Once upon a time in a land far, far away…
Outlandish fantasies
In March 2013 MA (Mountain Ascent) Hiking club, under the leadership of Dr. Ganief Salie, embarked on 13 days of trekking from Lukla, Nepal, to Everest Base Camp.
I wrote a piece for Treasure Magazine, which I am going to re-publish here, without the strict 800-word count restriction.
I apologise in advance for the poor quality of the pics. They were taken on a Blackberry.
Welcome to Kathmandu
On March 19th, 2013, 23 members of Mountain Ascent Hiking Club left Cape Town, oblivious to the challenges that lay ahead.
My first impression of Nepal is Kathmandu International airport, littered with carcasses of burnt-out and abandoned fuselages.
The capital itself is typical of a developing country – noisy, dusty, chaotic.
The sun bloody in a smoggy sky, the roads narrow and unpaved.
Traffic noises assailed the ears, multi-coloured prayer flags clashed with bright Nepali clothing while the smell of incense, popcorn and spice stifled the air.
Yet the Nepali are disarmingly humble.
Day 1: Kathmandu to Lukla (2840m)
Our flight to Lukla was cancelled.
All flights, in fact, were grounded due to bad weather. This was not uncommon. Flights to Lukla were only scheduled for the mornings.
Later we would meet an American trekker who chartered a chopper with 5 other people and told us a harrowing tale of how the chopper nose-dived and was almost smashed against the mountain.
Nepalese chopper pilots are arguably the best in the world. They routinely evacuate trekkers off the mountain in the worst weather.
During the ensuing 13 days we would become accustomed to the chilling sound of their rotary blades overhead.
The American’s chopper was forced to turn back to Kathmandu. It only cost them $6000 U.S. EEK!
We spent another night in Kathmandu, which was no hardship at all 🙂
While we waited for our domestic flight to Lukla, we discovered that Kathmandu airport has the worst toilets in the world.
The building reminded me of the old 3rd Class Railway Platform on Cape Town Station.
I am not a squeamish person, but goodness …
The wait seemed interminable, but luckily my Mom packed me off with two whole date and walnut loaves, which we promptly devoured.
Lukla is known as the most dangerous airport in the world.
It’s a 40-minute flight on a plane the size of a minibus taxi (with wings). From your seat you can see the pilot in the cockpit.
Before take-off, the flight attendant offered us candy and cottonwool to plug our ears because the noise of the engines, that close to you, is really loud.
The weather in the Himalayas is notoriously fickle.
Because our flight was grounded the day before, we chose to charter a flight the next day.
Which came at an additional cost of $100 p/pax.
The alternative was to wait for the airline to find different flights for us, but we were a big group. And most of the flights were full.
It could be days before we could be accommodated.
We spoke to a group from France who had been waiting 5 days for another flight, with no luck.
We did not have the luxury of time, nor the inclination to wait. The $100 was a small price to pay.
But when we were back in Cape Town, Aunty Neesha made sure we were reimbursed for the expense since we had all taken out mountaineering insurance.
I cannot stress the importance of mountaineering insurance on these trips.
Please note, that this will be in addition to ‘normal’ travel insurance.
Having said that, these have to be the best pilots in the world. They are able to land those planes on a 500m long air strip.
I won’t lie though. It was nerve wracking!
When we started the trek in Lukla the next day, we saw a plaque commemorating trekkers and crew who perished in a plane crash in 2008.
Exploring Kathmandu
Day 1: Kathmandu to Lukla (Take Two)
Ready for take-off!!
We landed at Lukla at 10am, relieved the plane hadn’t crashed.
Despite its reputation as the ‘Most Dangerous Airport in the World’, the flight proved uneventful.
We were enthralled by vistas of pine forests, fertile valleys and snow-capped peaks.
The temperature drop was felt immediately we disembarked, indirectly proportional to the increase in altitude. Even the air tasted frozen.
Cold seeped from snow-capped peaks guarding the village like sentinels.
We gaped at porters carrying baskets on their backs or tied to their foreheads; got excited at our first sighting of a Dzomo herd – a cow-yak hybrid – and were amused by an old lady following behind, collecting their dung.
Days later we would be much more appreciative of people like her who collected yak/dzomo dung.
Lukla to Phakding (2610m)
You Are Now Entering the Sacred Khumba Valley.
After lunch we set off for Phakding.
Finally, our trek had begun.
The Sherpa are amazing; from the beautiful grubby children to the porters carrying everything from kerosene to beer up paths we struggled to climb with daypacks.
Already I could feel the effects of the big increase in altitude. Just walking up a few steps winded me.
Everything in the villages was carried by man or beast, including pool tables.
I remembered two old ladies we had seen on Kathmandu airport, who’s backs were permanently bent at the waist. They walked with their faces pointed at the floor.
It broke my heart. And I could see why. I saw children as young as 6 already with baskets on their backs.
The higher we trekked the harsher, more formidable the terrain.
Yet the Sherpa appeared content to survive on subsistence farming, seasonal work and/or trading.
