Helicopter Flight from Tengboche to Kala Pathar and Everest View Hotel
As Tengboche was the last place on the EBC trail that had hot water, and I’m partial to a shower after a hike, I decided to treat myself to a helicopter flight from Tengboche to Kala Pathar (5550 m) and take the heli back to Kathmandu as my plan was to go on to Lumbini the next day. Kala Pathar is above the current Everest Base Camp (they are moving it further south due to the increased avalanche danger from the melting glaciers) and has the best views of the area. I woke up at 5:30 to the sounds of soft gongs that grew progressively louder from the monastery calling the monks to the 6 am service. I remembered that I’d read or heard that visitors were allowed into the service, so I got ready to head across the field to the monastery. Once there, the sign very clearly stated that it was open at 7am, not 6, although the gongs had now been overtaken by the sounds of the ritual conch shell. The monks were gathering, but there weren’t any other foreigners, so I decided it would be best to go back, grab the GoPro and take early morning photos. The sun gently coming over the peaks and the light playing off the snow-covered glaciers was fascinating to watch – even if it was literally freezing cold and had slightly snowed overnight. I went back to the room just in time to meet Ramesh, who said the helicopter would be coming at 7:30 not sometime between 8-9. We had a quick breakfast, apple porridge and lemon tea, and went to meet the flying bird. We waited, but it didn’t come. Finally, Ramesh got a call that it wouldn’t be coming until after 8:30 so we went into the neighboring Trekker’s Lodge for another tea to warm up. While there, I was again struck by the international nature of the trekking groups and by the difference in the groups in Namche vs. those in Tengboche. Namche’s appeared more laid back; it is an actual town where both foreigners and Nepalis live. While it lives off of and caters to trekkers and climbers, people really do live there, and some trekkers may be only doing day hikes from this base. The trekkers in Tengboche on the other hand were serious hikers. They were on a mission. And it was irrelevant which country they came from the goal was the same – a serious Himalayan trek, be it to Ama Dablam or Everest Base Camp. Those going to the Goyko Lakes took a different route from Namche Bazar as did those going to Thame.
The helicopter arrived, red painted with a fire-breathing dragon, and we took off only to land a few spectacular minutes later on a plateau fairly high up. There were four people on board when I joined, they had all flown in from Kathmandu for a day trip, and that was too many for the Kala Pathar portion, so we split into two groups on the plateau. While the first couple was in the air, the three of us on the ground explored the absolutely bitter glacial river that flowed through the area and the flora that was determined to live at over 4000m. A few pale blue stemless gentians, and some other tiny purplish flowers that I didn’t recognize were still in bloom. There were also a couple of eagles flying above us. When we switched groups, the three of us had a perfect flight right by the South Col and the second camp on Everest. It was simply phenomenal, as was our stop on Kala Pathar for photos. The pilot, Eric Ridengton from British Columbia, let me sit up front on the way back to pick up the others on the plateau. During the flight we followed the flow of the glacier, and I was struck by how light and sandy the debris looked in comparison to the glacial flows in Hunza, Pakistan last year, where the sediment was almost black. I will have to follow up on this to figure out why the dramatic difference. The mountains surrounded the helicopter as we flew back, and Eric was excellent with his explanations of what we were seeing. What I hadn’t realized was that there was a scheduled stop back at the Everest View Hotel, which gave me another opportunity to see the region again from a perspective that I’d only had a brief chance to before. Here a word of caution to anyone going there -they do not sell a cup of tea or coffee one has to purchase a complete meal and breakfast costs $31 which should be paid in cash. I stuck with the water I had brought with me. When Eric dropped us off, he said that an emergency rescue had been called in and that he would be back in an hour or two. After about three, we saw the helicopter land and went to board, but he waved us off saying that there was one more rescue operation before he could get to us. It seems that there are quite a few people who get stuck on the trail and can’t go on. This is similar to what our local Bergrettung, Mountain Rescue teams, find. People often underestimate the mountain and overestimate their ability. Accidents can happen to anyone at any time, but there are those that can be avoided by researching what to expect. On the other hand, many websites say that the EBC trek is easy and can be done by anyone in reasonable condition and this is simply not true. If the trek were at a lower altitude, yes, but not at the heights it is and the lack of hygienic facilities. There is no heat in the guesthouse rooms and when it is cold outside, the rooms are freezing. The lack of a warm shower at the end of a day’s sweaty hike coupled with a cold room, are not conditions that everyone can handle, regardless of their physical condition. Expectations need to be managed, as do one’s reactions to unforeseen events, for the hike to be successful and enjoyable.
The rescue operations ended around 3pm and we were back on our way to Kathmandu. In the meantime, the clouds had rolled in and the wind had picked up. It was turning a bit nasty outside, at least for trekkers. It was a good time to say good-bye to some of the most spectacular mountains on the planet. At the beginning of the trek, I wondered whether I’d made a mistake and wasted money. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was a wonderful experience and the final helicopter flight, which brought me to views that I would not have had from the trail, and landing in Kala Pathar were simply phenomenal. The trek and flight could not have been more perfect.
