Matthew David Nelson

Nepal: Buddhism Sanctuary Trail / Matthew Nelson / November 2022

(Concept Intro): Summit Sunrise on Pikay Peak (Solukhumbu)

A second falling star burned out above me as I pushed myself onward in a howling wind toward the summit. Judging by the faint, twinkling lights of their headlamps, I could tell that the Sherpas were just a little bit behind me: Mingma, our guide; as well as our porters, Lakpa and Ongchu, who carried all of our food, cooking, and camping gear for the cold nights spent in the wilds of the Himalayas. Even with all my layers on, the wind bit through to my bones, and I urged forward breathlessly in the dark, up stone steps on a frosty morning. The sound of hundreds of prayer flags rippling fiercely in the wind signaled my arrival at the summit cairn. These multicolored hallmarks of Tibetan Buddhism send out prayers and peace on unforgiving winds to the far corners of Earth. Slowly, their colors materialized in the dawn as I was joined by the Sherpas and my friend and fellow Trail Angels scout – Kevin, from Halifax, Nova Scotia. We then set down our packs to await the sunrise from the only peak on Earth known to command a view of eight of Earth’s ten tallest mountains: Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Annapurna. As light flooded into the eastern sky, I removed my gloves and turned my camera on. The sheer cold of the ascent had completely frozen my freshly charged battery, so I reached into my trouser pocket to find a warmer one to replace it, and readied myself to photograph the sunrise. 

With no shelter from the biting winds at the summit, my previously full camera batteries were exhausted one by one within minutes as I photographed my companions, who by now were focused on stringing up prayer flags blessed by the 108 lamas at Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu. As they battled the winds to secure these sacred strands in the newborn light, I started to lose all sensation in my fingertips. Letting go of my obligation as the expedition photographer, I surrendered to the elements at this otherworldly place. I returned my camera to my pack and buried my hands in my trousers as I joined my companions to silently take in the panorama before us. After some time, debate was joined in the attempt to identify the peaks we beheld. Everest and Makalu were recognized easily based on their distinctive features, but the farther peaks were harder to discern. Dhaulagiri was some 200km away after all, and was that actually Cho Oyu that we were seeing out beyond Numbur? Setting our sights nearer at hand, we then looked out across a gilded distance to try and glimpse a trace of our intended path ahead, to the sacred lake of Dudh Kunda and into the heart of Shangri-La. With our path now in view, we felt called to continue onward and shoulder our packs once again. We began our descent of Pikey (pronounced “Pe-Kay”) Peak with the stars of our ascent traded for the remote warmth of a December sun.

— This article/photo essay is about a new trail I was helping to scout in the Solukhumbu/Everest region that includes an impact component benefiting the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the region. Hence the name of the new route: The Buddhism Sanctuary Trail. It’s the perfect trekking route for those who desire to trek ‘off the beaten path’ while enjoying some of the greatest Himalayan secrets, including Pikey Peak, Sir Edmund Hillary's favorite view of Mt Everest. Other challenges are presented, however, as half of the stages require wilderness camping, where water can be difficult to find in winter. I photographed this trail as a volunteer for the Trail Angels, a sustainable tourism developer and consultant based in Carinthia, Austria.

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Additional Pics from Solukhumbu: