Everest Base Camp

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Everest Base Camp Trek- 26th September to the 12th October 2007

Preparations

I decided I would fly to Lukla in order to skip the six to eight day walk from Jiri to Lukla, which is goes up and down most of the way. So the first thing I needed to do was to find a guide in Kathmandu and having decided not to go through a company I asked Nakul, the guy working in my guest house. The first guide he organized for me to meet spoke very limited English and having to spend 18 days with the guy I asked to meet another guide. Next I met Dorje Lama who spoke pretty good English so after a little thought he was hired. Nakul booked the flights to Lukla for both of us and I paid the guest house for the flights and the guide’s fee with my credit card. I would later find out this was a mistake…
The day before our departure I spent the day running around Kathmandu sorting out final preparations. I bought some trekking sticks, had hesitated but later thanked the lord I had bought them as they were extremely helpful… After a lot of walking around and asking we finally found some rock salt in Ason market for my water purifier. Having a guide was already paying off as I would never have sourced this type of salt myself. Then we got my permit for Sagarmatha National Park (the Everest region), bought some Diamox tablets to prevent and treat Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and checked the weather on the internet. The forecast was for lots of rain for the next week at Lukla and freezing rain for Everest Base Camp (EBC) with ridiculously low temperatures there too…

Kathmandu Domestic Airport

Our flight was supposed to be leaving at half seven. I got up at six after my alarm failed to ring at five thirty, unfortunately there are no guarantees for things bought on Khao San Road in Bangkok! Dorje was waiting downstairs and we set off in a taxi to the airport. Once there he got our boarding passes from the Agni Air counter, the girl working behind it had no computer just a list of names. I tried to weigh my bag on the huge mechanical scales by the check in counter to find out how much weight I would be carrying on my back for the next two and a half weeks. It registered nearly twenty kilos which I knew was not possible… After a while we proceeded through security which consisted of a quick look in carry on luggage, equally quick pad down and was just asked if I had a lighter or matches on me. After answering no we entered the departure hall. We spent the next six hours there listening to the same announcement every hour,” Due to the bad weather at Lukla, the new departure time is now…” Out of all the airlines that fly there not one of them left that day so in the afternoon we went back to Thamel with our departure postponed to the next day.
Lukla (2800) is a little village high on the side of a mountain in the Kumbu Region which has an air strip built on a slant so that there is an elevation difference of about 60m between the ends of the runway. The slope on this 450m runway called STOL (Short Take Off and Landing), allows the planes to slow down before they run into the side of the mountain. The flight approach is totally visual and therefore if it is cloudy these tiny 14 seater planes cannot make their approach.
That night it rained all night and it was still raining when I got up. We left for the airport for the second time without much hope of getting out today. Dorje soon found out that our names were not even on any list and after ringing his friend at Agni Air it was finally sorted and we were on the second flight that day. Surprisingly word came around that the 1st Agni Air flight had made it to Lukla and the next thing I know our flight is being called for boarding! Even though we were not certain of being able to land at Lukla (due to weather changing), it was still a great feeling to get out. Again it was paying off having a guide, anyone I had waited with the last two days without a guide was stuck behind, their names vanishing off early lists and appearing on the latter ones…Before boarding we watched the final preparations for the flight, engine checks, refueling, and loading baggage. Then we were sitting in the smallest plane I have ever been in waiting for take off…
The flight took about 40min, as we got further from Kathmandu we were mostly flying in clouds. Suddenly we dropped down and in the distance caught a glimpse of the runway literally on the side of the mountain… Before we knew it we had landed and for me I had flet pretty safe but Dorje had been scared out of his wits during the whole thing. My ignorance, of their navigation systems (or lack of) was bliss!

