October 24^th Namche Bazaar

WE DID IT! Our trek is almost over and it has been one of the most exhilarating, challenging and eventful experiences we have ever shared.

Rather than take the more common eastern route to Everest Base Camp, we decided to take the circular route, starting up the Gokyo Valley to Gokyo Ri (Peak), where we got our first glimpse of Mt.Everest. This route necessitated our climbing the steep mountain pass, Cho-La, to cross over to Gorak Shep on the eastern side, the starting point for our Everest Base Camp (EBC) and Kala Pattar treks.

Since leaving Namche, the weather has been clear and the scenery breathtaking. We’ve come to recognize many 6000, 7000 and 8000 metre peaks along the route – Thamserku and Kantega, Cholatse and Tawoche, Cho-oyu and Machhermo, Nuptse and Lohtse, Everest, and our favourite – Ama Dablam. Having only seen the summit of Everest from the western side, Nuptse and Lohtse seem more imposing. Colourful prayer flags indicate that we are approaching either a new settlement or a peak. Cowbells ringing in the distance announce the arrival of an approaching yak train.

The trails are heavily trafficked by animal trains of yaks and jhokpas, porters and trekkers. Many of the trails are narrow and not for the faint of heart as they cling to steep, precipitous mountainsides. One misstep and one could fall 1000 ft into a river below.

Speaking of missteps, Darcy has had a few. In her inimitable fashion, she got sideswiped by a motorcyclist in Kathmandu (before leaving on the trek), just moments after commenting that one never sees any accidents on the chaotic streets. She has a rather large, colourful bruise on her right leg but no permanent damage.

Then 5 days into the trek she sprained her ankle while trying to photograph yet another yak while walking. (The message here could be no “yakking” while hiking). After hiking to Machhermo, we decided to spend an extra day to acclimatize, to let Darcy rest her leg and also to visit the local clinic about her foot. The doctor said it was a classic sprain and taped it up. Beyond that, our choices were to continue on or get helicoptered out. (We have heard on average about 2 helicopters per day evacuating people with AMS or injuries from nasty falls)

Continuing on, Darcy managed to climb the very steep Cho-La (ChoLa pass) with little difficulty in spite of her ankle and then on a rather flat section of path, slipped on a patch of ice breaking a bone in 2 places at the base of her pinky. Luckily a Swiss couple had some tape and with an aluminum tent peg, fashioned a splint which she used until we visited a medical clinic in Pheriche, 4 days later.

After all these events, Marty thinks Darcy should answer to the name “Lucky”

While we originally thought EBC would be our greatest challenge, it was Cho-La that caused us the greatest concern, after other trekkers warned us how difficult it was and learning that the week prior it was closed due to hazardous snow conditions. It was a steep, snowy and rocky ascent up to an elevation of approximately 17,500 feet. Starting in Thangnak and finishing up in Tukla, it was a tiring, but satisfying, 10 ½ hour day.

After hiking up both Gokyo Ri and Cho-La (both roughly the same elevation as EBC), we both felt confident that we would be able to face EBC and Kala Pattar.

The hike to EBC was different and more challenging perhaps than we’d imagined. It was very rocky as we had to cross the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier which was a mixture of ice and rock. Because it is not the Everest climbing season (usually April May), EBC was virtually deserted – just prayer flags, memorials and 2 tents set up for workers who were removing the aluminum ladders from the Khumbu Ice Fall after an autumn attempt on Everest by an Indian expedition. When we arrived at EBC, we met up with a British Royal Navy team who were filming a documentary called “Battlescarred”. Ben, a 22 year old, who’d lost an arm and leg in Afghanistan was to be featured in it. We’d first seen Ben on the 5^th day of our trek and found it pretty emotional to see that he had made it on his prosthetic leg.

The following morning we decided to climb up Kala Pattar for sunrise. Starting at 4 am, with our headlamps, it was step, breathe, step breathe, taking small steps, walking steadily uphill for almost 2 hours to the summit of 5,550 metres (18,315 ft). At times, we’d turn off our lights and watch for falling stars. Venus shone brightly to the right of Everest. Arriving before sunrise, we sat on the peak and froze for about 20 minutes in the -10 C, watching the sun rise over various peaks. It was then that Shiva said it will take some time for the sun to hit Everest. We were about to descend when we heard a deafening avalanche release just beside us on Pomori. It was an incredible sight to witness.

To avoid AMS (altitude mountain sickness) we tried to follow the recommended regime of ascending 1000 meters every 3 days and then have a rest day (which could include a small hike at similar altitudes). We also used Diamox throughout the trek. Three young climbers from Calgary thoughtfully suggested that we shouldn’t be concerned about AMS as “older people” usually hike too slowly to be at risk. They were right. However, Marty did say he got “altitude headaches” from bashing his head against the low doorframes!

Internet connections here are very spotty. We will continue when we get to Kathmandu