Everest Base Camp 2018 Day 7: Dingboche to Lobuche

Saturday, 17 November 2018

Elevation: Dingboche (4345m) to Lobuche (4910m)
Estimated Distance & Time: 11km / About 6 to 7 hrs

Trekking Route map to Mt. Everest Base Camp --> Route map

Two days away.

We are 2 days away from EBC. After 6 days of continuous hiking, we are barely 48 hours away from our target destination. It was very cold that morning and waking up was not easy. Honestly, rasa nak sambung tidur je balik but no, the trek has to be covered and the destination has to be reached.

Today will be a very tough day for all of us because we will climb more than 500m to reach Lobuche (4910m). And we almost at 5000m altitude.

Today’s route, we will head back up to the same ridge we climbed on yesterday but we will taking it further. We will walk past many peaks to our left, including the spectacular Taboche Peak (6495m), Cholatse (6335m) and many beautiful valleys. 

Beautiful Morning from The Good Luck Hotel

That morning at Good Luck Hotel, Dingboche

Breakfast Day 7

Kami mula bergerak ke Lobuche after breakfast around 7.30 a.m. Kami antara group terawal juga yang memulakan perjalanan nak ke Lobuche tapi macam biasalah, on the way pasti kami akan dipintas oleh Mat Salleh. Lagipun berbeza kalau tengok Mat Salleh dengan Malaysian ni trekking. Mat Salleh ni kalau stop & ambil gambar, sekejap je. Tapi kalau orang kita ni, kalau stop & ambil gambar, selagi tak cantik angle tu selagi tu lah tak bergerak, hahaha. Tapi sebab trekking dengan ketinggian sekarang ni, memang kami bergerak agak slow & banyak berhenti juga. Tapi kalau boleh elak berhenti terlalu lama sebab nanti badan akan cepat sejuk. At least, slow walk pun dah cukup nak maintain body temp. 

The route to Thukla & Lobuche

The first part of the trek was relatively on flat land heading towards Lobuche. Tapi ada masa tu, akan rasa susah juga nak bernafas sebab altitude semakin tinggi. For the first 2 hours, we will only be walking towards an unseen turn. However, the land is vast and you will be amazed by the scenery that surrounds you. Beauty beyond description. 

Starting path of the track... It’s pretty flat for the first two hours

Today’s exceptional panorama is made up of the Taboche and Cholatse peaks

The times I spend in nature are the some of the moments I feel most alive

Periche seen from top... we will go that way on the way back from EBC

Nothing beats His Beautiful Creation

Take time to enjoy the natural Beauty that surrounds you

Boleh imagine sejuk gila masa ni

Route to Lobuche

Route to Lobuche

The Yaks follow the same way to Thukla

Ada juga yang naik kuda nak sampai ke Lobuche

We will stop somewhere between Periche to Thukla

House made from stones

If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere

We already 2 hours away from Dingboche

To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles

Our Guide, Deepak

Beautiful things don’t ask for attention

Beautiful view as we approaching Thukla

Almost there

Crossing the small bridge to Thukla

Ice on River

Route that we has just passed

Arrived at Thukla for Lunch break

After about 3 to 4 hours (depend on your pace), kita akan tiba di Thukla, a small town before the steep incline towards Lobuche. We stopped for a while at Thukla for a quick lunch. Masa kami tiba di Thukla dah ramai hikers yang sampai disini. So, macam susah juga nak dapat space for rest. For lunch, kami still order Nasi Putih 2 sebab kami akan makan Bersama lauk from Malaysia & 1 Noodle Soup (syarat nak buat kuah saja). Selera aku masih macam biasa cuma Fad sajalah tak berapa nak lalu makan. Makan juga tapi tak banyak. Masa sampai tadi dia dah muntah dulu. Risau juga tengok kondisi Fad sebab dalam keadaan macam ni, kami perlukan energy yang banyak untuk ke Lobuche sebab lepas ni trek agak steep nak sampai ke Chukpo Lari before sampai ke Lobuche. Tapi, kalau let say tak lalu makan heavy meals, boleh je ganti dengan snacks yang korang bawa, at least, you have something to eat for energy. 

We will stop at Kalapathar Lodge at Thukla for lunch & short rest

Thukla with Arakam Tse background view

Lunch

Leaving Tukhla for Lobuche

After lunch, we will continue our journey to the final destination for today, Lobuche. Another about 3 hours journey (my pace). The next part of the route takes us up a steep incline to Chukpo Lari, but on the way trekking, try to make sure you look back and admire the views from all angles.

The trail to Lobuche

We will be facing a steep incline right after Thukla which will take about an hour to climb before reaching Lobuche Memorials or Chukpo Lari, a place dedicated for the brave warriors who have fallen during their attempt to ascent Mount Everest. The memorial is surrounded by mountains and are chosen by the locals for the fallen ones, a place where they love which is the mountains. We stopped for a while here and continued our way across towards Lobuche. 

As we walk headed for Lobuche, the beautiful view comes into picture

Thukla Village view from the top otw to Lobuche

Arrived at Lobuche Memorials

Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn

The final resting place for the brave souls who attempts Mount Everest

Lobuche is about 2 hours of hike away from Lobuche Memorial park and we will be crossing a very rocky path. There will be minimal elevation gain up until Lobuche. Not to focus on the ‘final’ destination, but rather to take full advantage of the jaw-dropping views that our trek offers.

Beautiful mountain ranges surround your journey towards Lobuche

Route to Lobuche

Route to Lobuche

Route to Lobuche

Route to Lobuche

There's Ice otw to Lobuche

Arrived at Lobuche

We reached Lobuche at around 4.30pm. We stayed at Mother Earth Hotel.

Santosh our porter dah tunggu kat depan Hotel nak pass the room key. Sampai-sampai je, aku terus ke bilik sebab kat dining hall ramai sangat orang. So, while waiting for Fad, aku sempat tidur dulu kat bilik. Biasalah bila dah sampai tempat tinggi ni, oxygen akan berkurangan & we tend to feel sleepy. Sejuk yang amat tapi bertabah lah because we still have one more day to our final destination tomorrow.

Fad & Deepak sampai di Guesthouse 30min later. Condition Fad masa tu agak kritikal juga sebab sakit perut & loya. Masa dinner pun, Fad tak lalu makan dah. Nak paksa pun dah tak boleh sebab dia cakap memang tak boleh masuk. Masa tu, aku dah fikir yang Fad is slowly getting the mild AMS eventhough dia tak rasa sakit kepala. 

AMS symptom ni bukan setakat sakit kepala saja tapi pening (dizziness), tak lalu makan, loya (nausea), sakit otot (muscle aches), susah nak bernafas pun antara symptom AMS. So, kalau dah ada symptom yang lain tu selain sakit kepala, please let your guide know about this, jangan diam & assume ok je semata-mata nak sampai ke EBC walaupun pada hakikatnya your body is suffering.

Our stay at Lobuche, The Mother Earth Hotel

Our Room at Lobuche

Traditional Heater

  

Simple Dinner at Lobuche... Garlic Soup & Tibetan Bread

We ended our day with dinner and an early rest because we will start very early from Lobuche to Gorakshep at 7.00am. Tomorrow will be the day. Finally, we will reach Everest Base Camp. InsyaAllah.

To be continued...