TheTrek

Lukla to Phakding- Day1

Lukla airport is surrounded by barb wire and waiting behind it were hundreds of guides/ porters waiting for work. Seeing I was already with a local not one of them hassled me as we walked to find a lodge to have a late breakfast. As we ate the rain started again which meant we were to be the last flight to make it that day. We left in the rain but I soon started shedding layers of wet gear as I started working up a sweat. Our first day of walking was pretty easy, mostly downhill with only a small bit of climbing. The trail snakes along the banks of the rushing waters of the Dudh Kosi occasionally crossing over it on local style suspension bridges. High above the river they swing and bounce as trekkers, guides, porters and various laden animals cross to the other side. Every so often we passed mani stones (huge rocks) engraved with the words ‘Om Mani Padmi Hum’ (famous Buddhist mantra) in Nepali. After nearly two hours we got to the village of Phakding at a similar elevation to Lukla.
Here we found a Lodge (some of Dorje friends) and I indulged and paid about three dollars for a hot shower. Having trekked in the rain I was developing a cold and I spent the afternoon in bed trying to stay warm. Later I got up and waited alone in the dinning room. Being the only trekker in this lodge the stove was not turned on, instead I was asked to join the family in the kitchen. I entered a blackened kitchen and sat around the stove as the women prepared Dal Bhat (National nepali dish, Dal- lentil soup and Bhat- rice, usually served along with some vegetables or meat in a small dish). Some lodges cook with gas or kerosene but some still use small amounts of firewood which is not good for deforestation but also use Yak dung. This can be seen stuck to the many stone walls in order for it to dry and is also stacked high close to houses when it is dry. As we waited for dinner we were served Thongba. This consists of a plastic or metal sort of jug which is filled with Millet seeds and left for months with alcohol in the bottom. When it is ready to drink it is filled with hot water and drunk through a wooden or metal straw. The end of the straw is crushed and two little slits allow you to drink without sucking up the seeds. It has the same effect as hot whiskey and the great thing is, it can be refilled many times and so one Thongba usually lasts a whole evening! After a nice evening spent in the company of the family I retired to my room at about 8 o’clock, took a panadol and got a half decent nights sleep.

Phakding to Namche Bazaar- Day 2

I woke up early with my cold partly gone but it had been replaced by a sore throat. After I had Tibetan bread (deep fried dough) with honey for breakfast, I got into my damp clothes and we set off on our second day of walking. The trail started off ok and the little bit of sunshine warmed us up. We crossed over many suspension bridges again as the ground became steeper and steeper. It took us six hours to reach Namche and the last few hours proved very difficult. I started using my trekking sticks and was extremely glad I had bought them. Moving very slowly I could feel I could feel the gain in altitude and as my bag started to feel heavier and heavy my shoulders were getting sore. I thought this hill would never end and we made up a little chant to help us along, ‘chito, chito hoina! bistare bistare, ho! (faster faster no! slowly slowly yes!)’. At 3420m Namche is the administrative centre of the Kumbu region and is built on the side of a hill and looks like an amphitheatre with rows of houses rising up in a semi-circular fashion. Reaching the bottom of the village we still had what seemed along way to climb to our next lodge. We stopped and Dorje went looking for a friend, when he came back I was so exhausted I did not have the courage to carry my bag a few hundred meters to the lodge and Dorje did the honours. I stumbled in, collapsed in the dinning room and rested my weary legs as I waited for food. I struggled up the stairs and went to bed for the rest of the afternoon. I woke at six freezing cold and found it extremely difficult to get up. The thought of a hot shower (this would be the last one for me till Kathmandu…) got me up and after this expensive novelty I felt better and was able to get up and down the stairs without too much pain!
We had another evening in the kitchen, listened to an Israeli trekker on his way back down tell stories of two girls who were unable to reach base camp after their hair froze solid on their heads in the Baltic temperatures. I went to bed at eight feeling like I had a fever, felt boiling hot, had a headache starting and felt pretty discouraged about my ability to continue, never mind getting to base camp…

Acclimatization day- Day 3

The next day was our acclimatization day and it was a good start when I woke without a headache after very little sleep. It had rained all night and sitting in the kitchen for breakfast I watched the rest of the village vanish every so often in the clouds. When the rain stopped I sent a quick mail home to say the flight had gone well then walked to the market to buy meet with Dorje and Ramesh (lodge owner and Dorje’s brother in law). We entered a stone building into a large room which was full of animal carcasses hanging from the ceiling. Porters carry the meat on their backs strapped to their heads sometimes with loads of as much as 80 to 100kg for days from Jiri, then sell it in Namche and other villages. Dorje asked for half a kilo and the porter took out his Gurka knife. He hit the carcass with violent swings of the heavy blade, then weighed the piece he had cut and sold it to us for a few hundred rupees. On the way back to the lodge the rain started again. We were walking up the hill to get views of the surrounding area but turned back when Namche disappeared before our eyes in the clouds. We spent the rest of the day playing cards, drinking Thongba and eating the fried pork we had bought earlier. It was too tasty for me to care what stomach problems I might get from this meat and I ate at my hearts content!

