Without our sponsors, you wouldn't see this site, please visit our sponsors. 

Click on any of the pictures for the full sized versions.

Lobuche, 16270 feet - 22 October, 2000  It's been 8 days since we started our trek to Everest Base Camp. Dhiresh, my buddy on the trip, is having headaches and suffering from breathlessness, clear signs of high altitude sickness. I am trying hard to sleep, but sleep is difficult to come by at these heights and my sleeping bag does not seem to protect me from the cold.

Sometimes during the night I get an upset stomach, I walk out to the so-called toilet, a wooden structure outside the lodge where we are staying.. there's no light, I hear a tinkle from the bell of a Yak nearby and see a few more people in a similar state as me. When I return to the lodge, somebody's locked the door from inside. I keep knocking and yelling, but nobody seems to want to come out of the warmth of their sleeping bags.

Tomorrow is D-day. We have to go to the Base Camp. It's a long way up and here I am, locked outside the lodge. Just three weeks back my life seemed to be so pleasant. Dhiresh walked into my room one day, saw a picture of a handicapped mountaineer and asked me -"Do you want to go to the Everest Base Camp?" I had 20 days of leave left, knew that If I go back home my mother would certainly ask me to see prospective wives, and thinking that just like Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Everest Base Camp (EBC) might have something lucky in store for me. I said yes!

Lukla, 9405 feet - 15 October  We flew here this morning from Kathmandu on Yeti Airlines. Half an hour into our flight and the Lukla airstrip suddenly looms in front of us. About 160 meters in length, it has an elevation of about 60 meters at its two ends. Some people say that it's easier to climb the summit of Everest than to land at the Lukla airstrip. Porters and guides are easily available at Lukla. Since both Dhiresh and I have set '"stretching targets" in our annual PDP goals, we decide to go ahead and do it on our own! {PDP means (Performance Development Plans). I work for Unilever's Indian subsidiary and, as part of our annual targets, we have to give targets that are stretching (difficult).}

Phakdingma, 9240 feet - 15 October  Our destination for the first day is a village called Phakdingma. It's an easy walk and takes us about three hours. In fact, most trekkers set daily destinations and try to spend nights near villages. The Solu-Khumbu region, the area under which the EBC trek falls is, in fact, the most prosperous in Nepal. Most villages have lodges, though the number and quality of lodges varies. There is enough variety of food, from Dal-Bhat (the staple diet of the Sherpas) to Noodles, Pizza and Momos. We pitch up our tent near a river for the night. It's omelettes and pasta for dinner. We can't seem to make out anything in the dim light of our headlamp. Next morning, I find the Pasta stuck all over my trousers.

Namche Bazar, 11370 feet - 16 & 17 October  We are up and moving to our next destination, Namche Bazar, by 0700 hrs. Most trekkers start early since they want to reach the next destination by afternoon. I am lagging behind - my new hiking shoes have given me blisters on both feet and the 17-kg backpack requires me to stop every 3-4 minutes for rest.

The trail to Namche takes us through Sagarmatha National Park, where one needs to get a trekking permit. After a steep descent, the climb to Namche starts. This is the first and perhaps one of the toughest challenges on the entire trip. A little higher on the trail and one gets the first view of Everest. There are numerous cantilevered bridges along the way. Be sure to give way to the 'Yak trains' (a long line of Yaks, the true rulers of the Solu-Khumbu kingdom), else they'll knock you off the bridge. 

It's about 1600 hrs and Namche seems nowhere in sight. I am now stopping every 10 steps, resting my backpack against the rocks. I meet a Sherpa who tells me that Namche is just 20 minutes away. I meet him again after an hour this time he says that it's 40 minutes away! At 1730 hrs I finally reach Namche. Dhiresh is waiting for me at a teashop at the entrance to Namche (where he reached at 1430 hrs). He's had nine lemon teas in those three hours and made somebody rich. I look back, there's only one Sherpa behind me. In five minutes it gets dark. 

Namche is like the New York of the Solu-Khumbu region - the happening place where trekkers and mountaineers relax and restock their supplies. It's actually a village with a pub, pool tables and even a German bakery! We stay with a Sherpa family and befriend their young son Chowang Sherpa. It's extremely critical for a trekker or mountaineer to spend time acclimatizing to the high altitudes. We, therefore, decide to spend a rest-day at Namche. 

