Base Camp Mt Everest
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2007
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15
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Trip End
Dec 19, 2007
Himalayas, Nepal
Friday, October 19, 2007
But to continue on about our recent trip in Nepal...
We left Dingboche (4,410m) and started our long trek through the fresh snow to a place called Lobuche at 4,900m. It took us about 6 hours to reach the shabby town if you can call it that. Remember as you get higher into the Himalayas the fewer places there are to stay and the dirtier things get. Not to mention the inflation in prices. A roll of toilet paper now costs 3 dollars and a hot shower (20 Liters of water) costs 4 dollars. At this altitude the air is thinner, the temperature is freezing when the sun goes down and even huddling around the furnace burning YAK pooh does not even come close to heating the common room. Most of the time the water in the morning is frozen so that you can not even brush your teeth or wash your face. That being said, you can only imagine what the scenery looks like, we were surrounded by glaciers, the peaks of the tallest mountains in the world. It was absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately, at this level Andy got pretty bad altitude sickness. Pounding migraine headache, lost of appetite, insomnia and fatigue. We decided it was best if he descended to lower altitudes with our porter. Being only a day away from base camp and the peak of Kala patthar I forged on with our guide to reconnect with Andy in a day or two.
I hiked 7 hours to Gorak Sheep (5140m) and than to Everest Base Camp 17,500 feet and than back to Gorak Sheep to sleep. Base camp was not that impressive, a bunch of tents and banners advertising the Thailand expedition. It was more of the accomplishment of the hike than the beauty of base camp that drew me there. Plus the views along the hike, the avalanche I saw walking through the glacier towards base camp was what made the trek. At this height it was sooo cold, my water bottle was completely frozen when I woke up in the morning. Actually I don't think I slept, it was just too cold and the air was thin making it hard to sleep. We ascended without allowing our bodies to acclimatize which is the reason why Andy could not make it up. I was lucky in that I did not even have a headache, not even when I made it over 18,000 feet but the cold just made me want to get back down fast. The next morning I awoke at 6 am to starting hiking to the peak of Kala Patthar with the guided. We watched the sunrise over Everest. It was amazing, so peaceful. After that my guide and I hurried back down to where Andy ended up, an area called Periche (4,240m).