Namche Bazaar to Tenboche- Day 4

Again it rained all night and in the morning we waited for the rain to clear, it did and we left at nine. It was much easier walking with a lot of ‘Nepali flat’ to start the day. After blowing my nose too hard I got my first nose bleed and sticking a tissue in my nose it eventually stopped flowing… We climbed down a long way to cross the river on a temporary wooden bridge as the last one had been washed away by the floods of the monsoon. It was a pretty well engineered bridge but still felt slightly nervous as it bounced up and down under our weight with the water roaring bellow. We stopped for the usual noodle soup and black tea, a great way to keep hydrated and attacked the final climb to Tengboche. On the way we spotted the national bird the Hymalayan monal or Impeyan Pheasants far below us on the side of the hill.
We got to Tengboche which sits on top of a hill at 3870m. Today it had taken us five hours but had been much easier than the walk to Namche. We visited Tengboche monastery which is the largest monastery in Nepal and sat in to the end of the monk’s prayer service. Here we were supposed to be surrounded by towering peaks but due to the weather all we could see were clouds. Suddenly, on the way back to the lodge high in the sky the clouds parted for a few moments and revealed a snow covered peak. It was the most unreal thing I had seen so far as it was difficult to comprehend how a mountain could be so high up. An hour later, sitting around the stove (this lodge being the first one with many other trekkers) I found out we had just got our first glimpse of Everest’s peak!
Here I met a Swedish daughter and father and an American couple who I would trek with for the next few days as our guides were all friends. The food here was not as good as before and also getting more expensive but I did manage to charge my camera for free in my room (up here it costs 300rs, 5$ for one hour of charging).
I slept pretty well, maybe six hours but it was so cold outside I couldn’t face getting dressed to go to the smelly outside toilet. Realizing the window was the prefect height, I opened it and relieved myself thought it before getting back into my cozy sleeping bag!

Tengboche to Dingboche- Day 5

I woke up very early and as there was no curtain on the window I was greeted by a view of a snow covered peak and got up before the weather turned again. It was six thirty and for the next hour we had our first views of Everest 8848m, Lhotse 8501m, Nuptse 7879m and Ama Dablam 6856m towering to our right. Behind us we could see Kantega 6685m and Thamserku 6608m. It was an amazing sight watching these huge mountains appear and disappear in the clouds before us and a great feeling to finally have a break in the weather.
I had a light headache which cleared after breakfast, so we set off around nine in the nicest weather yet but with the peaks now hidden behind clouds. Again we had a lot of Nepali flat and I took it very slowly as we would be ascending over 300m. Now we started seeing real Yaks, below we had seen a cross between a cow and a Yak because the Yaks don’t do well at the lower altitudes. Every so often we passed a procession of heavily loaded shaggy looking long haired Yaks and tried to make sure we were not on the suspension bridges at the same time as them. They are pretty big animals and with their loads sticking out from their sides, there is not much room for anything else to pass and you will be crushed against the side of the bridge as I once found out. Using my sticks was pretty useless as they only react to shouted Nepali and loud whistles by their drivers.
We reached Dingboche deep in a valley at 4360m after five hours of very slow walking. This time our lodge had inside toilets (no need to use the window anymore!) and also had blankets on the narrow beds which are set in tiny plywood rooms. I went on a little side trek up to a Stupa on the hill above the village where I found Yaks grazing and enjoyed nice views but without peaks. Again I had to walk very slowly, was totally out of breath from every step and felt a little light headed, but it probably helped me acclimatize after I came back down. We sat in a type of sun room for a short time until the cold forced us inside to the dinning room around the warming stove. I had chicken and vegetable stew which had sounded a lot nicer before it came out and deep fat fried apple pie with very little apple inside. The guides had gone to visit friends in the village and came back completely drunk after drinking the local Chang, a type of rice beer. I ordered one glass, everyone tasted a tiny mouthful and then gave this viel drink to one of the porters who happily took it of my hands. As Millet seeds don’t grow this high I would have to wait to drink Thongba again and certainly would not switch to Chang… That night I went to bed the latest so far at half eight!

