Day 11 - Chugyuma to Dzonghla

Rob McCarthy
Oct 28, 1988
2 min read

It is bitterly cold this morning, and even after dawn the sun is hidden behind the mountains to the east. Shortly after breakfast we set up from camp up the steep rocky slope that leads up to the pass, some 1,000 feet above. I am going extremely slowly this morning, cannot seem to get any heat into my body, and initially lag behind the rest of the group, who seem to be doing better than me. After 45 minutes of so, I finally start to warm up, and am able to increase my pace. By the time we crest the pass, I have caught up with the rest of the group, and am feeling back to normal and am able to better appreciate the spectacular surroundings.

While in the valley up to the pass, most of the scenery was obscured by the sides and head of the valley, but now the view to the west and east is open. The west side of the pass, which we have just climbed is steep and rocky; the east side is a snow covered glacier that descends down into the Chola Khola.

We spend an hour or so on the pass, before heading out onto the glacier. Jacko and our Sirdar, Nima, seem to know the land well and advise us to keep to the right of the glacier to avoid any crevasses. In contrast to the Ngozumpa Glacier, this one has a smooth hard snow surface which is easy to walk on. Towards to base of the glacier the descent becomes steeper and the surface more broken, until eventually the ise peters out and we are back on broken rock.

As we decend into the Chola Khola, the almost vertical north face of Cholatse towers over the south side of the valley with Ama Dablam beyond where it joins the valley of the Khumbu Glacier.

Camp site tonight is at the small village of Dzonghla located directly below the north face of Cholatse. The village consisting of a dry stone walls and a couple of uninhabited huts is in a truly spectacular location, less than a mile away from the face which is a mile high.

After a slow and cold start, it has been an outstanding day. We have not seen any other trekkers on the route and we have Dzonghla to ourselves for the night.