Day-7 Encouraged by the challenge, the group of adventure seekers, swathed in 4-5 layers of clothing, stood tall at an altitude of 17000 ft, ignoring their aching heads and joints that the lack of oxygen such altitudes cause, only to experience the joy of their last step ascent the Everest Base Camp (EBC).
Exhaustion of the previous night still prevailing, their joyous hearts awakes for their last mile trek from Gorak Shep. They start with the company of the noon sun aiming to get back to their camp before it can get dark. The trek turned out to be the hardest. Not because of the rocky accent but the soaring chill and altitude that made every step feel like a mammoth task. Somehow, in the bright sunny day, after trekking for almost 2 hours, the group reaches a point at the peak of the trail from where Mt. Everest as well as EBC point can be seen.
Note that EBC is still a 45 minutes’ walk but the previous 6 days have been so gruesome that the most of us in the group decided to start back from this point and make a ‘proxy’ attendance to EBC;). With these thoughts and on the suggestion of the guide, we started back… But somehow, I am not able to accept it. Walking dead slow and wondering if I can really give up after coming so close to my destination?
Answer was NO. A BIG NO. Without second thoughts, I turned and left the group and headed towards EBC all alone. Within few minutes, I noticed that my bag has been taken by the porter. So now I am left with no water, no head torch, no extra jacket and to make matters worse my spectacles too have gone with the porter. This makes it essential for me to touch EBC and return before it gets dark. Then I noticed, another member of group walking towards me (or EBC) who got encouraged from my determination and decided to come along to reach EBC. This gave me more strength and soon, both of us were literally running on this rocky trail. Not sure of the source of the energy – whether it was the dream of touching EBC or the fear of darkness but we completed the trek of 30-40 minutes to EBC in almost 15 minutes! And, here we were. At a point which is a dream of many. Surrounded by glaciers, standing at EBC gave me a sense of achievement. Finally, we were at an altitude of 17600 feet above sea level, depleted in energy but euphoric within.
Flashback:
The story began four months ago when few of us join hands and made a group to concur the Everest base Camp. We started the preparation, that included shopping the right gears, training regime, signing up an organizing agency, booking and lot more.
Do not underestimate the challenging trek of EBC. At times, the trail becomes so tough that you curse yourself for the decision to come here. But that is a temporary feeling that vanishes once you see you how beautiful and breath taking the scenery before your is. With these inputs, I kicked off my training regime that started with 2-3 kms of running and steps climbing. Gradually, by the end of the third month, I was climbing and back 1300+ steps in 50 minutes, gradient walk for 10 kms in 90 minutes with 7 Kgs of weight on my back. Theoretically, I didn’t need to worry about the timing to complete this regime as this is not a race but an exercise towards building stamina and endurance but with work schedule, I could dedicate only this much time. People at my gym used to look at me with a question mark when I used to walk at an incline of 15 with a heavy bag pack but what they didn’t notice – was my target floating before my eyes all the time.
The Trek:
I began my trek with a group of nine friends and another set of six people joined us in Nepal who had hired the same organizing agency for the trip. Looking back, I needed a lot of those people. I relied on them when times got tough, because this isn’t just a test of physical strength but one that pushes you to the limit mentally too. You share jokes, laughs and headaches too ;).
Day one of actual trekking starts with a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla in a tiny 18 seated aircraft. Flight attendant gave a complimentary cotton wool and I had no idea what to do with it. I learned later that one needs to stuff it in the ears to prevent the noise level.
This is the most memorable flight of my life with amazing scenery all around. The flight passed through valleys and presented some breathtaking views of the mountain ranges and the Nepali villages atop. If you can stand to keep your eyes open, the view out the airplane window during landing at Lukla Airport will stay with you forever. At first, a white haze of cloud cover obscures the surrounding mountains. Then, as the plane descended, a tiny strip appeared in the distance.
Some interesting facts about Lulka airport:
- It is named in the honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest
- It doesn’t have a control tower, radar or navigation
- Pilots are forced to rely on the view from their cockpit to land and takeoff
- The 460 meter long runway – a tenth of standard length – is also on a slope. This makes it world’s most dangerous airport.
- If a pilot misjudges landing or takeoff, they face a 9,200ft fall off a cliff edge
Day-two: We started for Namche Bazar – a small town full of market and restaurants. This was one of the toughest treks that involved six hours of high climbing and steep steps through stunning forest, crossing rivers, swaying bridges and relentless physical exertion. Unfortunately, it started getting dark before we could reach the destination in the evening, and rain added to the fun at that point. Worst part was that I was not prepared for it. No rain coat, no head torch and almost no drinking water left at this point. ‘First time’ I cursed myself for being here.
I remember, that we were so frustrated that we were sitting on a rock in the middle of a thick forest in pitch dark night and talking about vegetable prices and few other weird topics, and trying to re-energize each other. Somehow, we managed to push and reached Namche Bazar and just crashed in the hotel.
