First of all, the photos are up!!! Here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/anitalgray/NepalTrekToMountEverestBaseCampApril2010#

I write to you from Paradise on Ko Phi Phi Island in the Andaman Sea of Thailand…quite the change of scenery from when I last wrote (indeed from 2 days ago!) It is so strange to be back here, and away from all the people I’ve been with everyday since March 30th…that I really must write about the finale and trek down from Everest Base Camp before that world becomes clouded over by beaches and emerald green waters.

I left you with my climb of Kala Pattar at 18,200 feet with Don, one of the climbers. Most of the other trekkers were tired and/or sick when we arrived at the tiny settlement of Gorak Shep (the highest partly-inhabited settlement in the world at just over 17,000 feet!), but for some reason, I was wired and ready for action, so since Don wanted to do another acclimatization hike, I decided to accompany him. This location reminded me of Moss Isley from the original first Star Wars movie. A band of Sand People and Jawas would not go amiss in this sandy landscape. As it was afternoon, we expected clouds to have gathered over Mt. Everest, obscuring our views…but I whooped like a kid on Christmas Day when 30 minutes into our climb, the clouds parted and unveiled Sagarmatha in all his majesty. We got some incredible shots from this trek, and I was so happy to share this with Don, whom I’ve developed quite an affection for. He is inspirational: at 65, he is the first total hip replacement recipient to attempt the summit of Everest. And I could not keep up with him on the way up, the man is seriously in good shape! Way to go “SB”!

On the top of my highest peak on the trek, we happily took a bunch of pictures as we sat on the very narrow ledge that was literally strewn with prayer flags and rock cairns. We had to be quite careful on the descent, sliding down on our butts 🙂

The other reason that I climbed Kala Pattar this day instead of the day after Base Camp was that there was still a small chance that I might be allowed to stay the night there and then re-join the trekkers the following day. Joyce, Don’s wife, was offered the opportunity as a way of spending more time together before his summit bid, and Joyce was happy to have some company for the descent the next day. Unfortunately, after some very confusing, complicated, and albeit frustrating miscommunication with Alpine, Joyce opted not to stay the night, and as such, I was not permitted to stay either. I was extremely disappointed and could think of little else to wipe the vexation from my heart the following day.

Looking back on it now, I feel different. I think that getting the opportunity to see Base Camp was incredible, but perhaps it was best that only climbers stayed and settled in together as a cohesive group. It would have been amazing, but I am thrilled that I didn’t get so sick that I was not even able to trek the entire way, as many of the trekkers unfortunately had to turn around days before.

Incidentally, I am only now, finally, over my Khumbu cough and cold. I can’t remember the last time I had such prolonged symptoms, but I am glad that I waited to go diving until tomorrow, as the amount of congestion I have been suffering with would have made it impossible to equalize pressure in my ears.

Don and I made it back just in time for dinner and then I literally collapsed into bed, and had a fitful, breathless sleep before our “big day”.

It took 3 1/2 more hours of navigating sharp jagged rock and ice to get to base camp, and a little more to reach the space occupied by Alpine Ascents: a prime location directly at the foot of the Khumbu glacier. The sun that day was so bright, that even with glacier glasses, the glare was apparent because my camera often couldn’t handle how bright the conditions were.

I’d been imagining what base camp would look like for years. For some reason I always imagined approaching it on the right, but in reality you approach from the left. There are hundreds of brightly colored tents that sit on laboriously constructed and flattened rock platforms. Yaks bring in loads but do not stay long enough to create more pollution. Toilets are made in tents, the seat sits over a canister, which is later literally carried out of camp: on the back of a porter!!!! The air is thin, but the atmosphere is heavy with palpable anticipation.

The Alpine Ascents camp was incredible- the meal tent was enormous and stocked with all kinds of goodies from the States: Peanut butter, jelly beans, maple syrup, chocolate…and for the afternoon- we were told to eat anything we wanted while the kitchen prepared us a lunch. The kitchen is fully stocked, in fact, the sheer volume of equipment, gear, hardware, oxygen canisters, tents, etc etc is staggering. Its hard to imagine all of it arriving on the back of Yaks.

After lunch we took a walk over to the mighty Khumbu Glacier- the most challenging and dangerous part of the climb, leading to Camp I, usually in about 9 hours of walking, unroped, over and up crevasses with the aid of stepladders. We sat and watched, for about an hour, a lone climber making his way down towards us through the ice, and it was really mind-boggling to imagine that there was genuinely a navigable way through this maze. It does not make for an attractive prospect, for me at least!

