Hardie har har!

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My goodness, but those mountain climbers are a hardy stock. Here we are at Everest Base camp, 17,060 feet, and are still some 12,000 feet below the summit of this beastly mountain. I have succumbed to the headaches and decided to take the altitude pills we picked up in the states. Jessie decides to try the extremely bad tasting natural Chinese medicine. Matt and Ty, being the tough fools that they are, go au naturel. Yes, they have headaches from the water collecting on their brain. We all are extremely short of breath. Ty is complaining - why Tibet? Why not some relaxing, hot beach? He’s subsisting on spicy dried noodle packets and the energy bars that he’s grown tired of. Note the joy on his face in every photo! Even though the wind howls and the temperature is sub-freezing, we are toasty warm in our little Hotel California tent. Good thing we arrived when we did, we are informed that in 3 days time the whole base camp will be torn down for the winter until next spring. Now we are proud to say we survived this adventure and are all the more respectful of these grand Himalayan Mountains and those strong souls who climb them.

You know what they say…. Nice place to visit, but I sure wouldn’t want to live there! Check out our photos and decide for yourself if you would like to schedule your next vacation there.

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Photos

Tibetan nomads
These lovely ladies and their babies wait at the pass for tourists like us to give them a small amount of money in exchange for a photograph. Their colorful clothing and jewelry are typical of Tibetan women. In memory of their dress, I purchased a small rug in Tibet which matches the pattern of their traditional aprons.

Road to Everest Base Camp
Yes, the road traverses across this stream and into the mountainous abyss.

Sheep herders
Typical scenery in the Himalayan foothills

Tsola pass
4500m (14,800ft) and adorned with prayer flags. This was one of several passes we traversed on our way to Everst Base camp.

Gyatsola pass
Another pass, 5020m (16,500ft). Himalayan mountain tops looming in the background. A sunny day, 61F.

Animal pens
These now empty animal pens are used by the nomadic people of the region. Everything in this region is spread out. Vast areas are travelled with very few encounters with other people.

Another riverside monastery
It seems that people here are either farmers/herders or monks/nuns.

Pony cart
Sometimes, for hours, all we would meet is a pony cart like this one. We had to stop at 2 checkpoints to show our passports and permits (1Chinese and 1 Tibetan) to got to Everest Base camp. Here, at this checkpoint, we waited ahead of this travelor for clearance.

Upward we travel
Up many switchbacks we travel on our way to the base camp. Breathtaking!

Mountain village
This village, YagzeZhen, is one of the few we encountered along the way. The pastoral life of the people here is like stepping back in time. Water from the stream. Sheep, yaks, cows for milk, meat, and wool. To town? Only occasionally, by public bus.

Qomolangma - Mt. Everest
Our first view of the world's tallest mountain. Standing at Gyula Pass, 5200m (17,100ft), it's hard to imagine anyone surviving at the altitude of Everest, 8844m ((29,000ft). I feel like I'm accomplishing something just by breathing!

Rongbuk monastery
Our last touch with civilization before our planned evening at Everest Base camp. This 11th century monastery, housing approximately 30 monks and nuns, is the highest in the world at 5100m (16,800ft).

Tibettan mastiff
This dog, sat like a guard outside the latrine at the monastery. We were told they could be vicious, but were valuable for high altitude and cost cost up to 200,000rmb ($30,000) to purchase. Not sure I believe that, but I wasn't going to go close and check this guy out!

World's worst latrine
This is it. Now I've experienced some bad facilities during my travels in Asia, but this one has the honor of being the worst. No roof - thank goodness - as I much prefer the chilling air to the pent up smells that would undoubtedly linger in there. I'll leave the rest of the description up to your imagination. Lets just say that this is one place I wouldn't venture into at night without a flashlight.

Everest Base Camp
We made it!! This row of makeshift tents becomes our refuge for a night. Elusive Everest, difficult to summit and, for us, proving difficult just to photograph. Here in the background, her peaks are revealed.

Livin' it up at the Hotel California
Composed of a temporary tarp exterior, bare dirt floor, yak dung stove heater, and several comfy large sofas. We were comfortable enough for an eve.

Chuedny
This 18 year old Tibetan girl, the proprietess of The Hotel California, bids us welcome. She cooks, keeps the yak dung burning, and manages this refuge from the frigid, windy weather at the camp.

Everest latrine
What can I say - this also ranks in the tops of the world's worst latrines. This one notably so for it's springy planks which must be straddled in order to perform the deed. The wind howls, tarp violently flaps, flashlights precariously rest on a plank, and we all must complete the act rather awkwardly at lightening speed in fear that another person (any sex) enters and disturbs the temporary privacy.

Morning excursion
Riding on a pony cart upward to the "old base camp", the views are almost epic. Sitting on a board perched between two hard, wooden wheels behind a pony lumbering over rocky terrain at frigid temperatures, I feel a bit like an ice cube in a drink mixer. Still, the images and sounds of the driver moaning out a Tibetan folk song, combine to provide an experience no words can describe.

Morning at EBC2
Can you imagine this is the comfy spot on any further trip upward? I give mountain climbers alot of credit!

Everest
She finally reveals herself, if only partially and for a minute of two. Still, awe inspiring.