Next day is rest day for acclimatization – what a relief. Not really, we are taken for a short hiking which didn’t appear ‘short’ to any of us but view from the point was amazing. And, this is the point from where Mt. Everest gave us its first view. This energized and rejuvenated each one of us. Energy level was nothing less than what you might have felt after a spa visit.
We crossed Tengboche – Dingboche – Laboche – Gorak shep in next 4 days. Trekking for almost 7 hours a day in a taxing terrain that was beyond imagination. It was again full of surprises with some amazing views and places like Tengboche Monastery which is worth visiting. It started snowing and getting colder on the way. Every day was becoming more and more challenging with temperature going down and altitude soaring. We start our day at around 7 am in a temperature which is enough to freeze you, after having porridge or cereals with layers of clothing, and of course, a bag of almost 10 kgs and surviving on Dhal Bhaat.
We lost 2 of the group members on the way – one twisted his ankle and got multiple fractures and he was airlifted back, whereas, other lady from Alabama decided to drop it half way through. En route, I also succumbed to AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) just before Dingboche. I was flustered with the throbbing headache/nauseous and the fear of high probability of me not making it to EBC. That’s when I realized that altitude does strange things to you. The slightest movement leaves you breathless, your head aches and you feel spaced out so that it’s an effort to think clearly. If condition remains same for a day and oxygen level in your body goes down below a certain level, one will not be allowed to continue and will be taken back to a place with low altitude.
No, I cannot leave it in between like this. I will do whatever it takes to bring me back. Suggested steps were – drink plenty of water, take Diamox and avoid sleeping. So, whole night was just about drinking water. That night gave me a feeling ‘First Time’ that I am going to die, but thankfully, I was back in the game by the morning. Others were also going through same phase in different capacity.
Day-7: From Gorak shep to Everest Base Camp: The walk to base camp takes approximately 3 hours and the terrain is rocky with boulders. The Khumbu glacier is a constant on our right, getting more icier with strange formations of blue frozen mounds and structures that are both terrifying and magical.
Since most of the members had come back before EBC point and it was getting dark, I and my friend decided to start back within 15 minutes of our stay at EBC. I am not sure the source of energy again but we completed the entire trek of 3-4 hours from EBC to Gorak shep in 1 hour 10 minutes. Borrowing water from fellow trekkers on the way, munching some nuts and a few sips of whiskey that we got from one Sherpa – definitely added to the fun.
On the suggestion of few tourists, we decided to take helicopter to come down to Lukla, and let me share that this was another wise decision of the trip. Mesmerizing view and a scary feeling that we trekked so much in last 7 days – totally unbelievable.
To highlight – fun of traveling and laughing together with like minded friends; facing mental and physical challenges together and surviving them relatively unscathed; being a part of something that remains dream for lot of us forever; the beauty of nature that appears nothing less than an artistic work of a creative painter; accommodating and learning not to take so much for granted, such as hot water, power even for mobile recharge, clean beds and attached toilets with running water and much more…….
Some Tips:
- Don’t expect basic luxury: Don’t do EBC if you can’t handle lack of clean beds or attached toilets. In fact, after spending 7 days in basic lodges during the trek where the concept of ‘attached toilet’ doesn’t exist, I ended up asking the hotel executive in Kathmandu that why do they have toilet in my room, and then I realized in a few seconds that we do get attached and separate toilets. There are only 3 modes of transport in these places – foot, animals and chopper. And it’s very expensive to make even basic things available – so don’t expect all the comforts that you are used to.
- Beat Altitude: Drink plenty of water and eat garlic to beat altitude. We took garlic in whatever possible way – in soup, meal, raw garlic. And, didn’t realize that we ended up asking for garlic tea once by mistake and Nepali waiter was so innocent that he brought the tea with garlic floating in it.
- Go Slow: It is not a race. Slower you go, least probability that you will get hit by AMS.
- Avoid meat: Remember, everything is brought from Kathmandu, so, it might not be fresh.
- Cash: We are not allowed to carry USDs from India to Nepal. There is a limit to carry even INR. Hence, withdraw enough cash from ATM in Kathmandu. You would not get any ATM after Namche bazar.
- Train yourself: It is not a technical climb and you do not need to have any previous technical climbing experience or even any altitude experience to complete the trek. However, you do need to be physically fit to be able to complete the trek and to fully enjoy the journey.
- Get the right gear and DO NOT adjust with the quality.
- If you have extra space, bring treats for local children. One of my favorite parts of the trek to Everest Base Camp is the fact that you are walking through local villages where people live the entire way.
And, most important, if you are a party popper and a music lover, don’t forget to celebrate the success in Irish Pub in Lukla after the trek.
Check out my Facebook album for more pictures.
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