We arrived in Phakding later that afternoon, settling into bare rooms with ensuite toilets and communal outside basins. A hot shower cost R30 (300 Nepalese Rupee or $US 3).
A yak-dung burning stove heated the dining room.
The food, though too bland for our palates, was warm as our guides greeted us with hot ginger tea. I looked forward to that tea at the end of each day, which was simply hot water poured over freshly cut ginger and brown sugar!
I salute our guides who tended our every need, treated us like royalty, smiling the entire time. Ganga and his team were fantastic.
Day 2: Phakding (2610m) to Namche Bazar (3440m)
Day 2 saw the highly anticipated climb to Namche Bazar, the highest market in the world.
We criss-crossed the Dud Kosi (Milk River) at several suspension bridges as it meandered through the forests of the spectacular Khumbu Valley.
In Namche Bazar our rooms had en-suite bathrooms and hot water. Hot water becomes a greater luxury the higher you trek because fuel (wood, shrubs etc) becomes scarcer.
Which is why the Sherpa gather yak/dzomo dung which they dry in the sun and use as fuel for fires. Like briquettes.
Day 3: Namche Bazar (Acclimitisation Day)
On day three we stayed in Namche Bazar, to acclimatise.
We woke early to catch sight of Everest from Sagarmatha National Park.
Everest was spectacular, coy as a maiden on her wedding night, yet dark and imposing and snowless.
Day 4: Namche Bazar (3440m) to Deboche (3860m)
By mid-afternoon on day four the air got heavy. We donned rain gear, anticipating a downpour, only to be surprised by light snow. To us Africans, the snow was a treat.
It was remarkable how quickly the weather could change. The mornings would dawn cool, crisp and sunny, warming up towards noon.
But after noon, it was a lottery; the day remained clear but cold or it closed up, the clouds moving over the peaks like a cloak.
Once the weather closes up, visibility is zero, and the planes can’t take off from Kathmandu or Lukla.
The weather in the Himalayas is highly, dangerously unpredictable.
In the event of a rescue, it’s the choppers that fly in. After a few days, we became accustomed to the sirens and the thwap thwap thwap of chopper blades overhead.
Day 5: Deboche (3860 m) to Dingboche (4350m)
We capped our day with a visit to the world’s highest monastery in Dingboche.
Symptoms of altitude sickness – nausea, headaches, appetite loss – became pronounced on day five.
The terrain was harsher, the weather colder – morale wobbled.
Although tired, we celebrated a birthday with cake, singing and dancing at our Dingboche teahouse.
Day 6: Dingboche (4350m) - Acclimitisation Day
On our second acclimatisation day, we climbed Nagerjun Peak to 5100 m where we built a cairn and put up a prayer flag, as is Buddhist custom.
On day 6 people really started to feel the effects of the altitude.
Lethargy. Lack of appetite. Mood swings. Sniffles and cold/flu symptoms.
Most suffered quietly. The trick was to eat even though the food tasted bland (due to the altitude) and you had no appetite.
I watched our Sherpa guides scoff heaped plates of rice and forced myself to eat. Had to feed the machine for it to run.
Day 7: Dingboche (4350m) to Lobuche (4910m)
Day 7 was physically and emotionally exhausting.
It was unimaginably cold, with snow, proper snow now, on the ground. My hands were frozen through liner gloves and -20 degree gloves.
We had to climb a horrible hill of a thousand switchbacks, but not before discovering the worst toilet on the trek. Frozen turds anyone? Imagine years and years of trekkers’ turds all piled and frozen for all eternity. I promptly went in search of a bush.
And I am not squeamish but that toilet tested my gag reflex.
Once we conquered the hill, we came upon a memorial site.
It was rows and rows of stone cairns created by the families who had lost loved ones to Mt Everest.
It was deeply moving. It was a place of sadness, but also of respect and reverence.
People ask me if I would climb Mt Everest and I say ‘yes’, without hesitation.
There is something about that mountain that creeps into your soul.
If I had the opportunity, and the means, I would most definitely summit Everest. At that place I understood why people risked their lives to summit.
Interestingly, most people who perish from AMS do so on the way down, not up.
The cold was relentless. Cell phone reception was patchy and none of us could contact home. It was still the era of Blackberries, remember?
Worst still, some of our companions had started to experience AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness).
Day 8: Lobuche (4910m) to Gorak Shep (5160 m)
Snow blanketed Lobuche on day 8 but our mood was sombre.
Two members were airlifted down due to AMS. Two more were too ill to walk but were determined to get to Base Camp, so they hired ponies to take them to Gorak Shep.
But the trek through snow and frozen mud to Gorak Shep was amazing.
Sadly another two members later succumbed to AMS, having to be airlifted to Kathmandu. We had lost four companions in one day. It was devastating.
Just 6 of the remaining 19 climbed Kala Pathar, a 5545m peak at Gorak Shep, to view Everest.
My heart pounded, my legs wobbled. Breathing hurt. We pushed our physical limits that day and paid the price.
