Pls advise: Nepal: Trekking from Jiri to Everest Base Camp via Gokyo and Cho La Pass

[askaboutlife]

Pls advise: Nepal: Trekking from Jiri to Everest Base Camp via Gokyo and Cho La Pass

This thread is a carry-over from another thread on trekking to Annapurna Base Camp.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/threads/594741-Nepal-Trekking-to-Annurpurna-Base-Camp-Any-tips/page6

After doing some research, I am considering to trek to Everest Base Camp instead.
Here is my itinerary.

If you have been on this trek, I would love to hear from you! =)
At which village onwards do we need to pay to charge batteries?? I read on a blog that at Laboche, it costs NR300 (SGD6) per hour of charging!!!
How are the food and water?
Recommendation of essential things to bring? Or things to buy in Kathmandu?
Etc etc...

On the photography note, I am a new DSLR user (yes, I bought it for this trip!! =)
Will be bringing the Pentax K-r, 18-55mm (f3.5 to 5.6), CPL filter, tripod and remote control. Yeah, its a bare minimum configuration, but that's what i can afford so far. =P
Went to the library today to borrow books on photography and landscape shooting.
I hope to do night photography also, capturing the starry sky (that's the main reason for bringing the remote control).
Any tips fro fellow CSers???

Cheers! =)


Day 1 15 Mar 11 Tue Flight from Singapore to Kathmandu 1343m.
Day 2 16 Mar 11 Wed Kathmandu 1343m
Day 3 17 Mar 11 Thu Bus from Kathmandu 1343m to Jiri 1948m and Bhandar 2211m
Day 4 18 Mar 11 Fri Treking starts from Bhandar 2211m. Next stop: Sete 2569m
Day 5 19 Mar 11 Sat Junbesi 2691m
Day 6 20 Mar 11 Sun Nuntala 2217m
Day 7 21 Mar 11 Mon Bupsa 2300m
Day 8 22 Mar 11 Tue Chublung 2650m
Day 9 23 Mar 11 Wed Namche 3547m
Day 10 24 Mar 11 Thu Mong La 4018m
Day 11 25 Mar 11 Fri Dole 4016m
Day 12 26 Mar 11 Sat Machermo 4416m
Day 13 27 Mar 11 Sun Gokyo 4765m
Day 14 28 Mar 11 Mon Gokyo 4765m (day trip to Gokyo Ri 5333m)
Day 15 29 Mar 11 Tue Dragnag 4661m
Day 16 30 Mar 11 Wed Dzonglha 4843m via Cho La Pass 5420m
Day 17 31 Mar 11 Thu Lobuche 4938m
Day 18 1 Apr 11 Fri Gorak Shep 5076m (day trip to Kala Patter 5638m)
Day 19 2 Apr 11 Sat Gorak Shep 5076m (day trip to EBC 5436m)
Day 20 3 Apr 11 Sun Pheriche 4256m
Day 21 4 Apr 11 Mon Tengboche 3860m
Day 22 5 Apr 11 Tue Namche 3547m
Day 23 6 Apr 11 Wed Lukla 2858m
Day 24 7 Apr 11 Thu Flight from Lukla to Kathmandu 1343m
Day 25 8 Apr 11 Fri Spare day
Day 26 9 Apr 11 Sat Spare day
Day 27 10 Apr 11 Sun Spare day
Day 28 11 Apr 11 Mon Flight from Kathmandu to Singapore

 

[askaboutlife]

I have come back from Gokyo and Everest Base Camp!
Walked for 21 days, from village to village, to get to these places to admire the amazing, dramatic landscape!

Click here to see photos! =)
(Taken with Pentax K-R and 18-55mm kit lens + CPL)

 

[alexblessed]

ahhhh i went EBC (only climbed Kala Pattar), then went Cho La Pass to Gokyo. Miss the place...

Anyway if ur planning to use DSLR, bring extra cash for batt charging. The prices get higher the higher u climb. Coke is about SGD6-8 a bottle, you can get by with minimal cash (i did ) but if u bring more cash u can enjoy slightly more. If you are engaging a porter, then yeah tripod will be good to bring. Your kit lens is more than good enough, don't worry about that

I'm looking at your itenary, this looks really tough. If any of your party starts getting headaches and nausea, do not climb any further. Look for the nearest village and stay the night, sleep ALOT, drink ALOT of water, and wait for your body to adjust. You'll know when you start to pee tons of water, thats your kidneys thickening your blood for you.

Day 8 22 Mar 11 Tue Chublung 2650m
Day 9 23 Mar 11 Wed Namche 3547m

The itenary for Cho La Pass looks good, nice and spread out. Good to put 3 days as buffer at the end as flight cancellations/ delays are very common.

My final tip is if you can afford it, buy a pair of good light trekking shoes. I went with my army boots and blisters were quite bad. You won't have much time nor the cash to bathe or wash clothes, so SAF powder is the best!

 

[ziploc]

He came back already, 1 week ago.

 

[askaboutlife]

haha, yeah, i was back in mid-april... =)

wow, u did cho la! I did not... i was trekking alone (no porter/guide) and i nearly got lost in the ngozumpa glacier morraine... luckily managed to trace back the trail and returned safely to gokyo resort before the sky turned dark... really scary experience....

the next day, i took the gokyo-dole-phortse-periche route to reach gorak shep in 2 days...

oh, i din realise coke is also about Rs300 at gorak shep... i bought only hot water and it was also Rs300 per liter...

totally agree with you abt the SAF goretex boots... though it is super water/snow-resistant, it caused blisters at my heels and toes... luckily bought enough plasters to survive the 23 days of walking...

i've checked in kathmandu, a reasonable pair of goretex trekking shoes is about Rs6000 or about SGD120... before i went Nepal, I saw in Mustafa genuine Timberland midcut goretex shoes going at about SGD150... so the price difference between here and kathmandu is actually quite small...

haha, it's absolutely true abt having shower above namche... it's expensive (Rs300) and it's too freaking cold also, esp if the shower room is a tiny shed outside the main building...

i hope to go ABC this sept! =)

 

[shark]

Hi Guys,

I'm going to EBC in Nov 12. For those who are bringing 2 camera body. How you carry the 2nd body with a daypack?