Next morning we go for a day trek to a nearby hill, which has the Everest View Hotel. It has a beautiful view of the trilogy peaks - Everest, Lhotse and Amadablam. We then descend to a village called Khumjung. It has a famous monastery which is rumored to have Yeti hair and skull. We also see the Khumjung High School set up by Sir Edmund Hillary for Sherpa children. 

On our return to Namche, Chowang takes me to a cobbler to get my shoes repaired. The cobbler actually ends up cutting my shoes from the back, so that the blisters don't hurt and even charges me 50 Rupees for it. I meet an American dentist and since he seems the nearest to somebody who can give me prudent advice, I ask him what I should do for my blisters. He suggests that I cut them. Thankfully his wife, a nurse, arrives in time and tells me to leave the blisters as they are! 

Thengboche, 12790 feet - 18 & 19 October  We start at 0630 hrs the next morning. On our way up from Namche, I see a trekker struggling to take each step, yet taking that step and moving ahead. I try and encourage him. "A step at a time. A step at a time" he says. Over the course of the next few days, his words come back to me often. Especially while climbing mountains that initially seemed invincible. Having climbed these mountains, Dhiresh and I often look down and ask ourselves - "How did we ever climb that?" and the answer always is because you just concentrate on taking that one step at a time. It does finally take you to the top. 

Dhiresh's knee is troubling him badly by now. We walk slowly and finally make it to Thengboche by lunchtime. Thengboche is famous for its monastery and for the sunset view of the Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam peaks. The yellow and then orange sun-rays on the Everest is a sight I will never forget. Dhiresh's knee is in very bad shape; he is barely able to walk. The next morning his knee is still not fine. We decide to stay put in Thengboche for another day. We are running behind schedule, but we realize that at high altitude each day presents new challenges, and you just have to take it as it comes. 

Pheriche, 14124 feet - 20 and 21 October On 20th morning we depart for Pheriche. The terrain now is starkly different. Low Oxygen levels (65 per cent of sea-levels) mean that there is hardly any vegetation. It's beautiful, nevertheless.

Everest is clearly visible throughout the trail and looks nearer every day. I climb a hill that takes a lot out of me. Every step at this altitude makes me feel as if I am walking on the moon. Each step is very deliberate. We reach Pheriche by lunchtime. Pheriche reminds me of Ladakh - it's almost like a cold desert with a river flowing through it.

Pheriche also has the last clinic of the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA); there's nothing after that until one reaches the summit of Everest. In the afternoon, we attend a lecture by a volunteer American lady doctor on high altitude sickness - a common feature here onwards. We are sharply aware of the fact that we have not got ourselves insured with HRA. This implies that if we fall sick, or are injured, the HRA helicopter will not come to rescue us. Dhiresh keeps telling me not to worry. "Nepal Lever will get us rescued," he says. What he does not tell me is that there are no communication facilities even for use in emergencies. We keep reminding ourselves to move slowly here onwards.

Next morning we take a day off to acclimatize and give rest to Dhiresh's knee. I climb a peak - I thought it would take me three hours to go up and come down, it ends up taking me six hrs. Mountains, I have begun to realize, are deceptive. And humans always underestimate their power. It's a great feeling to be at the top, with nowhere higher to go! 

Back at the lodge we meet an American who's having onion pakoras; that he can afford them is a sure sign that he's rich. That turns out to be true. He has a nine- member team to look after him - a guy who wakes him up, another one who makes tea for him, and the list goes on. 

We also befriend a very sweet German girl, Martina. We admire her determination, since she's carrying a 17-kg backpack. Unfortunately, she falls very sick that day. We decide to stay back in Pheriche the next morning, in case her condition does not improve. Thankfully she's feeling better the next morning, and we carry on. 

Lobuje, 16270 feet - 22 October  The trek from Pheriche to Lobuje passes a series of small streams. The views are beautiful, but it's a tough walk. We stop for lunch mid-way at Tughla. Then the climb up a mountain starts again. Dhiresh's knee is slowing his movements. "A step at a time, buddy," I keep repeating to him and to myself. 

Another of our new friends from the journey, Rob, from Ireland, has reached Lobuje early and saved two beds for us in a lodge at Lobuje. But living conditions are horrible. "Let's complete Base Camp tomorrow and get the hell out of here," Dhiresh tells me. I ask Dhiresh to take Diamox, a medicine that regulates breathing at high altitudes. I check his condition around midnight; he's feeling better. I am unable to sleep the entire night. 