Dingboche to Lobuche- Day 6

I woke up at half three in the morning and as I came back from the toilet, noticed the front door was open as went to close it. I peered outside and saw a perfectly clear sky with thousands of stars. The moon illuminated snow covered mountains all around and again it was an unreal sight. After I had taken in the view, I went back to bed at half six it was still a cloudless day. The peaks were drenched in the morning sun, it was now the 1st of October and it was like the mountains had been waiting for that date to show themselves.
We all left together around nine and today everyone was in high spirits. The sun was shinning, the views were amazing and we spent the day taking stopping and taking photos of our surroundings. The trail was less obvious, still easy to follow but with not as much of a path similar to the terrain found at home in Connemarra.
We stopped for lunch in Duglha (4620m) and being totally starving, I devoured fried potatoes and a cheese spring roll. We deceided to try to get to Lobuche at 4930m, a pretty big altitude change… The trail climbed steeply from here, I had top stop very often and felt headaches coming and going for the next couple of hours. Eventually we reached a flat area with many monuments scattered everywhere in memory of those climbers and Sherpas who died over the years. After walking around a while I found Scott Fisher’s monument, he was one of the guides that died in the Everest tragedy in 1996 I had read about in Jon Krackhauer book ‘Into Thin Air’.
The rest of the way we slowly climbed higher through terrain that was now becoming more and more rugged and lifeless. I stopped and filled my bottle with extremely cold water then purified it. I was getting pretty exhausted, the sunscreen burnt my eyes, my shoulders were sore and my head was hurting too. I thought it would never end but we rounded a corner and there in front of us were the few lodges that make up Lobuche.
Everyone had headaches here and some people took Diamox, but I waited to see if the pain would pass without resorting to drugs… One thing, I still had my appetite and I hungrily ate the garlic soup supposed to help with altitude sickness along with chicken veg noodles. The veg consisted of measly bits of cabbage but then again its pretty difficult to get decent veg up here.

Lobuche to Gorak Shep- Day 7

I awoke at 2am freezing cold with a thumping headache and law awake for the rest of the night thinking I might need another day here in Lobuche. When I got up at half seven, my watch showed it was 0.8 degrees in the room and it had felt it during the night.
My headache was not as bad but I felt terrible. I got breakfast into me but still had no energy so we stayed behind when the others left. I had more garlic soup and feeling much better by mid morning we left for Gorak Shep, the highest point we would sleep at.
Here the trail followed along the side of the Kumbu Glacier and as we rounded a corner we got great views of Pumori 7145m. Again the trail started to climb and we walked very slowly to a point where we could see the whole Kumbu Glacier which starts at EBC. The glacier is covered in rocks and stones so we could only see ice in places close to lovely blue pools of water. We crossed over part of Changri Glaicier, snaking up and down through rocks, stones and running water before climbing down to Gorka Shep at 5160m. To the left of this tiny high altitude settlement lay Kala Patar which from here looks like a tiny hill and on the right in the distance EBC both of our destinations looking so close but with the altitude it would not be easy…
The lodge here was much nicer than in Lobuche, feeling very good I was glad I hadn’t taken any pills earlier. I horsed down a huge dinner which was much nicer than last nights ones and felt lucky I had appetite as I watched others struggling to eat small amounts…

