A glimpse of base camp

Last night was another rough one. I didn't really sleep at all. I would drift off and almost immediately wake myself gasping for air. This is a normal part of acclimating but is not so fun. I was glad when the morning came and I could get up and get ready for the day. 

For my second day in Lobouche the plan was to go for another hike, gain a little more elevation and keep the blood flowing. We set out behind the tea house and up a trail. We reached an elevation of 17,200 feet, or 1,000 feet of gain, which is just a little shy of base camp elevation.  Again, I felt the elevation in the form of heavy inhaling and exhaling and some pressure in my head. However, there was a nice reward at the top. I got my first glimpse of Everest base camp.  In the picture below, in the dead center is the Khumbu ice fall. You can't see it in this photo but there are dozens of tents sprawled out along the left side of the ice fall. The large bullet shaped mountain to the left is Pumori and the large mass on the far right is part of Lohtse.  Everest is hidden behind Lohtse from this view point. 

This shot is looking in the opposite direction. I don't know the names of these mountains but you can see how the same glacier coming from the Lohtse icefall has carved its way through the valley. 

Here's a look at my 5 star hotel room. I shared one like this with the guide in Dingbouche. This time I could spread out a bit more as I had an entire room to myself!  Talk about luxury. No heat though.

Lobuche

The objective for today was to move up from Dingbouche to Lobuche, a roughly 1,700 foot climb to 16,207 feet. Even though I had fully acclimated to Dingbouche, I definitely felt the altitude on the hike. I've felt it many times before though. A pressure headache coupled with taking deep breaths to walk up something that would be absolutely nothing at home. But this is normal. As long as I don't get a crushing headache or nausea or vomiting it's all part of acclimating. The plan is to rest in Lobuche for the rest of today (it's Friday here) and the following day as well.

As much as I felt the altitude today, I was blown away by the porter who carried much of my gear. See the pic below. He carried all three of my bags, the gray and black ones, plus someone's else's small pack. My gear (which included the last minute requests of other climbers) had to weigh at least 160 pounds!  The Sherpa are amazing athletes and make us Western climbers look quite weak by comparison. I should also note this is the normal way Everest is climbed, expedition style, really from the beginning. The mountain is really too big for an individual to take everything they need with them so porters and Sherpa play a key role in moving the expedition up the mountain. Other mountains are climbed differently. On Denali for example we all carried all of our gear and divided up the group gear on top of that. I may have had 150 pounds tops but that was split between a pack and a sled vs. all on my back. I was very impressed by this guy. 

Another way gear is moved is by yak. The ones in the picture are actually a cross between yaks and Indian cows. I'm told they are stronger and better mannered than pure yaks. Who knew?

This is a pic of me shielding myself from the sun. The Buff is my best friend out here. 

Today we also walked through the memorial to climbers who died on the mountain. This one is in memory of the famous climber Scott Fischer. I knew there was a memorial area but was surprised to see that there were dozens and dozens set up in this area. It was a somber place, and a place for reflection.

Starting to acclimate

I didn't sleep much last night. Probably a combination of jet lag and the altitude. And maybe that nap I took late yesterday.  I awoke with a small headache but felt pretty good overall given the rapid ascent to this elevation. After a breakfast of pancakes with honey and more milk tea, my guide Conan and I set out for an acclimatization hike above the village of Dingbouche. When I arrived the night before I failed to realize I was in the midst of some of the most famous peaks in the Himalayas - Ama Dablam, Island Peak, and Lohtse are all visible. It was clear in the morning for our hike. We set out at a slow pace and only gained 1000 feet to ensure I didn't over do it. I felt really good. No headache. One person on the trip already went home due to not being able to acclimate to the altitude.

I should explain that I am doing this on a much shortened schedule and will be the last person in my group to reach base camp, maybe the last climber on the mountain period. I could not take 2 months off from work so am doing this within my vacation.  The program involves sleeping in a hypoxic tent for 45 days prior, simulating towards the end being at 14,000 feet right in my bedroom. (Side note: Lauri loved the tent and really wanted to join me in it but somehow never did.) In addition I am skipping much of the trek in to base camp that the rest of the team experienced. Together this will cut in half the time it normally takes, assuming I can acclimate.  This has been done before so hopefully I will acclimate OK. 

This is at roughly 15,500 feet with Ama Dablam, elevation 22,349, prominent in the background. It looks like two separate mountains but both are really part of the same and are connected by a ridge we cannot see from this angle. 

The adventure starts now

Today was another travel day getting closer to the mountain. After a few hours of sleep I met Rajan, my driver in Kathmandu, to head for the airport a little before 6:00am. I flew to Lukla next via helicopter. The Lukla airport is named the Tenzing - Hillary airport but also is nicknamed the scariest airport in the world due to its angled approach and short mountain runway. The elevation there is 9,334 feet.  All of this definitely made me feel like the adventure was really starting as the comforts of home gradually faded behind me with each leg of the journey. Another sign of adventure, I had to start using my Steripen, an ultraviolet device used to make water drinkable.

Here you can see an airplane approaching the runway.

This is from the internet but gives a good perspective of the runway.

After an hour layover in Lukla airport, where I enjoyed my first cup of steaming milk tea, I continued on to Dingbouche, evelation 14,469.  I definitely felt the elevation. It's like flying directly to the top of Mount Rainier and getting out.

A couple pics of Doha, Qatar where I had a 10 hour layover enroute to Kathmandu. 

Heading out!

The day has finally come. I'm packed and ready to go!  Just a quick jaunt from Charlotte to Chicago to Doha (10 hour layover) to Kathmandu to Lukla then helicopter to somewhere below base camp to begin trekking. I'm ready!  And gray might be my favorite color.

One week out

After much preparation I am only one week away from flying out to Nepal!  I had no idea 8 years ago when I took a 10 day alpine climbing course in the Cascades that it would lead to this. The journey included climbs of Baker, Rainier, Elbrus, several peaks in the Alps, and Denali, among others.  Some of my favorite times though were rock climbing with Ben and Jacob.

This was taken on Looking Glass in NC in 2009.

This was taken on Denali last year, with Mt. Foraker prominent in the background.