26 | TRAVEL HIMALAYA SPRING 2019 http://www.travelhimalayamagazine.com
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A SHORT WALK IN THE ROLWALING VALLEY
Leaving Na in our ascent to Tso Rolpa, we
crossed the river and began walking across
the snow to the largest glacial lake in Nepal.
Continuing to climb gradually, the sheer scale
of where we were soon became apparent. We
were not walking around the Himalaya, but in
them. With approaches to peaks veering off from
our path, with the right ropes and equipment
we could have easily climbed several. After an
hours walk from Na we reached the bottom of
the banks of the Tso Rolpa. Tso Rolpa, is not only
the largest glacial lake in Nepal, it is also in an
increasingly precarious state. Considered at high
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had been reinforced and early warning systems
put in place. Yet none of this was reassuring
enough to us as we dragged ourselves up the
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Chetchet only three days before had left us fully
acclimated. Therefore it would be disingenuous
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200 metres of steep vertical as anything more
than an ordeal. The respite was, however, in
every 10 metres being offered a new view of a
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steps carved into the rock were covered in snow,
but eventually after 3 days, 3000 metres of
vertical we climbed over the last boulder and
Tso Rolpa came into view.The shimmering white hue of the lake fed by
the Trakarding Glacier, which was completely
frozen, could only be matched by the surrounding
peaks. Looking behind into the Rolwaling valley,
it looked as if we had left civilisation behind. By
this stage the early morning sun had really come
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be found deep in the glacial ice, in glaciers close
to 1000 metres above us. Walking, tentatively,
onto the frozen lake it was impossible not to
smile, surrounded by nothing but mountains and
extreme terrain on all sides, we were reminded
just of the small scale of our human lives and
the sheer indomitable power of nature. From
Tengi Ragi Tau to Bigphera Go Shar, we were
surrounded by peaks. We seemed so small and
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Knowing within a few days of continuing
our trek we would cross the Tashi Lapek pass
and drop down into Namche Bazar in the
Solukhumbu, it is with no small reluctance we
realised our onward journey had to end here. Our
time in the Rolwaling valley had been equally
challenging and rewarding. With an atmosphere
like no other in Nepal the valley is truly special.
To say the Rolwaling valley is an intoxicating
combination of being both unspoiled and unique,
would be a cliché, yet it would also be true.