www.facebook.com/ian.wall.127
ian@offthewalltrekking.com
Having tried to beat the weather system in June resulting in a trip to Sikkim that
did not turn out as expected I planned for a second bite of the ‘wish list
cherry’ in October 2014.
The Tesi Lapcha is a high pass between the
Rolwaling and Khumbu regions of Nepal. The pass is at an altitude of 5744m and
presents a not inconsiderable challenge, with the unclimbed Tengi Ragi Tay
(6948m) to the north and the trekking peak Parchamo (6273m) to the south. The
aim of our trek was to cross the Pass and to try to take in Parchamo.
The Rolwaling Himal stretches across the
northern section of the Dolaka District through the Guarishanakar Conservation Area
and eventually join the Landung Himal at the boundaries of the Guarishanakar
Conservation Area and the Sagarmatha National Park.
In 1952 the British Cho Oyu Expedition lead
by Eric Shipton, including a young New Zealand climber, Ed Hillary and a young climber from Great Britain, Tom Bourdillon. The expedition set off not
only to try to make the first ascent of Cho Oyu but also "to test the
ability of several mountaineers to climb to great heights;" to find a
group of climbers able to attempt Mount Everest
in 1953; to test oxygen gear, clothing, and equipment; and to study the
physiology of high-altitude climbing.
Although the 1952 British Cho Oyu
Expedition was unsuccessful members, including Hillary did manage to summit
11 ‘new’ peaks and explore the valleys and passes to the west of the Nangpa La and
down into the Rolwaling district including the first
crossing of the Tesi Lapcha, before returning home.
Our route was the tried and tested trail from Chhetchhet, which is now accessible by road, this approach is well described in the new Nepal Map House Rolwaling Trekking Guide.
The bus journey from Kathmandu was long,
bumpy and hot, nothing unusual in that for early October. After stopping
overnight in Chhetchhet we made a leisurely start on the magic staircase and
the 466mts climb up to Simigaon. The trail is well marked and a few lodges can
be found there offering comfortable accommodation. The following morning
arrived but parcelled up in a wrapping of thick low cloud, through the breaks
we could see that the rain of the previous night had laid a thin layer of snow
over the nearby hills. A continuing steady ascent took us through
the forests
and pasture land of the middle valley until we arrived at our second camp site
in the early afternoon, but more importantly, before a mega storm hit us which
put down at least four inches of rain in just a couple of hours. Sadly the
tents did not arrive at the same time, but we were able to find shelter in a ‘local’ lodge
from where we could watch a lake forming over what was going to be our
camp-site. A dal-bhat and some local ‘wine’ tasting helped to keep the
dampness at bay. Many people had been caught out by the sudden turn in the
weather and all afternoon groups of drenched trekkers were beating a
hasty retreat back down the valley. Luckily for us a few islands remained above the
water level of our lake and we were able to at least get the tents erected
before dark. The next day saw a slight improvement as we set off towards
Bedding in the hope that we would arrive early enough to dry everything out,
weather permitting.
Once again we reached our end of day
destination in plenty of time and got organised and dried out the remainder of
our soggy gear. That was just before the next heavy precipitation arrived,
which at the altitude of Na fell as snow. We had plenty of time so elected to
take an extra day in Na to allow the snow to settle. It was at this time that
we got information of the disaster that was unfolding on the Annapurna Circuit.
Our storm was also part of that system, the weather in the Bay of Bengal had
forced the departing monsoon back across Nepal laden with plenty of moisture.
We also got some information on the conditions higher up on our route from a
rapidly retreating French group who were uttering statements referring to the
‘impossible’ nature of the route and the amount of new fresh snow on the
Trakarding Glacier.

Setting out from the tea house we were
faced with a stiff climb to by-pass a very large landslip, from the top of
which you get fantastic views of the route head, and the equal distance of
descent back down into the valley to gain the glacier. Once down in the valley
bottom another good camping place becomes obvious and this one is again called
‘Chhukyima’ on the map. It is easy to get confused as nowhere on the ground is there any
indication of Kabug.

Eventually the angle lessened but the terrain remained very
Himalayan like. The route weaved through the increasingly broad valley, all the
time ascending the moraines towards the final approach onto the glacier and
permanent snow field of the Tesi Lapcha. Our final camp on the Rolwaling side
was at 5520mts, finding somewhere suitable for our small group was not easy but
eventually with the by now well practiced ‘snow dance’ we flattened sufficient space for two small tents
and a larger cook tent in which the boys would huddle up together for the
night. As darkness began to move in so did more snow which was whipped up by a
fierce wind leading to a bitterly cold night and a pair of extra feet in my
sleeping bag, those belonging to our guide and long time friend Cherring Bhote!
With the cold night and the following days’ conditions being potentially
difficult we opted for a 4am start, a cup of tea, biscuits and then breakfast as and
when conditions would permit, never the less all pockets were stuffed with
chocolate and food bars just in case. 
It was not long before the sun rose,
however, being on the ‘wrong side’ of the ridge it would be several more hours
before the warmth either reached us or we reached its warmth. The deep snow was heavy
going despite the fact that we were simply contouring the valley towards the steep
ramp leading up into the Tesi Lapcha. At last into the sun, and the sky cleared
giving a bright day ahead. It wasn’t long before down gear was being stored in
rucksacks and sun protection was being applied, heading up towards 5744mts was
hard work in the deep and heavy snow.
Circumnavigating small or at least partially
filled in crevasses we eventually reach the ridge with the view
down into the
upper Langmuche Khola Valley. Parchamo was certainly not an option! The descent
from the ridge involves skirting around the lower buttress of Tengi Ragi Tay
also known as Agole (6948m) and then locating the correct line down the face to
less steep ground. With all the new snow it was felt that more hand lines
should be fixed down the gully, the view to the east was spectacular
however, there was little sign of less serious terrain which only went to
heighten our powers of concentration while descending the three ropes. Eventually we left the fixed lines and
glissaded
down the steep snow covered scree to the larger boulder field below.
The sun was beginning to drop and once we had got all the boys down the steep
ground safely they set off to locate a suitable camping space. Heavy legs were
now taking their toll and evening turned to night, head torches appeared and after what seemed like several hours, so did the tents.
The boys did, as always a sterling job
producing food for everyone after what turned out to be a 13 hour virtually
non-stop day. We crashed. Morning came too soon but once under way the body got
back into its rhythm and progress was back up to par. The first part of the day
was a continuation of the snow covered boulder field but this eventually gave
way to a more pasture like environment amongst the rolling grass covered
moraines. By lunch time we had reached Thyangbo Kharka and spent a very
pleasant couple of hours resting in the sun eating and drinking tea, amongst
other 'refreshments'. That evening we were in Thame with the luxury of the lodges’
dining room.

Many thanks to Ian and Lynda Gray for their
good company, persistence in seeing it through and also to Cherring Bhote and
Wongchhu Sherpa and the lads for making it happen.
Ian Wall October 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment