A Walk Among Giants: Part II

Read Part I

The trek starts by climbing up through the town to reach the ridge and a spectacular view of the Valley behind, Mt Thamshakur looking over our shoulder and the town spread out like a colorful picnic cloth below us. Having taken our photo’s we started the trek along the valley towards Tengboche, famed for its Buddhist monastery. The walk takes us a long a valley, with the beautiful Ama Dablam Mountain, dominating our view for most of it, and shortly into the walk you see the Everest range which commands your attention. The first section of the path was relatively flat and easy going. Wonderful views and the clear air combined with a blue sky making it very pleasant.

Everest back left, with the plume of vapor off its summit and Ama Dablam on the right.

There are many spots of pristine beauty on this path. First, the monument to fallen Sherpas, which offers a spectacular view of both Ama Dablam and Everest, and then the surprisingly ‘European’ stretch of the path through an area called Ama Dablam Garden. This stretch of the path is neatly cobblestoned and runs through picturesque Yak pens and a thick growth of Purple Rhododendrons. The bird life was incredible and I stopped to rest a while and wait for some company. Walking alone does get boring at times. The surroundings we so peaceful that I dozed off for a while and rudely awakened by some noisy trekkers who were peering curiously at me. The only thing they didn’t do was prod me to see if I was alive.  Still not meeting up with the rest of the group I decided to head on to the lunch spot on my own. From this point onwards the fun begins.

First, you descend about 900 feet, within a very short distance, cross a horribly unstable suspension bridge and stop for lunch. Having rested a while and stuffed whatever you could into your face, you then proceed to climb almost 1400 feet along a near vertical path that gets you to Tengboche. This stretch of the walk is the most vertical you face.

Having had lunch, Sajeda, Jothi, Johann and Chehan started early, with Suresh and Sharya heading out shortly after. I hung around for a little while and took off once Ashani, Amanda, Dila, Steffan and Vasantha had joined us. Marlon came in a little later informing us that Geoff was having difficulty and was following with Nava.

Setting off alone, I have to say my morale wasn’t exactly frothing over the rim. I was finding it difficult to motivate myself and find a reason for what I was doing. I questioned my sanity on several occasions and seriously considered calling it quits and going back to hang out at Ama Dablam Garden.

I did plod on though. Eventually and with about half the climb behind me, my mood changed. Shortly after that I caught up with Suresh and Sharya, who became my walking mates for the rest of the trek. We trudged on upwards, while the weather began to change quite rapidly. We finally got to Tengboche in a steady drizzle and thick mist and took a few minutes to find our lodge.

The lodge was much like the one at Phakding, barring the proximity of the loo. The highlight was the fact that there was an excellent bakery serving Lavazza coffee immediately next door. The walkers trickled in over the next hour or so sans Geoff. A few of the Sherpas were sent to help him, but we knew he was safe as he had Nava for company. He appeared well after sunset and suffering from fatigue and trouble with a bad cough. We had all finished our dinner, but Amanda helped him with his, and after he was settled into his room, most of us went over to the bakery for a slice of Lemon Meringue Pie and an excellent Cappuccino.

A rare glimpse of blue sky at Tengboche.

The next morning Marlon and I agreed that Geoff should rest and consider turning back. He was obviously exhausted and although he insisted otherwise, he was visibly ill. Having made the arrangements to keep back Raj with Geoff to go back with or continue to Periche the next day, we headed out into a misty, cool morning. The path leads downhill from Tengboche to the river, and the across another wobbly suspension bridge, then follows the river to Pengboche and over a gnarly ridge to descend into Periche. It all sounds well and good, but doing it was something else. The path runs in some stretches about 400 feet above the river. Parts of it has been washed away in sections which makes for many bottle necks and having a rock face on your left, with a precipice on your right on such a narrow path meant that I was not having a good day in the office.

While we were descending to the river, Nava ran up to us, with breathless excitement, with news that the legendry Apa Sherpa was having tea up ahead. We hurried to find him outside a tea house and introduced ourselves as fans and shook hands with and took photographs with the legend himself. While I write this, I am celebrating the news that Apa just summited Everest (8.34 a.m. Nepal time) for a world record 20th time. If ever there was a superman, he was it. He was amiable and friendly and posed with us and answered our many questions before saying he had to rush off as he had to reach base camp by night fall. This a further 4 days walk for us mere mortals, but a day’s trot up the mountain for the one and only Apa Sherpa.

