Mt. Everest in all her glory

Tangboche to Dangboche

A bleary eyed Eri with Mt. Everest in the background

Kanccha had dragged us from our beds at 6 in the morning with a gleam in his eye that we hadn’t seen before. With little or no explanation he hurried us to get changed, dress warm and bring our cameras. Up until this stage he always seemed rather disappointed in the mornings because he knew just how much we wanted to see the beauty of the Himalaya and almost took it personally when the low hanging clouds robbed us of the view he knew was there. Today however he walked with the languid gait of someone who knew he was about to deliver and his banter had an unusually excited air about it.

Struggling over rock and building material piled high behind the guest house we made our way to a raised area flattened with crushed rock about 5 metres across. “ helicopter landing pad” Kanccha said with a smile. Thank god we had walked here because landing on this little patch of rock would have been scarier than Lukla by a mile and not a proposition I would ever want to contemplate.

Straight out of bed it can be a little difficult to catch your breath at these altitudes and it wasn’t till we got to the landing that we were able to look up and start to take in the view. With all the skill of a circus showman he first pointed us down the valley and named and numbered the peaks that we had been walking between with a pride only an ageing local can carry off. After a minute or two and with other excited trekkers coming into view he casually said “ Look over your shoulder.” We both turned around expecting more of the same or more likely incoming clouds. What we saw instead was truly breathtaking. Before us was a narrow valley, walled by impossibly high mountains. Framing the view at the end was a sheer wall of snowed clad mountains, tiny in the distance and yet gigantic. Perched above it all was the unmistakable peak of Everest, unencumbered by clouds or fog. The dull white of snow slowly turning a deep gold as the sun rose slowly to the east. Even more so than yesterday, this was an incredible moment when you tried to comprehend that we were mere kilometres away from the base yet due to its immense height the peak seemed so far away.

Everest towering over the valley

It was a humbling to think that people at that very moment were trying to scale her and yet the mountain seemed strangely indifferent to them, the whole world, and us. As infantile as it is to suggest that this monolith of snow and rock could appear to be affecting such human emotions, for the first time in my life I truly began to understand why peoples all over the world have always seen god like qualities in natures form. I don’t think I will ever forget that feeling.

We stayed up there, oohhing and ahhring for another few minutes until surrounded by other trekkers and the moment was lost. Strangely the scene reverted to just a glorious landscape, ripe for the photographic picking of western tourists in a place where we were strangers and in many ways didn’t belong.

With breakfast finished, more photos taken and bags packed we set off up the valley for our final day below the tree line. It was a fairly uneventful day, strolling up the valley across roaring rivers, through picturesque villages and our now ever present friends the Tibetan Yak.

Above the tree line.

As we gradually climbed higher our surroundings began to change. Not long after lunch we at last broke through the tree line and stood on the border between the world below and a new and foreign place. A place so sparse, so rugged and so quiet we felt like intruders in a fantasy land that was to big for the mere likes of human beings.

Isolated house above the treeline

Dingpache

It was cold when we awoke the next morning and the lack of oxygen, meant that our movements were slow and conversation limited until after breakfast.
Despite the frigid air the sky was clear and our walking quite easy through the stone walled fields being tended by the local Sherpas. This was the last point of what we might call agriculture. From here on in we would only see wild grasses, shrubs and yaks. The sheer emptiness of the place an ever-present reminder of the harshness of life up here for man and beast.

By mid afternoon we had reached our next lodge at Dingpache nestled at the junction of the paths for Everest base camp and the Imja Glacier. We were now so close to Everest yet oddly we couldn’t see her. Between us the massive wall of Lohtse, the 4th highest mountain in the world and one of the most challenging climbs known to man. It was sobering to walk along the path and see so many stone memorials to those who had left their dreams and lives on its sheers cliffs.

Another good nights sleep followed only interrupted by dreams filled with anticipation for tomorrow’s final push to Chukhung and our chance to stand on the great Himalayan glaciers that we were here to see.

The final walk and our first glacier.

It was cold when we awoke the next morning and the lack of oxygen, meant that our movements were slow and conversation limited until after breakfast.

Words escape me when i try to describe how beautiful these mountains are

Despite the frigid air, the sky was clear and our walking quite easy through the stone walled fields being tended by the local Sherpas. This was the last point of what we might call agriculture. From here on in we would only see wild grasses, waist high shrubs and yaks, the sheer emptiness of the place an ever-present reminder of the harshness of life up here for man and beast.

Our pace was slow, due mainly to the fact that we were continually stopping for photos, brief rests and a chance just to ogle at the beauty of the mountains around us.

We reached Chunkhung in the late morning just as the clouds started to role up the valley. We thought that might be the end of our day but by 2 o’clock the sky had cleared and Kanccha suggested we go on up to our first glacier. We couldn’t wait and we were about to see firsthand the real effects of a warming climate on this beautiful land.

Day 2 meeting with WWF Nepal

Today we finally met the team at WWF Nepal face to face. We had a long series of meetings with all the team concerned with climate change. We had great discusssions about the goals of WWF Nepal in relation to working towards the COP 15 conference in Copenhagen. We also finalised how Cycle for Change and WWF Nepal are going to work together over the next few months.

