Day 24 -- October 21 => Chhukung to Island Peak base camp

Taboche (6542m/21,463') and Cholatse (6440m/21,128')

Bed tea was timed this morning so that the sun reached the tents just ten minutes later. Before leaving camp, I took some pictures of Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Taboche and Cholatse. A yak even posed for a few pictures.

Nuptse (7896m/25,905')

Leaving Chhukung around 9am, we crossed a small stream and then ascended a lateral moraine with the Imja Khola running beside it. It was then up and down over glacial debris before descending to a high plateau.

Sherpa's Rock

According to Buddist legend, under this rock lies some keys to hidden gates. These gates lead to a paradise where people can live after armageddon.

Island Peak (6189m/20,305')

Up and down over some glacial debris before descending to an ancient lake bed at the foot of Island Peak. Further along, we passed a stone lodge, which we were told was likely used by a European trekking agency. When we first saw this structure, we saw a yellow object near by and thought it was camp. On closer inspection, we discovered that it was just a big boulder, much to our chagrin. We finally arrived at Island Peak base camp around 1:30pm. It had not been a particularly hard day of hiking but I think the altitude was definitely having an effect.

Imja Tse is the Nepalese name for Island Peak. Base camp is also known as Pareshaya Gyab, situated at 5087m/16,690'. Water is not close by so the kitchen assistants have to go a fair ways to fetch water.

After lunch, we organized our climbing gear in preparation for an early start. Apparently, water was not available at high camp (~5400m/17,700') so that in combination with some of us having previous altitude problems, it was decided we would make the summit attempt from base camp rather than moving up to high camp tomorrow and attempting the summit the following day. After dinner, everyone was feeling good as we left the dining tent for an early bedtime.

Day 23 - Dughla to Chhukung Day 25 - Island Peak

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Created: December 26, 2002. Revised: February 13, 2002.