Everest Trek, Day 13 - Lukla to Katmandu

Runway at Lukla

Shortly after I awoke around 5:30, I could hear people outside happily shouting, "the flights are coming in, the planes are flying." For a minute it reminded me of those old WWII films where people are waiting for planes to arrive to evacuate them from occupied territory. In Lukla, some people seemed unusually excited to hear the sound of  the planes, but then I remembered that some had connections out of Katmandu later that day and that the weather in Lukla is notoriously finicky. It's often too windy or cloudy to fly and people have to wait for days to get out. So we were lucky - it was a beautiful sunny morning.

After breakfast our porters gave us each a traditional Nepali gift, a khata, a long yellow silk scarf often given by Buddhist monks as a blessing. They put one around each of our necks and wished us goodbye. The 15 of us boarded our 18 seat plane at 8:45 and flew back to Katmandu.  It was extremely disorienting to disembark into the warmth, sun, dust, and smog that we had left 13 days earlier, but it also felt good to be warm.

As expected, no electricity at the hotel, but that was something I was pretty used to by now. I showered by candlelight and headed out for some gift shopping.

Our trek was over, but we had one last dinner with Tashi, at one of his favorite restaurants, Rum Doodle, where we signed one of the giant cardboard feet that adorn the restaurant, celebrating the hundreds of treks completed by previous groups. He, too, gave us each a khata, and then we walked back to Hotel Manang and said goodbye to Tashi and the people leaving early on Sunday.

I'm spending Sunday finishing up my shopping and then heading to Bhatapur with Ed and Pat from Philly. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site that I'm looking forward to seeing. Then, it's back to Katmandu to wrap things up, pick up some laundry, pack, and have a last dinner with any stranglers from the group still in town.

It's been an amazing journey, one that's made me more aware than ever of the comfort and luxury that most Americans (and other westerners) live in, and one that's made me even more conscious of the excesses in our society. The people of Nepal, Sherpas and Newaris alike, generally have very few possessions and deal with pollution, overcrowding, blackouts, poor sanitation, poverty, and very limited resources, yet they seem generally calm, pleasant, and respectful of other people. I have not heard one person yell at another person or push or shove in a crowd. They take their time when they talk to you. The driving is insane, but it's not based on aggression or anger or some arbitrary rush to get someplace. And in the mountains where they have even fewer modern conveniences, they smile and laugh even more often.

I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to spend a few weeks travelling and living among the people of Nepal.

Everest Trek, Day 12 - Monjo to Lukla

Only 5.5 hours of trekking today and we were back at Lukla. Unfortunately, by now I was pretty sick - congested, chills, sore throat - so it was one of my most difficult days. After a few hours, Tashi took my pack, which made it easier for me, but not exactly easy. (This was the second time I had my pack taken - one of our porters, Femba, took my pack the day we made it to base camp. I had a pretty bad reaction to the altitude above 14,000 feet and had a headache for five days that felt like someone was drilling into the back of my head. Lesson learned . . . use Diamox properly the next time, or stay below 13,000 feet!)

It rained during last few hours of the trek to Lukla, but that made me more determined to get there. The faster group was long out of site, and the slower few were behind me, so I spent much of that afternoon hiking on my own. But you're never really alone out there - this route is the main route into the mountains, so you're continually passing other hikers, yaks trains, donkeys, horses, and local porters carrying ungodly amounts of things on their backs.

I arrived in Lukla around 4:00. Fortunately, I had looked up the name of the hotel the night before so I knew where to go. Lukla's by far the biggest town in the area and not some place you want to wander around aimlessly looking for your trekking group. Anyway, when I met up with the group, I found that Tashi had given me my own room for the night, so I had a king-size bed with an actual bathroom (sink, toilet, shower), attached. The hot water was only on for one hour, so everyone scrambled to get showers quickly. Then I slept until dinner.

