Everest Base Camp and beyond, Tibet


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September 23rd 2005
Published: December 7th 2005
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First glimpse up closeFirst glimpse up closeFirst glimpse up close

Mt. Everest, the real top of the world!
Hi again,
Everest.
The top of the world.
The famous mountain that has been one of my dream destinations for years.
And today I am going to its base camp from the northern side.
We reserved for ourselves two nights in the EBC just to make sure that we have a period of good weather and that we will be able to see the peak.
We drove to the base camp through a special short cut that our driver knows, between the mountains and the small villages. The non-existing road was bumpy, and the ride was very hard. The weather was quite good, even though as timed passed more and more clouds appeared in the sky, and it wasn't as clear as it was early in the morning when I took the picture of the mountain from a distance.
At the entrance to the national park we had to leave our car behind and pay for a government transportation for the last 40 km.
About half an hour later it came into view. No need for two nights at the base camp - it was just there in front, waiting.
The bus arrived to Rongphu Monastery, the highest monastery in the
Trekking up to higher campsTrekking up to higher campsTrekking up to higher camps

After a small bribe to a local police officer - everything is possible in China.
world, at 4980m. I got off the bus, threw my bags in the corner, and started to take pictures from every possible angel, fearing that the mountain will be covered with clouds and will disappear for the rest of my stay.
After I finished running around and shooting like crazy, stopping only to catch my breath in the thin air around, i had a rest and lunch.
The base camp was still 8 km away, and 220m further up, and the options are either walking the distance or renting a horse carriage. At that time arrived to the monastery three trekkers that I met a couple of weeks before in Lhasa. By nothing but pure luck we arrived at the same day, after they were walking for three days from the same village I just drove from.
One of these guys, Chanan, had the idea of trekking further up from the base camp to the higher camps, in what is called "the highest trek in the world". I was happy to meet them because I really wanted to join them if they really did it. The problem is the required permit for going further than base camp, and the police
Mountains and glaciersMountains and glaciersMountains and glaciers

What more can you ask for?
post at the base camp that makes sure nobody tries to climb the mountain on his own...
A short break for some general knowledge about Mt. Everest...
It was not until 1849 that the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India took place and mapped the height of the peaks of the Himalayas. It was carried from a great distance, and took a few years, but the famous mountain known until then as "peak 15" was discovered to be the highest point on the planet. The Tibetans had a name for it (Qomolangma - meaning Goddess Mother of the Universe, which is quite appropriate if you ask me), and the Nepalis didn't (well, from Nepal it is hard to tell that this mountain is really special because it is hidden by many mountains that are hiding it from the south). For some reasons the Royal Geographic Society wasn't sure that it is the name of the same peak, and decided to look for a name. The surveyor general suggested to name the mountain after the head of the Great Trigonometrical Survey, Sir George Everest. While Everest himself didn't like the idea, after a few years of debating, in 1865 it was decided
Mt. Pumori Mt. Pumori Mt. Pumori

In Nepal, right above Kala Pattar, the Everest view point from the Nepali side.
to officially call the mountain Everest (originally pronounced eve-rest).
China, on the other hand, ignores that name. The name Everest is not mentioned on any official paper in China. The ticket, the road signs, and any other mentioning of the name states "Qomolangma". Even in the base camp there is only a "Qomolangma Base Camp" sign for the tourists to take pictures with.
The height, by the way, was considered to be 8848m since a more accurate survey took place in 1954, only 9m higher than what was calculated about 100 years before! In 1999 a National Geographic Society expedition placed a GPS at the top which measured 8850m.
The other interesting piece of information about the mountain is, how surprising, the story of conquering the highest peak in the world. First attempts were made in the 20's by the British, from the Tibetan side. Nepal was closed to foreigners then. The most famous attempt was made by Mallroy and Irvine, who were seen very high up the mountain before disappearing in the clouds, and never returned. Mallroy's body was found in 1999, and it is still a mystery if this couple made it to the top before they died.
The opera house of the ice age?The opera house of the ice age?The opera house of the ice age?

Getting closer to the glaciers.
Mallroy is also the one who gave the famous answer when he was asked why to climb Everest: "Because it's there".
Some strange attempts were made - like a guy who wanted to crash a plane as high as possible and continue by foot, or another who sneaked into Tibet in a disguise and tried to climb it alone...
After WWII and later the Chinese occupation of Tibet things changed. Tibet was no longer accessible to foreigners, and Nepal was seeking new friends because they feared the giant from the north. Nepal was open again for foreigners, and the mountain was accessible from the south. In 1950 a French expedition climbed the first 8000m peak, Mt. Annapurna, and in 1952 a Swiss expedition tried to climb Everest, reaching 8595m before turning back. The British were afraid that they will not be the first to climb the mountain. In 1953 a British expedition lead by an army officer and held like a military operation took place. At 11:30, May 29th 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal stood for the first time on the peak.
Since then more than 1000 people climbed the mountain, and
After a cold nightAfter a cold nightAfter a cold night

