Day 9 - Khumjung
I have a bad cold. I am sitting in the lodge dining room which has the same interior designer as the one in Namche. I should be drinking more so I order a small pot of hot chocolate. The thermos holds about a litre. You should see the large pots. It is 4:30 pm and the sun has set behind the mountains.
The walk this morning was not too long but tiring because of my illness. I breathe rapidly with the smallest amount of exertion. I put one foot in front of the other. Walk and rest. Walk and rest. This is how the mountain climbers feel when they ascend the peaks. I feel this way at 3800 metres.
"Bistare, bistare" says Tekay, our tour guide. "Take it slowly." Michael and Kylie float up the hill effortlessly. If I am slowing them down they seem not to mind.
We reach the lodge. Lunch and rest.
In the afternoon I find the energy to make the small walk to the local monastery to see the Yeti scalp but the monks are out and the monastery is shut. It is widely known that the scalp is made of deer hide stitched together but it is still held in reverence. It is the Nepalese version of the Shroud of Turin.
I rest in the afternoon and I question why I have set myself such a challenge. My body tells me to stay in bed for a few days but I don't have that option.
There is plenty of solitude on this trip. Kylie and Michael are both quiet people and conversations can be forced and awkward. It is quite common for the three of us to sit together silently for half an hour, each lost in our own thoughts. It is the off season and usually we are the only guests at the lodges we stay at.
The last cup of hot chocolate was the hardest.
A Nepalese joke
(As told to me by Tekay)
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay both climbed Mt Everest but which one was first? Tenzing was the guide so of course he would have been first. But Hillary said to him "Tenzing, if you tell people you got there second I will pay you 10,000 US dollars." After they descended the mountain they came to a large crowd of reporters. Hillary said, "Remember Tenzing, tell them you got to the top second." The reporters asked Tenzing "Who was the first man to stand on the top of Everest. Tenzing said, "Well, I got to the top second. Hillary, he was third."
Day 10 - 5th day on Trek.
Even at rest, in bed at night my breathing is rapid as if I'd just walked up a flight of stairs. Its not tiring however. My heartbeat remains slow and steady. Despite my cold I have a good nights sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. I have new energy and this has a wonderful effect on my morale. I have increased confidence that I will last the distance.
We stop at the monastery but it is shut again. The yeti remains elusive.
It is a 5 hour walk today. We start downhill and spot a musk dear and many pheasants. The male birds are a beautiful turquoise. They look like peacocks without tail feathers. The hens are a dull brown.
We keep to the left of 'mani' stones - large boulder covered with carvings of Tibetan script "om mani padme om". Often the script is painted white. The stones are prevalent around the villages but can appear anywhere along the path. This is a Buddhist region and prayer flags are common decorations giving the villages a festive look.
The sun shines brightly but I am not fooled by it. The slightest breeze brings a cold chill so I stay rugged up as warm as if I had stayed in bed.
We pass through a varied landscape - forest and mountainside. A wooden bridge over a raging river sways like other metal suspension bridges we have used. The path upward is arduous but I am used to the pace now. It is just a matter of continuing on however long it takes. We pass many staggering porters carrying staggering loads of 40 to 80 Kg. Our two porters Raj and Loktaman are probably carrying about 30kg each.
Many yaks (male) and naks (female) are also carrying loads. We pass a small stream of mostly frozen ice. Patches of ice are not uncommon in the shade. Tekay has told us we won't have snow on the trek but there will be plenty of ice.
Lakpa, our Sherpa guide says, "Another few minutes, the path more easier". I am heartened by the news. "Maybe 10, 15 minutes" he adds.
"Maybe 20, 30 minutes?" I ask.
"Yes."
We reach the top of the ridge where the large monastery of Tangboche sits. Our lodge is nearby. Tangboche is surrounded by mountains - some snow capped, some bare rock. The other side of the ridge looks out on a large valley which stretches towards Everest.
