Excuse me, which way to Mt Everest?

After a 6-hour delay, we finally got to board our helicopter from Kathmandu Airport. Before we took off, the co-pilot came into the cabin and handed us a box of candy to be passed around. Everybody knew what to do with the candy. Then, he returned and handed us a box of cotton wool. Not everybody knew what to do with that. While the rest of us were stuffing the cotton wool into our ears, the Japanese guys who were not used to low-tech Nepalese ear plugs were wondering why Nepalese cotton candy was so tasteless.

If we had laughed any louder, the aircraft might not have been able to take off. That was a good start to the most physically demanding trek I had taken in my life. After a short flight, we arrived at the town of Lukla, situated at an altitude of 2850m. That's higher than Doi Inthanon, but like they say, the Himalayas begin where other mountains end.

After lunch at Lukla, we headed downhill to Phakding. This was the end of the monsoon season, but the slopes were still slippery and there were leaping leeches everywhere.

Phakding at about 2600m, is situated on the bank of a fast-flowing river whose bed is strewn with rocks. We're still in summer, but the night here was freezing. After a quick breakfast of Tibetan bread and some horrible Tibetan tea (flavoured with salt and stale milk), we're off on an extremely steep and difficult climb up to Namche Bazaar.

Namche is more than just a village perched at 3446m in the Himalayas. In spite of the harsh-looking snow and slopes, Namche is incredibly green with grazing yaks. For centuries, it was an important stopover for traders between India and Tibet. Nowadays, it's a trekkers' supply station with shops selling and renting Western paperback novels, trekking gear, as well as Swiss chocolates. There is still much trading going on here. Chinese goods and Nepalese items are being haggled over almost every day.

Almost every street in Namche either goes up or down. Apart from the trading, there are also Tibetan gompas (monasteries) and prayer wheels. The Nepalese here are known as the Sherpa people. They are obviously of Tibetan origin. At this altitude, many people will begin to feel uncomfortable.

Not far from Namche, there is a town called Khumjung, situated at an altitude of 3700m. Here, you'll find the Edmund Hilary school, named after the first Westerner who summited Everest. You will also find Everest View Hotel, boasting as the highest hotel in the world. It is a good idea to spend some time acclimatising at Namche before climbing further.

We arrived at Tengboche after another tough and steep climb from Namche. It was here that I met my other fellow passengers on the helicopter because there were few places to stay. It was here where I had my first attack of altitude sickeness. I felt giddy and had a headache. After 4 glasses of black tea, the symptoms diminished. I realised it was due more to dehydration that anything else. After a few days of drinking iodine-flavoured water, I had neglected to drink as often as I ought to have.

After a few days of daal baat which is rice with curried potatoes and lentil soup, I had also neglected to eat as often as I ought to have. But the cook at this teahouse at Tengboche was simply superb. I love his springrolls.

I made friends with Kok Jin from Malaysia and the two Japanese guys, Hiroshi and Yoshida. A permitted search of their backpacks revealed oxygen cylinders, fashionable winter wear, a pack that would heat up when you push a button, a pack that freezes when you push a button and a torchlight that converts into a table lamp. No wonder they had trouble figuring out what the cotton wool was for.

Tengboche used to be a meditational retreat. Situated on a ledge and flanked by snowy giants like Khumbila, Ama Dablam and Everest, it is certainly an excellent setting for such quiet moments. Sitting on the steps of Tengboche Gompa which was burned down and then rebuilt, Kok Jin and I had a heart to heart talk. He is Chinese man living in Kelantan near the Thai-Malaysian border and the manager of a trading company. He used to drive into Thailand every week when he had a girlfriend there. Heart-broken, he quit his job and worked in the UK for 2 years. After that, he decided to travel and he came all the way from Europe over Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and finally Nepal. He gave himself the Indian name Shangar and he was considering settling down in Kathmandu and starting a trading business with Malaysia. Like me, Kok Jin was always either smiling or laughing. But there were so many touching tales of joy and sadness behind that weather-worn face. That afternoon, we made our way to Pangboche. Here, I met an interesting old Sherpa gentleman. He was almost 60. When I asked how long it would take to get to Periche, he answered: "3 hours for you, 1 hour for me."

It was a breeze from Pangboche to Periche at 4200m. There were no more trees at this altitude - just seas of grass and grazing yaks. There were also small shrubs sprouting fragrant tiny white flowers. The white towering peaks look even more imposing from here. Meanwhile, Hiroshi and Yoshida were struggling up the slopes, chanting: "No more trekking ...no more trekking."

It was a day of rest at Periche. There is a hospital of some sort here. They are equipped with a hyperbaric chamber to treat altitude sickness. A hike in the mountains here will reveal some of the most spectacular scenery in the Nepal Himalayas.