Camp II, 5835m, and my cheap tent made it through the cold and snowy night.
more than 160 died trying to. The southern route taken by the first successful attempt is still the most popular and perhaps the easiest, while the northern route from Tibet is harder and more challenging.
Back to reality - I hiked up to the base camp, while the weather changed and it started raining, mixed with some snow. Arriving to base camp I hid in one of the many tent guesthouses there. We started to check the grounds for the possibility of trekking further up. We met a French guy who told us that he trekked up there a year before, and he had a satellite picture of the area (maps in China are impossible to find) and he showed us the route. The guesthouse owner heard us talking about it and offered his "help" with the police. We knew that if he heard us he would tell them, and we can't risk being caught, so we went with him to talk to them. The guide books say that a permit costs 100$ a day, and that the trek should take 5-7 days. We were surprised that the officer told us that for 60$ he will let us go there
We are not aloneWe are not aloneWe are not alone

A climbing expedition at camp II.
for 3 days, and that this time is enough for going to camp III. We agreed to take the deal, and didn't get any official paper with our permit.
Anybody else hears the word "bribe" in his head right now???
He also made sure one of the locals comes with us as a guide for our safety, with no extra charge.
At that point I told my car partners that I will not be going with them all the way to the border, and that they shouldn't wait for me...
The rest of the afternoon was spent in preparations and just being excited about the whole thing.
In the base camp area there is also a little post office, which at 5200m is considered to be the highest post office on the planet. It is possible to send postcards from there with the "Everest Base Camp" stamp (well, Qomolangma BC stamp actually). I went there with intentions of sending some postcards, only to discover it is closed. Asking around I found out that the worker is sitting in one of the guesthouses playing cards and drinking beer. When asking him when it will be open he asked me to return later. At the third time I came to ask the question (with more than an hour an a half apart) he asked me to return the next day. I tried to explain that I am leaving the next day, and that I was waiting patiently for a long time. Another guy started talking to me about it, and later I realized that both of them were drunk. I thought they were joking with me when they started saying strange things, mostly about tourists coming to the region and passing through it while leaving it poor as it is, and when I tried to explain that I want to spend money and contribute to the local economy, one thing led to another, and one of the threw an empty beer can at me (missed me by only a few cm) while the other started bashing towards me with feasts sent in all directions. I ran away trying to avoid a conflict, calling to m friends to join me, while some other locals held the two drunk ones back. Needless to say I didn't send any postcards from the EBC.
The next morning we woke up really early, to a nice but cloudy morning, and started walking. We first headed south, along the mud covered Rongphu Glacier. A few km away we could see the white clean glacier to the feet of the mountain itself, and some more peaks around, including the round Mt. Pumori in Nepal, which stands above Kala Pattar, the view point of Mt. Everest from the Nepali side.
After a couple of hours we turned east along a valley, and the main attraction disappeared behind the ridge. We arrived to the location of camp I, where we could see many tents, people, and yaks. Apparently there was an expedition in progress. They were arranging their stuff for movement.
We moved on East along a river and another mud covered glacier, called East Rongphu. At this altitude every step was hard. Walking on a glacier is full of ups and downs, and I found myself stopping for air every once in a while. Some ice pinnacles started to pop out from the mud, looking like the famous Opera House.
We arrived to a place that our guide said is camp II. We found spots for our tents between all the rocks, and rested after the hard day. A little bit later the expedition arrived to the camp as well. We had a chance to talk to them, and the first question we asked, off course, was about the altitude. One Nepali guy had a watch with an altitude meter and he showed us that it was 5835m. I was surprised to see a Nepali climber in Tibet, and he said that he climbed enough mountains in his country and that he wanted to experience something new. They were about to climb a 7000m peak in the area, and were on the way to the higher camps as well.
One American guy in the group had a snowboard towering above him on his back, attached to his backpack. I asked him about it and he said that if you are already on top of a huge mountain covered with snow - why climb down when you can board down? It made only a little sense to me, especially when he said that nobody has done it before from that mountain. Digging a little deeper he explained that the expedition is very expensive and he is trying to make some money back by shooting a movie of the descent and selling
The Serac HighwayThe Serac HighwayThe Serac Highway

