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Published: April 12th 2012
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Too cold to get upWe woke up this morning at Everest Base Camp (EBC) to find the clouds were still covering Everest. It was soo cold last night that our half drunk cups of tea were frozen solid. It was probably in the low 20’s, but it was pretty cozy sleeping under sheep wool blankets. Our guide said that we would wait a bit to see if the sun burned off the cloud cover, so I happily stayed under the blankets for an extra hour until breakfast and coffee appeared.
We poked our noses out again at about 0900, and the clouds began to lift to reveal about ¾ of Everest. We jumped into the Land Cruiser and drove out to a hilltop overlooking Base Camp 2. By the time we arrived, the clouds had completely lifted to reveal Everest in all its glory. What a sight to behold. I have seen photographs, but nothing could compare to seeing the highest mountain in the world in person, seemingly within a reasonable walking distance. I could have stayed for hours watching the light dance off the face, but it was soo bitterly cold we could barely stand it.
There may have been a time in my
life where I thought about attempting to climb Everest, but looking up at this foreboding behemoth changed that. The mountain is soo ominous, and the sides so sheer, it is truly a marvel that anyone could possibly climb it. I feel completely requited just to stand by its base and gaze upon its majesty.
We jumped back into the car, unable to feel any of our toes and fingers. As we left we saw the clouds gathering again at the summit, and within minutes the entire mountain again was shrouded. Our guide said that we had good karma that caused the clouds to disappear for that short time.
We stopped at the world’s highest monastery about 5 miles from EBC, and Dennis had his prayer beads blessed by one of the monks. Again this place had suffered terribly at the hands of the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution.
Speaking of the Chinese, we lost count at 16 military checkpoints throughout this journey where we had to give copies of our passports, and various other permits. I suspect that no one is really monitoring our movements, but that this is just a psychological intimidation to make one feel that “big red
brother is always watching.”
We drove the loop road out of the Everest area, another 2 ½ to 3 hour very bumpy ride. Thankfully no one suffers from car sickness in our group. We saw a herd of Tibetan antelope, wolves, and some wild yak. Tibetans, being the good Buddhists that they are, do not hunt any animal, but the numbers of wild animals rapidly declined during the Chinese occupation with soldiers target practicing and trophy hunting.
We drove through the countryside for a few more hours past farmers planting barley In the fields. Barley is the staple food of the Tibetan, as it is the only thing that grows at these altitudes. These nomads are the most strong and hearty people I could ever imagine, given the absolute harshness and desolation of their environment. We loving called them "dirt farmers" during our trip.
We descended off the Tibetan plateau, and down through an incredibly deep and lush green fertile gorge, where waterfalls cascaded along the roadway. What a contrast of environments in such a short distance.
Tonight we will stay the night in the border town of Zhangmu, a hillside town where the sound of streams and birds is
deafening. Tomorrow we will end our Tibetan journey, and be in Nepal.
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