At dinner, we sat with our porters (or "the boys," as Tashi prefers to call them). Some folks were happy to be able to eat meat again - it's not advised to eat meat at altitude and it's very expensive, so most of us hadn't had any meat for about 9 - 10 days. After we ate (I had Yak Steak . . . tough!), we presented "the boys" with their tips and thanked them for their help. It's very unusual to have the porters come back to help people along the trail, especially after they've raced to get our bags to the next town. But with so many people sick and struggling in the beginning, Tashi would call our guys and they would come back to carry bags and walk alongside anyone who needed help, which was me on one occasion. We shook hands and hugged each one of them - they did a great job for us.

Then I was off to bed while five or so of the group went down to the bar where, from what I heard, a very good time was had by all.

Everest Trek, Day 11 - Kyangama to Monjo Cont.

Our Group at Mt. Everest Basecamp

After we left Namche, I spent two hours creeping down the steep paths, loose dirt, and slick rocks along the Namche hill  Wow. . . the look on the faces of the people who passed me going uphill. I'm sure I had that same expression when I struggled up there 10 days ago. I had slipped twice earlier in the day (I slid on dirt and went down like I was sliding into second base), so I moved pretty slow from then on. My knees were pretty sore when I made it to the bottom, but fortunately that effort was followed by one of the prettiest sections of the entire hike. We trekked right along the river surrounded by tall mountains (Colorado-size, not Nepal size) for about an hour, and by now some flowers were blooming, adding a bit of bright color to all of the browns and greens in the landscape.

That day was the Nepalese New Year, and after dinner that night in Monjo, Tashi, Lhakpa, and the teahouse cooks brought out a special cake they made to celebrate. The Sherpa culture has a great respect for older people, so Tashi asked Ed, the oldest member of our group (69), to cut the cake for us. It was a very sweet moment.

Over the past two weeks I have found the Sherpa people in general to be a kind and gentle people. They have great senses of humor, work hard, and are caring hosts - exactly the kind of people you would want to spend time with when you're far from home. One of my greatest memories of this trip will be Lhakpa's call to us each morning and after each break on the trail: "Okay, jam-jam (let's go).  Smile!"

Everest Trek, Day 11 - Kyangama to Monjo

On Monday, April 11 in the middle of the afternoon I made it to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, along with all 13 members of our group and our guides and porters.  It was an amazing and difficult experience, so much so that I haven’t even processed it yet.  At the base camp, we all took photos and celebrated for a few minutes, I hung a prayer flag for Dunquin, and we headed back on the 2-hour trek to Gorek Shep.

Base Camp is situated in a cold, forbidding place. I am in awe of  the people who actually live there for months as they acclimatize and get ready to attempt their climbs. As it was, it was hard enough for me with the cold (ice on the inside of our bedroom windows for 5 days straight), dirty squat toilets, and long hard days of trekking. But we saw so many marvelous things, which I will write about in subsequent posts. Right now we are heading back to Lukla, so we're taking a quick break in Namche to get more money, food, etc. 

Last night we had a real treat - separate bathrooms in our rooms! With western-style flush toilets!! We felt like queens and kings. And you wouldn't believe the view from the window next to my bed. I'll post the photo later. 

So all is well. I had a 5-day headache from the altitude but that's gone now that we've dropped below 14,000 feet, my knees are sore and I've developed a sore throat. But that's pretty good, considering. Of course, I've taken more medicine (Diamox, Cipro, Advil, Immodium, and some other things I can't remember) in the past two weeks than I did in the past year.

More later!

Everest Trek, Day 6 - Dingboche

Yesterday in Tengboche, several of us got up early to visit the monastery there. It is the main monastery for the Khumbu region and a very beautiful and inspirational place. It was a great pleasure to sit on cushions in the main hall while the Buddhist monks chanted.

We left Tengboche around 8:30 and hiked down through the forest on trails high above the river. Each morning of this trip has been absolutely beautiful - sunny, blue skies, 16 - 18,000 peaks rising all around us. Throughout the day, we continually pass yaks, other trekkers, and Sherpas carrying amazing loads of supplies on their backs.

This day's hike was a bit easier than the last two - we actually had some rolling hills this time amid the steep inclines and descents. We've been doing 9 km a day, but it's really the altitude that's the main issue. I started to get headaches yesterday from the altitude, so I'm going to have to watch how I feel in the next day or so.

