Sagarmatha (Everest) Base Camp

Photos:
To Be Uploaded Next Week (in Australia)

Overview:
The two weeks trekking to Everest Base Camp included ~160 km total walking and ~7km in upward climbs (not including day hikes), endless supplies of dal bhat and Tibetan bread and black tea, unholy daily snacks of snickers and chunky kit kats and mars bars, mild altitude headaches, no running water then no toilets accompanied by heating systems consisting of smoldering yak patties, but amazing scenery, incredibly warm Sherpa people, and experiences beyond my imagination.

Characters:
Campbell (an Australian expat based in Moscow), Katie (and English 19 yr old physio student), Sharbani (an American cynic soon to be graduate student), Dawa (our fearless Sherpa).

(Average) Daily Schedule:
6AM Wake up, eat breakfast
7AM Hike ass off (sadly only figuratively)
11AM Eat lunch (wtf?)
12PM Hike ass off (sadly only figuratively)
5PM Eat Dinner
6PM Digest and try to stay warm
7/8PM Bedtime

Weekly Schedule:
Day 1: Fly Kathamndu to Lukla (2800m). Trek to Phakding (2652m/8hrs).
Day 2: Trek to Namche Bazaar (3440 m /6 hrs).
Day 3: Acclimatization day with hike to 3880m.
Day 4: Trek to Khunde-Khumjung (3780m /3 hours).
Day 5: Trek to Thyangboche Monastery (3780m / 5 to 6 hours).
Day 6: Trek to Dingboche (4410m / 5 to 6 hours).
Day 7: Acclimatization day at Dingboche. Hike to Chukkhung (4730 / 4 to 5 hours).
Day 8: Trek to Lobuche (4910 m / 5 hours).
Day 9: Trek up the Khumbu Glacier to Everest Base Camp (5364m). Return to Gorak Shep (5140m). 9 to 10 hours.
Day 10: Morning climb to Kala Patthar (5550m / 4 to 5 hours) for panoramic views of Everest. Afternoon return trek to Pheriche (4240m / 5 hours).
Day 11: Trek to Phorse Village (3680m / 4 to 5 hours).
Day 12: Trek to Namche (3440 / 6 hours)
Day 13: Trek to Lukla (2800 / 8 hours)
Day 14: (Because we managed to cut out one day in our descent) Fly to Kathmandu.

Day 1 (4/20)
The prop planes used to fly to Lukla rely on visual landing and take off. Thus, an early morning flight is necessary as the window of visibility exists only at that time. It's a rather amazing orchestration as over half a dozen flights land, drop off passengers, and take off again within a period of 15 to 30 minutes.

We deplane, clean and not fully aware of the requirements for the next few weeks of our journey. After a hike to Phakding, we take a few hours to sit on boulders just off the banks of the Dudh Kosi River.

Day 2 (4/21)
Hiking up to Namche Bazaar is the first kick in our backsides (and pretty much everywhere else on our lower bodies.) If the Sherpa culture were to disappear and all that was left for anthropologists were the stone stairs scattering the Himalayas, it could be determined that they were a race of giants. Katie and I both realize we have the knees of 80 year olds as a result of the 1000 or so meter uphill climbs and begin fondly referring to each other by our old Englishwoman names: Phyllis and Gladys. Namche Bazaar is the largest town in which we will stay and we take advantage of modern conveniences while we can, including price fixing on supplies such as candy bars and toilet paper.

Day 3 (4/22)
A day for acclimatization was spent in Namche. We take a day hike to a luxury Japanese hotel at 3880m for our first views of Everest and snack on our price controlled snickers and chunky kit kats. We laugh at people who use trekking poles on flat ground (no, none of us used trekking poles). We begin consuming ridiculous quantities of water, up to six liters of water a day. We also begin cursing larger groups of trekkers weilding trekking poles which they poke at us when we pass them on mountain paths.

Day 4 (4/23)
The trek to Khumjung/Khunde gives us our first drastic change in scenery. We are able to take an afternoon hike to see the Hillary Hospital, one of the first projects launched by Sir Edmund Hillary in his charitable efforts within the Sherpa community. Additionally, the nearby monastery includes a "Yeti" skull in addition to rows and rows of ancient texts. I get lost in the birch trees, emotionally.

Day 5 (4/24)
After walking up to Thyangboche Monastery (recently rebuilt after a devastating fire), we continue through a rhododendron forest for half an hour to the nearby riverside hamlet of Debuche for our accommodation. We begin to realize that days go by slowly after several intense hours of hiking lead into several intense hours of boredom after we all tear through each other's novels...Specifically, Cam's novel, "Brother One Cell," describes life in a South Korean prison in the mid 90s through the eyes of a young American convicted of smuggling drugs into the country. Interestingly, many of his stories of the ailments, extreme boredom, and accommodations in the prison parallel our current experiences with some minor substitutions such as dal bhat for kimchee and rice.

