Still standing at the end of our acclimitisation trek to around 5,150 metres

The word most commonly heard and repeated in Nepal is the friendly greeting “Namaste”.  There can be no better way to start the day or say g’day to fellow trekkers and locals than a cheery Namaste.  And so it was, over and over, every day.  But the words we really came to respect with a little bit of dread and a lot of excited anticipation were “zham zham”.

 

Because ‘zham zham’ in Nepalese means ‘let’s go’ and no matter where you are or what you are doing you know that when Arjan utters those words we are going to continue the relentless trek to Everest Base Camp. 

Yaks don't seem to enjoy the view as much as us

The morning we woke in Dengboche at 4,400 metres (about 13,600 feet) was bitterly cold and the thermometer on the wall inside the communal room for breakfast showed -6 degrees.  All our water bottles and Camelbaks were frozen which added to our misery after a tough night trying to sleep in the thin air. 

Arjan and the young trekkers surrounded by beauty

Our plan that day was a two hour trek to the village of Thukla at 4,640 metres, drop our bags for the night and then climb up a nearby ridge for our second acclimitisation hike.  Remember the theory – climb high, sleep low.  And as we headed up a new valley we lost sight of most of our friends, including Mt. Everest, but we gained new ones on all sides. 

Not our accommodation for the night!

Thukla is not so much a village as just one building – the Yak Lodge and Restaurant, so after lunch we headed ‘up that hill’ as Arjan pointed.  Yes, straight up, no trails.  Across some dicey glacial moraine, then up the steep ridge of this mossy and rocky hill.  The footing was poor but the breathing even worse and the wind whipped across this exposed flank, dropping the temperature to well below zero. 

The amazing solar dish at Thukla boiling a big pot for afternoon tea

Eventually we hit a rise and Arjan led us to the edge and pointed up the valley to Mt. Everest, again glowing in full view.  More significantly he pointed out the approximate location of the Everest Base Camp on the massive Khumbu glacier and estimated that we were more or less standing at the same elevation as our eventual goal (we later calculated on our topographical maps we had made it to about 5,150 metres).  This was a significant moment because it meant that the altitude would not beat us to the base camp, even if it was a further three days away!

With fingers and water bottles freezing again we descended to Thukla for a strange evening and night.  We were joined in this small tea house by a group of about a dozen Koreans who had their own animals bring up their own food, cooking gear, cooks, the lot.  But unfortunately the altitude or cold or the specialised food or something didn’t suit them because many were up all night running to the only toilet until it was beyond use.  In these thin plywood walls there are no secrets and when I opened my door in the morning I found the cement hallway slippery with frozen remnants of their dinner. 

Anna pushing up the slope with Nuptse standing guard

Moving right along, the next day it was zham zham again as we trekked onward and upward, our goal the village of Lobuche at 4,950 metres.  After leading the charge up the acclimitisation climb the previous day Anna had had a bad night, probably from the altitude but made no better by the Koreans, so we all headed out slowly under beautiful blue skies and below zero temperatures. 

Our first goal was up the steep switchbacks to the Thukla Pass at 4,830, a tough way to start the day, and a pause at the many tombstones, memorials and faded prayer flags to fallen climbers.  I was particularly hit by a few plaques with names of people who were featured in Everest expedition books I had read. 

Bill playing with ice the shape of the unusual Nepal national flag

From there the trail was a bit easier as it followed the glacial scree from the Khumbu glacier.   We played in the snow and ice and marveled at the size and power of one of the most famous glaciers in the world.  And as always, the beautiful snow-covered jagged mountains were all around us, streaked with glaciers, majestic in size and shape, almost defying belief.  There was nothing more inspiring or rewarding than looking up at these masterpieces.

Our tea house in Lobuche was the best in a few days so after a late lunch and a rest for our buggered trekkers we ventured out again, scrambling over massive hills of scree maybe over 100 metres high for stunning views of the Khumbu glacier and far up the valley – Mt. Everest.  The wind was whipping so hard we could hardly stand but the 360 degree views made it all worthwhile.

The team is in fine form amongst the mountains and glaciers

Lobuche had about five tea houses and probably less than 50 inhabitants.  It was a grim scene with seemingly everything coloured grey, including the ancient glacier gravel it was built on.  But to give you a sense of local standards, one place was proud to advertise it as having ‘inside toilets’ – a major selling point!

The evenings were all very similar, the routine well established.  We would start with a tea around 5pm or so, spend some time reading or writing in the communal room while the woman of the house fired up the stove in the middle with yak dung.  As it got dark everyone – trekkers, guides and porters – would crowd around the stove to catch a little warmth while the conversation jumped between many languages.  One thing we noticed is around the stove there is no pecking order between trekkers, guides and porters – everyone is equal at -5 degrees.  If you leave your seat some porter is likely to jump right in, and fair enough we figured. 

By 6.30 our dinner would be served and our guide and porters would wait on us before taking prime spots around the stove.  When we were finished they would eat and we would get the inside seats, although by that time the night’s allocation of yak dung was usually gone.  We rarely stayed up to 8pm, partly out of total fatigue but also because it was dark and cold.

Life around the communal stove - thank goodness for yak dung

The next day we trekked to our final and highest village, Gorak Shep at 5,180 metres (over 16,000 feet).  Anna was still not well, probably partly due to the altitude but she like the rest of us was carrying a nasty throat and chest infection.  We woke that morning at Lobuche to -3 degrees inside and -4 degrees outside with no one sleeping particularly well.  The challenge of sleeping at this altitude is twofold – first, of course it is very cold and no matter your layers, sleeping bag and blankets it is hard to be comfortable; but second, the act of sleeping means to slow down your heart beat and breathing until you nod off.  But at altitude if you slow down your breathing you suddenly wake up gasping for oxygen and panting for air.  So sleep becomes a relative term. 

Young trekkers never lose their smile

The feature of this climb to Gorak Shep was the beautiful blue skies and magnificent Mt. Nuptse (7,855 metres) on our right.  We made a difficult crossing of Lobuche Glacier coming down from a valley on the left, dangerously slippery ice, very loose and sharp moraine on a steep slope, not easy.  Many sections of this climb were quite uppish but it was becoming my favourite section of the trek so far.  The scenery was stunning and my health was relatively good, feeling stronger and sensing that our ultimate goal, Everest Base Camp was not far away.  In fact, all things going well, we would be there tomorrow morning!

Gorak Shep, the highest 'town' in the world, desolate but magnificent!

The demographics for Everest Base Camp trekkers is fairly narrow.  I would say most trekkers were between 25 and 40, and more than 80% of them were male.  Some nights Anna would be the only female in the tea house.  The very concept of trekking for 14 days in these conditions definitely self-selects those who want to do it.  So we were a little surprised to see an older Aussie guy make it this far but then watched as he decided he could not walk back down and instead was evacuated by helicopter. 

Mt. Nuptse at sunset, a moment to remember

They say Gorak Shep is the highest town in the world and the collection of buildings lack any redeeming features.   But Gorak Shep also marked, in effect, the end of the valley because standing directly ahead of us was Mt. Everest at 8,848 metres, the South Summit at 8,751 metres and Lhotse at 8,516 metres along with numerous ‘smaller’ mountain peaks and ridges.  They were splendidly set against the blue skies and I was dizzy with the moment.  If it wasn’t for the biting wind and some clouds appearing in the valley far behind us….

Bill with the Khumbu glacier in the foreground and Mt. Everest way down the back