Freezing in Gosaikunda

In Gosaikunda it was snowing and freezing cold and I would never have made it without Mithu, who walked sooooo slowly for me, and Aite who kept me company on the last stretch while Mithu and Rob went ahead to get a room. I was so exhausted I could hardly write this diary.

We left Sing Gompa at 7.30 am, very cold but we soon warmed up. The first part was lovely, through some old forest and we got glorious views of Langtang Lirung. Mithu bush-bashed looking for birds, but we saw very few. At 9.00 am we had a cup of tea, and then came the hard part, for me anyway. The weather changed too after a while and I got quite chilled. I was so glad to stop about 11.00 am at a guesthouse in Larabina where the kind owner let me sit by her cooking stove. It was fascinating to watch her cook me potato and onion soup and fried potatoes for Rob, dal bhat for Mithu and Aite. She had 2 pressure cookers on the go, a kerosene stove and her wood fire. On that she put a wok and did all the potatoes, etc, adding spices, vegetables, water. It was delicious and my soup was good. We must have rested for an hour or more. I talked to a young French girl who arrived, she had a female guide with a young boy. The girl was feeling a little unwell, but I think she made it to the lake – I think I was the last.

After lunch, Aite and Rob went on up ahead, and Mithu walked granny steps with me for maybe two hours. By now we were up above the bushline on a rocky path, but generally easy going. The scenery became even more dramatic, in fact stunningly beautiful, especially when we got up near the lakes. There was snow on the mountains and the lakes were calm and clear. Finally we reached the little collection of hotels beside the holy Lake Gosaikunda, and Mithu who had gone on ahead had managed to get us a room with a view over the lake in a very old hotel called – wait for it – Lake View. Before I had time to collapse, Mithu ordered tea and biscuits which we had with cheese, and then he forced us out for another walk around the lake! But it was beautiful, with all the little rock cairns everywhere and a view back to the village. We even sat in sunshine for 10 minutes before heading back as snow began to fall.

I had to wear every stitch of clothing that I had with me and I was still cold. Dinner was was very embarrassing as I made the mistake of ordering fried potatoes and was served before everyone else in the crowded room, while every last one of them had dal bhat!!

After we had eaten we managed to squeeze in over by the fire and finally got warm. We went to bed really tired and had to put up with a hell of a noise for hours – the place was overflowing.. I did fall asleep, only to wake at midnight and that was it. Rob couldn’t open our door to get out and have a pee, so in desperation he climbed out the window into the snow. Then he couldn’t get back into the hotel as the doors were barred, so he had to struggle back in through the window. It was very comical, and later on when he had to pee again he used his drink bottle – which he has since chlorinated I hasten to add.

 I felt breathless all night, it was pretty horrible and I was glad when morning came although I felt reluctant to get out of bed. It was very cold, frost on the ground, but the mountains and lakes looked wonderful.