Day 6 (4/25)
An early morning departure from Deboche through a leads us up to Dingboche where our room includes a window full of Ama Dablam. We quickly realize that every afternoon in the Himalayas is cloudy. We, however, cannot determine if it is pollution rolling in from the Kathmandu Valley or a result of the local geography. Cam dedicates himself to capturing the mountains with clear skies and actually gets up before noon (voluntarily).

Day 7 (4/26)
An acclimatization hike in Dingboche leads us up a beautiful sloping valley to Chukkhung. I have never seen such beautiful organic abstracts in nature and take a ridiculous number of photos to store for later use in paintings. I also discover I am very not afraid of heights as I realize several of the thousand meter high passes we are traversing are not carved into the mountain, but in fact are perched on the mountain side by wooden beams topped with stones and dirt...with a number of holes revealing the scenery below...

Day 8 (4/27)
Lobuche is not our favorite stop for a number of reasons including lack of water, mild altitude sickness for some members of our party, and a room that made us wish we had actually been camping. An afternoon hike with single-serving Russian friends organized by Cam and myself results in us exploring more of the Khumbu Glacier and discovering a random Italian High Altitude Institute that appears to be a glass pyramid in which a government might close up half a dozen scientists to see if they can survive physically and emotionally. Of note, there were a LOT of Russians along the route.

Day 9 (4/28)
After a reasonable hike to Gorak Shep, we shed our bags and continue on for the next 2 to 3 hours along the southern edge of the Khumbu Glacier until we reach Everest Base Camp. Over 60 expeditions are parked directly on top of the glacier upon which Base Camp is situated. This makes it difficult for me to find the all female expedition, but I still manage to putz around B.C. and chat up some interesting people. The mountain is closed by the Nepali police out of respect for the request by the Chinese government to close the mountain in preparation for the summit by the Olympic Torch. Journalists are forbidden from entering base camp with any recording devices: still cameras, video cameras, and even notebooks. Interestingly, the day we visit, a climber's bag who has been searched and found to contain a Tibetan flag is promptly expelled from Base Camp. Aside from the media blackout and general circus like atmosphere of the extraordinary number of tents, the experience is unlike any other. We consider ourselves lucky as we hear a few days later that Base Camp is closed after Gorak Shep except for supplies and Sherpa people.

Day 10 (4/29)
After suffering from altitude sickness all evening (as most do at Gorak Shep), we drag ourselves out of bed before 5AM to watch the sunrise over Everest and clamber up to the top of Kala Patthar to gain a full view of the Everest and the surrounding peaks. Following this, we hiked down to Pheriche to flood our systems with oxygen and begin our descent back to Lukla. Once in Pheriche, our rooms appear to pay hommage to the highly respected sport of "put put" or miniature golf. Our rooms are entirely covered (ceiling, floor, walls) in short bright green carpet. Before we head off to bed, our Sherpa hands us candles (as there is no light in the room) and tells us to be 'careful.'

Day 11 (4/30)
Hiking down to Phortse leads us through one of the most picturesque valleys I have ever seen. The descent results in several comments questioning how we ever managed to climb up the hills as we walked down them. Katie and I are nearly squished by an unruly herd of yaks. We believe the thick layers of dirt from lack of bathing have created an impenetrable barrier that protects us from the determined herd.

Day 12 (5/01)
Our return to Namche reminds us of all the creature comforts we began to speak of as if they were figments of our imagination. We are also fortunate that many of the plants that were budding the previous week are now in full bloom. As the general direction of our trek is now downhill, we actually have time to stop and take copious amounts of photos, much to the dismay of our sherpa. When we turn in for the evening, Cam, Katie, and I nearly have heart attacks as we rediscover television and find solace in...Z t.v.???

Day 13 (5/02)
Walking down to Lukla from Namche results in many more expletives remarking on how we ever managed to get up those giant steps on our second day of hiking. Really, how on earth did we climb those steps?

Day 14 (5/03)
We praise our decision to pull through and combine the originally planned hikes for the last two days into one. We are able to catch an early morning flight from Lukla to Kathmandu - and just in time as on Day 15, our original scheduled day of departure, thunderstorms affect visibility and only two flights make it out of Lukla.

Day 15 (5/04)
We consider ourselves very lucky for having an extra day as we explore Kathmandu and Baktipur (a local old Malla capital near Kathamandu), basing ourselves for two days in the luxury of running water and clean sheets at the famed Yak and Yeti hotel. Cam and I say our goodbyes to Katie and Dawa (our stellar sherpa) and prepare for our trip to Bhutan (touted by Lonely Planet as "Nepal for the Jet Set.")