Wow! What a day on the docket! I told Lal and Khum that I could do a lot in one day, this will certainly put me to the test.
We set off at 4:30AM for Gorak Shep and after having breakfast there, we head up Kala Patthar. The views are spectacular. Everest, Nuptse, Pomo Ri, Lingtren, Ama Dablam, Everest Base Camp - they're all there. It is so beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes. Lal tells me that Pomo Ri is his mountain. He had to turn around before reaching the top and has vowed to return one day.
I look at the 3,000 foot face on Lingtren and tell Lal that it has my name on it. He shows me the standard route and explains that usually the face is rigged with fixed ropes. I tell him if I do it, it will be in the classic style, protecting as you ascend. Lal says you must be really good to do that, implying that most clients are not sufficiently skilled to tackle something like this.
I talked previously about, "The Beer Shot", for Niall's calendar. This is where it happens. I set up the bottle but it is so windy that Lal has to stand beside it, ready to prevent it falling over if a big gust should come.
We spend almost an hour atop the Kala Patthar lookout point before heading down. Rather than go down to Gorak Shep, we go cross country heading for Everest Base Camp. There is supposed to be a trail but it is very faint and we catch only traces of it. Much of the way involves boulder hopping but eventually we intersect the trail from Gorak Shep to EBC and then it is much easier going. The trail soon leaves the lateral moraine and cuts across the Khumbu Glacier itself. We can see ice in many places as the trail winds its way up and down ice hills and around crevices. A new trail to EBC is created every year since the glacier moves and changes the landscape.
From 400 meters distance, EBC looks like a colorful circus, with hundreds of small tents of every imaginable color and thousands of prayer flags strung from poles. Gradually a structure becomes apparent, with each country having a central pole sporting their national flag. These central poles are also strung with prayer flags flapping in the breeze.
Eventually we spot the inevitable American flag and make our way to the cluster of tents in this area. I don't have any plan or ideas for what to say. "Hi, I'm from the USA and want to talk to a climber please." I'll figure something out. We eventually find what I can only call the, "Command Center Tent". Lal and I walk inside and I find four people eating plates of stew, they look vaguely familiar.
"Hi. I live in the US and its good to see some Americans here." I say.
"Uhhh, we met you last night. We are Canadian interlopers." Says one of the four.
I recognize them immediately and laugh to myself. I learn that a few American climbers were here but they have just set off to camp 1. They were kind enough to provide some lunch to the Canadian visitors. I'm disappointed not to meet someone from one of the expeditions that is here to climb Everest, and also disappointed at the body language of the Canadians which says we are not welcome here.
Lal and I beat a retreat and pass the Sherpa cook tent on the way. We talk to one of the cooks who invites us into the cook tent for tea. We have an interesting discussion with them. There are 45 Sherpas supporting the American expedition. The Sherpas arrived 2 weeks prior to the expedition members, secured a large site, chopped flat spots into the glacier ice to provide level pads for the tents, covered each of these pads with gravel to slow the melting. In the kitchen tent, they hauled in rocks and built a counter area on which to place their stoves. The expedition members have been here for 3 weeks.
The whole EBC consists of about 400 tents spread over many acres. I had heard horror stories of how much trash had accumulated but everything I see is neat and tidy. It is a bit chaotic in the sense that there is no map telling you how to reach a particular expedition. I hear from someone that a total of 43 expeditions are camped here. Lal and I make our way back to the entrance, where an enterprising soul has set up a small bakery. Anyone who has subsisted on climbing rations in the mountains for any length of time would guess that a bakery would do a booming business, and you would be correct. It's also a good meeting place.
I meet an American climber, Ed, and chat with him about the Chinese situation. The Chinese have closed the mountain above camp 2 and Ed explains that in order to have a viable summit bid, climbers must get acclimatized to at least camp 3. The Chinese are about to close all the camps in a couple days until they get the torch to the summit. This puts a big kink in the plans of all the climbers. Best case, all 43 expeditions will be trying to acclimatize at camp 3 at the same time and then then all of them will be making summit attempts over a very compressed window. Worst case, the Chinese will not succeed in putting the torch up and keep the mountain closed throughout the climbing window.
Either way, Ed is pissed at them for interfering with hundreds of climbers who have paid big bucks. It might not be so bad if they had good reasons, but this is purely political. The Chinese don't want any Tibetean protesters at the top of the mountain when they summit.
I query him a bit on where he has climbed previously and it is quickly evident to me that Ed is chasing the seven summits. He confirms when I ask, saying, "Yes, Everest is the last one." I ask him whether the expedition members are random (people who just plunk down their money) or if there is some invitation process. He admits that it is random. I ask him how he feels being on a rope with other folks he does not know well. Ed says that they spent 10 days together walking up the trail and everyone has a good idea who they are with at this time.
As we part, he shares a funny story. Two days ago, a chopper arrived with a Chinese/Nepalese delegation of 12 dignitaries. They were immediately very ill, due to the altitude and all of them had to leave within 30 minutes of arriving. I wish I had been there to capture 12 VIPs all throwing up at the same time. That would have provided some good balancing coverage to the "official" news releases.
I am knackered by the time we get back to Gorak Shep for dinner. However, dinner re-invigorates me and I spend time chatting to Esther and Ian, a couple from Wales. Esther is a sociologist studying how different people react to risk. Although they are on vacation, she is taking the opportunity to talk to some Sherpas, since they seem to frequently be in risky situations. After a few interviews, (ie, not yet statistically significant), she finds that Sherpas view climbing as a job that puts bread on their table rather than a big thrill (contrast to Westerners who view climbing as fun). We spend a good evening together and I learn that they will climb Island Peak a day or so after me.
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Sunday April 27 - Gorak Shep to Dingboche
Going down is easier than going up. Lots of yak traffic and I spend a fair bit of time capturing yak photos. Hope at least one turns out.
We stay at the Peaceful Lodge in Dingboche. I take advantage of their shower. It's the best 250Rs I spend in quite some time. It feels great to be clean, washing my hair and feet are especially satisfying. The trails at this elevation are extremely dusty and the dust works its way in through your shoes, through your socks and attaches itself firmly to your feet. Getting rid of the fine grit is wonderful. I also take the opportunity to wash my socks and my shirt.
A large group has booked in at the lodge and it provides some lively conversation in the evening. One of the group buys some Pringles chips from the hotel (all the hotel have basic supplies for sale). He opens them and finds the taste to be off, checks the date on the package and sees that they were manufactured in 2005, to be eaten by 2007. Makes me wonder what they put in Pringles that keeps them edible for 2 years???
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Monday April 28 - Dingboche to Island Peak Base Camp
There are 2 inches of snow on the ground! The whole area looks spectacular with a covering of white. I spend an hour or so running around taking photos. In fact, Lall wanted to leave by 7:30AM and its 8AM by the time we set off for Island Peak Base Camp. The views trekking today are awesome. We are directly underneath Ama Dablam for a good bit of the way and then under the ridge directly to the west of Ama Dablam.
As we move higher in elevation, the vegetation becomes sparse and it starts to look more like a moonscape. It is very windy when we reach base camp and the team have some trouble setting up the tents. I snooze for a while.
Lal sets up a fixed rope on the ridge behind our camp site and we practice ascending and descending technique. This is good for me to review and good for Lal to see that I know what I'm doing. It increases our confidence in each other, since we'll be on a rope together in 12 hours time.
I crash immediately following dinner, 7PM.
2 comments:
Good Luck and be careful!
Take lots of pics and do post them online when you get some time and are able to do so.
Navneet
Lingtren, amazing! Cass
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