We bid goodbye to Don (who’s tearful parting from Joyce moved me to tears, of course) and the Sherpas and made our way back down to Gorak Shep. My heart was heavy. And sad. Much of it inexplicable. Until we met up with our brave climbers once again as they themselves walked up to Base Camp from Lobuche…once again, there was an emotional exchange of good wishes and goodbyes as we passed the group one by one on the trail.

After another night at extreme altitude, we were all more than ready to DESCEND to a more comfortable amount of oxygen. The hypoxia was taking a toll on our strength and spirits. The following morning, however, I was able to rest while the group tackled Kala Pattar.

Around 11am, I got a surprise visit from Vern and Derek (who had been recovering from Bronchitis down in Pheriche) as they stopped for some Ra Noodle Soup on their way to Base Camp. I was so happy to see my friends again, and dosed up on big bear hugs from my lovely Vern. And on some songs, of course as Vern is never on the mountain without that guitar of his.

Thus started my rather melancholy descent. Not that the hike itself wasn’t beautiful, in fact, I really never got the sense of “oh, we’ve been here before I wish it were new….” I was just in a different head space- I most definitely had connected more with the climbing group, and now our numbers had more than halved, AND would continue to shrink the following day in Dingboche when the Island Peak Climbers, 4 of them plus climbing sherpas including Suzanne, left us for their summit bid. I missed my friends and felt somewhat lonely. Its weird going from a group of 44 strong, to a group of 8 (eventually in Lukla we were down to 5 plus Pasang!!). And I’d be lying if I didn’t say that a small part of me wished I was in Base camp training for the summit bid as well. Never thought I’d say that!

We doubled up the amount of ground covered on the way down as opposed to the way up. Our days were long but very methodical and by now I was in a predictable rhythm. Breakfast of porridge and eggs around 7am, walk till lunch, stop for lunch of soup, sherpa bread, potatoes and veggies with tea, then walk all afternoon usually stopping around 4 or 5pm. Then tea with popcorn followed by a “sponge” clean in my room as I set out my sleeping bag, changed into my fleece and went back to the teahouse common room to read before dinner. Then dinner, and usually bed around 8-9pm. Rinse and repeat.

We met up with two trekkers who’d had quite an ordeal with illness in Pheriche, and with most of the group still recovering from various maladies, we made for quite a slow walking bunch. The trail back to Namche Bazaar was so ridiculously long…a path carved into the hillside with bend after bend after bend after bend in the road! You were always convinced that the town would magically appear around the NEXT bend, and it didn’t! I was so happy to get to the Panorama Lodge…and was moved to tears when I was told that I would be getting my own room that had a SHOWER! Trekking strips you down to your most basic needs…so a shower can be ridiculously good entertainment. I was ecstatic to both shower, and have the luxury of doing some laundry…just enough to get us to Lukla before getting to my other bag of clean clothes in Kathmandu.

Well. That plan all went to hell in a handbasket. We arrived in Lukla in the afternoon of the 15th of April, tired but happy to be back and ready to get our flight in the morning. Joyce, Doug and I had a celebratory cake and latte at the local cafe before we settled in for a yummy meal shared with heartier souls that night at the Namaste Lodge. Everyone was very excited about our mutual return to civilization, especially the victims of the Himalayan “plague”.

So, it was with eager spirits that we breakfasted the next morning in preparation for being called over to the airport for our Twin Otter flight back to Kathmandu. Except that we weren’t called until 11:30am, by which point the clouds were starting to hover thick in the sky and cast a gloomy grey over our hopes. After a couple hours at the airport which more closely resembled a nuclear silo, we piled into a coffee shop next door and ordered cheesecake and coffee to raise our spirits. I was overjoyed when Jen lent me a book (as I had finished all of mine already) “The Time Traveller’s Wife” of about 650 pages. I was thinking at the time: it will be a shame to start and not finish this, but I can always get it stateside if I enjoy it?

I finished that book.

Our day 1 of waiting was ended when we were informed at about 4:30pm that our flight was cancelled due to bad weather. Disappointed and dirty, we trudged back to Namaste Lodge and awaited the plan for the next day. As with most scheduled flights, passengers arriving the next day with confirmed reservations would get the chance to get on planes before we did, despite the fact that they had not been delayed a day. You basically get put to the back of the line each day, and only get on a plane if somehow people don’t show up for their scheduled times. So, we were happy when the owner of the guesthouse bought us new tickets for the “second wave” of flights for the next day (we were on the third on the 16th) as it meant we had just as much of a shot at the flights as those with tickets for the 17th. However, the second wave of flights didn’t arrive from Kath the next day. We were screwed. And it was my birthday. Don, Joyce, and Juhie decided to fork out over $800 each for a privately chartered helicopter who’s pilot was willing to fly in this weather. The rest of us bid them adieu and hunkered down for our 3rd night at the Namaste Lodge.

