Ruminations from Everest Base Camp

Contribution by Christina Sass

On Disappointing Guides

So I guess that brings up the first not so lucky part, our "guide". Krishna was his name and he came at the recommendation of an excellent and very professional guide in Kathmandu; it was his cousin. Well, Krishna was a super nice guy, a 22 year old student in Kathmandu, but we learned on the flight up that he hadn't been up in the hills for 5 years although he was born there. Needless to say, he really did not know much if anything about the traveling route. At our first acclimatization stop, Krishna got very ill and was somewhat dishonest about it. We decided to go on alone and carry our own bags.

On Scary Flights

The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla gave us a sneak preview of the peaks we would walk amongst for the next 2 weeks. The plane was a 16-seater, it looked about ancient. The flights in and out of Lukla are highly inconsistent due to extreme mountain weather that rolls in and out at amazing speeds. (I don't blame them, during the hike we saw no less than 3 helicopter crash sights simply left there because there is no means to clear any of it out.) We landed with a big bump onto the smallest runway I had ever seen.

On Acclimatizing

Crazy fact: if you were to be helicoptered up to Everest Base Camp and let outside with no oxygen, you'd have about 2 minutes before you would pass out or go into coma from lack of oxygen. The process of acclimatizing is serious, extremely serious. About half the people who go above 5000 meters get ill.

On Sherpas

Hiking from one tiny mountain village to another learning the interesting and welcoming culture of the Sherpa people who are so natural at living up in high elevations. Most tourists think that Sherpa is a synonym of "guide" in this region, but it is their religion. However, it is without doubt that these friendly and welcoming mountain people have unmatched abilities in mountaineering and an extreme resilience to cold and altitude. My idea of "rugged mountain man" is totally reformed now as these little but sturdy people could hike hours on end with ease in flip flops and t-shirts.

On a Local Legend

I met Pema Dorje Sherpa as he was guiding a large family from Salt Lake City to climb Island Peak. This guy summitted Everest with 3 different expeditions: Brittish, Norweigian and Korean. What a guy. He was also the coordinator of the base camp portion of the expedition that went very wrong in 1996. (He hasn't been up since ‘88). His friend was one of the people guiding the group actually up on the mountain who was blamed for the catastrophe. He spoke of Everest with such understatement. He got choked up talking about his companions who never came home from the great mountain and in the end, he gave it up after trip #3. He is a legend among local Sherpa people and should be. He knew the overwhelming danger involved and wanted his kids to have nothing to do with it.

On the Views from Everest Base Camp

Everest Base Camp and Kala Pathar (our highest point at 5550 meters or about 18,000 feet) were incredible. The mountains are of course staggeringly beautiful and honesty hard to keep track of when you are up there, there are so many high peaks and the clouds roll in with alarming speed. On the way up, the excitement builds based on what view your next day will afford you. It is a bit sad that at the top, altitude sickness and worry detract from your ability to really relax and just absorb the beauty and grandeur of what you are seeing. But it is indeed something to stand at the foot of the piece of our planet that has fought off the effects of gravity more than any other. The Nepalese consider Everest to be the goddess of the sky, named Sagamartha; being up there, you can see why.