Everest is the highest of three peaks. Nuptse is the high point of a large ridge in the foreground. The ridge descends slightly before rising to the right to the majestic peak of Lhotse. The back of Lhotse joins on to Everest. The peak of Everest appears behind the ridge of Nuptse. Tomorrow Everest will disappear behind the ridge as we get closer to Nuptse.
Somehow we must get to the other side of Nuptse to reach base camp. The journey will take many days yet.
I rest in my lodge room.
Day 11 - 6th day trek.
I wake up groggy and feel that way for the first hour of the trek.
From the top of the ridge, the sun is bright, the monastery is on our left. Valley and forest are framed by snow covered mountains. As we head off towards Everest I feel as if I am walking into a picture.
We head down a trail with fine dust an inch thick. We pass through a forest where the trees are covered in fine tendrils of moss which hang down like cobwebs. Everest disappears. In front of us, a closer mountain, Ama Dablam, dominates the valley we desend into. We cross a raging river with icy banks.
I tire so easily. My legs aren't sore or anything. It might be the altitude but it is more likely my cold. We ascend above the tree line. Six hours of walking today. The hardest day for me. Probably the most scenic day so far also.
Tekay looks at the clouds and says it will probably snow in a few days time. "How much snow?" someone asks. He smiles and signals with his hand up to his waist. I don't believe him.
Day 13 - 8th Day trek - Khumbu Glacier.
Yes. Yes. This is what I came to see. The grandeur. The glory. I feel that I have finally arrived in a new and magical land.
We trekked 4 hours up from Dingboche through magnificent scenery up to a high ridge. Scrubby bushes, bare rock, icy streams, a frozen lake, panoramic views of near and distant mountains.
When we turned through the Thokla Pass at 4850 metres, a new order of magnificence was laid out before us.
We stare up a valley. The floor of the valley is perhaps 150m wide. The Khumbu glacier, more rocks than ice, stretches up for 10 km or so. We cannot see Everest. Above the valley to the right we see the ridge of Nuptse which hides Lohtse and Everest. In front of us we see three huge peaks - Pumo Ri, Lingtren and Khombutse. The ridge of these mountains join on to the hidden Everest. This ridge also forms the border to Tibet. We are used to seeing borders on the ground. Here the border is drawn in the sky.
I grab Lakpa's hand and thank him for bringing me here. There is a wonderful scent in the air. Lakpa shows me the plant the monks use for incense.
I find it hard to express my elation as I walk along side the glacier, each subtle shift of the scenery bringing joy and amazement. However, if you know me my dear friend, you can well imagine my excitement.
It is sunny, bright and cold. When the wind picks up it is biting. I put on my rain coat for extra protection. There is a small stream of water next to us running through the glacier ice. I can't tell if this is the only stream or if there are others.
We pass many yaks grazing. A woolly brown yak blends in with the colour of the vegetation. A black yak looks like it could be a rock.
I still have my cold but it did not tire me on my trek today. I also have a headache which is probably due to the altitude. Last night me head ached so badly at times I would grip it and massage it hoping I could take the pain away.
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It is 3:40 in the afternoon. I am sitting in the lodge dining room. Two of the lodge staff are having an animated card game with Tekay and Lakpa. They laugh and talk in Nepali. Instead of putting cards down on the table, they throw them with passion and determination.
It has been a good day. I am happy.
Day 14 - 9th day trek. Everest base camp.
I did not sleep well last night at our lodge in Labouche so I start the day a little disorientated.
We walk behind a ridge which hides the glacier from us. After a while we are walking on top of the ridge.
It is like being inside a huge bowl 10km across. We are surrounded by glorious mountains. I don't know where they all came from. Inside the bowl are large hills of boulders, rocks, pebbles and dust. No matter where we are it feels like being in the centre of the bowl.
The glacier below us on the right now looks like a river of icebergs. They have steep sheer clear white ice sides, carved by the sun, which face north up towards their source. The rest is covered with dark rocks and stones which have fallen from the mountains that the glacier is carving a path through.
