The shortest and simplest route to the
Langtang Valley to the North of Kathmandu requires a mere
three days to reach the gompa ( Buddhist monastery ) at Kyanjin
cradled amongst huge boulders at
the foot of the great glacier tumbling from the mighty snow-pyramid
of the majestic, 7000metre
Langtang Lirung - the reigning peak of this himalayan hillwalking
and mountaineering paradise.
A 12-hour uphill crawl in a dilapidated,
over-crowded, over-loaded local bus from Kathmandu through
the market town of Trisuli Bazaar to the roadhead at Syabru Besi
is followed by two days hard
walking through the deep, dark gorge of the Langtang Khola, lined
with ancient,
moss-and-lichen-covered forests, before one emerges onto the open
moorland of the broad, U-shaped
valley flanked by an imposing avenue of high, snow-capped peaks.
The more usual route takes only an extra
day starting from the previous roadhead at Dhunche and
climbing through forests of chir pine to the Tamang village of
Syabru, perched high on the crest
of a ridge. On approaching Syabru superb views unfold across the
Trisuli River Valley and barren,
rugged foothills to the jagged white teeth of the Ganesh Himal
ranged along the northern frontier
with Tibet. A steep descent from Syabru through terraced
hillsides and across rough landslips joins
the path from Syabru Besi in the depths of the gorge. A tragic
accident occured on this stretch
when a Dutch trekker lost her footing and fell to her death.
For those unacclimatized to high altitudes
a rest day in Langtang village may be necessary before
proceeding to the cluster of lodges surrounding the gompa at
Kyanjin. Easily accessible hilltops
above provide fine views of the spectacular, himalayan valley.
On the second of my three visits to the
valley I was in the company of two Nima Sherpas:- Nima
Lakpa Sherpa, my cook, veteran of five previous treks with me,
and Nima Gyaltzen Sherpa, an
agricultural graduate but working as a trekking sirdar. However
as Sherpas, and Sherpanis, are by
custom named after the day on which they are born it is not
surprising to have several Sherpas in a
trekking group with the same name. ( Nima - Sun, Sunday )
From Kyanjin it is a long but pleasant half-day
in magnificent, mountain scenery to the stone-built
shelters at the yak pastures of Yala high on the northern valley-side.
Above Yala wind-swept tundra and a broken
rock-face leads to a short ice-wall below the summit
snowfield of Yala Peak. A final knife-edged arete, requiring
strong nerves and steady feet, gains
the rocky top ( c5500metres ) of this permit-free, alpine-standard
peak for a superb 360degree
panorama.
From the tremendous white pyramid of the
Langtang Lirung a great barrier sweeps round the northern
horizon encompassing the rocky spire of Kimshung and the huge
cliffs of Shalbachum. Close nearby
are the summits of Langshisa Ri and the beautiful, ice-fluted
Ganchenpo. Beyond stretch the serried
summits of the Jugal Himal with the prominent twin-tops of Dorje
Lakpa.
Starting at the yak pastures of Langshisa
Kharka at the head of the Langtang Valley a remote and
hazardous route crosses the glaciated Tilman's Pass beneath
Ganshempo into the Jugal Himal. With
Nima Lakpa as guide I had a perilous crossing of this route when
we were lucky to escape with our
lives.
To the South, across the valley, a high,
snow-covered plateau stretching between Pangen Dopku and
Naya Kanga ( one of the so-called "trekking peaks"
requiring a $200 climbing permit ) is breached
by the Ganja La - a possible exit route from the Langtang Valley
into the Helambu district.
From Kyanjin the route crosses the
sparkling waters of the Langtang Khola and climbs through mixed
pine and rhododendron forests to a campsite on a small terrace
high on the southern flank with a
splendid outlook into the glaciated upper Langtang valley with
its imposing peaks of Langshisa Ri
and Dome Blanc.
Our attempt at crossing the Ganja La was
thwarted by a snow-covered boulder field. Although we
could see the prayer flags fluttering on the col only a few
hundred metres ahead it was not possible
to make further progress. Every step was a lottery - an insecure
foothold on an ice-glazed boulder
or an abrupt, potentially leg-breaking, plunge into a void
between boulders.
Disappointment at having to retrace our
steps was tempered by the tremendous vista across the
Langtang Valley of the huge glaciers and giant scree fans
sweeping down from the great peaks of the
Langtang Lirung and Shalbachum. ( A second subsequent attempt had
also to be abandoned after losing
our cooking stoves on our descent from Tilman's Pass. )
The normal return route from the Langtang
Valley to Kathmandu is from Syabru via the sacred lakes
at Gosaikund and across the Laurebina Pass. It was on this route
that an Australian backpacker lost
his way, easily done with the multiplicity of paths that criss-cross
the forested Nepalese
hillsides, and, incredibly, survived for 40 days in uninhabited
wilderness before being found by the final
helicopter sweep-search of the area.
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