While moving out of Periche, we were joined by a group in red and white. They were Indonesian climbers making their second attempt on Everest. Their leader, Pak Anton, playfully invited me to join them. Kok Jin and I speak the langauge, so we were quite at home with the Indonesians who readily made us tea and lunch. Their climbing equipment also included a portable hi-fi. Turned on at an altitude of 4930m in the mountains, it sounded so fantastic and had all the Sherpa children at Lobuche dancing. That night, "chang" or Tibetan rice wine was distributed freely in that little lodge. I will never forget all that dancing, drinking and laughing while pungent yak dung was being burned in the stoves to provide what little warmth possible. That was the night of drunk porters and climbers. It rained very hard.

The next morning when I got up , I was stunned when I opened the door. Snow! That was the first time I saw snow. After a brief snowball fight with Damar, my porter, I went in to warm up. Moving further would be difficult because of the snow. The terrain around Lobuche is best described as unearthly. There were rocks everywhere and very little else. Without proper heating in the lodges, it was very very cold and thanks to Hiroshi and Yoshida's neverending complaints, I learned that "samui" is cold in Japanese.

The weather looked good , so I set off with Damar at the crack of dawn, but just as we reached Gorak Shep, a snow storm swept in. My legs were frozen, but we struggled our way to Everest Base Camp. It was a real letdown with only colourful expedition tents and trash that previous expeditions left behind. Back at Gorak Shep, Pak Anton and the Indonesian team was resting. They all looked miserable either from exhaustion or the "chang" party 2 nights ago.

"Dr Chan, kuat sekali (very strong)." Pak Anton said to me.
"Tidak, saya hampir mati (no I'm almost dead)." I replied (that was no exaggeration) and then went back to Lobuche to spend another night after seeing the disgusting toilet at Gorak Shep.

This was the final assault on Kala Patar at 5545m, the highest trekking point in Nepal where one can have a clear view of Mt Everest (weather permitting). At this altitude, we were breathing half the amount of oxygen as that at sea level. From Gorak Shep, it was a long but not particularly steep climb up a grass mound. There were patches of snow as well as a very hardy and stubborn species of flower like the mad humans who had journeyed into this inhospitable altitude. In the rarefied atmosphere, one would need to catch his breath after every ten steps. Everest at 8848m, rises majestically behind 8511m Lhotse on the right and Nuptse on the left at 7879m. Kok Jin was following close behind. Hiroshi and Yoshida were playing cards at Lobuche. Damar sat with us, exhausted and unwell, freezing in the mountain wind.

"Where's your next destination after Kathmandu?" I asked Kok Jin.
"Koh Samui." he replied. "Give me a kao phat gai."

Written by Rinpoche
Maintained By Yujira

Related links

• http://www.mnteverest.net/ Information abuot Mt.Everest and the regions of Nepal and Tibet. If you're looking for the history of mountaineering on Everest, the current expeditions taking place, this is where you go.
  
• Mount Everest Region 1:200,000 Mosaic of portions of 4 Soviet Military Topographic maps (600 x 311 pixel view)
• Mount Everest - The Ultimate Challenge
• http://www.mnteverest.net/links.html In this site you will find many informative links of Mt.Everest and the regions of Nepal and Tibet. Below you will also find useful links on altitude sickness and other health concerns in the Everest region
  

You need some maps of mount everest. Where can I find some?

David <f_morris@kapiti.co.nz> from ppp0-01.kp.planet.gen.nz on Saturday, May 13, 2000 at 12:10:03

I would love to climb Everest, but I am only 16 and I don't know what organizations to go to for fund support, or how to get started. Even if I could just get to Base Camp I'd be happy!! If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me!!

Candice <skybluestars@hotmail.com> from bct140-12.gen.pacificcoast.net on Friday, April 14, 2000 at 15:04:27

As a Venturer company we were wondering if hiking to base camp on Everest is a possibility for 16 year olds? How long would a return trek take and how much would it cost? How long does it take to receive permission from the authorities?

Bob Maljaars <inline@familynet.bc.ca> from 20258.aebc.com on Thursday, April 06, 2000 at 12:14:00

I'd like to have maps from Everest. Where can I get those?

Timo Lukkariniemi <tinke84@hotmail.com> from user-jkl1-199.dial.inet.fi on Wednesday, March 15, 2000 at 01:54:44

Everest, Mount peak, 29,028 ft (8,878 m) high, on the border of the Tibet region of China and Nepal, in the central Himalayas. It is the highest elevation in the world. Called Chomo-Lungma [Mother Goddess of the Land] by the Tibetans, it is named in English for Sir George Everest, surveyor of the Himalayas. The first ten attempts to scale the peak were unsuccessful, but on May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal reached the summit.