Everest Base Camp- Day 8

I slept soundly fro my usual six hours, again counting myself lucky as a lot of the others could not sleep at all. I then kept dosing and waking with bad headaches which would clear soon after. We left for EBC with the Sweeds around the usual time, the American couple left earlier to try and get Kala Patar in the same day due to them running low on time. At first we followed along the side of the Glacier constantly going up and down. Suddenly we heard muffled roar in the distance and when we looked left we saw a huge avalanche on the side of Pumori. Earlier we had seen tiny figures leaving Pumori base camp and wondered if they triggered it. As we walked along we saw many rock falls thunder down the steep slopes of the side of the Glacier. At one stage Dorje declared we needed to go ‘chito, chito’ (faster, faster), as quickly as we could we walked along with steep slopes rising to our left which had huge rocks and boulders embedded along the side. Half way there we could see the tiny red and yellow specks of the tents in the distance. As we snaked through the Glacier, there were small stones towers that help lead the way especially in snowy conditions. Being again very lucky with the weather we were surrounded by towering peaks all 7000m to 8000m with dark blue skies in the background. For a while Everest loomed between Nuptse and its neighbour but the highest peak in the world soon disappeared as we got closer to Base Camp. It took us three hours to get there after a long and slow walk, here we have about half the atmospheric pressure that we have at sea level therefore about half that amount of oxygen too which makes it an exhausting ordeal.
But we had finally made it after eight days of trekking!
At 5360m I felt fine and as we entered base camp, we were greeted with a sign that said,’ 1st Thai expedition 2007’. Tents lay scattered in apparent random order together on the glacier near the bottom of the Western Cymb, a sea of massive ice blocks which flow down from Everest and its neighbouring peaks. We passed a huge satellite dish with sound of a generator going in the background and were invited to come into a tent belonging to the Nepali expedition trying for the summit this year. We drank lovely sweet black tea (free), ate some biscuits and chatted about their summit bid which would take place in a month’s time.
Then it was time for the moment I had been waiting for. I took out my can of Guinness and pint glass which I brought from home and went outside. As I prepared to crack it open I hesitated unsure what would happen with the lack of pressure… Sure enough it went everywhere but I still managed to get three quarters of a pint of Guinness, pretty good for EBC. I must say the Guinness tasted great up there and also went straight to my head! Everyone, including couple of guides had a taste and a picture taken.
In the background we could see climbers attempting to cross the huge seracks of ice that make up the Western Cymb to try and get to Camp I higher on the mountain. Half drunk, I wandered into the media tent where the Thai porters had laptops and were listening to Robbie Williams. The Sweedish girl asked to go to the toilet and was asked what she needed to do! It apparently costs 70rs a kilo to carry down the human waste as they are allowed to leave nothing behind, expeditions are weighed in at the entrance to the national park and need to show for the same weight when they leave, plus a bit extra!
We stayed an hour before leaving, I would have enjoyed staying longer but we needed to get back to get some food. Two hours later we were back in Gorak Shep, I had found the days walking much easier than expected probably due to the fact it was the 1st day I didn’t have to carry my heavy bag. I ate a late lunch which returned my energy and I set off a little way up the side of Kala Patar to wait for the sunset. The top of Everest and Nuptse looked beautiful as they glowed orange against the setting sun and I regretted not having gone the whole way up, but looked forward to seeing the sunrise from Kala Patar in the morning. That night I met the Canadian couple we had waited with and left behind in Kathmandu. We listened to an English guy play and sing all kinds of classic tracks on his guitar before going to bed. It was great to hear some music as my mp3 player was back in Kathmandu.

Kala Patar- Day 9

A small group of us gathered outside at half four in the morning in the mist and clouds and after a little discussion we decided to go up anyway as we were now up. It was very cold, dark and everything around us was covered in a layer of frost. About half way up we realized the other two and their guides had given up and turned around. We kept going and got a glimpse of Everest and Nuptse through the mist and these few seconds would be the best view we would get. After an hour and fourty five minutes of slow walking and heavy breathing, we stood at the top feeling dizzy and nauseous in the morning light. At 5545m, this would be the highest point for us on this trek. It was extremely cold and when I looked at my dive watch for a temperature reading it had gone into error mode, due to the lack of pressure up there. It felt good to have made it to this height but after an hour waiting for a break in the clouds we were to cold and so we warmed ourselves up by running back down, half an hour later we were having a well deserved breakfast back in the lodge.
I went back to bed for while, played some cards and had some lunch before setting off again for sunset at Kala Patar, this time on my own, Dorje not brave enough for a second time! Again it was very tough but this time I made it in one hour and twenty minutes. As I arrived at the summit, group of Italians were leaving so I waited alone for an hour watching Everest tease me. This time I saw most of the mountain except for the summit which clung onto a small cloud leaving me pretty disappointed after all my hard work to there… I started to run but had to slow down as it was getting dark quickly and difficult to see the rocks on the path. As I reached the bottom Dorje had come out to find me in case something had happened. Spent the rest of the evening playing cards and even though I had long day went to bed the latest ever at nine o’clock!

