The Machermo Range Reflected In Dudh Pokhari, Gokyo, Solukhumbu, Nepal
Early morning light and a near perfectly still Dudh Pokhari (Milk Lake, also known as Third Lake) make for a stunning setting for this shot of the Machermo Range. The lake is 15,600' above sea level and is in a chain of five sacred lakes along an ancient trading route between the Sherpa people of Nepal and Tibetans to the North.
Finding a likely composition was not an easy task this morning. Not only were my fingers a little chilled (the temperatures were below zero the night before), ice had started to form along many of the rocks along shore. The clouds were doing their best to help framing, but the scattering of the rocks in the water kept cutting off good composition options. I finally settled for giving the largest peak the most open space while ending its reflection in the small rock bar in the foreground to help ground it and add open space until the far shore.
This lake, and the town of Gokyo which borders it, is seven day trek from the nearest airport and nearly a two week trek from the nearest road. As indomitable as the mountains may seem, there is an 18,000' pass in the lower notch of the ridge located in the right side of the photo. A path surely only intended for the hardiest of trekkers.