Pasang was very kind and had a cake baked for me for my birthday…which was very odd indeed. We spent the day waiting to get out on a flight, which meant that we really couldn’t go for a hike or be gone for any significant period of time in case our plane was ready. I read all day, then after dinner and my cake (!!) I was horrified when the room clamored to watch English Premier Football League on TV. Yuck. I left and went for a walk back to the trail head and watched the gathering storm as lightning flashed across the night sky. I felt very lonely and sad. Happy 34 ;-(

The following morning we were awakened by Pasang at 5am with the news that Alpine Ascents had decided to send a helicopter for us. YAY!! And thank goodness that the 3 optionally paid for their own yesterday as there was only space for 5 on the chopper. Sadly, Pasang had to stay behind and wait for a flight. The helicopter eventually arrived around 9am and we were whisked into the air and to Kathmandu, flying in a very dramatic and very LOW altitude over the mountain passes (eek, I can see the hill that we’re cresting!!) and through the gathering cloud and bad weather. It was an exhilarating experience, and I enjoyed the chopper a lot more than the planes.

Well. By the time we were picked up at the airport and transferred to the Yak and Yeti, my nerves were frayed, no, actually they were completely shot. When I learned that despite the fact that I didn’t get to enjoy the luxuries of our Kath hotel for the previous two nights, that I would have to fork out over $100 to get a room that evening (none of my fellow trekkers were willing to share their rooms with me for half the price…ugh!) or find a new guesthouse for the night, I decided in that moment that I just needed to get the hell out of there. I was done. Finished. I wanted to get back to Thailand. It was a choice between more time in the Islands, or another morning in crowded, dirty, Kath. It was clear.

The only problem was that the whole time we were dealing with weather in Lukla, a similar issue was going down in Europe, but on a much grander scale. The volcano in Iceland. Flights were overbooked. And I didn’t have a confirmed ticket until the 19th.

I decided to risk it and go standby.

I was not comforted by the ticket agents downcast face and repeated warnings of “very low possibility madam”. I waited and waited, deciding to be ok no matter what. Miraculously, as about 13 of us gathered to here the standby announcements, I overheard someone saying “oh- he bumped me for number 8 on this list because HE was Star Alliance or some crap”…and I quickly piped up, arm waving, “I’m with Star Alliance Member Reward program!” “Where is your card, Madam?” “Oh, I never carry the card but the number is 13456673!!!”

Silence. Then “Ok, you get the third and final seat”.

I couldn’t believe it! I made the plane (just!) and on arriving in Bangkok, decided to axe the potential of dealing with the political tensions in the city by getting on the next flight to Phuket instead of taking an overnight bus. It was only $59. What the hell??

I was delirious by the time I landed in Phuket, at the height of a massive thunderstorm. I got a cab to town, found a semi decent guest house with air con and crashed out deliciously.

Well, I’ll leave it there! I’m going diving tonight for four nights, so I will update you all when I get back! My trip is coming to an end, but I am determined to stay “present” and enjoy each moment as it comes.

Much love,

Anita

So we have finally arrived back in Lukla on our 15th day of trekking!
It has been an incredible journey and one that I will not quickly
forget.

I last left you on the afternoon that we arrived in Tengboche to visit
the monastery there, having detoured to stuff our faces with delicious
apple pie and real espresso at the bakery. Afterwards we went to the
visitor’s centre and watched a short documentary on the history and
purpose of the monastery, followed by the opportunity to witness the
monks chanting. It was a mesmerizing experience, in fact, listening
to the methodically and rhythmic words put me into a meditative and
very relaxed state, such that when it was time to depart- I had to be
knocked back to reality.

Descending from the monastery through a lovely birch forest, we came
upon our accommodation for our sixth night on the trail: The Rivendell
Lodge (which was named after the home of the elves in Lord of the
Rings- very exciting for a LOTR geek fan like me). It was in a
beautiful setting with views extending over Everest and Ama Dablam.
That evening was especially memorable for me as Vern and I were joined
by a wonderful guitarist named Ryan, who was a climbing member of
another expedition sharing the lodge that evening. After dinner, we
sat playing and singing tunes until about 10pm (which is in fact quite
late to be up on this trip, we’ve typically been going to bed around
8pm, so its not as lame as it sounds!) for a rapt audience of mostly
sherpas who clapped and sang along. I even got the chance to try out
“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” in an a capella style with clapping for
percussive background. Lots of fun.