Back on the trail and it was an exhausting grind up to our lunch stop at …………. The climb of the day before had taken its toll on us and most of us were fatigued and some starting to feel the ill effects of the altitude. I had lost my appetite and was feeling drowsy and lethargic and both Sharya and I took advantage of the stop for a short nap. The truth is I was physically under prepared for the trek. A busy business travel schedule and work load in the preceding months, meant that while I had hit the gym a few times, I was overweight and was not as ‘cardio fit’ as I should have been. There is really no short cut. The fitter you are the less trouble you are going to have and I was falling short.

Sajeda forced me to take in some carbs, as we had both suffered on Kili, by not eating enough. She reminded me of this and insisted on me finishing my lunch. Having done so, Sharya, Suresh and I headed out again. The second half of the days walk is shorted but is totally exposed and the cold wind, persistent drizzle and the rapidly dropping temperature meant that this was a tough, slow grind. Ashani was bringing up the rear with Marlon, so we rarely walked together. She was tired like all of us, but was fit and handling it well at her own pace.

Cresting the hill on the approach to Periche was a relief and when we saw the scattered buildings in the distance there was a collective sense of relief. However, there were a few more surprises in store. First it started to rain, hail and then snow in an extremely short space of time. Then we discovered the bridge fording the river had washed away and a rather brittle temporary structure had been put up in its place. It also meant that to get to the new crossing we had a precarious, extremely unstable looking path that ran along the edge of the river bank. This was not the way I wanted to end a grueling day and grumbled and groaned along the path which has barely visible in the mist and snow, and made it rather unsteadily to the other side. I then dragged myself towards the lodge that was still about 15 minutes walk from where we were. After what seemed like a lifetime, we were inside, and warming ourselves up around the stove. Lots of lemon Tea followed and we got out of our layers of outer clothing and settle down to await the arrival of the others.

Periche in foul weather.

I was getting worried about the others as the snow and hail was now coming down hard. Ashani was still out there and although I knew she was with Marlon and the rest of the team, it was still a concern. Finally, and about a little over an hour later, they appeared on the horizon. A few of us walked out to greet them and escorted them back to the lodge. By now, it was bitterly cold and windy and getting indoors was a huge relief.

The next day was an acclimatization rest day. The lodge was basic in its comforts but there was adequate space for us to sit around, read, update our journals or play cards and the entire day was spent doing this. We also dove deeper into Sajeda’s bag of goodies and munched on chocolates, cake and a variety of sweets that had been brought along. In the evening, we walked over to the Himalaya rescue association, and listed to a lecture on the effects of altitude by the resident doctor.

We heard about the effects of HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema), HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) and HAFE (high altitude flatulent expulsion); the last one, a more comical symptom that seemed to be the most common among all of us. It appears that the drop in barometric pressure at altitude, results in the greater than usual expansion of gas on one’s body, resulting in the frequent and high volume expulsion of gas. Needless to say, many of us seemed to be enjoying the resulting propulsion to take us up much of the trail.

Ashani was not feeling well that evening and was suffering from a bad head ache. This grew progressively worse and we realized that it was the early symptoms of altitude sickness. She struggled for sleep throughout the night and in spite of the aspirin she took, had very relief. This meant that in the morning we had a difficult choice to make.

Having given it much thought, she made the toughest but most mature decision that had to be made and decided to stay back. This was painful for all of us, as that meant that she would not complete the trek and would separate the family for the last three days. However, this was the most sensible and the safest thing to do.

One of the most dangerous situations on such a trek is having an individual who is clearly suffering from the effect of altitude, but is too ignorant or stubborn to recognize that fact. This can put not just the life of that individual at risk, but can jeopardize the safety and the success of the rest of the group. Ashani’s decision was a selfless act, taking into consideration the inconvenience she could potentially have caused the rest of the group and putting aside her own personal ambitions to ensure our overall success. It was terribly difficult to leave that morning, but we bid her farewell and with pressed on with heavy hearts.

The walk from Periche to Loboche begins with the walking of the length of the Periche valley. This is pleasant but a howling wind, and low temperatures, makes it an effort. We pass many neatly structured Yak pastures, with their customary rock walls, and small, solid, rock walled homes tucked into corners. We walk along the Periche river, which trickles down through a wide river bed that turns into a torrent during the monsoon and then begin the climb, first to our lunch stop in Tukla, and then up to the beginning of the Khumbu Ice Fall.

Periche Valley, in morning sunshine.

