20 Oct 2006, we woke up to a winter wonderland. Majority of us felt lazy to climb up Gokyo Ri. 
We were more interested to the “snowman project”. The project kicks start after breakfast. 20 minutes later, a tiny little snow man was built. He was wearing hat, gloves and two eyes and buttons made out of stone. Look at our snow man above. He was the star. We queue up to take photos with him.
Gokyo is extremely beautiful after the snow fall. We took lots of photos before retrace our steps to Dole. I turned back several times to look at Gokyo and its lakes, remembering this magnificent, magical moment. My first experience with snow is truly unforgettable.
The downhill trek was easy. We reached Pangka at 10.30pm. Half an hour later, we arrived at Machhermo and stopped for lunch. After lunch, we continue to move towards Dole. Around 1.30pm, we had reached Lhabarma, a small settlement before Dole. I was a bit behind, seeing team mates walked into a tea-house and cheering. 
The downhill trek was easy. We reached Pangka at 10.30pm. Half an hour later, we arrived at Machhermo and stopped for lunch. After lunch, we continue to move towards Dole. Around 1.30pm, we had reached Lhabarma, a small settlement before Dole. I was a bit behind, seeing team mates walked into a tea-house and cheering. 
At last, Kok Yuen had back to the team after 8 days. We opened up the map, asked him to detail out his journey of the past few days. Then only we realized that he had done the “amazing race” in this valley alone, without guide and porter. He only used 3 days to complete the route from Namche Bazaar to Gokyo, cross Cho-La pass to Dzongla, then back to Tengboche. This journey will usually take 5-6 days. Here’s the summarization of his journey:
12 Oct – He was descended from Lobuche to Pheriche. After taking the oxygen, he was not recovered. So, he descended again to lower altitude. He stayed at Deboche that night.
13 Oct – He had recovered after a day rest. So, he went up to Pheriche again.
14 Oct – The porter gave him incorrect information, told him that there were 2 girls in team that had serious AMS and descended to Namche Bazaar. So, he quickly trekked from Pheriche to Namche Bazaar.
15 Oct – He knew that the porter lie to him as he couldn't find us. So, he decided to go Gokyo to look for us. According to initial plan, we supposed to cross Cho-la pass and reach Gokyo at 16 Oct 06. Porter doesn’t want to follow him, so he was trekking alone. From Namche Bazaar to Gokyo, he only took 8 hours.
16 Oct – He climbed up Gokyo Ri. By 1pm, he left Gokyo and reached Thagna 2 hours later.
17 Oct – He crossed Cho-la pass and continue to trek down to Tengboche. The journey from east to west, he took about 10 hours trekking. This is amazing. If you have map of Sagamartha National Park, you will understand what I mean. The trail includes crossing the glacier, climb up
5400m and a subtle set of ascent and descent.
18 Oct – He went down from Tengboche to Namche Bazaar.
19 Oct – He visited Khumjung and back to Namche Bazaar.
20 Oct – He trekked up to Lhabarma and met us there.
We continue the journey to Dole. Half an hour later after we arrived Dole, it started to snow. We showed our snow man photos to Kok Yuen. He was praying that snow will get heavier and then we can build another snowman again tomorrow. Tonight, we will have our reunion dinner and there are lots of things that we want to talk about. :)
12 Oct – He was descended from Lobuche to Pheriche. After taking the oxygen, he was not recovered. So, he descended again to lower altitude. He stayed at Deboche that night.13 Oct – He had recovered after a day rest. So, he went up to Pheriche again.
14 Oct – The porter gave him incorrect information, told him that there were 2 girls in team that had serious AMS and descended to Namche Bazaar. So, he quickly trekked from Pheriche to Namche Bazaar.
15 Oct – He knew that the porter lie to him as he couldn't find us. So, he decided to go Gokyo to look for us. According to initial plan, we supposed to cross Cho-la pass and reach Gokyo at 16 Oct 06. Porter doesn’t want to follow him, so he was trekking alone. From Namche Bazaar to Gokyo, he only took 8 hours.
16 Oct – He climbed up Gokyo Ri. By 1pm, he left Gokyo and reached Thagna 2 hours later.
17 Oct – He crossed Cho-la pass and continue to trek down to Tengboche. The journey from east to west, he took about 10 hours trekking. This is amazing. If you have map of Sagamartha National Park, you will understand what I mean. The trail includes crossing the glacier, climb up
5400m and a subtle set of ascent and descent.18 Oct – He went down from Tengboche to Namche Bazaar.
19 Oct – He visited Khumjung and back to Namche Bazaar.
20 Oct – He trekked up to Lhabarma and met us there.
We continue the journey to Dole. Half an hour later after we arrived Dole, it started to snow. We showed our snow man photos to Kok Yuen. He was praying that snow will get heavier and then we can build another snowman again tomorrow. Tonight, we will have our reunion dinner and there are lots of things that we want to talk about. :)
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