Dragnag: Everest Circuit Trek Day 9

dragnag

October 28, 2014

A cruisy day today as our team backtracks a short distance down valley to Dragnag. But to get there, they must first cross the Ngozumpa glacier. The Ngozumpa glacier is the longest glacier in all of the Himalaya at 36 kilometres. It begins below Cho Oyu (8201m), the 6th highest mountain in the world, passes to the east of Gokyo, and continues down the Gokyo valley past several small Sherpa villages.

One of those villages is Dragnag which sits directly opposite the Ngozumpa glacier to the east. Nowadays, Dragnag is home to a couple of nice lodges and it’s a great place to rest up the day before tackling the Cho La pass at 5420m. We haven’t heard from our team as yet today but they have the tracker working beautifully and we can see from our “Follow Us Live” technology that they have crossed the glacier and are now resting up at their lodge.

From Dragnag to the Cho La Pass

Tomorrow they will begin in darkness using their head-torches because an early start is vital. This is the longest day on the Everest Circuit itinerary and slow and steady is the plan. As the sun comes up the team will have reached Yak Kharka, a well known Yak grazing area directly below the Cho La pass. Another 400m of vertical will see them at the famous Cho La pass and enjoying more incredible Himalayan views only available from altitudes like this.