The following day brought me my most memorable experience of the trek.
I had the incredible opportunity to witness the climbers receivng a
“Phuja” ceremony, where they are blessed by Lama Geishy to climb
Sagarmatha (Everest). A Lama is a Buddhist teacher, a holy man, who
is believed by the people to be a reincarnation of a Buddha. I
watched, entranced, as the Lama chanted, beat a drum rhythmically, and
then one by one, blessed each member of the climbing expedition with
prayer shawl and red corded necklace. After we were each given a
handful of rice which we threw in the air for good luck. It may sound
corny, but it was an extremely emotional experience and it had me in
tears very quickly.

Once the climbers left, the few trekkers who’d come the hard way up
the mountain to see the Lama were lucky enough to receive our own
Phuja. It was something that I will not soon forget.

We spent the next two nights in Pheriche (approx 14,000 feet)- the
following day being somewhat of an acclimatization/rest day. By this
point, a number of us had succumbed to hypoxia related conditions:
Harris had been flown by helicopter back to Kathmandu for a GI virus,
and now about four others were sick with GI/AMS symptoms. The degree
to which we were all at risk of getting so ill that we couldn’t
continue trekking, was not something I had given a great deal of
consideration to. As it turned out, one of the climbers, and six of
the trekkers got seriously ill on the trip at some point, and four had
to turn around before getting to base camp! In Pheriche, I came down
with a cold, but nothing more serious than a slight temperature and a
hacking cough (which still…eight days later has not gone away).
From what I can tell, the trouble is caused by a combination of
factors: 1 – altitude. Lack of oxygen (hypoxia) causes a weakening of
the body’s immune system making it more difficult to ward off bugs in
the first place, and harder to battle them once they are contracted 2
– melting pot of people from everywhere all crammed into teahouses
which become petri dishes for germs 3 – huge amounts of dust on the
trail get into your lungs and cause respiratory problems 4- Yak dung
and trash is burned and get into the atmosphere, and therefore, into
your lungs. Yuck.

Despite being quite ill, I still managed to sing to an even larger
crowd that night in the beautiful pine, large common room at the
Himalayan Hotel, which got so hot from the 50 or so bodies in there
that it seemed ridiculous to be dressed up in warm hiking gear.

After hacking all night, I was separated from my roomate and given my
own room to recover in the next day – score! I had a lovely hot
shower, napped, read, and tried to regain strength for the next
day…and more elevation gain. The sunsets at Pheriche were
astounding…lots of pink skies providing a dramatic backdrop to the
towering peaks all around us.

The next day was to be the last that the trekkers were walking
together with the climbers, and having gotten quite attached to the
latter group, I was not looking forward to saying goodbye. After a
morning visit to an Italian Atmospheric research station, I joined the
climbers for the afternoon steep slog up to the settlement of Lobuche
at just over 15,500 feet. I was definitely beginning to feel the
altitude, but pressure breathing seemed to help a lot. This was the
first night that I woke up in the night kind of gasping for air, and I
succumbed to taking half a tablet of Diamox…falling right back to
sleep. Lobuche was a tiny village…the facilities were becoming more
basic the higher we climbed. On the way, we stopped at a memorial
site to climbers that had perished on Everest. It was a sombre
location, covered in epitats and colorful Tibetan Prayer flags. I
found the memorial to Scott Fischer from the 1996 disaster.

That day the landscape really became more grand and awe-inspiring, now
we were walking alongside the towering giants like Nuptse. I snapped
a LOT of photos…can’t wait to share them!

Arriving at the teahouse with the climbers, I was dismayed to learn
that our two groups would be in separate accommodation that evening.
However, after taking some tea and preparing to leave, Lakpa Rita came
over and invited me to sleep in Jan’s room that night, and enjoy my
last evening dinner with the climbers. I was overjoyed and had a
thoroughly memorable evening talking, laughing, and sharing with my
new friends. Victor even shared one more scene from “The Holy Grail”
with me…which had me in stitches.

