28 March 2015
12 hours of trekking.
5,550 meters.
Despite being slow, I finally made it to the highest point of our trek, at Kala Patthar.
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| View of Mount Everest and Mount Nuptse from Kala Patthar |
<5:00. I could hear
the wind howling from our room and I feared that the weather wouldn’t permit us
to hike to Kala Patthar, the highest point of our Himalayan trek. Nevertheless,
I put on all the jackets I had and with our head lamps, Victor and I headed
towards the dining hall where we found a crowd of trekkers who were also about
to ascend. Madan wasn’t feeling well that day so it was Ram, our porter, who
met us at the hall and brought us tea. We were informed that the weather was
good (I guess, that howling wind was just normal) and half past 5 in the morning,
we headed out for Kala Patthar.
It was windy, cold and
dark. But it wasn’t snowing, so… yay! All the trekkers were wearing
headlamps so you could see a long trail of lights along the mountain. Victor
and I were among the last ones to leave (I knew I was going to end up on the
tail anyway). Victor was a few meters ahead while Ram and I weren’t so far
behind (than usual). Along the way, I passed by a female trekker who turned
around to go back to the tea house. She said it was simply too cold and too
far. After a while, there was another guy who turned around. Victor said that
the guy kept on falling down along the trail (altitude sickness, perhaps?). It
was damn cold and it was difficult to breathe cold air and I had a slight pain
on my chest from yesterday’s strenuous hike, but I was generally alright. I
think I was in better shape today than yesterday. I was glad I was wearing my
dad’s Goretex pants, although I didn’t look good in it—comfort before fashion. However,
we were walking on fresh snow and my not-so-waterproof shoes weren’t protecting
my toes. They felt cold and numb and for a quick moment, I feared that I might
end up with a frostbite. I should’ve worn my thermal leggings that covered
my toes… but then again, the thermal leggings still wouldn’t have been
able to keep my wet toes warm. So, from time to time, I’d simply wiggle my
numb toes and that kept them warm.
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| The sun reflecting off the summit of Mount Pumori |
The Himalayas, at
dawn, was dramatically breathtaking. The sky was dark blue and the snowy
mountains seem to glow in the dark. I wanted to take a photo but I was already
way behind Victor and well, everyone. And more than that, it was too cold to
take off my gloves and take a photo. As we neared the peak, I felt the trail
getting steeper. It felt like walking 45-60 degrees (Victor thinks it was about
30 degree and he was probably right). The cold made it grueling but the ascent
was fairly easy. Don’t get me wrong, I was still panting (but I’m already used
to this, after two years of hiking) but I was more focused than yesterday. After
a while the sun started to rise behind Everest and we paused to marvel at the
highest peak in the world. When the sun was finally up and shining, the cold
wasn’t as bothersome as it was when we started.
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| The trail, with Mount Pumori in the background |
08:30. By the time we
reached the peak, it was sunny. The weather was perfect. And we had a clear
unobstructed view of Mount Everest sitting behind Mount Nuptse. We enjoyed the
remarkable Himalayan view while sipping the warm tea that Ram brought.
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| View from Kalapathar |
10:00. It only took us
an hour to get back to Gorakshep (gravity helped), where we found Madan waiting
for us. The descent was pleasant and we saw two small avalanches along the way,
far across us. The snow was fresh and since I was in a good mood, I didn’t mind
falling on my butt as I hiked down nonchalantly.
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| Avalanche! |
11:40. After breakfast
(I had mashed potatoes with vegetables and cheese), we started the long trek to
Pheriche (near Dingboche). Now, this wasn’t just some pleasant descent—the
trail went up and down and up and down. But since, we were generally going
down, I wasn’t miss slo-mo anymore. We had a quick 30-minute lunch (Rara
noodle soup) at Thukla, and then we continued are way down.
We took another break
at the Thukla cemetery. It wasn’t as cloudy as the last time we were there, so
we had a good time taking another set of photos. I also badly needed to empty
my bladder, so I chose a big rock near a hill and did what I had to do on the
snow. But before I could finish, rocks (big rocks—not stones) started to fall
from the hill towards my direction. You know those times, when your bladder is
so full that it seems a while before you can empty it? Well, it was one of
those times. Now, it seems so hilarious remembering how I was squatting behind
a rock in my bright pink jacket and looking out for the falling rocks while
anxiously trying to empty my bladder as fast as I could. Fortunately, the rocks
stopped rolling a few meters from where I was and I safely returned to the
smiling Madan, who also witnessed the rocks falling towards my direction.
19:00. I was in zombie-mode
by the time we reached the tea house. It took us 9 hours to reach Pheriche,
from Gorakshep. It started getting dark an hour before we reached the village.
Victor was happy because he wanted to do a night trek in the Himalayas. I
couldn’t find my headlamp in my pack (it was packed deep down in my bag) so
Madan lent me his. For the first time during our trek, I felt drained (usually,
I’m just out of breath) before reaching our destination. My feet were blistered
and my sense of balance was dubitable.
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| Almost dark, en route to Pheriche |
20:00. I ordered
vegetable pizza for dinner and I also finished Victor’s curry dish (I was
famished!). After what seemed like a long dinner, I retreated back into the
room while Victor stayed in the hall to use the WiFi. I was planning to clean
myself all over with baby wipes but I was too tired and too cold that after
only a few wipes, I ended up just wrapping myself with an emergency blanket.
And I stayed there for an eternity. Don’t ask… I was in my bubble!
After a while, I
finally had the courage (and sufficient heat and energy) to join Victor outside
and enjoy the night sky. On our way to the tea house, we had contemplated on
taking a photo from the opposite side, overlooking our tea house. But I was exhausted
(and probably, so was he) so we ended up taking photos just right out of our
window. I was completely worn out that night but today’s feat left me in high
spirits. I made it!
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| Night Sky, from Pheriche |
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