Everest Base Camp trek, Days 7-10 - Gorak Shep to Lukla to Kathmandu

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Early in the morning, most of our group woke up to climb Kala Pattur, 5550m (18,209ft), which would give you great views of Everest and the other surrounding mountains at sunrise. It is the highest one can climb without a permit. Due to not dying to feel altitude sickness again any time soon, I opted to stay in bed a bit. A few of our group also opted to rent donkeys to take them up so left a little earlier than the hikers. I woke up around 6, intending to go outside and get some decent photos in peace and at my own pace.... but the weather was not good - it was very overcast and seemed quite windy.

Apparently, this was exactly the case. Not everyone summited and those who did had no view - they quickly took a group photo at the marker and raced back down. Two that rode the donkeys returned before submitting (the donkeys only go so high and you have to hike a bit more), apparently since they were more or less stationary on the donkeys instead of getting the juices flowing, they were pretty much popsicles and unable to go on. A third guy toughed out the donkey-hike and was able to summit. So, apparently, I did not miss anything. Not that I am glad, but it makes it easier for me to handle not attempting.

We packed and had our breakfast and were ready for the helicopters to pick us up at 9 am sharp.

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We waited, and waited, and waited some more! The weather did not just affect our hike, it also affected the safety of flying to get us. The common room was freezing as most tea houses did not start the stove until mid-afternoon when they expected people to start arriving. We played some cards. We sat. We chatted. We went through our photos. I wrote in my journal. I read a book. Finally, around lunch time, we ordered some food. D and I split a pizza, which was surprisingly delicious - maybe we were just starving. He and I had not been feeling that great and were worried, but this actually seemed to help. We played some more cards. I napped a bit. We overhead a nearby Malaysian couple trying to order a helicopter as they had altitude sickness; I think originally they were either supposed to hike down or have a helicopter for another day. They were on the phone quite a bit, at one point, I heard someone say "this is not a taxi service". I felt a bit bad for them, but with altitude sickness, while uncomfortable, you do just kind of have to suck it up a bit - there are exceptions of course. Our guide said it was most likely due to them having ridden donkeys to EBC the day before - they did not get time to acclimate. Anyway, they seemed pretty miserable, as were we all at this point.

Finally, at 3pm, the door banged up and Sudharsan told yelled "time to go, let's go now!". I was reminded of the scene in Aliens when Sgt Apone yells for his team to "Move it out move it out move it out! Move it out move it out move it out!" So, we popped up quickly and made our way the short hike to the helicopter pad to wait for our rides. Apparently the helicopters had made two earlier attempts to get up here, sitting in Pheriche (that I mentioned on Day 5) waiting for the weather to clear. When it didn't, they would return to Lukla to refuel or something, then come back.

So we were all ready to board, our luggage waiting on the pad. The first helicopter took two people and a guide from a separate group, while the remaining was just us. We were going to go three at a time to Pheriche first, a place to get to much lower altitude but close enough to hopefully get everyone at least there. Then we would make our way to Lukla, weather permitting. Since me and G were the ones considered ill, we were the first to board. I was actually ok at this point, but the guides wanted me at lower elevation anyway. I was given a water bottle, a candy bar, and a barf bag for G, who actually almost collapsed on the way to the helicopter. Remember, he was the one that good yak food poisoning on Night 2, but toughed it out (also one of the two donkey ride attempts to Kala Pattur). But his collapsing shocked me; he said afterwards, that it was because when the chopper came, he inhaled a bunch of dust from the swirling air and could not get a breath before boarding. Aside from the two of us, S, probably the tiniest girl in our group, boarded first. They threw in a bunch of the luggage into the seat next to me, while S got up front, and G slouched against the side. I tried to get some video, but from my seat in the middle as well as the cloudy weather, it did not come across well, but the views were no less spectacular.

Pheriche

We got dropped off in Pheriche, on a grass plain with cows grazing not too far away. At first I tried to lead us away from the airfield, carrying G's bag while S tried to support him. But then some of the field crew told us to stay close. At this point G was starting to feel much better and had a big smile; I was also feeling more or less normal! So weird!

We had two helicopters for our group essentially, shuttling 3 at a time. The last two carried four each, including our guides. When everyone finally arrived, They put me and G on the first one to Lukla with three of our friends. This ride was a bit longer and more scenic as were taken down the valley we had just spent 6 days hiking up. It was really cool to see some of the places we had walked from a new perspective, like the Tengboche monastery in the hills, or the bridges we had crossed where the rivers reached back into the mountains. It was amazing. And I just felt like I had completed a grand adventure!

Lukla

We arrived at the Lukla heliport where we quickly disembarked along with the bags that had been packed more carefully in the cargo hold. Then the helicopter went back. We stood for awhile on the concrete landing area watching helicopter after helicopter come in and leave again, often carrying some sort of supply load. It was actually quite interesting and there did seem to be a bit of a rush to get these tasks accomplished before the weather came back in, which we could actually see as clouds started to roll down the hills. Fortunately, all of our group came down successfully! We got a group photo at the heliport before making our way to the tea house we had had tea in on the first day. *Also, we found out much later that the Malaysian couple also made it before the weather closed in; originally we were told their luggage made it but they were stuck in Pheriche.