But we did catch a glimpse of Everest in all her frigid beauty.
Day 9: Gorak Shep (5160m) to Everest Base Camp (5364m)
Everest Base Camp (5364) to Periche (4240m)
Day 9. It was dark and cold when we set out at 6.30 am, anxious, excited. We made haste across the slippery rocky path to the glacier.
At Base Camp we found an icy wilderness and a banner festooned with graffiti and prayer flags.
We made it. We laughed, cried, hugged, prayed…
In the distance we saw tents. Those people were attempting to summit. I envied them.
Moulana made a duah (prayer), his tone conveying our physical and emotional struggles.
When his voice broke, so did our collective composure.
He made Athaan, the sound ricocheting off the frozen rivers and caves of the glacier.
Allah Hu Akbar. (God is Great)
Later we walked 9 hours to Periche, exhausted, content, stopping at Gorak Shep only for lunch, since we needed to make up for the day we lost waiting on the airport in Kathmandu.
We had started our trek early in the season but the tea houses were filling up, there were no rooms for us in Gorak Shep, we had to carry on to Periche.
That was the only night I was too tired to take my clothes off, never mind have a wet wipe bath.
Day 10: Perich (4240m) to Khumjung (3780m)
On day 10 we climbed to Kumjung, passing the Sir Edmund Hillary School.
Although we were descending, we were walking hill up, crossing over passes who’s names I have forgotten.
It was a strange day. Anti-climactic but the drop in altitude saw people start to feel better and their appetites returned.
Day 11: Khumjung (3780m) to Phakding (2610m)
On day 11, we crossed a plateau that brought us back to warm(er) Namche Bazar where Sherpa women were doing laundry on a riverbank.
We stopped in Namche for some last-minute shopping and lunch, before heading down to Phakding.
Phakding was packed with trekkers going up to Base Camp.
After the serenity of the mountain, the bustle annoyed me.
I was grateful we’d come early in the season.
Day 12: Phakding (2610m) to Lukla (2840m)
I walked slowly, deliberately, when we set off for Lukla on Day 12.
I wanted to savour every impression, every sound, every smell; feel the wind on my face, remember every Sherpa child, yak or pony I passed.
I felt bereft.
My heart longed home but my soul lingered in the Himalayas.
Our club shirt is displayed at The Nest teahouse in Lukla.
Below our signatures, a poem by Ghulam Paleker:
From the foothills of Table Mountain,
To the hills of Everest,
23 from M.A. Hiking club set on a daunting quest,
We cried,
we loved,
we conquered,
Goodbye our Dearest
EVEREST
Back In Kathmandu
Tips For Trekking The Himalayas
1. Go with a reputable trekking company. Yes you can get a guide when you land in Kathmandu, even Lukla, but its always better to go with an experienced team.
Our trekking team were able to facilitate our chartered flights(with our local agent, Thomas Alexander of Extreme Summits) and arrange for the tea houses to accommodate us a day later than we booked for.
2. Mountaineering Insurance. Not negotiable.
3. Disposable underwear, ladies, gives you the freedom to dispose of your underwear after each wear and not have to bother to launder it. Dirt cheap at Dischem. Just buy a few packs.
4. Baby powder/talc: In addition to the obvious, to mask body odours after a day of trekking and absorb perspiration, we learned a trick on EBC… to put a sweaty shirt into a Ziplock bag with baby powder.
The powder absorbs the odour and the moisture. A couple of days later you have a shirt that is dry and smells good. Although laundry services are available at the tea houses and you can of course launder your own clothing, especially underwear, the cold weather doesn’t always allow those items to dry properly.
And in those temperatures, especially after Namche Bazar, when it’s really cold and snowy, you want dry clothes more than clean clothes.
5. Put your washed underwear (like bras) under your sleeping bag at night and sleep on it. Literally.
The down in the sleeping bag (remember it’s a sleeping bag for -10/20 degrees) will absorb the moisture so you can have clean and dry undies.
6. Vaseline. The cold weather dries out the blood vessels in your nose. But if you put a bit of Vaseline in your nostrils it keeps everything moist.
Also Vaseline acts as a barrier against the cold in the morning. You can put on sunblock later in the day.
7. Sunblock. Although you are walking in cold weather a lot of the time, including snow, the sun still shines and the light reflects off the snow. We saw many fair-skinned Europeans descending with a Trump-like orange tan. Not a pretty sight.
8. Wet wipes. Very handy for everything. Take a lot. A wet wipe bath will do in a pinch.
9. Hand sanitiser. There is not always water to wash your hands, especially on the trail.
Everything becomes progressively more expensive the higher up you go. We paid 20 Rupee (R2) for 1 litre of water in Khatmandu. At Gorak Shep we were paying 150 Rupee (R15 a litre).
You need to drink 4 litres a day to stay hydrated and prevent AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness)/Altitude sickness.
Sanitise after you use the bathroom to conserve water.
10. Peanut Butter. Just because.
In Memorium
Awesome… Well done! What an achievement.
Shukran! It was a life-altering experience.