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Published: November 30th 2006
After our epic trekking journey (see previous blog) we needed a few days of recovery and relaxation. We've gtten used to the cool weather. During the day it's about 15C and at night about 5C - just perfect to sit back in a cafe sipping hot Darjeeling tea and read a book or do Suduko.
The sun has finally come out and today we got a good view of the Himalayans from the city of Darjeeling and made it worth the wait. If only we had this weather a few days earlier for our trek.....
We made a trip to the zoo (which was quite impressive for India's standards) and saw tigers, leopard cats (a striking resembalance to Reggie in size and colour), red pandas and numerous species of deer.
One night we had a few drinks at India’s version of a pub. It was a busy Saturday night and we shared a table with a few locals. Little did we know that we were in the presence of a local legend! On May 29, 1963 Tenzing Norgay, a sherpa, summated Everest for the first time in history. On Nov 25, 2006 I met Tenzing Jr in
a pub in Darjeeling. Tenzing Jr summated Everest himself in 1996 as a part of the team filming the Imax movie: Everest. Our trek paled in comparison to his conquest and we immediately wanted to learn as much as we could about his Everest climb. Here’s the facts we gathered straight from the horses mouth:
At Everest base camp you have to stay a minimum of 75 days to adjust to the altitude.
After acclimatization there is six more camps before the summit. So if by a stroke of luck you get six sunny days (highly unlikely) you can make it to the top in six more days.
The top of Everest was about -40C
Tenzing Jr still had all his fingers and toes. His hands were a little narley but I guess thats a sacrifice of making it up the highest mountain in the world!
It's a shame we didn't have our camera with us to get a pic with Tenzing Jr, our new best friend!
Next Stop: The holy city of Varanasi
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Kevin
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I know Tenzing too!
I just watched the show about Tenzing Jr. accent to the summit. He almost gave up at first because the weather wasn't cooperating and he'd tried so many times. He started back down the mountain cursing god, but eventually came around and headed back. The weather changed and he and an English guy who was also the son of a man that had summitted with Tenzing's father made a successful trek. Very cool that you met him.