Apparently Sudip, our guide, managed or owned (?) this tea house, and his family helped pick up our luggage from the heliport to bring over, including young kids! We got a nice room with our own bathroom again. Yay.... though T found a giant spider in the bathroom which I thankfully never saw, but for now, I used the common room toilet. We had a nice buffet style dinner (still trying to get my appetite back at this point). Then, since most of the common room comprised our group, we put on some music and danced for about an hour! Most of us, including our guides, then walked into town to visit an Irish bar. We were like the first to arrive but it quickly filled up and soon we were playing pool and drink beer with the locals.

Our friend S also managed to rid our bathroom of the spider - again, I never saw, but he acknowledged that it was indeed a large one.

The next morning we made our way to the airport, small, crowded, and strangely efficient. Here we said goodbye to Sudip (another guide I gave an individual tip to, especially since his young family helped porter our luggage). While waiting for our flight, I managed to get some good videos of the planes landing and taking off. It was cool to see them power up kind of like a helicopter before going downhill for the take off. We were the third flight and made our way to board our own plane again, with the other 5 and Soojan on the next flight. The weather seemed much more clear today and it was a great way to say goodbye to this grand adventure.

Kathmandu

We arrived and quickly got our bags, boarded the bus and were on the way to our hotel. A few people were staying at a separate place, D's friend had a boutique hotel located elsewhere. The rest of us went to the hotel I had stayed the first time I came. Nice, but not the same caliber as what we had that very first night. Bummer. Ish. Tibet International Hotel is still nice - clean, good food, nice staff, centrally located. But since I had been here before, I felt the need to chill more than sightsee. So I gave recommendations to the rest of the guys who took advantage of the afternoon to soak in some more Nepal. I took a long hot shower, then a nap! I joined everyone later for dinner and a last night. Most of the group had rebooked flights for the next day since we got back early (we had planned a two day buffer just in case of weather).

Later, many of us decided to try a local club for some drinks and oh my god - this place was so cool! Purple Haze rock bar! It was like 5 staggered levels so almost everyone had a great view of the stage. The service staff wore coveralls, like you'd expect from an old fashioned gas station, and the decor was a mix of rock-like memorabilia and 50's diner/gas station. Loved it. And then, then, the cover band, Cobweb, started their set with Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. I was in heaven (not T's favorite music though!). They proceeded to play a lot of 90's alternative rock and old classic rock. But we were tired so a few of us left a bit early to get some much much needed sleep.

The next day, I got a massage, and then those of us joined the group at the other hotel for a fancy dinner. The dinner was nice, the hotel was gorgeous, and we tried the same bar again. However, this was Sunday night, so much more low key (a bit boring) and the music was not nearly as awesome as the previous night. So I left.

Drama at the airport

The next morning was my flight and I prepared myself for the chaos that is the Kathmandu airport. It is a lovely building, but probably the most disorganized I have ever encountered and is now at the bottom of my list due to this incident. Once I finally got into the building, I was looking for the check-in - I am an Emirates Gold member, so it should be easy right? Right?!?!?! Worst experience ever. The lines were all long, there were only three economy lines for FlyDubai open, one Gold/Silver/Business line open, one blank screen at the same counter, and one counter serving Sherpa Air or something.... So, I joined the line at the blank screen because it seemed like it was part of the FlyDubai checkin - same uniform, same counter.... As I got closer, I saw that the Sherpa Air (I'm not sure if that's the name, but something like that) was checking in from pretty much all counters, which was weird and confusing. As I got to the front, the guy said they weren't checking in Fly Dubai yet. Huh? It's like 90 minutes before? Could I wait till everyone from the other flight was checked in, just stay right here? Sure. So, I waited. Then they just stopped checking people in altogether at the line I was in. I had been in line for 30 minutes, when suddenly this guy in the line next to me started yelling at me for cutting . I had no idea he was even talking to me at first - I literally had been standing there for 30 minutes! Anyway, long story short, this dude went completely mental! He got checked in the Gold/Silver line while I'm still waiting, then starts yelling at security to make sure I don't 'cut' and then he stands there and watches me as well as this German family who were standing behind me. It was serious harassment. He kept telling me to shut-up or yelling at the German mother (in front of her two kids by the way). And no one, not a single person, told him to stop, even though the checkin agents saw what was happening. I guess he had convinced them we were cutting?!?! Finally, the mother goes to the security guard and he basically says, I know, it's ok. Well, maybe we're not in trouble but at this point I was not ok - I was ready to complain and voice serious concerns about this guy - he was losing it and then he's supposed to be on our flight? The crazy guy finally left. We laughed and I was like, as long as he is nowhere near me on the plane (he wasn't, he wound up in the back)... I let the German family go ahead of me, who were easily let in to the line next to us, by the way. No one complained.

I'm standing there on my phone sending photos and messages, and this flight representative comes with a woman and her luggage. I guess the counter at the line I'm standing in (another 20 minutes by the way) is just starting to open. He asks if she can go in front of me since she is business. I said, "Well, I'm Gold and I've been harassed for the last half hour...." he said, "Oh my god!" And they both let me in. I got to sit in the business lounge - no sign of the psycho. I imagine he was silver and was trying to throw his weight around. Fker. When I go to board the flight, a bus of course, I again encountered the German family. They noted he was not in the lounge either. We see him walk past the long line of people waiting to board the bus, yell at the gate agent, and then.... Oh, yeah, he CUT IN LINE!!!!!

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Photos

Gorak Shep*
*Soojan photo

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Fabulous
What a trip!