Rongphu Glacier on both sides, and a safe path in the middle...
it to Salomon. Well, good luck...
The weather changed again and it started snowing. It came at a very bad time, because we didn't have our dinner at that time, and we had to cook in the snow. It was a hard mission, but we were very hungry...
Our guide was also tired, and said he had a headache, and that he will not continue with us the next day. He wasn't really a guide, and he wanted to get back to his lodge t make money instead of being up in the mountains looking after us for the police officer. We were happy about it because it meant that we can do whatever we wanted, including pushing a little further up the mountain...
The snow kept on falling all night, and it was quite cold, but my new tent and my excellent sleeping bag kept me warm and safe through it. The next morning we woke up early to a white surface, left everything in the camp, and started walking up.
The way was supposed to go on the Serac Highway, a mud covered part of the glacier in between two mighty ice glaciers. Somehow we missed it and walked for a while in between the ice pinnacles of the glacier. It was amazing, the ice formations up close, blue and white, huge above, with so many different forms and shapes... We realized it was too dangerous when we heard the cracking noises above our heads... The "highway" looked like the other side of the valley, and we didn't quite understand where it is, until we climbed up the side of the valley and saw that it is actually just a mud hill in the middle and that there is more glacier on the other side. We walked back a little bit (not before my friends insisted on trying to try to find a path forward), and climbed up the "highway". The time we wasted here is time we would miss later on...
The way up was hard. The air just didn't climb up with us. It wasn't much of a climb, but the trail was going up and down all the time, and with every step up I felt the altitude. The views, on the other hand, were amazing. Glaciers sliding down from every direction, mountains all around, the blue and white of the snow and ice mixed
They are after us!They are after us!They are after us!

The expidition group approaching camp III, while the weather is getting worse...
with the blue and white of the sky and clouds. Un-real!
Early in the afternoon we reached a place that looked like a camp site, and fits the description of the next camp according to our trekking book. We sat there and had a chocolate while we saw the expedition arriving to the same location. They started to build their camp and the weather started to get crazy again - with a few minutes of wind and snow, and a few minutes of sun, taking place one after the other. I guess weather is not such a stable thing at this altitude and with all these mountains around.
Asking the Nepali guy again about the altitude, we got the surprising answer that his watch is not working over 6000m, but the camp is supposed to be at 6200m or so. This is really high! This was camp III of the expeditions, only 2650m below the peak, and only about 8 km away from it!
Going to camp IV is possible, but it was too late and too cold to try it that day, so we turned back to our camp. The evening was clear, and the night was very cold
Camp IIICamp IIICamp III

About 6200m.
because of that. But once again - my equipment proved itself.
The two other people decided they want to try to push to camp IV the next day, going all the way up there and back to base camp in one day. I thought it was too dangerous, that the plan was too long for one day, and that I don't want to get in trouble with a corrupt police officer in China. So I wished them good luck.
The next morning I packed my stuff and walked down, while they had an early start and walked up. Later I discovered that they made it to camp IV, not before they had to warm up in camp III with the help of the expedition that was there, and on the way back the guide who was worried about them came to assist them to make it back before dark.
That last day was a very clear day, and I took some more pictures from the EBC and from the monastery before I waved the mountain goodbye and headed out of the national park.
It was the best trek I have ever had, and one of the best experiences of my
Me at Camp IIIMe at Camp IIIMe at Camp III

Just 2650m below the highest point on Earth, and only 8 km away from that point!
trip so far. A very sweet way to finish my trip in Tibet, and on the broader sense - my trip in China.
Until next time,
R.


Additional photos below
Photos: 22, Displayed: 22


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Walking on the moonWalking on the moon
Walking on the moon

Well, maybe not the moon, but this is definitely out of this world.
View from Base CampView from Base Camp
View from Base Camp

Mt. Everest, if you don't recognize it by now... Everest Base Camp in Tibet is at 5200m.
Must have one with prayer flagsMust have one with prayer flags
Must have one with prayer flags

Mt. Everest, if you don't recognize it by now...
From Rongphu MonasteryFrom Rongphu Monastery
From Rongphu Monastery

The highest monastery in the world, at 4980m. Oh yeah, and it's Mt. Everest in the background...
Last viewLast view
Last view

Well, even I eventually left and said goodbye...


7th December 2005

Simply Breathtaking
You are a very lucky guy, having experienced this. Your photos are spectactular. Well done! k
12th June 2006

cool stuff !
hey. i just came back from doing the same thing (trek to EBC from Tingri and then beyond BC up to CIII. the aim was to hit ABC and then come back to CIII same day, but had to turn around before ABC because of lack of time. these are great pictures you have. that minefield of seracs on the climb up is mindblowing, isnt it ? i stumbled upon your posts when i googled for ice serac :)
16th February 2007

great blog
i really feel like i can do this now. EBC IV here i come
18th October 2009

Nicely done there
Hello! well..well..well... you have inspired me to check out the postal services and the men that got pissed off at you on intoxicated terms.. hahahahahaha wish me luck :)
15th February 2010

Returning after 20 years
Hello, I was part of the 1990 American Pumori Expedition and now, 20 years later, in October 2010, I am returning to Nepal. My goal is to spend some days in Kathmandu and see what develops from there. I'd love to trek to Pumori base camp, but I don't think I'm in shape for it. I am considering taking the route into Tibet and go to Mt. Everest North base camp. I enjoyed the photos the insperation fo the idea of going into Tibet. Thanks, Bob "The Adventurer"

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