The first part of the climb in gradual and over fairly even terrain; and you then cross the milky, gushing snow melt from the Khumbu on a rickety wooden bridge, to get to Tukla. Lunch was basic at best, and my loss of appetite, exhaustion and the less than appetizing food, meant that I struggled to take in the nutrients needed. I supplemented myself with a tube of Gu Jell and set off to take the steep, rocky terrain that led us to the top of the pass, and the Loboche Valley.

This stretch of the climb deserves special mention. It is a gradient greater than fifty degrees, and the path is broken up and ragged; and since you are now crossing an unseen altitudinal threshold and rising above 16,000 feet, it is a difficult and demanding afternoon’s work. We pressed on, slowly but steadily and after what seemed like an eternity, made it to the top of the pass and to the location of the monuments for many of the fallen Everest climbers. A spectacular location the bottom of the Khumbu Ice field and a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those brave enough to take on the world’s highest mountain.

Sharya and I, near the memorial monuments.

We broke for a short rest and some photographs and waited for the entire group to gather. It was sad to see the monuments and to read the epitaphs on them, in memory of mountaineering legends that had perished and I have to admit I had a tear in my eye at the thought of all those, so far from their homes, who had died in an attempt to fulfill a dream.

Having rested a while, we set of along the valley to Loboche, which was still about an hour’s walk away. We made it to our lodge in the early afternoon and were happy to sit around the warmth of the stove and drink Lemon Tea and take our boots and outer gear off. The group was feeling tired and there were a few aching heads, but still sprits were high. Not too many people had the energy to play cards or hang around for too long, so dinner was had early and we retired to our beds to get some sleep before the trek on to Gorak Shep, the next morning. The plan was to reach Gorak Shep before lunch and then press on to base camp in the afternoon.

We set out from Loboche after an early breakfast, walking a parallel path to the Khumbu icefall. There is one section of steep climb, but once that is behind you, and you have rested to catch your breath and stuff your tongue back in your mouth, the rest of the trek is reasonably sedate. A few ups and downs but the views and the anticipation of reaching Base Camp, makes it a bit more tolerable than most days. Having said that, even tying your shoe laces becomes a physical achievement at 17,000+ feet, and we did feel the exhaustion and the accumulated effects of 8 days at altitude, when we finally reached Gorak Shep.

Loboche to Gorak Shep.

The lodge was specious and surprisingly comfortable, although the food as expected, had deteriorated in standard and quality, with the increasing altitude.

The menus as in most lodges, hold a lot of promise, but unfortunately, the interpretation of ‘Apple Pancakes’ or ‘Cheese Pizza’ tends to be a bit vague. The standard fare of Fried Rice with Egg, or The famed Nepalese Dumplings or Momo’s were great at lower levels, but the fact that we ate little else for every meal for 8 days meant that these options were virtually un palatable by the time we had reached the final lodge at Gorak Shep.

The group had split to over a two hour gap, which meant that the option of making it to base camp and back in the afternoon now seemed futile. The weather was not its best either, so those of us who were already there made a decision that we would do Base Camp in the morning, thus giving us a chance to reach our final destination with the entire group sans Ashani and Geoff. Once this was decided upon, it also opened up the option of a trek up to Kalapather, a high altitude view point just behind Gorak Shep. Sajeda, Johann and Jothi were the only takers for this and they headed out with Nava shortly after lunch. The rest of us were just happy to have an afternoon off and quickly crawled into our sleeping bags to find some warmth and get some much needed sleep.

Let me share a few of the realities of the final days of the trek.

First, washing, in any form, becomes an absolute luxury. Therefore, you tend to rely heavily on the wet wipes you carry by the truck load, and learn to deal with the fact that you are dirty and you smell like a farm animal. Second, it is really very very cold. Therefore taking clothes off is something you try to do very little of; even indoors. This means that you generally keep your thermal underwear on, without change, for at least the last four to five days of the trek. Finally, the added weight of clothing means that you cut down to your basic gear, taking nothing more than what’s necessary for the last part of the trek. This meant most of our clothing was kept back in Periche and we carried what we wore and nothing else.

Now I am sure that there are those reading this, who have experienced the pleasure of high altitude trekking may differ on this, but I was not about to expose my neither regions to sub zero temperatures and apart from lowering my thermals just for the purpose of natural relief, I kept them as close to my body as I possibly could. I also wore my Fleece, and a pair of thick pants throughout the last five days. Let’s just say that should we have stepped out of our clothes at this point, the clothes may have been able to stand up and even take a few steps up the mountain, all on their own; a bit disgusting, but not something that concerns you when taking the next step is a huge effort.

Read Part III