Views from Kala Pattar for Everest Base Camp Trekkers

Bril­liant skies behind the grace­ful slopes of Ama Dablam greet us as we hike to Pang­boche. With two mem­bers of our trekking team plan­ning to climb the Khum­bu Ice­fall, our whole group goes to vis­it Lama Geshe for a bless­ing first. 

Lama Geshe is a leg­endary fig­ure in the Khum­bu, and both for­eign­ers and Sher­pas seek his bless­ing before major climbs. With Lama Geshe’s bless­ing, we con­tin­ue upwards, string­ing prayer flags, accli­ma­tiz­ing to alti­tude, mov­ing deep into the snowy moun­tains, and final­ly reach­ing the pin­na­cle of our trek: Kala Pattar. 

(all pho­tos by Deana Zabaldo)

Ama Dablam and the trail to Pangboche

A bless­ing from Lama Geshe

String­ing prayer flags

Our prayer flags stretch across the stu­pa above Dingboche

As we head upwards, we take the high trail from Lobuche towards Gorak Shep for spec­tac­u­lar views up and down the val­ley. After that, it’s a stiff climb to the high­est point on our trip. Lit­er­al­ly ​“Black Rock,” the peak of Kala Pat­tar is just that: a rocky sum­mit at 18,450 ft with spec­tac­u­lar views of Ever­est and the sur­round­ing moun­tains. Then we take the less-trav­elled back route via Pumori Base Camp on our way to Ever­est Base Camp!

The high trail towards Gorak Shep and Kala Pat­tar, with beau­ti­ful views back down the Khum­bu Glacier

.…and for­ward towards Pumori 

Clas­sic view of Ever­est from Kala Pattar

One more trek to go with Shayan Rohani in the lead. And if you missed the spring depar­tures, our fall trek begins Octo­ber 16^th and is cur­rent­ly being offered at a $200 dis­count. We hope you can join!