to your What to Bring list. During this season, you can trek in the rain-shadow (places are out of reach of the rain clouds because of the high mountains) areas north of the Himalaya like Mustang and Dolpo.

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Gokyo Valley Trek, Everest Gokyo Trek, Gokyo Ri, Gokyo Lake Trekking Nepal

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To Gokyo 3-5 First Gokyo Lake Longpanga And Cho Oyu

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Related Story : Mt. Lohtse

Highest Mountains of the World

The world’s tallest mountains are some of the most majestic and beautiful things that one can be blessed enough to witness in their lifetime. They are all located in Asia and each reach an altitude of over eight thousand meters in height. There are only fourteen mountains in the world that can boast such a height. Below are the ten highest of these fourteen mountains.

Mount Everest. Standing at about 29,029 feet (8,848 meters), Everest boasts the top spot for the tallest mountain in the world. It is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China and is part of the Himalayan Mountain Range. Although it is the tallest mountain and attracts many climbers of both advanced and limited climbing skill, it is one of the easier mountains to climb. Don’t be mistaken by what we mean by easier, there is still the danger posed by weather changes, winds, temperature and altitude sickness that can make such a long climb difficult, but the terrain is a lot more simple to take than some of the other tallest mountains like K2 or Nanga Parbat.

K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen) is located on the border between Pakistan and China and is part of the Himalayan Mountain Range. It is the second highest mountain in the world and is a far more treacherous climb than Everest. In fact, one of every four people that attempts to reach the summit at about 28,251 feet (8,611 meters), dos not live to see the bottom again. Of all of the highest mountains, above eight thousand meters, K2 has the third highest mortality rate.

Kangchenjunga, once thought to be the tallest mountain in the world, was stated as the third highest mountain at 28,169 feet (8,586 meters) in 1848. Its name translates to “The Five Treasures of the Snow” and each of these peaks is said to represent the five repositories of God: gold, silver, gems, grain and holy books. This mountain is sacred to Kirant religion and because of this when the first expedition to the summit occurred in 1955; the British exploration team stopped a few feet away from the actual summit out of respect. A tradition which most teams that have successfully reached the summit have honorably followed.

Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest at the South Col. It is located on the boarder between Nepal and China and at it highest peak is about 27,940 feet (8,516 meters) high. This mountain is best known for its close proximity to Everest but is special in own right because it is the home of the steepest face of a mountain that is approximately 1.98×1.4 miles in size. This southern face has been the setting for any failed attempts, some notable fatalities and very few successful summit reaches.

Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world and is located about 14 miles east of Everest. It is located on the boarder of Nepal and China. It is an isolated peak that has the unique shape of a four-sided pyramid. There is another subsidiary peak that doesn’t quite meet up to the “eight-thousander” reputation called Kangchungtse, or Makalu II. It lies northeast of the main summit and is connected to it by a arrow saddle called Chomo Lonzo.

Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world and stands at about 26,906 feet (8,201meters) high. Like most of the other Himalayan Mountains, it lies between Nepal and China (Tibet). Its name in Tibetan means “Turquoise Goddess”. It was used as a warm up for climbing Mount Everest when people were first exploring the Himalayan Mountains and today it is considered the easiest of al of the “eight-thousander” mountains to climb.

Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world and is about 26,795 feet (8,167 meters) tall. It is located just north of central Nepal. Its name means “White Mountain”. The South and West faces of Dhaulagiri both feature massive drops; each rises over 4000 meters from its base, and each has been the site of epic climbs. This mountain, along with Annapurna, is home to a more dramatic scene than most of the other mountains, for they face each other while separated by a valley. This is an amazing sight to see, and one of the main reasons why, for thirty years, it was thought to be the highest mountain in the world.

Manaslu, when translated means “Mountain of the Spirit” and is the eighth highest mountain in the world. It is a part of the Nepalese Himalayans and stands at about 26,759 feet (8,156 meters) high. The mountain’s long ridges and valley glaciers offer feasible approaches from all directions, and culminate in a peak that towers steeply above its surrounding landscape. This is the most dominant feature when viewed from far way.

