REMEMBERING EVEREST BASE CAMP 2012

On September 27th, three weeks before our departure to Nepal, we received news that a plane crashed in Kathmandu heading to Lukla, carrying trekkers bound for Everest Base Camp.  Sita Air was taking off from Kathmandu when it was hit with birds, coupled with complications causing the plane to crash, killing everyone aboard.  We didn’t get too alarmed but when our cat calendar turned to the month of October, the caption was “Don’t Leave” with three sad cats looking at you, then I started to question our judgment.  What was Cathy thinking that we could actually trek up to Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas of Nepal.  However, it had been a year up to now that Cathy had been researching and planning this trip and so the question became, “why not?”  Our journey actually started a year prior to this point.  It became a year filled with an education in medication and shop-hopping for proper clothing and footwear, wondering why I didn’t do this before!  My moto soon became “have pills will travel”; there was Dukorall for traveler’s diarrhea, Diamox for altitude sickness, an antibiotic Cipro for gastro problems and the back-up antibiotic Amoxicillin that can also treat chest infections.  Then there were our shots for tetnis, Hep A & B with Twinrex and the over-counter drugs for headaches, colds & sinus, pills to make you poop and pills to stop, and of course pills to purify water to flush everything out.  Our first aid kit could have been its own suitcase, not to mention all the power bars that added weight and space, but I didn’t want to chance not having these items if we ran into problems.  There was also learning the culture of Nepal, what hand to shake with and what hand to wipe with.  The lack of toilet paper and seeing how they eat with their hands, it was important to know which hand to use and to bring plenty of wipes. The day we drove out of Cornwall was a beautiful sunny day. We made our way to Syracuse to catch our flight to Washington DC. From there we flew to Doha, Qatar, where we treated ourselves to an all-night buffet in a secure lounge within the airport where we tried to sleep in chairs pulled together. After 13 hours of restless sleep, several trips to the buffet for an assortment of rolls, pastries, cheese and a limited portion of wine, finishing off with a classy shower in a high-ceiling stone-walled bathroom with glass pivoting doors, we were ready to vacate this sandbar for higher grounds. When we landed in Kathmandu, the amenities or lack thereof, quickly reminded me that we are in a Third World country. Crowds of people pressed into badly formed lines in a small airport with old technology being pen and paper. We could, however, exchange our money within the airport prior to getting into the line up, so we did. The exchange at that time was 86 rupees to one Canadian dollar, for comparison one beer cost 150 Rupees. As soon as we passed customs, our awakening to a whole new world began. Immediately, we were bombarded with porters ready and grabbing our luggage for us, at cost. Among the chaos of swinging luggage, our guide Hom from Advanced Adventures introduced himself, smiling widely and speaking in broken English, while leading us towards our awaiting cars to drive us to our hotel Blue Horizon. It was hard to tell who was with Hom as it was dark and crowded and the four of us had to split up into pairs to fit into the cars, so Cathy and I got in with Hom and Sandra and Ted got in with his assistant and off we sped through the tiny sandy stoned streets of Kathmandu honking our horns warning of our passing presence. We quickly came to learn this is their way of life here. Amazingly nobody seemed to get hit, with all the assorted traffic whizzing noisily by. Cathy and I arrived first and about 20 minutes later, Ted and Sandra. We learned later they were trying to retrieve their bags from a porter who insisted on being paid $20 US, which he unwilling settled for $5 US. At the hotel, we were made to feel very welcomed. Cathy and I settled into our suite which had a large bedroom, a sitting room with a bed and a bathroom. Toilet paper was one ply and half the size of what we are accustomed to. We came outside to a lovely garden where we would thereafter eat our meals, breakfast and supper, which were included in our package deal. The temperature was warm both morning and evening and hot during the day, over 80 degrees F. Our trip communicator, Chet, joined us for our evening meal that Friday to briefly go over a few things and would rejoin us at breakfast the next day to finalize our trek and update us on local events and any changes we might want to make to our itinerary. It took us two full days to arrive in Kathmandu, from Wednesday evening to Friday evening. Supper that Friday evening at 8pm was welcomed and tasty; we could still eat meat and so we did in the form of pizza and steak. At this point, our focus was get the protein into us, as our diet would become pasta, rice and potatoes as we climbed higher. Lounging there in the garden, we did enjoy our first Everest beer ... yes it was so good going down, we didn't hesitate to order a second one, which actually amounted to four beers given the size of the bottles! Okay refocus, let’s not dehydrate with alcohol, so bottled water became our staple and as we travelled higher, we used our water purification pills. The next morning at breakfast, Chet had explained that we arrived during the Dasain Festival. Dasain is the longest and most favourite festival of Nepal. This festival is celebrated in the month of October in Nepal for 15 days. During this time, everyone stays at the home with their families, offices are closed. The skies are filled with kites and the marketplaces are filled with farmers bringing their ox, goats and chicken to sell. These animals are then sacrificed on the night of Kal Ratri to please the goddess Durga. On the day of Dashami, everyone puts on new clothes and goes to honour their family elders, where they receive large red tikas of vermilion paste on their foreheads. We, ourselves, received our first tika when we attended our welcoming dinner at a traditional restaurant, unfortunately nobody thought of taking a picture of us with our newly red-smeared forehead, but we were happy to have this memory in thought only. In the following days of Dasain, families and friends unite, take part in the feasts, impart the blessings and exchange gifts. As this was a significant happening in Kathmandu, we decided to delay our trek by one day so that we could experience the people’s preparation during this festive time. As planned, we would still do our 12 km hike up to Nagarkot Hill to the hotel at the top for an overnight and viewing of the sunrise and would then descend down the 12 km back to Kathmandu. Upon our return, we had combined temple tours on our way back to Kathmandu. At the end of our hike, we had a tasty lunch of fried noodles and egg with vegetables mixed in, with a side order of momos which is a pasta dumpling with meat in it, and a glass of coke to wash it down. We walked from there to the temple in Changu Narayan. This temple is the oldest temple in Kathmandu valley which came in existence in the 4th century. The temple is adorned by some of the best specimen of stone, wood, and metal craft in the valley. The temple stands as the epitome of culture, religion, history and faith of the Kathmandu valley. The temple is of great importance due to its idols and shrines having rich architectural beauty. From there we hopped in a van that brought us to the town of Bhaktapur. This place is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO for its rich culture, temples, and wood, metal and stone artwork. Then we proceeded to Patan, which town is best known for its rich cultural heritage, particularly its tradition of arts and crafts. It is also called as the city of festivals and feasts, fine ancient art, making of metallic and stone carving statues. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, it had a population of 226,728 in 54,748 individual households. We finally and happily entered Kathamdu, where we visited the temple of the Living God, the Kumari. The Kumari is a most fascinating tradition and there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, but the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu. She lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The selection process for her is especially rigorous. The current Royal Kumari, Matina Shakya, aged four, was installed in October 2008 by the Maoist government that replaced the monarchy. Chanira Bajracharya, as the Kumari of Patan is the second most important living goddess. A Kumari is believed to be the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju (the Nepalese name for Durga) until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury are also causes for her to revert to common status. She is chosen after emerging from a dark and lonely place over a period of time, where her demeanour has not changed and she has demonstrated good character. This is a privilege; however, debatable. She serves for her entire childhood until her first period, after which she returns to her family but remains a virgin for the remainder of her life. The entire tour was very rich in history and jam packed as our guide wanted us to experience all of it, much like the speed of the traffic, our heads were constantly turning like deer facing headlights only with welcomed enthusiasm.

