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Dispatch
7: Saddle Up, We’re Moving Out
August 25, 2001
Everest Basecamp
Yesterday
we were told that the Tibetans would start loading our
gear onto the yaks at 6.30 AM this morning, but it
took until 10:00 AM for these folks to show up with
just a few yaks. For several hours they went through
our gear, picking it up, testing the weight and moving
it into piles, only to shake their heads and make new
piles.
Finally,
after we pulled out a few boxes and offered more
money, they were ready to bring up the main herd and
start loading. But first some kind of gambling game
had to take place to see who got what load for what
yak.
Meanwhile,
Ed sat down on a rock to work on his feet. When he
pulled one off, he got all of the Tibetans’
attention. We pulled out some UPS and Touchtone Energy
hats, and Ed played and goofed around with several of
the younger Tibetans who held up his artificial legs
in wonder and amazement.
We
used sign language to get this crazy show on the road.
Each yak had two small blanket pads and a tiny wooden
saddle on its back, which was tied on with three
handmade yak hair ropes. One rope went across its
chest, one went under its belly and one went straight
back and under its tail. After the yaks were saddled,
our loads were tied on with even more rope.
I
departed a couple of hours ahead of the main herd,
followed by Karl, to be in place at the 18,900 ft.
level, about six miles from base camp.
Yesterday
while scouting we had discovered a large crevasse that
blocked the way across the glacier. Today at dusk the
first yaks arrived at the crevasse and were stalled by
this 100 ft. deep crack. The Tibetans stopped and
walked back and forth, trying to figure out a way
across. Finally they decided to just camp for the
night and deal with the problem in the morning.
As
the other yaks gradually arrived, their loads were
dropped where they stood. The Tibetans had their
tarp-like tents up in no time. Soon they were cooking
on dried dung fires, using small bellows to keep the
fires going. The glacier at this spot was covered in
rocks and made for some uncomfortable camping. My
dinner was a boiled potato with hot pepper that I
crushed between two stones.
--Brian
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