Gorak Shep to Dzongla- Day 10

After breakfast I said goodbye to the Canadians as they headed to EBC. We left for Lobuche which took us an hour and a half, it was easy walking once we crossed back over the glacier. We had some noodle soup in Loubuche which took forever to come out and then headed for Dzongla, the last place to sleep before crossing Cho La Pass. The trail turned right away from the base camp trek, along the side of Lobuche 6135m before climbing up to Dzongla, a tiny settlement of two lodges. I got out of my now extremely smelly day clothes into my somewhat cleaner night clothes in the smallest bedroom ever. I spent the evening playing cards and listening to Russian folk songs in the coldest lodge yet. When I went to bed early I realized the lino on the floor was just placed over the soil and my mattress was sitting on a pile of rocks.

Dzongla to Tagnag over Cho La pass- Day 11

It had snowed during the night and when we left everything was covered in a thin white blanket. The surrounding peaks looked amazing as the snow started falling again. We walked over Nepali flat until we got to the bottom of the pass. Here the ground got very steep as we started climbing over boulders and rocks, sometimes feeling like rock climbing. It was now very cold as we reached the beginning of the snow covered glacier. A small path led over 500m to 1km of whiteness occasionally passing porters and trekkers coming from the other side. The time it took us to get across was by far my favourite part of the trek, it was like we were on a different planet. At 5420m I felt great, not even a touch of a head ache. At the other end we threw rocks at a frozen pond, eventually finding one big enough which broke threw the thick ice. The other side of the pass proved to be very difficult as we followed the steep path through rock and snow that easily gave away under my weight. All the same I was glad we had done it from this side as the people we passed on their way up had a very hard job. The trail then went up and down through rocks and boulders before our long climb down towards Tagnag. Here I got my worst nose bleed and after a long six hours of walking I was very glad so see Tagnag. Here I washed the blood off my face and the sweat off my upper body in the freezing water outside which was lovely and refreshing.
While I was eating, Dorje told me the guest house had kept three dollars of the fifteen dollars a day I had agreed to pay him. I should have paid him directly instead of using my credit card to pay the guest house. Later we went to a little local house where the woman heated Roksi (a local wine, much nicer than Chang) on the stove in the sinlge blackened room. The glasses we had kept getting refilled and it went straight to my head. Dorje borrowed a scissors to shave and when we returned them, we had a few more well deserved glasses after successfully making it over the pass. That night we sat in the kitchen around the stove regularly adding some yak dung to keep the fire going. As we waited for our Dal Bhat, still under the effect of the many glasses of Roksi we decided we would climb Mera Peak 6476m the next time I came back to Nepal!

Tagnag to Gokyo- Day 12

We got up to the sun shinning on the many surrounding peaks and left early fro Gokyo. We crossed over the Ngozumpa Glacier and followed the trail which took us past two lakes to the village of Gokyo 4750m. This beautiful little settlement is set next to a turquoise lake with the impressively steep south face of Cho Oyu looming in the background. Said to be the easiest 8000m peak to climb from the Tibet side we decided we would climb it some day! By lunch time clouds were gathering from the south and when I left for Gokyo Ri 5357m, for the best views of Everest and many of the other 7000m, 8000m peaks there were clouds everywhere. A short was up Gokyo village bellow me disappeared in the mist and I stopped unsure what to do. After a lot of indecision I started back down only to find the clouds clearing and people on the way down saying the views were great. I cursed myself and started up again. Now I needed to hurry if I wanted to get there before dark. I climbed as quickly as I could and reached the summit just before sunset. Again I waited on my own for the clouds to clear. After ten minutes a little window opened in the sky and finally, there in front of me was the summit of the highest mountain in the world 8848m. It was the only mountain visible and after taking some photos I raced back down before dark.
That evening we went for some more Roksi before dinner. As I waited fro my food I chatted to a French guy who had attempted Everest and had been forced to turn back at 8500m due to bad weather a few years back.. He must have been pretty gutted but he also told me of his successful other 8000m peak climbs and listened with fascination.