Our 2-day trek over Nagarkot Hill, brought us through mountain villages with most families preparing for the feast and by that I mean slaying the goat or ox, cutting off its head, blood dripping everywhere and portioning out the raw meat on a canvass tarp outside in the dry dusty heat, while the local dogs would sneak a bone every now and then, without rebuttle from anyone. Despite the gory display, this trek was a true highlight in our journey that we were so happy we did. It was a great way to experience a small sample of the life of the Nepalese mountain people and recognize and appreciate all the comforts we can so easily take for granted back home. Our two-day trek, from Saturday, October 21st to Sunday, October 22nd, warmed up our legs for the longer distance that was coming. The next couple of days, we were happy to have spare days to relax and rest, restoring our energy. Wednesday, October 25th, it was time to fly to Lukla. We were finally down to this moment we had so long awaited … the plane ride to Lukla. We were bussed out to the little plane and waited to board. While in the bus, a man was explaining to his wife about the stick beneath the plane. If the stick touched the tarmac, it meant there was too much weight in the plane and weight needed to be shifted or removed. Once boarded and taxing out, we were relieved yet hopeful as the plane lifted off. There were no birds in sight. We soared, noisily through the air. The stewardess gave us candy for our tummies and cotton batten for our ears. The plane passed through mountain and wispy clouds until we came upon a clear view of Lukla and the short runway. The pilot landed the aircraft without a flinch and we were gracefully set upon the ground. In Lukla, the air was cool like a mild winter day. We made our way to Paradise Lodge from the airport which was just a 5-minute walk, or longer if you wanted to watch the planes come in. We settled down in the main eating area and ordered our breakfast. Cathy noticed a gentleman at another table who looked very familiar. I turned around and confirmed her guess that in fact it was Sir Edmund Hillary’s son, Peter Hillary. He was having breakfast and then heading out for a 5-day trek. Someone asked if he would let us take a picture and I immediately got up and went over to greet him. I shook his hand firmly yet warmly and he reciprocated with a beaming smile and friendly “Hello” as I said how honoured I was to meet him, given all I knew of his father and his own successes in summiting Mount Everest and continuing his father’s generosity to the well-being of the Nepalese mountain people of the area. I was so blown away with this encounter that I saw it as confirmation and blessing that this trek was meant to be and would be successful. We left Lukla and headed for Phakding for the night, our first tea house experience. As we trekked higher, the air became cooler, yet the days warm with the sun beaming down on us. It was the nights that were the most challenging with keeping our lungs warm and free of dust and cold air. There was no insulation nor heat in the tea houses, so we eventually developed a cough, known as the “Kumbu Cough” which basically is the throat getting irritated with all the dust and dry cold air. It was important to keep the throat lubricated with cough drops, candy and water. After Phakding we climbed to Namche Bazaar, passing several suspension bridges, sharing the trail always with cattle and people. We stayed in Namche Bazaar for 2 days to acclimatize, with a hike up to Everest View Hotel and back down to allow our bodies to adjust.

