Mera Peak Expedition — Namdolingomba to Ngyngso Camp

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak — Adheri to Namdolingomba

Saturday, October 15

Morning came at 5:30am as usual, and we were packed and ready by 6am “washing water.” followed by a delicious breakfast of rice pudding. Karlin was late for breakfast for a great reason, he agreed the night before to meet the lama at 7am for morning prayer that consisted of chanting, lighting of candles, refreshing the ceremonial bowls of water, blowing of the symbolic horn and a clashing of cimbals.

Karlin returned to the dining tent about halfway through our breakfast, pronouncing it a very pleasant time at the monastery. He told us that the monk wanted to talk further after the ceremony and talked for some time about the monastery and his high hopes for it. The monk told Karlin that he was in the process of adding new rooms and was concerned about the work stopping before other monks would come to live there. He also told Karlin that monastery is an exceptional meditation spot that receives a visit from a higher-level lama two to three times per year because of its peaceful and spiritual qualities.

On the trail

Our hike began with as it ended the day before, by going up a slippery and steep trail. At times the trail was the same as the stream bed and quite muddy. We walked for about two hours to the village of Panggom, where phones still worked and our last texts were sent. We took a short break and were served a sweet black tea that refreshed us and had us ready to cross the mountain above us. It also warmed us up in the damp cold of this higher elevation.

Hinku Valley

We had been walking in the mist all morning except for a brief view of blue sky at Panggom. From Panggom, we continued uphill until we reached 3185 m at a bench and buddhist prayer flags that marked Banjang, a Sherpa word for “pass”, which is also known as “la” in other parts of Nepal. From Banjang, we made our way steeply down to the village of Subijee at 3011 m. By the time we reached the village, our kitchen staff had already arrived and was set up for lunch at just 11am. Most significantly, the pass we crossed took us out of the valley of the Dudh Kosi and its Rai population and into the Hinku Valley, home of Sherpa people. This valley would take us the remainder of the way to Mera Peak.

From Subije, we continued mostly downhill to Ngyngso, at 2830 m., a small woodcutting camp that doubles as a general store and bunkhouse. We paid a somewhat extortional 500 rupees (about $7) for a large bottle of San Miguel beer that tasted wonderful after a day of trekking. The proprietor, Pasang Sherpa, brought in a handmade table he had just completed only a few minutes before our arrival to act as our desk for writing and bar for our beers.

This brand-new tea house had exterior walls of newly laid stone interspersed with new beams to tie the rock together. It was dark inside but smelled of new wood. We had the option of traveling further, but the next camp was three more hours up the trail and too far for today. The porters planned to sleep in the same place we were dining, so they closed the windows, immediately causing the room to fill with smoke from the fire and driving the Westerners out. We ended up headed to bed at only 6:30pm and were resting comfortably until 5:30am when we were awakened by the sound of the cooks talking.

Up next: Ngyngso Camp to Odare Camp