Photo Gallery
from Namche to Thyangboche
Map
of the Khumbu
The Gear
that got us there

Introduction

April 1:
Kathmandu
April 2:
Kathmandu
April 3:
Kathmandu
April 4:
Lukla and Phakding
April 5:
Namche
April 6:
Between Namche and Thyangboche
April 7:
Thyangboche
April 8:
Thyangboche
April 9:
Dingboche
April 10:
Dingboche
April 12:
Lobuche

and
Beyond

Trek photos by Peter Potterfield, © 1997 The Zone Network. All rights Reserved.

Arriving here from the United State brings giddy great relief after thirty hours of airline travel, but in a few days the downside takes its revenge. Kathmandu is a sprawling city careening toward the future with no plan and little apparent care. Cars and motorcycles now jam the narrow, winding medieval streets, robbing some parts of the city of their inherent charm and beauty, and polluting the atmosphere to an appalling degree.

In fact, walking around holding one's breath isn't a bad idea.

The city retains its exotic appeal, but the environment is much more hostile. In the decade since I was last here, the change is dramatic. Quiet Thamel, the friendly and picturesque district where the Manang, the Garuda, the Tibetan Guest House have traditionally housed expeditions and trekkers, has born the brunt. Not only have its borders seem to have magically expanded — almost everyone now claims a trendy Thamel address — it's impossible to stroll along to narrow streets without being beeped at and even nudged by a mad and constant traffic stream of rickshaws, motorcycles, and small cars. The intrusion made on this city by motor vehicles cannot be overstated, but who can blame the Nepalese for wanting cars?

The air is another matter. During the dusty time of year, as one approaches a rising cloud of traffic-whipped dust composed primarily of noxious exhaust fumes, but laden with essence of dead dog and human expectoration, the only reasonable impulse is to stop breathing. In fact, walking around holding one's breath isn't a bad idea, and though lots of people carry surgical masks to protect themselves, for most, the dork-factor is just too high to actually wear them in public. So everyone enjoys the city as best they can, relishing warm showers and beds and hoping they eventually get to Lukla without taking a nasty upper respiratory infection along.

For it's the mountains that bring everyone here, and Kathmandu is the way-station, a fascinating if somewhat alarming portal to the mountains.