Sagarmatha: this is how Mount Everest is called in Nepalese language. A mountain that many believed would conquer, but a small number did it. It’s not easy. No matter how well prepared you are, the last word is always on the mountain.
The following excerpt is from the course diary of Alexios Liberis. A 22-day journey in 1993, starting from Kathmandu and final destination the Everest Base Camp.
A few words from him:
Personally, because the goal of climbing peaks over 8,000 meters was impossible, I always wanted to see them at least and walk among them, meet the people who lived there, listen to their music, taste their food.
Day 9
I woke up around 5:30. I packed my stuff. The sun has already risen, and the atmosphere was very clear. I retook pictures, and I went for breakfast. I ordered Tibetian bread with honey – the worst I’ve ever eaten. This lodge had the worst food ever! (for meals of the previous meals and breakfast today, I paid 460 rupees).
The owner of the lodge, at midnight, was drunk and running around outside swearing and shouting.
We had a beautiful view of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and the other peaks.
We left at 08: 00 descending through a dense forest of rhododendrons, crossing a muddy path. We passed a hanging (a little uphill ) bridge, and after a slight uphill route, we reached an intersection. The upper path leading to the Pangpoche Terin (3985m) and in a monastery, but we took the lower trail to Pangpoche Olin and enclosed, with a stone wall, potato fields.
On the right was Imja Khola (river).
Going up, we crossed the tree line as we followed a path full of low bushes leading to Orsho. We stopped at a lodge, and we ate a rara soup to get our strength back.
The southern cliffs of Lhotse emerged in front of us as we crossed a pasture for Yaks, to meet us at another intersection.
The trail along the Imja Khola was heading towards Dingboche and the Chuukhung, but we took the left path.
We were going up with fellow local porters and loaded Yaks, which in blue barrels carried materials to refuel the Spanish trekkers-team that was in Everest Base Camp.
We passed another ridge and a wooden bridge – over the stream flowing from the Khumbu glacier.
We arrived at Pheriche (4240 m) at 13:10. That’s where the vegetation ended.
About 12: 00, because I had a headache, I drank an aspirin. Acetazolamide had side effects on me (numbness in my hands), I quit, and now I take two aspirins – one in the morning and one in the evening.
From 12: 00, it started snowing light, which got denser after 15.30.
The Pheriche is located in a flat area next to the stream that comes from the Khumbu Glacier.
In the left, the Tawoche (6542 m ) and in the back and right the Ama Dablam mountains.
The cold was enough. I was wearing a T-shirt, the beige sweater (100% wool), the plaid shirt and the POLAR jacket.
The lodge we are staying at was called Namaste (meaning Hello, Good Morning in Nepalese) and is located at the end of the village. It has some mattresses full of moisture, placed next to each other. The roof is made by straw and on it has Sheet Metal. The inner walls are made of mud. In the center, there is a table with stands, so the place where you stay to sleep is tiny. That was just another reason to be frustrated.
The owner’s wife has three children and a baby who has it in the kitchen in a basket of braided wicker. From the edges of the portable swing of the baby has been hanging a wide strap. When the baby cries, she puts the compact swing on her back, ties the belt to her forehead and continues to do her chores. In her hand, she has a gold-plated bracelet.
We were all sitting next to each other in the kitchen that’s warmer. It was the worst lodge!
The worst is that they are used to leave the doors open.
16: 30 and outside it still snows.
The mother wants to give the infant French fries with eggs. She takes the food in her mouth; she chews it up, and then she melts it. The blender doesn’t exist here.
17: 30 and outside has 2 degrees.
Luckily, they put us in the kitchen and a warm-up warmer. For fuel, they set, along with a few sticks, dried Yak manure. The lumber here is hard to find. After all, that is how forests are being protected from destruction.
The coals in the warmer are also from YAKS dung. There’s no electricity, and they light with LUX lamp.
Here, as in all lodges, they sell toilet paper, cans, cookies and other such items useful to the trekkers.
Most people use pills to decontaminate the water they drink. Greg and I buy bottled water all the time. Anyway, it’s cheaper to drink tea than to buy water. Here the price of bottled varies from 500-700 drachmas. (EUR 1.5-2). Its’ transport cost is high.
In the chamber where we sleep few dare approach.
There’s a health center here, probably run by an international organization, with a six-month rotation of doctors. The center has solar panels for hot water.
The current Doctor is Australian and is visited by several of the team on various topics.
To be continued…