We arrived in Dingboche around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. By now several of the group who've been sick have gotten better and one young woman from Australia has gotten worse. Tashi called for a horse for her yesterday, so she road to Dingboche. (Did I mention that Taski and Lhakpa use cell phones throughout the day to stay in touch since the group gets spread out? They also use them to call porters to come help people with their packs or, in this case, to bring a horse to carry a sick woman.)

We're at 14,100 feet now. There are no roads here at all and we're starting to see helicopters buzz by overhead to evacuate sick people from higher in the mountains. This morning when I woke up, we had ice on the inside of the window in our room and there was about an inch of snow on the ground. I still have the headache, so I only did 1/2 of today's acclimazation hike and will now go back and rest. Tomorrow we climb to over 16,000 feet and I need to get better. My legs are strong but the headaches could be a problem.

This will be my last posting for awhile since there's no Internet above Dingboche.

Everest Trek, Day 4 - Namche Bazaar to Tengboche

At breakfast this morning about 5 of our group of 14 were pretty sick; some had altitude sickness (vomiting and stomach upsets) and two others still suffered from food poisoning from Katmandu. The other gal has been sick off and on since the beginning. Now the rest of us are all just waiting to see what happens to us.

Today's hike was another tough one and what we've learned is that even though we're only going up 1,200 feet or so, the route actually requires us to descend several thousand feet to a river where we cross a long suspension bridge and then climb back up again, only higher. Today we descended through a cool, pleasant pine forest in the morning, passing rhododendron bushes and a few other small spring flowers. I tried to stay on my own for awhile to enjoy to soothing sound of the wind through the trees and the river rushing below and to get away from the dust kicked up by the other hikers' boots.

We had lunch right near the river at the bottom of the gorge, and after that we had a tough climb for the next two hours. I thought I was almost beat and started to get my first altitude headache. I struggled on and, believe it or not, I'm considered one of the strongest hikers. THAT I believe is more about mental determination than my actual physical ability. Several in our group have been saying they can't do this trek, but Tashi keeps spurring them on and directing what they should and shouldn't eat. For example, garlic soup and ginger tea and toast are some of the things the sick are having at meals. Two were ready to bail out last night, but they made it up to Tengboche. Porters carried more packs for the sick up the last climb - it was very stenuous. I don't know how a few of them made it feeling the way they did.

Tengboche Monastery

Tengboche is a tiny place with a beautiful large Buddhist monastery. I've asked Tashi if we can visit it in the morning. So we're going to go there at 7:00 while the monks are praying, before breakfast and our move on to Dingboche. That's all I can write for now - dinner will be ready in a few minutes, it's getting dark outside, and I forgot to bring my headlamp down to this Internet spot.

Everest Trek, Day 3 - Namche Bazaar

We started our day at Namche with a stunning view from our windows of a row of towering mountains covered in snow on a brilliantly sunny morning. Breaktaking scene to wake up to.

At 8:30, after a hardy breakfast, we headed out on our acclimatization hike up to the Sagarmatha National Park Headquarters and then the Everest View Hotel, the highest (altitude-wise) star rated hotel in the world. Those first 15 minutes were tough, climbing the steps up and out of Namche. But we soon crossed what seemed to be a ranch of small yaks (ghopkes) and entered the National Park land. From there we had our first view of Mt. Everest, hidden mostly behind a rugged mountain ridge. From this viewpoint, we had a 360 degree view of the Himalayas, all jagged peaks and snow. We learned a little about the Sherpa people, and the culture, Buddhism, and wildlife in the area at a small museum there and then headed up to Syangboche (12,795 ft).

It was another tough climb and for the first time I was feeling a bit weak. The air is noticably thinner here and even though we walked at a slow pace, I had to push myself along. As I did yesterday for the last hour coming up to Namche, when it got really tough, I tried to practice a walking meditation by focusing on my breathing as I took each step: inhale, one step, exhale, one step. Repeat 3,000 times. I made it to the ridgeline and bounced back a bit, strength-wise.

