Phortse

Phortse is the home of the Khumbu Climbing Center. It is across the Imja Khola valley from Tengbouche Monastery, and hence, not on the main trekking route to Everest Base Camp. We trekked there from the wonderful village of Khumjung on my second trip to Nepal.

In the photo below you can see the village of Phortse on a plateau on the mountain side in the center left. Above on the right is the beautiful Ama Dablam. To the left is Cholatse and Taboche.  In the middle background is Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world. The Dudh Koshi river flows through the valley below Phortse where is it joined by the Imja Khola seen on the left of this photo. 

We had lunch at Mong La.  It was a beautiful spot. If this photo is familiar, it is because I used it on another page describing our “adventures” on my second trip to Nepal. 

After lunch we continued on toward Phortse. We could see it a long distance away across a deep Dudh Koshi valley in front of us with the Imja Khola valley to the right.

Below is a closer view of Phortse taken from approximately the same spot as the previous photo. The mountain on the right side is Ama Dablam. 

Phortse seemed very close. Just an easy stroll to get there.  But we did not yet realize we had to drop about 1000 feet straight down to cross the Dudh Koshi and then climb back up again to the village. As Chhongba says “a little up, a little down”, but this was more than a little of each.

The area near the river was spectacular.

As was the entrance to Phortse as we finished the serious uphill.

At our lodge Stephen and I each splurged and purchased a hot shower. The lodge owner took water from the stove and carried it 50 yards or so to the roof of the showers. He poured it in. You could take as long a hot shower as you wanted — until the hot water ran out.

That afternoon I wandered around Phortse and got photos of musk deer, beautiful daphnes, goldenlight on Thamserku, and Thamserku and Kangtega, the mountain with the saddle near the peak to the left of Thamserku.