Meeting Summiteers

5:45 AM:  Sherpas were coming with tea and water as I was on my way to the restroom.  They were at my door by the time I returned to my room.  Sipped Sherpa tea as I washed my face with the hot wash water delivered, and then I used the mug for rinse water after brushing my teeth in the hall sink.  Met up with Lily, Tim and Randy in the hallway as we each took turns using the two sinks.

It was a lovely morning.  I took panorama pictures of the mountains surrounding our lodge.  Lily, Sharon and I posed for a fun photo of us looking very sick in front of the “what to do if you have Acute Mountain Sickness” sign.  We cracked up while posing.  Tim had to take a few photos of us.

7:00 AM Breakfast:  Rice porridge, scrambled egg sandwich and a couple of mugs of hot water.

8:30 AM:  Assembled my daypack, applied sunscreen and met my fellow trekkers outside on the front patio.

9:00 AM:  After a brief map talk, we headed out for an acclimatization hike to cairns/stupa for a view of the mountains.

This hike was particularly challenging, given my possibly sprung left ankle.  Every once in a while I’d stop to rotate the ankle to relieve the pain and possibly set it back to alignment.  I was feeling a little panicked thinking about the days to come were going to be huge pushes to get to Base Camp, followed by trekking 18,200 foot Kala Pathar before doubling our trekking distance on the return home.

Annie suggested that Sharon and I stay at the first rest stop, but we both went on to the cairns without any problem.

On the way back, Ming asked how I was feeling.  I replied, “Fine, except for having to pee.”  Ming directed me to three huge boulders – the same ones David used on the way out.  I felt much lighter and better after using the boulders.  Not sure if it was the glucose from Chelli at the cairns or because I wasn’t concentrating on my full bladder and the cold winds any more.

10:50 AM:  Returned to the lodge.  My camelback was empty of the two litres of water with which I started!  Small accomplishments…

I checked on my laundry drying progress – slow in this dark, cold room.  I was thinking of how I wished the plywood walls could have been thicker; then I reminded myself that every plank in this –and all the buildings– were brought here on the backs of Sherpas.  Oh, how much we take for granted.

I stepped outside to take photos of the trail of this morning’s trek.  Hard to make out the route, because the tracks were so narrow, they disappear in the grand expanse of the mountains.  At the back of the lodge stands a memorial containing names of trekkers and Sherpas who died in their pursuit of summiting the Himalayan peaks.  My photograph of the memorial has in its background a stone fence laden with lodge guests’ laundry drying with the owner’s names marked on plastic bags as laundry markers.  Some of the dried clothes had gotten windswept down the alleys.  Every once in a while my fellow trekkers would joke about their missing underwear or sock benefiting some stranger on the route.

Before lunch, I stopped at the internet café to reply to friends and send another message to my kids.

Lunch today consisted of tomato soup, fried rice, vegetable spring rolls, a salad of cucumber, beets, carrots and cabbage.  My drink of choice was hot instant orange “juice”.

After lunch, I took two damp pants, my journal and a book to sit in the sun at the lodges’ front porch.  The clouds covered the sun and wind picked up, so Lily and I sat in the dining room with other fellow trekkers.

With my journal caught up, I began to read.  Dan caught me yawning.  He asked me why don’t [I] take a nap.  I replied that my room was too cold.  Dan told me about the sunroom upstairs.  I took my stuff and joined Lily, Songmee and David in this lovely large, warm sunroom off to the left at the top of the stairs.  With my book, Eat Pray Love, as a discussion launch, we had a personal discussion of our private lives, which made me feel closer to my fellow trekkers.  It also gave me a sense of courage and relief.  The stressful home life I left in California would still be waiting for me to deal with when I returned.  Our discussion gave me hope and reminded me that, this, too, shall pass.

During tea time, in walked a team from Finland with Carina Raiha, 43, the first Finnish female to summit Everest.  She and the man sitting across from her happened to summit today[1].  I was quite amazed; given that it was only 4 pm, that she and other summiteers trekked all the way back to Pheriche – especially when you know it takes weeks, often months from Base Camp to the summit.  The rest of the people at the table were either staff or fellow trekkers who didn’t summit.  Noni talked, exchanged contact info and photographed them as well as discussed her recent trip to Bhutan and our trek to EBC.  She interrupted another fellow with what looked like frostbite on his cheeks, giving him a quick “Congratulations,” and continued to assert herself on the Finnish woman and team.

Pre-dinner med check and talk regarding what to expect tomorrow:  6 am wake up; 7 am breakfast; our trek to Lobuche will gain 2K feet (14.2K – 16.2K in approximately 7 hours); prepare for wind, cold, rain; wear sunscreen; bring snacks.  Lobuche has small lodges.

Dinner:  Egg drop soup with papadum, yak prepared like veal cutlets, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, sushi and apple pie for dessert.

The guy (Vik from Calgary) that Noni dismissed earlier happened to have reached the summit of Everest as well.  As soon as Noni heard that, she immediately went for her camera and endeared herself to him, photographing, exchanging contact info and speaking to him even after he was served his dinner.  I stood up to ask her to let him eat in peace.  She left before I had reached her side.  Annie took the opportunity to ask him questions, then announced to us to feel free to ask questions because he was open to answering.  We shared some sushi and apple pie with him.  He seemed happy for the company.  He is currently an unemployed technical engineer raising money for One World Vision.  He summit Everest today at 7 am, spending 40 minutes on top waiting for a Chinese group, trekking from the China side, to finish (“It was as if they were having a meeting up there.”).  I asked if he took some pictures including one with a banner for his charity (yes).  I also asked if he prepared for the trip, mentally and gear list-wise by reading books and watching movies.  He read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, but took it with a grain of salt as it mostly pumped the author’s achievement(s).  He also explained we’re seeing a lot of summiteers because Pheriche is the best place to come after summiting because of its altitude being the “best for acclimatization the other way.”  The cheek burn that looked like frostbite was actually severe sunburn.  His oxygen was fogging up his eye protection, so he took off the eye mask, exposing his cheeks (sans sunscreen) to the intense sun exposure.  He had a Sherpa to assist with carrying oxygen and some gear, but separated from him after the summit.  His One World Vision team arrived in Nepal together, but each climber was on his/her own at some point after reaching Base Camp.  He said he would not do this climb again.  From EBC (2 days), he went to Camp 2 (7 hours), then Camp 3.  He left Camp 4 at 5 am to summit at 7 am.  He said in the dark, headlamps lit the path of a stream of about 50 trekkers trying to summit.  He saw only one body coming down the hill, no others.  I gave him my card with my Facebook info so we could become Facebook friends and share photos.  He would also send me his One World Vision link for photos and progress blogs.

I continued to journal after pre-packing for tomorrow and changing the bedding to the other bed because the guys next door were snoring.  The walls are only plywood, remember.