Gorak Shep (16500 feet), Kala Patar (18192 feet), Base Camp (17600 feet) - 23 October  As usual, we start early the next morning for Gorak Shep, a village with just 2 hutments, from where we hope to make our final assault on the Base Camp. The diarrhea of the previous night has left me very tired and weak. The bright sun has given me splitting headache. I tell Dhiresh that I'll have to do Base Camp that day itself because my body is too weak by now and I might have no energy left for the next day. Dhiresh leaves at 1100 hrs for a peak called Kala Patar, which has magnificent views of Everest. At 1215 hrs I leave for Base Camp. 

The trek to the Base Camp is lonely. I meet my Irish friend Rob on the way and he tells me not to go all the way to EBC since there is nothing but rocks there. In the first half-hour of my walk I think often of turning back. I'm too tired. "The journey is the final reward," I keep telling myself. I feel like a philosopher. But something keeps me going; perhaps the fact that I have come all the way for this, maybe because I'm a soldier's son. It's all too fuzzy. 

I am reminded of the worst-ever tragedy on the Everest summit in May 1996 when 12 climbers lost their lives. They did not "turn back" in time and were trapped on the mountain at night. I am going just to the base camp, but the rules remain the same. I tell myself to turn back, irrespective of where I am, by 1530 hrs. I have half a bar of chocolate, which keeps me company only for an hour. The fact that I am not carrying my water bottle does not help. After a while there is no trail, only huge boulders. Deceptive because some of them fall when you step on them. One can hear minor avalanches all the time. Initially I felt they were fellow trekkers moving. At 1515 hrs I finally reach the Base Camp. Signified by the Khumbu icefall and Tibetan flags, the Base Camp is a lonely, eerie and inhospitable mix of ice and boulders. Many times during the trip I have wondered, what makes some men and women leave the comforts of their homes, their wives and unborn babies behind, and strive to climb dangerous peaks like the Everest? One answer which keeps coming back like a recurring dream is that of a famous mountaineer, George Mallory who, on being asked why he wanted to climb the Everest said, "because it's there." 

There is no time and nobody to celebrate with. I am immediately on my way back. I lose my way amongst the boulders. But I know the direction where I have to head. I climb the highest rock-surface I see, locate Gorak Shep and am back by 1715 hrs. Dhiresh has meanwhile made it to Kala Patar (18300 feet) and it's a successful day for both of us. We have a small celebration. 

Base Camp, Pheriche - 24 October  That night we decide that next day we'll go back all the way to Pheriche. Our dislike for Lobuje, the village between Pheriche and Gorak Shep, is common and intense. 

Next morning, Dhiresh leaves for the Base Camp, while I head back to Lobuje. I reach Lobuje by 1100 hrs. Dhiresh has to reach Lobuje latest by 1400 hrs, but I stand next to a stream at the entrance to Lobuje and wait for him. I have no doubt that he will make it to the Base Camp. I keep waiting. There's no sign of him. 

At 1600 hrs a Sherpa, who's just come down the mountains, tells me that he met Dhiresh at 1130 hrs near the Base Camp, very tired and lying on the boulders. Dhiresh, he says, is going to spend the night at Gorak Shep. I go and arrange for a dormitory bed for myself in a lodge. 

I come out at 1700 hrs and, pronto, see Dhiresh walking in. He seems tired, but happy and contented (I can see that look in his eyes) to have made it to the Base Camp "and back."  I think his passion for the mountains is far exceeds the pain he has felt in his knee during the trip. "Do you want to leave for Pheriche?" he asks me. He seems to have read my mind. Neither of us wants to spend the night at Lobuje. "It'll be dark soon, but lets go for it, if you are up to it," I say. We agree leave immediately. For the first, and the only time, we hire a porter to carry our rucksacks, since we are too tired. By the time we reach Tughla, the half-way mark, it's dark. We have a headlamp and torch, so we are not worried. Descending from Tughla we cross two bridges, one that is merely a plank of wood and another bridge without railing on one side. We then have to climb a mountain trail on the left. We never find that trail. We're lost! 

We keep moving on, hoping to find the trail, but to no avail. Our headlamp stops working. The porter is scared. "I go back to Lobuje," he keeps telling us. We walk for perhaps an hour and a half; suddenly I see a light that's moving. I point it to Dhiresh. "Optical illusion," he says. We see clouds below us, the sound of a river that we can't see. I also see a lake far ahead of us. We keep moving, yet the lake does not seem to come nearer. 

We seem to have three choices - climb the mountain to our left and head, hopefully, towards Pheriche, pitch a tent and spend the night where we are, or carry on. "What's your decision?" Dhiresh asks me. "Carry on till the torch lasts us."  We decide to carry on. 

