Christmas Khumbu 2002 - Kala Pattar & Everest BC

Glorious trekking above Dingboche. We are now in the high alpine valleys - no trees, just magnificent mountains, in this case Taboche and Cholatse, both around 6400m high.

The classic view from Kala Pattar of Everest.

Yep, it is a heart-stopping view all around.

Although the top of Kala Pattar looks steep, it is only the very last 10 metres that is a little tricky. Pumori dominates the backdrop.

Looing south: Michael reckons the view is OK.

Walking back from Kala Pattar. As you can see the trail is well used and easy enough,
but in every direction there are huge mountains and glaciers (as here, partly covered in rubble).

So now we go to Everest Base Camp, a tough walk but sometimes rewarding.

Graeme under an ice mushroom, but it is the Khumbu Icefall behind that is really scary.

Yep, the walking is tough on the boulders. Here we admire a recently formed lake, but this is probably the result of
global warming and when it bursts it could cause a catastrophe further down if the water drains too fast.