Base camp is a lot bigger than I expected it to be - it is a tent city sitting on rocks and ice. We had a Mess tent which is where we ate and drank tea and chatted. We slept in two person tents which were nice and snug and apparently they can fit up to four in there. The toilet situation was interesting, there were barrels precariously placed amongst rocks with a tent surrounding it and this was only for number 2's! To pee you needed to either use a bottle or find a rock to go behind which was quite challenging when the place is just surrounded by tents. We did meet one lady who ate in our mess tent - a 65 year old Aussie lady named Jan who was attempting a summit the next morning so had been staying at Base Camp for about 6 weeks and she mastered the skill of peeing in front of the barrel whilst going number 2's into the barrel. She was a real inspiration in that at age 65 she was attempting a summit and she was there all on her own to without any support crew just her two Sherpa's to help her.
Woke up at Base Camp to an avalanche which sounded like thunder and lasted for about 30 seconds. We had breakfast at 8am then headed off to Khumbu Ice Fall which is the people who are summitting begin their expedition. It was amazing, blue ice and huge icicles. It was amazing to be able to put yourself in the shoes of those summitting even though it was only for a very brief period of time.
Staying up at Base Camp was truly awesome definitely a once in a lifetime experience - unless any of us come away from this wanting to summit Everest!
After the ice fall we headed back to pick up our packs from our camp and began our descent back to Gorak Shep where we stopped for a quick refreshment then on to Lobuche to spend the night where we dropped 530 meters. We were all pretty exhausted today - one person in particular who clearly wasn't quite with it complained of diarrhea for most of the trek only to realise when we got to Lobuche that he had been taking the wrong medication which was bringing it on rather than stopping it. We all had a chuckle at that and he soon corrected it much to his and everyone's relief.
The altitude has been a challenge at times but it's getting easier now we're heading back down the valley.
Rach
Woo-Hoo... 8 o'clock in the morning out here in NZ and I'm here at the Mt. Everest....... blog:-) Btw, it's a great read and offers some amazing views (and povs)!
ReplyDeleteCool pics Rach. And a nicely written post too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the Base Camp. In truth, this is the closest "I've" ever been to Mt. Everest!
I learnt a new word today via this post. "Summitting" Such power in the word itself!
As for the art of toileting and the skill of going 1 & 2 on rocks and barrels, and the story of Aussie Ma'am 65... ha ha ha thanks a ton for the laughs... hilarious stuff :-)
Cheers to all. Have fun scaling down the mount. Best Wishes, @
You can all look forward to the new KFC double down burger when you get back. 2 succulent chicken fillets with cheese and bacon between, smoothered in a creamy sauce. They are causing quite a stir back here in lil 'ol NZ and with good reason, they are delicious. Apparently they sold 16,000 the first morning.
ReplyDeleteexcellent post Rach. Nepal is a fabulous place to be in - I am sure this awesome experience will be with you forever. I loved my time there and have never forgotten it. Regards to all there. Martin
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