At the Everest View Hotel, which sits on a ridge facing one of the greatest views in the world, we had tea and snacks/candy bars before heading back down again. This was our first true descent, and I really took my time. These steep slopes are a hazard on the knees and even with the trekking poles, I could feel it as I went down the mountain. I moved along very slowly. I can feel my quad muscles pretty good right now, so I'll have to see how things go tomorrow.

After lunch we had a look around Namche. Some of the younger folks who had been traveling through Southeast Asia or South America before coming to Nepal needed to pick up some heavier clothing and many of us needed snacks, toilet paper, and other things we may have forgotten. We just found out that this is known as the "windy season" and we're really feeling it from time to time.

The people in my group range in age from 19 to 69, and it's getting very interesting to see how people do as the days go on. Several had to give up their daypacks to porters yesterday and really struggled today. These have been pretty tough climbs, especially if you didn't bother or have time to train. But overall, the more mature members of the group are holding up very well, I'm happy to report.

Tomorrow we head to Tengboche (12,664 ft) with its famous Buddhist monastery, which I've been looking forward to seeing. I don't believe I'll have the Internet (or another shower) for at least two days when we get to Dingboche (14,271 ft). That will be the highest altitude I've ever reached - things will be getting serious.

Namaste.

Everest Trek, Day 2 - Pankding to Namche Bazaar

What an amazing day! We were up and packed by 7:30 (although most of us were awake by 5:30 anyway, having gone to bed around 9:00 the night before), had our breakfast (porridge with cinnamon and apples for me) and hit the trail. Tashi had warned us that this day was one of the hardest. I knew from my reading that the "long, slow climb up to Namche Bazaar" was going to be a real challenge.We started the day at 8,000 feet and were headed up to 11,319.

The morning was beautifully sunny and bright as we hiked along the river, then occasionally crossed long suspension bridges, as we started to climb. The peaks rose up around us and we went in and out of groves of pine trees. The scenery looked very much like Colorado - it was only the people and the small villages that reminded us how far we were away from home. It was absolutely stunning to have 360 degrees views of towering mountain peaks while we stood on rocks next to a racing river.

We are walking at a very slow pace, so slow it's difficult for me at times but Tashi and Lhakpa (assistant guide) want us to pace ourselves so we don't get sick. Most of the day I was up front because it was easier for me to pace myself behind Lhakpa rather than strung out along in the group. So due to this conservative pace, what should have been a 6 hour trek plus a lunch break turned into an 8 hour day.

After stopping for lunch (Dal Bhat, the traditional Nepalese food with lentils and vegetables) we set off for 3 difficult hours up to Namche. It was a serious challenge - there were many more rock steps than I expected and the grade of the hill was very steep at times, perhaps 30% or more. About 90 minutes south of Namche it got very cold and some light snow started to fall. Just 3 hours earlier I was hiking in a t-shirt! If the weather had been clearer we would have had our first view of Everest, but as it was we could still see Ltotse, the 4th highest peak in the world.

We pulled into Namche around 5:00, ordered hot drinks at the guesthouse (lemon tea is quickly becoming a group favorite although the tea with milk, mint tea, and coke are also popular), and found out we could order hot showers for about $2.50. I took advantage of this to rinse off the grime and even decided to have a little laundry done since this is the last place where our clothes even have a chance of drying.

Dinner was very good. A number of the group have opted for Tibetan Momos or pasta and cheese and spaghetti. I like the Momos and have tried Tibetan soup, bread, and several other dishes that are delicious, hot, and hardy. This guest house if very large and popular. In the common room where we eat and hang out, there were three other groups of trekkers including one heading up to try to climb Everest itself. Mostly people chat and play cards and sit around the stove.

We stay in Namche two nights to acclimitize, so tomorrow we have a trek up to 12,700 feet in the morning and then return to our guest house for lunch and then have some time to shop for gear/snacks we may need as we hike higher. Today was a tough day physically and we're just getting started.

Everest Trek, Day 1 - Katmandu to Pankding

Last night my Gap Adventures tour group met for the first time to get instructions and introduce ourselves. We have 3 Canadians, 5 Brits, 3 Danes, 1 Australian, and 3 Americans. Most of the group is in their 20s except the Americans and Canadians and we have a few guys and gals. So it's a nice diverse group. I am rooming with a British woman named Kate who I liked immediately.

