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ABODE OF THE GODS
TALES OF TREKKING IN NEPAL
Kev Reynolds
2 POLICE SQUARE, MILNTHORPE, CUMBRIA LA7 7PY
I felt I could go on like this for ever, that life had little better to offer than to march day after day in an unknown country to an unattainable goal.
HW Tilman, Two Mountains and a River (1949)
There are many ways to enjoy mountains: some persons engage their passion by cutting steps in impossible ice walls, others entrust their lives to one fragile piton in a rocky crevice, and still others, I among them, prefer simply to roam the high country.’
George B Schaller, Stones of Silence (1988)
About the Author
Kev Reynolds has spent over 50 years walking, climbing and trekking in some of the world’s greatest mountain ranges. In that time he has written over 40 guidebooks describing adventurous routes among the Alps, Pyrenees and high Himalayan regions of Nepal, which have inspired many thousands of others to follow in his footsteps. He was the contributing editor to Cicerone’s Trekking in the Himalaya, published in 2013, a lavishly illustrated guide to 20 major treks, extending from Nanga Parbat in the extreme west to Bhutan in the far east. In the same year Cicerone published his memoir A Walk in the Clouds – a compilation of short stories harvested from Kev’s wide-ranging mountain experiences.
When he’s not away on trek or describing his journeys in books and magazines, he can be found travelling throughout the British Isles, evoking the mood and magic of the mountain world through his lectures. A member of the Alpine Club and Austrian Alpine Club, and an Honorary Life Member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, Kev lives in rural contentment with his wife in view of what he calls ‘the Kentish Alps’. Check him out at www.kevreynolds.co.uk.
© Kev Reynolds 2015
First edition 2015
ISBN: 978 1 85284 771 5
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated.
For Kirken Sherpa, who makes the impossible possible, and the porters of Nepal – unsung heroes of the Himalaya
Acknowledgements
Frank McCready of Sherpa Expeditions in London gave me my first opportunity to travel to Nepal, so I owe him a huge debt of gratitude, both for that trek and for its consequences. Over the years Kirken Sherpa has taken care of the logistics of numerous Himalayan treks for me. Together we’ve journeyed to some of the more remote regions of Nepal and shared a host of happy memories. He and various members of his staff – among them Amit, Chombe, Dorje, Jetta, Kumar, Mila, Mingma, Netra, Pemba, Phurba and Tashi (and all the unnamed porters) – made possible what at times seemed impossible or at least improbable, while in Mugu, local men Ranga, Chongdi and Sonam added much to the success of our travels. Thanks too to Alan Payne who joined me on several of the earlier treks, to my old friend Bart Jordans who knows the Himalaya better than most, to Dave and Leonie Etherington for leadership and laughter on my first Manaslu Circuit, and to all those whose company added to the joys of trekking in Nepal. They include Maggie Dilley, Martin Fry, Isabelle Lowenthal, Steve Neville, Wendy Payne, John Robertson, Clive and Frances Shelley, Sue Viccars, Janette Whittle and Ralph Wildgans. Jonathan Williams, publisher and friend, has not only been good company in the Himalaya, but agreed to produce this title under the Cicerone imprint. Special thanks to him and all his highly talented team in Milnthorpe for putting this book together, and for their continuing friendship. My editor, Hazel Clarke, has been wonderfully supportive and thoughtful in helping to shape these stories, while designer Clare Crooke created the maps and illustrations with her typical flair – it’s been a joy, as ever, to work with both of them. And last but by no means least, I must thank my wife, Min, for supporting so many of my early treks in Nepal when money was tight, for sharing the dreams and then joining me for some of the best treks of all. To her and all the above, I offer my heartfelt thanks.
Kev Reynolds
Front cover: Everest and Nuptse, the classic trekker’s view from Kala Pattar
THE EARTH MOVED
At around midday on Saturday 25 April 2015 Nepal was shaken by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. Just over two weeks later, a second major quake rocked the country, adding to the devastation wrought by the first.
In the Kathmandu Valley ancient buildings classified as Unesco World Heritage Sites – some that had fallen victim to an earlier earthquake in 1934 but had been painstakingly rebuilt – crumbled into heaps of rubble. Houses, hotels, restaurants and shops collapsed, trapping many people inside.
North and west of the capital the epicentre of the first quake sent out waves of destruction, releasing avalanches of snow, ice and rock onto unsuspecting villages. Communities that for decades had captivated newcomers to Nepal with their groups of thatched cottages strung along foothill ridges like those of Helambu, fell into ruin, while others were carried away by landslide.
The village of Langtang was overwhelmed by an avalanche released from Langtang Lirung, burying its houses, trekkers’ lodges and their occupants – locals and visiting trekkers alike. A similar fate happened to Thame in the Bhote Kosi Valley, childhood home of Sherpa Norgay Tenzing, first man on Everest’s summit in 1953 along with Ed Hillary. Everest Base Camp was flattened by avalanche debris swept from the headwall of the Khumbu Valley, causing many deaths among climbers and Sherpas.
A number of remote villages described in this book will have changed for ever; some have disappeared completely. And who knows how many of the Sherpas, porters and lodge keepers who add the human touch to stories in the following pages have fallen victim to the day the earth moved?
In the 1934 earthquake, some 17,000 Nepalis lost their lives. It will be months (maybe years) before the full human cost of these latest tragedies are known. But long after the horrors of 25 April and 12 May 2015 have been forgotten by the world’s media, Nepal will still be coming to terms with their aftermath.
Fortunately, the Nepali people are nothing if not resilient. They will rebuild their homes and their lives, and their smiles will once again greet visiting trekkers and mountaineers with the same genuine warmth that has become their trademark. Please support them by trekking their trails, climbing their mountains to provide employment and feed the local economy.
Earnings from sales of this book will go towards supporting the work of Community Action Nepal, which has spent more than 20 years improving the living conditions of remote mountain communities of this beautiful country. So thank you for buying a copy and thereby adding to that support. Dhanyabaad.
Visit www.canepal.org.uk or contact Community Action Nepal, Stewart Hill Cottage, Hesket Newmarket, Wigton, Cumbria CA7 8HX
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER
