A few of us are under Sherpa Kalden watchful eye this morning - Ben and I in particular considering both of us have been coughing quite a bit. I am also running a cold. Most everyone in the group has some stage of the Khumbu cough - a condition where it's a cough caused by extremely cold temperatures, dry high altitude air, that also causes disturbed sleep. Since this condition was first observed in the Khumbu valley, hence the name. Sleep deprivation is further induced by low oxygen in the air. Put all this together: a weaker immune system and fatigue - it's a breeding ground for a viral infection. Well, I think I won the lottery on this one and JP may have too. Kalden has taken me off Masala Chai :( and put me on a Honey Ginger Lemon tea prescription. It makes sense.
Gorakshep is the last stop for Kala Patthar (did that yesterday) and the push towards Everest Base Camp. There is no water at Gorakshep that may be fit for human (aka: tourist) consumption - dirty water. Bottled water comes up here via any/all possible supply chains: human porters, yaks, and helicopters. A liter of water costs NPR 500 ($4). We each have been pounding 4-5 liters per day so that's about $25/day in bottled water. As mentioned in my previous post, there is a big effort to keep Khumbu cleaner by recycling plastics and giving trash a second life. I am a big supporter of that. We all have been conscious of this and filling up our Nalgene bottles and Bladders, which still leaves empty bottles behind, atleast not on the trails. Organizations like Everest Next are trying to turn plastics and give them a second life through souvenirs to take home instead of rocks.
Last night's briefing from Sherpa Kalden had one pleasant news. Instead of the standard 6-7-8am call, it was 7-8-10am. Duffles at 7am, Breakie at 8am and depart for EBC at 10am. So we now have 2 full hours to chill, I mean thaw in the Sun - why not.
Fun Fact: Gorakshep is the only place in the Khumbu region where there is a big swath of fine sand. The village (15-17 building structures) are all surrounded by mountains. Nothing there seems to explain the sand. Turns out, the village sits on top of a frozen lakebed - explains the sand! Gorakshep was also the base camp for the 1953 Hillary-Tenzing expedition for their successful Everest summit.
We departed for EBC at 10:15 am. It's a 2 hour trek to EBC. An hour into the hike, Sherpa Tenji pointed forward showing me EBC. I could spot a few orange dots on the horizon which were our tents for the night. The scale of these mountains dwarfs everything and anything to the human eye. It's just unreal and hard to fathom. Around 12:30 we were at the Rock, perhaps the busiest photo spot. A lot of cheers, clapping and celebration of effort. Each set of feet walked here for their own purpose (Ikigai). It is a place where there seems to be no judgement by color, race, culture, religious beliefs, who is fast or slow, old or young or gender. Truly, how a Mother would welcome one of own. She always giveth.
If Mt Everest (Sagarmaata) is the Mother of the World, then the Khumbu Valley is her loyal dedicated protector child.. The gargantuously overwhemling mountains dominating the landscape adds a sense of spirituality to the place. My eyes were full, like the raging glacier meltwater running free. I did not hold back and tears just rolled down. The euphoria upon arrival was soon cut short by Sherpa Kalden's urgent instruction to get into the tent and not to be exposed to the cold air outside. Honestly, my brain was numb, partially by the cold air, but largely by my inability to comprehend where I had just stepped my feet on. Our evening happy hour was served shortly in our tent - tea and hot popcorn. The Sherpas moved between the tents, hop skipping over the tent tie-downs carefully balancing trays with tea cups and open plates of popcorn to serve each of us. Walking and balancing on glacier ice like ballerinas. The humble courtesy of "Mr, Sandeep, Mr Jason, may I open your tent? I have tea and popcorn for you" had a sense of sincerity that only comes from the heart and reflects a Mother's instinct.
By 4:30pm the crowds were gone. We were the only ones at Base Camp: 11 excited human travelers, 4 Sherpa guides, 3 helping hands and 5 Yaks. The camp was now ours to take pics. The extreme cold really did not matter because for a brief period the blood in the veins felt hot and the heart was full. We had our Prayer flags to hang as well. To me these flags have been my spiritual and emotional connection to this journey. My fellow travelers who until Oct 14 were just strangers, had now connected with me via these flags. Each had someone to be grateful and thankful for. No sooner after we hung the flags between two rocks, we heard a big boom in the distance - Sagarmaata perhaps acknowledging our presence with a small avalanche. It was amazing to see a sheet of snow just starting to cascade down, hard to explain in words.
With some light still available, Kalden and Jitkal asked if we would want to walk on the Khumbu glacier - tired or not, I was not one to miss this. Kalden had his ears acutely tuned to the giant ice cubes listening to the popping and crackling under our feet, gingerly tip-toeing and guiding us. Being in/on the glacier was spectacular. I found a piece of a bone laying on the surface. I shared my excitement as if I had found a Woolly Mammoth, but in the big scale it was a meaningless find. Kalden Sherpa shared a story of an Italian climber who had slipped into a crevasse and was discovered perfectly preserved several years later after the glacier had melted. There were several such stories shared. The speed and volume of the glacier meltwater most certainly is a concern for everyone and the impact of global warming on this water tower of Asia.
We were back in our tents. The temps were dropping really fast. Our first dinner course was served in our tent: Chicken Soup and more honey ginger tea. Shortly thereafter came Dal, Bhat and potatoes. The Dal was second best I've had in my life. Second only to the Dal that Daisey makes at home. In the moment, it was the best. My dying appetite and the flavor of the Dal were in conflict. I forced myself to eat. Snicker bar went in the pocket for an emergency snack. 5:30pm the Sun switched roles with the Moon. The evening spectacular was getting prep'd for us.
Tired and cold we were in our sleeping mummy bags. The cold was miserable and got worse into the night. Not drinking water was strategic so as to not have to go in the cold to pee. That said, I did have to go out a couple times. It is such a production to crawl out of your tent: Bundle up, wear your iced boots, wear double gloves, unzip the tent, crawl out on all fours in the open, then unzip your pants, do your thing, zip up and back track to the tent. Ughhh. That said, it's the best bathroom view I've had in my life. The sky seemed so close that I could touch it. The stars attended in massive numbers never seen before. The half moon was reflecting mega kilowatts of soft light off the face of the mountain, reminding us of her presence and keeping watch. By morning, the inside of the tent was frosted. Everything I touched was iced. My boots and laced crackled as I attempted to put them on. The cold misery of the night being over was signaled by chai, porridge, toast/eggs for breakfast. Hunkered in our 42 inch tall dome shaped tent we stuffed our duffle bags. All night I have been coughing then sneezing, dripping nose then dry nose, congested sinuses then dry throat...all taking their turn as if it was choreographed by someone on my behalf. I reminded myself that these moments are test of perseverance, patience, keeping calm and finding some meaning.
All bundled up, outside the tent and base camp to ourselves, our next and final rounds of pics got underway. Some of my friends have asked me to place mementos for their loves ones at Base Camp. I was more than happy and honored to do so. Gave me a sense of completion to this great trip. Some more photos and videos and it was time to say goodbye as we moved our ant-like-presence back to Gorakshep.
There is a slight change of plans forced upon me. I have no regrets. I suppose knowing when to stop is a smart thing to do. Nothing nor anyone is bigger than Sagarmaata, certainly not one's ego. She nurtured my desire to visit her and she is allowing me safe passage home. That's good by me.
Carefully stepping on the glacier moraine and rocks left behind by the retracting glacier thousands of years ago, base camp in our rear, we each bid goodbye to Mom's backyard as we trekked back to Gorakshep. We each came here with a purpose: seeking something, giving something, uncovering something and knowing oneself a little bit more. We all came a little bit more humble, for we had learnt that She giveth just as easy as she can taketh.
