Week 16 + 17 – 30/11/09 Everest Base Camp Trek
Left the city at 6.30am this morning bound for the airport once again. However, this time we were flying to Lukla only 35 mins away. I had managed to keep a lid on the type of plane we were going in until we sit in the departure hall. Our plane a 16-seater propeller effort was the smallest plane either of us had ever flown. I was quite excited by the flight, whereas Mariana seemed to hide her emotions.
Left the city at 6.30am this morning bound for the airport once again. However, this time we were flying to Lukla only 35 mins away. I had managed to keep a lid on the type of plane we were going in until we sit in the departure hall. Our plane a 16-seater propeller effort was the smallest plane either of us had ever flown. I was quite excited by the flight, whereas Mariana seemed to hide her emotions.
The next two weeks consisted of hard treks, amazing wildlife and lush alpine scenery. Viewing everest became an everyday norm, but it was only when you started to get close that you started to understand the shear size of the Himalayan giants.
Upon arrival to Lukla, we took three days to get to our first acclimatisation stop, Namche Bazaar. A strange place filled with Tibetan (basically Chinese) traders selling all sorts of goods made with babies tears. Namche at +3460m is the first place most people get ill, but we were fine and enjoyed the time to relax. From there we headed to Tengboche +3970m and passed about a hundred or so mentally insane people taking part in the Everest marathon. Following on we made it as far as Lebouche +4920m, then the following day we started heading up to Gora Shep +5160m which is the last town on the trek, when Mariana became very weak and dizzy. We returned to the tea house to relax for the day and to acclimatise. However, Mariana got progressively worse over the day and by the afternoon her breathing was irregular and her heart was pounding intensely. Noticing these signs of AMS I immediately discussed the situation with our guide and we were on our way down the mountain within 10 minutes. We stayed the evening in Dugla which is 300m lower to enable recovery. This did help and by the morning the guide was again asking if we were ready to go back up, but Mariana was not 100% so we decided to take it easy and descend further. There was simply no point risking the remainder of our trip to get a clearer view of a mountain which we had seen numerous times en-route. We had achieved reaching +5000m within 9 days of landing at +2600m covering about 40km of rugged terrain.
The way down was a lot easier I must say and it gave you more chances to look at the wildlife rather than worry about the amount ascended and energy to keep you going. Of the wildlife observed our favourites in no particular order were Vultures from Tibet, Golden Eagles, Yak, Mak (female yaks, the ones that make the cheese), goats, and stray mountain dogs which follow you for days on end if you show them the slightest affection or a scrap of food.
Our guide and porter were local sherpas which is a big plus for anyone trekking in Nepal, however it is more than easy to get by on your own since most trek routes are well grained into the mountains, just as long as you don’t mind carrying your own pack. The Khumbu valley is real Nepal and is quite amazing, a world apart from Kathmandu.
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