Having held it together the night before, I was not having such luck
in the morning. I sobbed my heart out as I hugged and bid goodbye to
Vern, Garrett, Victor, Jack, and….Quatchi! Yes…I decided to give
Quatchi to JR for the remainder of the expedition, as he said he’d be
happy to carry him up to the summit of Everest with him and his
mascot, Spike. So, as I type, Quatchi is at base camp preparing to
tackle the Khumbu Icefall to Camp I. Can’t wait to see the photos of
that!

Wiping away my tears and trying hard not to think about the potential
perils my friends would be facing in the next six weeks, I joined the
trekkers (although Don, a climber, was walking on with his wife Joyce
and the trekking party through to base camp, so one goodbye could
wait) as we headed on up to the trickily high base of Gorak Shep at
almost 17,000 feet! On arrival, I was quite pleased with how cute our
wooden little teahouse was, and we were given the afternoon to rest.
Rest? I was feeling pretty good, SO- Don and I decided to tackle Kala
Pattar ( a peak of just over 18,500 feet) that afternoon because of
the good light, instead of waiting until the day after next when the
group was scheduled to summit it together in the morning.

Initially, I planned to just walk half way…but I got summit fever
and Don and I decided to go all the way to the top. The views were
astounding and we got some incredible pics.

Will have to leave it there for now….in Lukla and will finish this
tomorrow in Kathmandu!

Love to you all!

Friends,

I’m starting where I left off before.

The first night at the beautiful Panorama Lodge gave me my first (of many) opportunities to sing my little heart out. Vern, one of the guides (and one of my favorite peeps on the trip) had a harmonica, John played the guitar and I sang along to a bunch of my favorite songs: Me & Bobby McGee, Summertime, even some “Hound Dog” by Elvis. I ended the evening with an a cappella rendition of “Mercedes Benz” by Janis Joplin and I had the entire room belting it out along with me. It was a wonderful evening and has since been repeated many times.

It’s Day eight of the trek and we are happily acclimatizing in Pheriche at a lovely little lodge called the Himalayan Hotel. I have finally succumbed to the dust and germs and am madly fighting a cold which had me very clogged up last night (though it didn’t stop me from singing a few song requests!).

The realization that I only have two more nights to hang out with the climbing group is starting to hit me hard. I have developed quite an attachment to several members of the expedition and each time I think about saying goodbye, especially considering the dangers they will be facing in the next six weeks, I get all choked up with emotion.

Vern and I have become quite close as a result of sharing songs together each evening. We’ve also shared our life stories and I find his tenacity, warmth and gut determination (having climbed and guided for the last 31 years) to be incredible. I will miss his warm smile, crazy eyebrows, and crazier outfits (he would often wear bright blue running shorts over tight black spandex shorts). Mostly I will miss his bear hugs and the fact that I get a true sense that he really gets who I am.

Derek has been a blast getting to know, he is a fearless “gangsta” type. Hard as nails, tough to the core, and a little rough around the edges when it comes to expressing his opinions, we hit it off early on. He is crazy enough (and a definite kindred spirit) that he went along with a skit that we put together where he wore my hot pink panties over his black long johns in a dinnertime impersonation of Vern. It had the room in hysterics, and thankfully, Vern took it really well. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Derek also gave me two new nicknames: “Player” and “Sex Kitten”. I didn’t object to either 😉

A slightly more surprising connection was formed with a climber named Victor, 44, from Dallas, Texas. It was obvious from the start that he was extraordinarily intelligent, handsome, and an extremely successful business man, owning a successful and international private equity firm. At a lunch stop we fell upon the topic of favorite SNL skits, and Victor mentioned how much he also enjoyed one of my personal favorites, “I’m on a Boat” with Andy Sanborne. And so, sharing his headphones we rocked out together, and I saw a very fun-loving side to him. That afternoon we hiked together, and to my delight, discovered that his love of musical theatre didn’t stop with Phantom of the Opera (I had sung “Think of Me” at his request the night before) and we happily spent the next 3 hours or so (breathlessly!!) belting out show tunes. It was so much fun, I wasn’t even aware of the steep inclines that we were tackling except that I couldn’t sustain any of the long notes.

Then climbing became much more difficult when Victor chose to share another of his extraordinary talents: he could quote long passages from Monty Python’s Holy Grail, complete with perfect accent, intonation, and character. I was laughing so hard that at one point I literally collapsed on the trail, unable to continue, clutching helplessly at my sides.

Since that afternoon, I have found Victor’s company to be refreshing and he always has wise and witty insights to share during table conversation. I do hope that we will stay in touch.