We then headed on to Khumjung, passing through the Kumbu Valley, first visiting Hillary’s Hospital with the doctor present, and then visiting Hillary’s Elementary and Secondary School, with a teacher present, both looking to be in their twenties. Arriving next in Tengboche, we saw the largest Budhist monastery and had the best view of Everest and Ama Dablam, thus our Christmas Card photo. We celebrated the Feast of the October Full Moon with the Budhists. Through their invitation, all trekkers were welcomed to join them in chanting and meditation within their temple. We moved on to Dingboche, spending 2 days there as well, to once again acclimatize, the second day hiking up Ngang Chang to 16,000 feet. Then we passed Dugla, where we were going to stay but as we were acclimatizing well, we moved on to Lobuche. Along the way, we passed by the Chortens at the Memorial Site for those who lost their lives on Everest.

It was getting colder. We finally arrived at Gorek Shep. We had lunch at Gorek Shep and headed to Base Camp the same day reaching a height of 17,600 feet. On the tenth day, the next day, I rose alone at 4am to join our friend Chandra and our guides Hom and Gueri up Kala Pathaar at 18,200 feet, and temperature of –10 Celsius. Given how taxing our days’ journey had been, the others decided to sleep in and make it back down without pushing the limits. It had taken us 9 days up and 4 days down. Our last night was back in Lukla, at the Paradise Lodge, staying in rooms where the famous mountaineers stayed, such as Peter Hillary and Wolfgang Nairz.

We only experienced rain one late afternoon, at Phakding. We had arrived at the tea house in time; however, our rain happened in the bathroom. Somehow, with all the rainfall or maybe a leaky bathroom above us, we had to don our raincoats to do our business in the bathroom, or be soaked, it dripped that much! Otherwise, the entire trip was great with weather, exceptional resilient people, and a journey embedded in our memories.