Gokyo to Dole- Day 13

In the morning I left at eight for Goyko Ri again fro the second time. I figured I would not be back for a long time, therefore would make the moat of it. Dorje came too this time and we set a very fast pace. Due to exhaustion we were forced to slow down ang got flashes of Everest on the way up. At the top we saw all the mountains except the summit of Everest. With yesterday and today’s views put together I had the full picture in my head!
We left Gokyo at two for either the village of Machermo or Dole depending on how fast we would walk. The weather was still cloudy but I didn’t care anymore, I had seen what I wanted to see and it was nicer that walking in the heat of the sun. After eating our noodle soup in Machermo we went on to Dole as we still had a few hours of daylight to go. The soles of my feet were now quite sore from the six or so hours of walking that day so we ordered a pot of Roksi to ease the pain before dinner.

Dole to Namche Bazaar- Day 14

The walk back to Namche took us five and a half hours as we rejoined the EBC trail. I freshened up with cold water, had some meat Dal Bhat and then went to buy more meat at the same place we had got pork on the way up. We bought more pork from the porters and then wandered around the Tibetan market. Convoys of Tibetans spend weeks crossing the high passes to sell their goods in Namche at low prices. Back in the lodge we played cards, ate our fried pork and drank Thongba. Later other guides arrived and shared whisky and Kukuri rum with us. I got many drunken invites to various guides’ villages before we dug into meat Dal Bhat, the third time I ate meat that day…

Namche Bazaar to Lukla- Day 15

I woke up early dying for the toilet and after I had finished I immediately regretted eating so much meat the day before! From Namche to Phakding it was all downhill which was now very sore on my feet. But after some noodles and a rest we left for Lukla. The last fourty minutes to Lukla were tough and never ending and as we walked through the smelly streets of Lukla we met the Canadians who had been stuck here for two days. Dorje promised to help and after finding a lodge we changed our flight for the next day as we had gotten back a day earlier than planned. We would fly out on the fourth flight if the weather cleared. We spent the rest of the day eating, drinking and playing pool before going to bed wrecked tired.

Stuck in Lukla- Day 16

I got up at seven with still no sign of any blue in the sky. As I ate breakfast I could see the Yeti Airline plane parked on the runway that failed to leave the previous day. Until that plane left we were going nowhere. The lodge was getting full as more people came down from the mountains and those anxious to get back to Kathmandu to catch international flights tried to charter in helicopters at $3500 between four passengers. I spend my day reading and chatting to a Romanian girl about diving. Later we watched BBC documentary about the hardship porters go through. Then we went to the bar as there was not much else to do. Before going for dinner we realized all the shops were closed and after asking a local where I could find some rum, he told me to follow him. He walked to a house in the dark and banged on the door, after a while a woman emerged, some Nepali words were exchanged and we entered the shop and bought some bottles of rum! At the restaurant Dorje asked for some glasses and hot water and he poured out the rum in full view of the waiters. There’s no way we westerners would have gotten away with it and it was time like these that I was glad to have a great guide!

Lukla to Kathmandu- Day 17

I got up at six thirty and had a quick breakfast, it was still cloudy but the Yeti Air plane took off and everyone’s spirits lifted. Today we were supposed to be on the second flight out so we made our way to the airport. Next an Agni Air plane landed and took of again with fourteen lucky trekkers. Word going around was that three planes had left Kathmandu, two had turned back and only the Agni Air had made it, so it was not looking good. All we needed was one more Agni Air plane to land and take off… Dorje said we would be stuck here another night and so we went back to the lodge to get our rooms but as it was now totally full, we really needed to get out today or we would have no place to sleep… Two helicopters came and went with rich trekkers and as the day passed suddenly there was word more planes were on their way. Being on the next flight we went through similar security to the one in Kathmandu. One Agni Air plane landed but we had the wrong colour boarding pass so were forced to wait for the next one. There was a very quick turn around time and within minutes of landing, the plane was speeding down the steep runway again. Finally the siren blared signaling another approaching plane and I was delighted to see another Agni Air landing. They were either the best airline or simply the carzyest. I didn’t care, we were finally going back to Kathmandu where a hot shower was waiting for me.