We begin to see more lights. It confuses us. There is no village supposed to exist in that location. Suddenly, we are at the top of a mountain. The lights below are very clear now. The almost vertical descent is dangerous. "Fast, or I go back," the porter keeps telling us. 

Against all odds, we make it down. We then cross over some stone enclosures, the residence for Yaks at night. I run across since I don't want to be hit by a Yak. At 2130 hrs we reach the village. To our surprise it's Pheriche! The entire village seems to be asleep. We go to the same lodge where we stayed earlier, wake up Baila, the caretaker and find a room. By now, we are laughing like mad men who've survived a bloody battle, unable to figure out the mystery of how we reached Pheriche without taking the left turn we were supposed to take at Tughla. It's a night of dreams and sweet ones at that, my friend! 

Namche - 25 & 26 October  Next morning is party time. It seems that the worst is behind us. We treat ourselves to Tibetan Bread (which is somewhat like Bhatura) with Jam for breakfast, and dream of Chole. We learn that a German trekker, who had also lost his way the previous night in the same area as us, was found half-dead the next morning and airlifted to Namche. We hope he is alive. 

We seem to have suddenly been blessed with boundless energy. We reach Thengboche by lunchtime. We then head for Namche. At 1800 hrs, we are still two hours from Namche, at a place called Sanasa. But we have a headlamp, the trail is well marked and we're not worried. "Should we go to Namche or spend the night here?" Dhiresh asks me when we see a Tibetan lodge. "Let's go," I say, a decision we regret soon. 

In 15 minutes it's dark. Visibility is poor due to mist. We switch on our headlamp, and everything looks hunky-dory. Then our headlamp light starts fading and it eventually gives off. We're without light, on a path that is about three feet wide, two hours from our destination. I curse myself for making a stupid decision. A Tibetan family, with an old man who seems night blind, is also stuck on the mountain, without a torch. The old man is very scared, he clutches my wrist and we move together. 

We move gradually -"rock," I say to Dhiresh, who is walking behind me, everytime I come across one, or "shrub" when there is one. "Look down and walk," he shouts at me whenever I lose my cool for having made a bad decision. "Sunny Gavaskar never took his eye off the ball, so he never got hit on the head," I keep reminding myself. "Keep your eye on the path." 

I see a dark cloud amongst the mist. "It's a mountain, not clouds" Dhiresh points out to me, a stark reminder of the fact that we are at great heights. We finally decide to stop walking and spend the night, standing, in the mountains. 

Thankfully, we meet a fellow Tibetan migrant with a torch and start  walking briskly again. The old man, who had been clutching my hand for his life, stops us and demands money for sharing the torch. We have no choice but to agree. I am livid - it's like a man asking for money to save a mountaineer facing death. 

We finally make it to Namche. "I kept thinking whether we had stretched our luck too much this time" Dhiresh tells me. 

Time to go home 

Then its celebration time all the way back - Pizza, Mars chocolate, French Fries, and Coke - the delicacies of the civilized world. We reach Kathmandu back on the 29th and, after what seems like an endless hot-shower, our first in two weeks, head straight for a Tibetan Restaurant and eat, of all things, Aloo Paranthas. We meet a fellow American trekker, Tomas, and take delight in his enjoying a juicy burger. In the end, I guess, we all come back to our basics! And yes, we make sure that we sell off the headlamp that almost doomed us. 

So what memories do we carry back from the EBC trip? Of the hard-working Sherpa ladies who keep the lodges running. Of the Sherpa porters who carry unimaginable amount of luggage. Of lost mountaineers, whose "one step at a time" took them to the summit but, sadly, did not bring them back. Of the lifelong friends from Germany, Ireland, US and may other countries we made on the trip. Of realizing that life should, perhaps, be all about eating Aloo Paranthas under the sun (and not getting locked outside the lodge at night in a place like Lobuje). Of whether it is worth it climbing peaks like the Annapurna (where 1 out of every 2 mountaineer does not make it back), when you can spend a holiday at a beach in Goa, sipping Beer. Perhaps it's a little of all these. Or maybe it's also about what mountains mean to my buddy Dhiresh - "It's about a passion, an obsession for the mountains. And out there, it's just me and the mountain." 

Shalabh Atray
Dhiresh Sharma

The Mountaineering Must Haves

Send Mail to everestnews2004@adelphia.net.   Copyright©1998,1999, 2000, 2001. EverestNews.com  All rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, Visitor Agreement, Legal Notes. Read it.