Machermo, Gokyo Ri and Beyond

Adrian Davis / 29.11.2011

After several days trekking up to Machermo at 4,440 metres the Everest Marathon group settled in to camp expecting the coldest nights yet. However, after -11C in Kumjung and ice on the tents we were pleasantly surprised to get some mild nights and most people seemed to sleep well.

The scenery really opens out after the Mong La (3,975m) where we enjoyed fantastic views of Mounts Ama Dablam and Tamserku. The steep climb after lunch at Phortse Tenga to Dole made people realize the altitude effect but everyone pulled together and some singing with the Sherpas went down well.

The freezing forest was lovely, with icicles hanging from slippery rocks on open cliff faces. A night in Dole followed by the short trek to Machermo allowed everyone a reasonable day of recovery.

I pressed on the next day to climb Gokyo Ri (5483m) with Bhim and Dr Christine supported ably by our Sherpa (who incidentally had climbed Everest 9 times), the day was just a stroll in the park for him! The magnificent views which lay before us on the summit are memories of a lifetime. We returned before dark to Machermo and briefed the teams of what lay ahead.

Peter leading the red group and Cathy leading the yellow group commenced their day to Gokyo Ri in glorious sunshine at 7am, as Bhim and I departed for the long descent to Namche to rejoin Diana for the Nepali race registration. Iâ€™m sure another fine day was had by all.

[This trek is part of the acclimatisation for the race on December 2nd. The trekking groups will return down the Gokyo Valley and then regain altitude moving towards the race start at Gorak Shep (5184m), which is a days trek short of Everest Base Camp.]

To find out more about the Everest Marathon and the charities it supports see the <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.everestmarathon.org.uk')" class="main">website</a>.