Kathmandu

It was roasting back in the capital and I was soon shedding many layers. After ringing home to say I was back safe and sound after my adventures, I had a semi hot shower (the water is heated with solar panels on the roof, so you need a really hot day to have a hot shower) which still felt great after over two weeks of not showering. I packed my now stinking clothes into a bag and brought them down for laundry before sitting down on the rooftop for a nice chilled Everest beer.

Even though the weather had not always been the best it had been one of the best two weeks I have ever spent away. The weather had been amazing for EBC and the Guinness had been great surrounded by the highest mountains in the world. The changing weather had added an element of uncertainty and adventure to the whole trek and overall I had seen some nice snap shots of Mount Everest between the clouds, some people before us had not once seen the mountain and therefore consider myself lucky to have experienced those views. One thing is for sure, some day I will come back for more wonderful experiences in the Nepal Himalaya.

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Photos

Agni Air
waiting to board our plne to Lukla

Lukla airstrip
The slope on this 450m runway called STOL (Short Take Off and Landing), allows the planes to slow down before they run into the side of the mountain.

Porters
taking a bresk from their heavy loads, sometimes up to 100kg

Dudh Kosi
the trail following the river to Namche

butcher shop!
porter chopping pork with gurka knife which we later ate fried

Yak dung
drying on stone walls later used as fuel in stroves

Yak
these hairy animals thrive at higher alititudes

Chorten and prayer flags
Dingboche

Himalayan bluebell
i think

admiring the mountains
first day of sunshine

Nuptse 7879m
small stone towers lead the way esp in snowy conditions

Nuptse
trekker admiring the view before sunset

Everest
on the way to base camp

Everest
close up on the way to base camp

Human or animal?
bone found near base camp, started a debate...

Everest Base Camp
the media tent with satelite dish in background

Guinness
the guinness is great at base camp!

a pint lovely pint!
with Western Cymb in background

Base Camp
watching climbers on the way to camp I in the distance

Base Camp
5360m

sunset
Everest and Nuptse

sunset
Everest

sunset
Everest

Crossing Cho La Pass 5420m
the view above the pass

Cho La Pass
from the Gokyo side

Cho La Pass
through the snow

heating Roksi
the house where locals gather to drink wine

Dorje shaving
after returning thescissors we hade more Roksi!

Refueling the fire
with Yak dung!

crossing the glacier to Gokyo
with Cho Oyu the easyest 8000m peak to climb in the background

Gokyo 4750m
with Cho Oyu in background

Yak
Gokyo

Top of Gokyo Ri
5357m

View from Gokyo Ri
glacier, Gokyo village and Dudh Pokhari (lake)

prayer flags
Gokyo Ri

Tibetan Market
Namche Bazaar

cross between cow and Yak
Lukla

suspension bridge
Lukla to Phakding

Lodge
Phakding

Porter
carry meat carcasses for days and sell them in the higher villages

washing
should have done the same with my clothes...

me and Dorje
glad to get out of Lukla, back in Kathmandu airport

Comments

[martin gormally]

well done
extraordinary, unbelievable. reads like scott's expedition to the pole. congratulations, i always knew you could do it and you sure did. it must be the achievement of a lifetime.

[proutprout]

blablabla
bin alors ene ca a l'air sympa le kk de yak!!! Tu nous permettras de publier les photos concernees sur le blog????!! c vachement bien fait ton truc, tas meme pas fait tant de fautes d'orthographe que ca, t'as du le faire corriger par quelqu'un !!!!!! ahaahahahahahahahahah allez bizzzzzzzzz a plus poil au busss!!!!!!!!

[Ricardo]

Oisin ma, fair play to ya, but i am not sure wheather its in relation to your epic journey to base camp or the epic blog u wrote about it, you know i do have to work some time. Where you based now, all going well? Galway quiet down for th winter, but no harm i suppose. gotta go and hit the gym (keep that amazing body).. great photos by the way.. Good luck Rick

[Enetine & Enelian]

Whaou!
Et bé on a pas tout lu, mais tout vu, de très belles photos bravo! Tu nous donnes envie de parcourir le monde petit veinard!! A bientak poil au kk de yakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!

[catherine]

trekking
u fairly get around oisin........enjoyed reading about ur trek.bet guinness tastes real good on d mt........enjoy