I arrive at the lodge tired but we still have 5 hours of walking for the return trip to base camp. We head off after lunch. If I exert myself too much I start to feel dizzy and slightly confused.
Tekay asks if I want to turn back. I think of the porters who carry immense burdens and old women who travel up hillsides with loads of water. In this land, endurance is a natural part of daily life. I would feel ashamed to turn back this close to my goal.
Occasionally we hear cracks from the glacier. At one point we hear a distant rumble and I see a plume of snow on one of the mountains - avalanche. Now the glacier is pure white without any rock litter.
Base camp itself is an area of cold rocks at the side of the visible glacier. There is also ice below where we stand. The journey here is more spectacular than the destination (which is still spectacular.) It is winter so there are no climbers camped here preparing for ascent. The glacier turns 90 degrees and rises steeply between the mountains towards Everest.
Reaching base camp, I feel a sense of achievement. Yet our journey ends where others' begin. we have reached the bottom of the top.
I would like to stay longer but I am cold.
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The journey back to the lodge is shorter but tiring. Even my camera batteries are exhausted. I have a mixed pizza for dinner - nak cheese, mushroom, tomato and tuna. I feel tired and dizzy so I go to bed early.
Kylie and Michael will get up at 5am to climb Kali Patan. I have decided to get them to take some photographs for me. If it wasn't for my cold and the way the altitude has been effecting me I would join them.
Day 15 - Descent into Darkness.
It's 1 am and I can't sleep. I am breathing rapidly. When I catch my breath my body relaxes, I start to doze and my breathing slows down.
I am out of breath again. I start breathing rapidly again.
I wake Tekay and explain my problem. He gives me some bottled oxygen. I am surprised how quickly my breathing returns to normal. Tekay keeps me on the oxygen for half an hour. He says we had best descend.
Lukpa and Tekay quickly help me pack and I dress for descent. Tekay leads and one of our porters Loktaman follows with my baggage and whatever else he needs to carry. Lukpa stays behind to guide Michael and Kylie.
We head off just before 2 am with headlamps. I tire quickly. Tekay gives me some more oxygen. It helps.
Within an hour we have descended 150m It is easier to breathe and if we rest often enough I am fine.
Another hour and we are lower. Tekay offers me some more oxygen but now it is too much and gives me a headache. Now I don't have a breathing problem. I just have the normal exhaustion of a man who has had a busy day, little sleep and has to trek at 4 in the morning.
The nearest lodge is at Tukla which we reach at 5:30am. We have descended 600m. Tekay and Loktaman call out for the lodge keeper to open up. The lodge keeper hears them but ignores them thinking they are rowdy locals. Tekay and Loktaman find a door open. They set up a bed for me in a dusty dorm room and get out my sleeping bag. I am asleep in about 5 minutes.
I get up around 9 and order breakfast. I expect that Tekay would want to depart soon after breakfast but he is in no hurry. I update my journal and talk to a Spaniard before we leave around 11:30.
I was disappointed to have to rush past such beautiful scenery in the dark but I am pleasantly surprised by the morning walk.
We take a different path back because we are bypassing a village we stayed at on the way up. We head down into a glacial valley with many icy streams running along with us. We pass a group of empty stone buildings with stone fences - summer dwellings for yak herders.
At one point Tekay and I take a break. We spend 20 minutes simply staring at the magnificent Nuptse and Lohtse, each of us waiting for the other to break the trance by saying "joom joom, let's go".
The impasse is only broken when Kylie, Michael and Lukpa catch up to us. They have conquered Kali Patan. We head on to our lodge and a long overdue hot shower.
Day 16 - The return Journey.
In the morning we return to the monastery of Tengboche as we retrace our steps. Three more sleeps until we fly back to Kathmandu.
In the afternoon I turn on my mp3 player. The music gives me energy to glide up the hills back to Namche. Instead of detracting from the experience, the music sharpens my attention and I have a greater feeling of presence.
It has been a beautiful walk today. I expect the same for the next two days. This chapter of my adventure is all but over.
It did not snow.
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