Nanga Parbat is the world’s ninth tallest mountain and stands at about 26,660 feet (8,126 meters) in height. Although the name is Urdu for “Naked Mountain”, for first half of the twentieth century it was known as “Killer Mountain”. It was called this because it used to be an incredibly dangerous climb to the top. Now however, it is less dangerous to climb, but still very difficult. This mountain is an immense and dramatic peak that rises above its surrounding area in Pakistan.

Annapurna is a series of peaks, the highest of which is called Annapurna I, which is the tenth highest mountain in the world. It is located in central Nepal and is approximately 26,545 feet (8,091 meters) tall. Its peaks are some of the world’s most dangerous to climb. In fact, they have a fatality rate of about forty percent.

The wonderful world of Igloo

This is an interesting subject that you may never need to use. But, imagine how cool it would be if there were a situation you had the chance to build an igloo! At least now you would know how to!

Igloo building in Sarek

 An igloo (Inuit language: iglu) or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit.
Although igloos are usually associated with all Inuit, they were predominantly constructed by people of Canada's Central Arctic and Greenland's Thule area. Other Inuit people tended to use snow to insulate their houses, which were constructed from whalebone and hides. Snow is used because the air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. On the outside, temperatures may be as low as −45 °C (−49 °F), but on the inside the temperature may range from −7 °C (19 °F) to16 °C (61 °F) when warmed by body heat alone.

Igloo interior

Types

There are three traditional types of igloos, all of different sizes and all used for different purposes.

• The smallest was constructed as a temporary shelter, usually only used for one or two nights. These were built and used during hunting trips, often on open sea ice.
• Intermediate-sized igloos were for semi-permanent, family dwelling. This was usually a single room dwelling that housed one or two families. Often there were several of these in a small area, which formed an Inuit village.
• The largest igloos were normally built in groups of two. One of the buildings was a temporary structure built for special occasions, the other built nearby for living. These might have had up to five rooms and housed up to 20 people. A large igloo might have been constructed from several smaller igloos attached by their tunnels, giving common access to the outside. These were used to hold community feasts and traditional dances.

Igloo-inside

The snow used to build an igloo must have sufficient strength to be cut and stacked in the right way. The best snow to use for this purpose is snow which has been blown by wind, which can serve to compact and interlock the. The hole left in the snow where the blocks are cut from is usually used as the lower half of the shelter. Sometimes, a short tunnel is built at the entrance to reduce wind and heat loss when the door is opened.

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 Architecturally, the igloo is unique in that it is a dome that can be raised out of independent blocks leaning on each other and polished to fit without an additional supporting structure during construction. An igloo that is built correctly will support the weight of a person standing on the roof. Also, in the traditional Inuit igloo the heat from the kudlik (qulliq, stone lamp) causes the interior to melt slightly. This melting and refreezing builds up a layer of ice that contributes to the strength of the igloo.

The sleeping platform is a raised area. Because warmer air rises and cooler air settles, the entrance area acts as a cold trap whereas the sleeping area will hold whatever heat is generated by a stove, lamp or body heat.

The Central Inuit, especially those around the Davis Strait, lined the living area with skin, which could increase the temperature within from around 2 °C (36 °F) to 10–20 °C (50–68 °F).

Igloo at night

A dog trying to enter inside an Igloo

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resting inside igloo

Community of igloos. (Illustration from Charles Francis Hall's Arctic Researches and Life Among the Esquimaux, 1865)

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child playing igloo-outdoor

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Arctic Bears in front of  igloo

Igloo hotel

Source
More information
Watch How to Build an Igloo (National Film Board of Canada)
An article on igloos from The Canadian Encyclopedia

Related Stories: Marvels of Canada
Northernmost Settlements in the World