It has been very interesting to observe my friend Garrett on this trek in his professional role. He is most definitely in work mode, and displays an almost super human, courteous, politically correct, and non-inflammatory attitude 24/7. Sometimes it’s strange to not see him let loose and relax, but I have the utmost respect for his dedication and laser focus to the task at hand. And that is no easy task- I certainly do not envy the responsibility he shoulders, and I am deeply impressed at the wisdom and experience he is able to share with his climbers. Having said that, I look forward to seeing the more relaxed side to him, getting a drink together in Seattle this summer on his return.

Getting back to the trek, our second day in Namche Bazaar was designated an acclimatization day, but we spent the morning hiking up about a 1000 feet to the Everest View Hotel to get our first official snaps of the mountain, surrounded by his more beautiful partners: Lhotse, Nuptse, and the staggeringly beautiful Ama Dablam. We gathered on the balcony to have tea (again!) and I relished the impressive views taking a ton of pics before we headed back down for a free afternoon.

Derek and I teamed up and headed into town where I bought some prayer flags and earrings, and he purchased a rug for the inside of his future “home” tent at base camp. We had a great time laughing and sharing stories and that evening settled in with wine to eat popcorn and then dinner with our group, which inevitably ended in more guitar playing and singing of songs.

The following morning we headed out early on a de-tour from the trek to base camp – to the little town of Thame where our Sirdar, Lhakpa Rita, was born and raised. It was a stunning four hour walk, which we learned Lhakpa had to walk TWICE, SIX DAYS A WEEK, in order to attend school in Khumjung. Staggering. Descending into Thame, which incidentally is also the home of Passang, we saw our first authentic Yak, which belonged to Passang’s father whom we waved to as we passed. That night we stayed in a lodge that was owned and operated by Lhakpa’s sister.

After freshening up, several of us walked the steep hill above town to visit the Ringboche monastery above Thame. The Lama (Buddhist teacher that is supposed to be a reincarnation of a former enlightened Buddha) had died the previous fall, and so the community was in waiting for another Lama to be “discovered”. The monastery was a very serene location and the interior walls were laboriously patterned and covered with intricate artwork- much of it was extremely erotic in nature. We learned about the Tibetan Buddhist chant “Om Mane Padme Ohm” which is supposed to help cleanse the soul of the six negative emotions. Enjoying a picturesque sunset on the trek down I was again, flabbergasted at the astonishing beauty of this valley. We again enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying meal and headed to our rooms around 9 o’clock.

Day five took us back down towards Namche Bazaar where we took a detour to Khumjung, home of the school established for children of the Khumbu region by Sir Edmund Hillary. This was the day that was entirely highlighted by my time spent with Victor- that evening we celebrated Allison’s (another climber) birthday with a cake, and Victor kindly shared his awesome Monty Python talents for her and the crowd that inevitably gathered when he let it rip. I was happy for the ability to laugh sitting down this time. Victor and I watched “Touching the Void” together after dinner and I enjoyed the context of the movie even more by being surrounded by these incredibly talented mountaineers. After the movie, Victor recounted his story of being partially paralysed by a rock fall on his climb to the summit of Aconcagua in South America. It was an insane story of heroism and bravery which resulted in his life being saved. He honestly admits to being mad to climb these mountains, and he, Allison, and I had a very interesting conversation about their next two months on Everest. For Allison, this is her second attempt as her entire expedition team was turned around at the South Col eight years ago due to bad weather. She recounted a horrifying story of her summit attempt when her oxygen tank failed and she was convinced that she had cerebral edema before one of her guides discovered the malfunction, after almost 45 minutes of breathless, excruciating climbing.

How lucky am I to get to have conversations like this? Seriously?

Day six took us higher still and we all began to feel the lack of oxygen and the increasing need to practice rest steps and pressure breathing. The morning was a leisurely descent down a valley towards lunch where I was absolutely not hungry but ate after the guides insisted that we had quite a climb ahead of us in the afternoon. I met my first Polish trekkers that day about five minutes before arriving at the café where we ate. The Poles are everywhere!

That afternoon’s climb was rather long, but I found it quite easy as we soon formed a long snaking line of people all limited in pace to the leader at the front who was consciously trying to only push the climbers to 40% of their physical capacity. As a result, the climb was slow, steady, and quite manageable. Our destination was Tengboche, which was also home to the region’s largest monastery of the same name. On arrival, we were told that the monks were engaged in quiet prayer, but that there was a lovely bakery just a few minutes walk away which would provide a wonderful respite and diversion.

Okay, gotta go, internet very expensive here. More soon!