Today we were up and out of the hotel before 7:00 to catch our early flight to Lukla where our trek begins. It was a struggle to get everything I need for a two week hike down to the 18 pounds the porters will carry, but I managed by leaving some energy bars behind and packing my day pack to the max with a lot of stuff that I really shouldn't be carrying the whole time (sandals, two books, etc). I was hardly the only person with this problem.

At 8:00 we boarded our 15 seat Twin Otter airplane and took off. Halfway to Lukla we turned back since high winds wouldn't allow us to land. We sat around in Katmandu for another hour before Tashi came running into our holding room and said "let's go now." So we grabbed our stuff and boarded the plane. This time we managed to actually reach and land in Lukla although it was, according to Taski, one of the worst flights he's ever had here. Lots of bumps and sudden drops and shakes coming from the airplane. And if you haven't seen what it looks like to land at Lukla, check it out on YouTube. It's something else.

Around 12:30 we started off on our first day of trekking - just 3 hours (mostly downhill) to Pankding. As we walked we passed through small villages with buddhist prayer wheels linking the path, squeezed to the side to let small Yak caravans pass by loaded with supplies, and saw some absolutely stunning scenery. The mountains tower up on all sides of us, each covered with snow. Below us a clear running river flows through a surprisingly fertile looking valley dotted with houses and green grassy plots of grass. The Nepalese children are adorable and run out to meet us or just play and laugh along the side of the trail. This is why I came here - I am in another, beautiful and serene world.

Tomorrow is supposed to be one of the hardest days of the trek, about 6 hours of hard hiking up to Namche Bazaar, and the altitude will really kick in by tomorrow. We're at 8,000 feet now and Namche is over 11,000. This will be the first night sleeping in an unheated tea house, but today was pretty easy for me so I'm feeling really good right now. I'm late for dinner (Momos and ginger tea), so I better sign off.

Namaste.

Arrival in Katmandu

A mere 33 hours, 3 continents, and 3 flights after leaving my house, I landed at the Katmandu Airport, a bit dazed but excited by my first view of Mt. Everest from the airplane window. After clearing immigration and customs, I found Tashi Sherpa, our group's guide who will lead us up the trail in a few days, waiting for me at the airport. During an inexplicably long and dusty drive into the city in some of the worst traffic I've ever seen (and I've lived in Los Angeles and DC), Tashi and I had a nice chat about Buddhist and Hindu temples, Tibet, and Nepalese culture (he was born in Katmandu).

At my hotel, the power was out. Apparently Katmandu has rolling blackouts all of the time and each neighborhood has it's own schedule. Tashi had even showed me his blackout schedule on his iPhone. So after I got to my room, the bellman lit a candle for me (a first!) and I found my headlamp in my pack just to be ready. When I woke up from my nap at 5:30 p.m. all of the lights in the room were on and blazing away. I have no idea how long the power's supposed to be on , but I need to get a hot shower in while I can. The hotel uses a generator for a few hours a day, but I'm quickly seeing the need to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

Thamel, the neighborhood where I'm staying, the neighborhood where everybody seems to be staying, has been described to me by friends as a "tourist ghetto" and "a bit like the bar in Star Wars." I just finished a quick walk and through the nearby streets and it's exactly like we see in movies when some movie star is dropped into [fill in the name of an Asian or Middle Eastern city] -- packed skinny streets with motorbikes, ricksaws, cars with bad exhaust, teeming crowds of local people, expats and young road-weary European kids dressed in the local fashion, dust blowing in the air, and hundreds of little shops trying to sell their wares to anyone who happens to glance their way. But instead of the fake Guess bags and Rolex watches you see elsewhere, these shops are full of Tibetan banners and posters, Indian inspired clothing, Hindi music, Buddhist art, bells, and statues, meditation cushions and handbags, and knock-offs of North Face outdoor gear. Unless I had landed in the medina in Fez the day I got to Morocco, I can't imagine a more jarring culture shock.

Ok, I better go grab a hot shower. The clock is ticking on that opportunity.