“Nepal” by Kirk Davis

Looking back now after 4 years I still can’t believe what I saw on this 28 day trek. Over the span of this trip I saw Everest from more perspectives than I ever thought I would, met more friendly people than ever before and my outlook on life changed.

Over the 28 days I ascended and descended more elevation than the height of Everest, travelled just over 230km and I shot 15 rolls of film. I am still yet to develop around 5 rolls that I have somehow misplaced, hopefully not lost forever.

Unlike most people who head to Everest Basecamp, we started in Jiri so that we could experience the quieter areas of this region and to acclimatise.

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We awoke to the sounds of roosters at Jiri (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Early rise to sub zero temperatures (Image by Kirk Davis)
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First Night of Camp (Image by Kirk Davis)

The main part of this trip that I enjoyed was all the smiling faces of the local children. Only a few days in, a bad batch of tea caused a big halt in the trip. After 4 days of gardia I was 15kg lighter and extremely dehydrated. The day we started hiking again was one of the hardest days of my life.

Leaving Junbesi (2680m) and ascending 900m, I was so dehydrated I suffered cramps in parts of my body I never knew could cramp. Including my chest which at the time I thought was a heart attack. After a break on the pass looking out at Everest with a few hydralites I was feeling much better and from that day on the rest of the trip was like a breeze. Those few days I was sick I only took a hand full of photos.

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Our first glimpse of Everest (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Local residence house as we pass through (Image by Kirk Davis)

Like most people on New Year’s morning of 2014, I woke up with a hangover, the only difference being that I had the magnificent landscape of Gokyo Ri stretched before my eyes.

If I were to head back to Everest region again, I would choose to fly in and out of Lukla airport, the most dangerous airport in the world where the wreckages of ill fated aircrafts scatter the valley, and spend more time in Gokyo immersing myself in the sights of the lakes. The Gokyo side the Khumbu region was by far my favourite.

The views of Everest are far more breathtaking along the beautiful lakes, rivers and glaciers. I also miss the sound of the creaking and moving ice on the lakes.

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Kathmandu chaos at golden hour (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Breakfast with a view in Lukla (Image by Kirk Davis)
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For many people, surviving in the himalayas means walking these breathtaking yet physically demanding tracks everyday (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Its not always easy to find the time to take in the little things when your average day entails 15km+ and ascending and descending over 1000m (Image by Kirk Davis)
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A crowded bazaar in Kathmandu (Image by Kirk Davis)
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After a week of constant snow in Lukla (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Lukla and Khumbu glacier (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Base Camp (Image by Kirk Davis)

 

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Gokyo’s Lakes  (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Namche Bazaar (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Our sherpa Bhavin (pronounced bobbin – Image by Kirk Davis)

 

Trekking from Dzonglha to Gokyo required crossing Cho La (5420m), which was much more rewarding than it was challenging. As we crossed over a spectacular glacier, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the contrast of the landscape in front of me to those in my home in Queensland.

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The heart of the Himalayas (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Our first of many swing bridges of the trip (Image by Kirk Davis)
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My brother standing below a monster (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Ascending the eastern side of cho la (Image by Kirk Davis)
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After descending down the west side of Cho la (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Gorakshep sitting below Kala Patthar, Everest base camp just out of the frame on the right (Image by Kirk Davis)
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The view from Perch (Image by Kirk Davis)
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The first day of the trek on the left and the 21st day on the right (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Mount Everest as seen from Gokyo Ri (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Gokyo village looking minuscule (Image by Kirk Davis)
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A week of closure due to heavy snowfall and blizzards (Image by Kirk Davis)
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Just so happened…. Filming for the movie Everest (Image by Kirk Davis)

 

I am so grateful to have experienced the beauty Nepal has to offer and I hope to return with a little more experience with film and trekking.

About Kirk Davis

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Kirk is based in Brisbane  Australia but wishes he could be endlessly traveling around the world documenting what he sees on Provia.

On this trip Kirk only took one camera and lens to save weight. He chose a Nikon f100 and 5 rolls of portra 400, Velvia 100 and Provia 400.

You can follow Kirk here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justcaptainkirk/