Eri, Gavin andAmanda at the WWF Neapl headquarters in Kathmandu

Over three hours we finalised our itinerary and i would like to thank two time Everest Sumiteer Dawa Steven Sherpa for offering his advice and support for the Everest region section of our trip. We also discussed our journey across Nepal into the Terai region. We were very impressed with the creative ideas the team came up with to involve local communities in WWF programs and increase awareness of climate change in the area.

Terai is an often forgotten area of Nepal given that it is low, flat and hot, and really doesn’t fit with our image of a mountain kingdom. But this area is being as dramatically affected by climate change as the high Himalaya. and we are really looking forward to getting down there and showing you what this beautiful part of Nepal is really like.

Two weeks to go until Cycle for Change begins

Well the departure date approachs at a furious rate of knots and we are in the final stages of preparation before we leave for Kathmandu on the 26th of July. I finally had my bike delivered after a torturous three weeks of having it held up in customs but it was worth it. The Thorn Raven is an absolute beauty and I was able to jump straight on and it felt like i had been riding it for years. I must say the people at Thorn really put together a fantastic bike.

For the bike geeks here is my new pride and joy. The Thorn Raven- What a gem.

Besides that we hope to making some exciting announcements this week regarding some new partner organisations. We are finalsing details with NGO’s in India and  Bhutan in addition to a new equipment sponsor, all of which will allow us to tell the best story possible about the effects of climate change in the Himalaya and Bangladesh. Stay tuned for updates towards the end of the week.

Destructive power of Glacial Lakes in the Himalaya

One of the most important consequences of glacial melting in the Himalayas due to climate change, has been the formation of massive Glacial Lakes. These lakes which form as a direct result of retreating glaciers, have become a major threat throughout Nepal primarily because the lakes are held back by natural loose stone walls called moraines that are highly unstable and prone to collapse.

One of the most dramatic is the Inja lake in the foothills of Mt Everest. This lake did not even exist 60 years ago but has now grown to over 2 km long and 600 metres wide as the surrounding glaciers continue to melt at up to 10 metres a year and in extreme cases much faster.

We will be visiting this very area at the end of the month but to give you a taster we have a video from Climate for Life our partner project with WWF Nepal, showing the extent of what can happen to a community and the environment from a previous GLOF ( Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) incident.

In the second half of the video we see the Inja glacier and glacial lake first hand. This film offers a stark insight into the dramatic changes taking place in Nepal and serves up some rather disturbing food for thought when we see first hand, the effects climate change is having on the environment.

Great Climate Change blogs from COP 15 -United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

With the COP 15 conference rapidly approaching the conference organisers have put together a great series of blogs by emminent leaders from the world of politics, business and science highlighting what each sector sees are the imperitives of the conference and what needs to be done. One of the blogs, “Building Climate Awareness at the Grassroots Level” by Prof. M S Swaminathan, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chairman, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, specifically relates to the region we will be visiting  In the piece he discuss’ the effects of Climate change on the people, wildlife and economy of India and the wider developing world. He also offers some suggestions as to what is necessary to protect the populations of the region from the worst effects of Climate Change and the importance of taking action now.

Other topics discussed on the blog site include:

The challenge of Copenhagen – José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of the Government of Spain

China in Action on Climate Change – Xie Zhenhua, President Hu Jintao’s Special Representative on Climate Change and Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China

Stutters and forward steps for climate talks – John Connor, CEO, The Climate Institute

2009: Turning environmental crisis into economic opportunity -James P Leape, Director General, WWF International

The scope of the blogs is wide and varied and gives a great overview of what world leaders will be discussing, deciding on and hopefully taking real action about when this vital conference convenes at the end of the year.

Japan disappoints on future Climate Change / CO2 goals

Image via Wikipedia

One of the striking things about living in Japan is the common held belief that Japan is one of the world leaders in environmental management and clean technology. Indeed at the moment it is almost impossible to walk down any main street without seeing an advertisement touting a major corporation’s green credentials for fighting climate change or an “eco ” product to salve a consumers green conscience.

Prime Minister Aso announces weak CO2 emission targets for 2020.

So it was a great disappointment yesterday when beleagured Prime Minister Aso, announced Japans CO2 commitments ahead of the COP15 conference in Copenhagen in December. It seems that through very strong lobbying by the Japanese industry group Keidanren, the Japanese commitments to CO2 emmissions have been severly diluted and strongly challenges the impression that Japan is still a world environmental leader.  Aso announced that Japan would commit to reductions of 15 % of 2005 levels by 2020, which in reality means that Japan will only reduce emmissions by 8% from 1990 levels, the internationally accepted base level year.

Climate for Life’s Apa Sherpa reaches the peak of Everest for the 19th time.

Apa Sherpa on the Summit of Everest, May 21 2009.

Great news has come through from Nepal that Apa Sherpa , the world record holder for Mt. Everest ascents has once again scaled the worlds tallest peak, but this time as a member of WWF Nepal’s Climate for Life project.

Cycle for Change joins the COP15 Cycling Tour in Tokyo

Eri, The Danish Ambasssador, Mayumi and Gavin

On Saturday the 23rd of May, Eri and I had a great day when we joined The COP15 Cycling tour here in Tokyo. Set up by the Danish Embassador the tour is a week long cycling event in 8 cities across Japan aimed at highlighting the COP15 – United Nations Climate Change Conference. The conference is of course taking place in Denmark this year to develop a new framework as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change.