Day 6 - Dole to Nerebu

We are now getting fairly firmly established into the trekking routine. The day starts with a cup of tea, and a small bowl of cold water for washing and cleaning teeth, delivered to the tent door. Breakfast, weather permitting, is usually at tables set up in the morning sun. It is cold now we are at altitude, and the difference in how it feels when the sun rises above the surrounding mountains is extraordinary. At some point on the morning trek, the kitchen team will come racing past, having cleaned and packed up after breakfast, and in order to have something ready when we stop for lunch. No tables are set up; we eat a light meal sitting on rocks or on the ground. The afternoon goes similar to the morning, with the kitchen team again overtaking us mid-afternoon to start preparations for the evening meal. By the time we get into camp, it is usually a hive of activity, with sleeping tents, mess tent and toilet tent being erected. We are usually greeted with tea. The evening meal is taken in the mess test lit by paraffin lamps. The cook team, led by the head cook Prem, do a pretty good job with the food in difficult circumstances. Pressure cookers are used to get the food hot enough for germs to be killed, as water boils at a lower temperature in the reduced atmospheric pressure at altitude. Appetites are not good at altitude, however, and we will all lose considerable amounts of weight before the trek is complete.

Today is a similar day to yesterday. We steadily gain height on the trail that continues to run above the west side of the Dudh Kosi. As we continue north, the high peaks surrounding us come better into view, with Taboche and Cholatse dominating the views to the east. The small village of Macherma, at the base of a valley that feeds in to the main valley from the west, provides wonderful views of jagged peaks. By the time we arrive at the camp site at Nerebu, we are at over 14,500 feet, and are now above the altitude where any significant vegetation grows.

The night is clear and cold, with a full moon rising over the summit of Cholatse.

Elevation Profile

Peaks above Macherma

Moonrise over Cholatse