June 4, 2012 Flight from Lukla

    We flew out of the mountain town of Lukla today into Kathmandu. Many trekkers decide to start their treks here if they are on a time constraint or don't feel like doing the long 6 day hike from Jiri.
     Originally, Brian and I decided to hike in and out from Jiri because we heard that the airport in Lukla is one of the most dangerous airports in the world, but after the long and grueling hike from Jiri we decided to take a risk and fly.
    I was a little terrified when I spotted the runway. It is a small landing strip that literally drops off a cliff. I imagine landing would be frightening, considering the plane only has about 200 yards to land and brake before hitting a cement wall. Taking off was equally exciting because you have the same distance before you drop off a cliff face. 
    Before we arrived in Lukla we found out that people had been stranded for a week and a half waiting for the weather to clear and for flights to come in. Luckily, the weather cleared a couple days before we got there and we were able to take off on time.
    The day before our flight a Dutch couple informed us that a plane from Lukla had crashed a week before killing all 20 people on the flight. Supposedly a fog came in covering the tips of the peaks and the plane clipped one of them. 
   All in all the flight was okay, a little nauseating, but we are alive and that is what's most important.

May 31, 2012 Gokyo Ri

    Today we hiked up to Gokyo Ri, about a 2,000 foot vertical climb. We started out at around 4:45 AM in order to reach the top at sunrise. The view from the top was incredible. You could see Everest and all of the tallest mountains in the world surrounding you. Below, 3 of the 5 Sacred Lakes were visible from the top. All looked bright green in the morning sunlight.
    After taking some pictures of the view and a bunch of what we thought was Everest, we descended back to our lodge in Gokyo to take a nap. Later on that day we started looking at some of the pictures in the lodge of the Himalayas and realized that what we thought was Everest was actually a mountain called Cholatse (6501 meters). We were really embarrased because we had even told a young couple from the States that Cholatse was Everest. They were amazed that it was so close and started taking pictures.
    As I look through out photos now, I realize that Everest is much further in the distance and doesn't stick out like you think it would. As of now, we have a multitude of pictures with Cholatse as the focal point. I only noticed one picture in our slew of photos with Everest faintly in the background. Hopefully tomorrow we will get another chance to spot the real Everest and get some more pictures.
Side note: Luckily, we were able to get some pictures from another view point along the trail.

May 29, 2012 Gokyo

    We have finally made it to our final destination in Gokyo. Right now Brian and I are sipping tea outside our lodge basking in the sun at 15,500 feet. We are surrounded by the tallest mountains in the world and we are sitting at the foot of the Dudh Pokhari Lake, a lake which flows in the Dudh Kosi River which we have been following our whole trek. It is also one of the five Sacred Lakes. The lake is emerald green and almost looks surreal with enormous snow covered peaks surrounding it.
    During our 3 hour trek from the village of Machermo it took us 30 minutes before we realized that we were alongside Everest. Brian even took a few pictures of the peak without realizing it was the tallest mountain in he world.
    Once we discovered this we tried to see if we could spot any people summiting. Only four days ago we overheard a group of guys sitting at a table next to us in Namche saying that part of their Everest trekking group were summiting at that moment. May is supposedly the best month of the year to attempt the summit so we happened upon a few people who were coming down from the top. You could tell by the drastic sunglass tan on their faces or the slight frostbite on their cheeks that they had been high in the Himalayas.
    Brian and I have decided that we value our lives more than summiting a mountain and thus have agreed that people who do it are bordering on insane.
    During our hike we both read "Into Thin Air" (if you haven't read it, it's well worth it) about the 1996 Everest disaster. Based on this novel and two documentaries we watched in Namche it is obvious that you have to be willing to die to reach the top.
     One woman we met during the first part of our trek was on her way down from a failed Everest attempt at the summit. After sever altitude sickness, being told that she was too slow to make it to the top and the guide asking the group if they were willing to die in pursuit of the summit, she decided she wasn't cut out for Everest. 
    It appears hat the only qualification to partake in the climb is to pay 70,000 dollars. After that your body decides whether or not it can handle the lack of oxygen. On Everest, at about 29,000 feet, you are at the same altitude as a cruising commercial jetliner and the oxygen level is about one third the amount of oxygen at sea level. According to Jon Krakauer, the author of "Into Thin Air", if a person is flown up to the top of Everest and dropped off they would be able to enjoy the glory of being at the top of the world for a few minutes before they lost consciousness and died. Therefore the trekking groups attempting to summit have to spend weeks slowly acclimatizing. Going from Base Camp to Camp 1 then back down to Base Camp then up to Camp 2, etc until the weather seems good and they are ready to reach the top. Even then, after spending a couple months preparing  it is, in no way, guaranteed that your body will not succumb to HACE (cerebral edema) or HAPE (pulmonary edema). In fact, the majority of fatalities usually occur on the way down from the summit.
    One of the documentaries we watched in Namche, called "Sherpa", shed some light on the trek from the point of view of the Sherpas. Basically the Sherpas do all the work. They carry all of the trekkers' gear and get up early ahead of everyone to set the ropes for the climb. Many of the sherpas don't want to continue doing their line of work, but are forced to because of the money. In Nepalese standards, sherpas are paid well for each trek, but it is crap by US standards and many Sherpas die during the trek. The same woman we met who had given up on the attempt to the summit told us that one of the Sherpas on their trek died after falling during the ascent. This would be enough for me to turn around.
    When someone dies on the mountain, their body is left where they pass away because it is too difficult and dangerous to bring the body back down. During the 1996 expedition, Jon Krakauer talks about passing dead bodies on the way up. Another reason why I would turn around.
    Some people even try the attempt without oxygen in order to get the "ultimate high" on the top of the world. In the documentary  Sherpa  one of the trekkers was attempting the climb sans O.  He made it to the top, but on the way down became dellusional. The one Sherpa with him tried to give him o2 but in his delirium he ripped the mask apart. He then proceeded to ask everyone on the way down if they had an extra mask, but when his Sherpa tried to give him his own mask he refused. Finally two other Sherpas were able to meet them and give them Oxygen and the man seemed to convalesce. After descending a couple more hours, the Sherpa felt a tight yank on the rope almost sending him backwards. When he turned around to see why the man had yanked the rope he realized he was dead. 
    The same documentary shows that after some miscommunication between guides and Sherpas the Sherpas arrived at camp 2 to see that the trekkers had left a lot of their equipment behind. Thus, the Sherpas had to haul 26 kilos up to camp 4 compared to the original plan of 12. Another instance in which Sherpas carry way more than they should is portrayed in Into Thin Air when one member insisted on bringing her espresso machine and complete subscription to Vogue magazine. Of course, the Sherpas were left to carry all of it. Pretty disgusting.
    Anyways, I am happy to be sitting at my lodge staring up at the peaks above. I would much rather be warm and cozy than delirious and frostbitten at the top of the world.
     

May 25, 2012 Ringmo, Bupsa, Musey, Monjo, Namche

    We arrived yesterday in the bustling town of Namche Bazaar. It feels almost like a city compared to the small villages we have stopped in along the way.
    As we passed by the town of Lukla we noticed a large influx of tourists on the trails. Most trekkers fly into the town of Lukla before beginning their trek. This cuts off about 8 days of hiking. However, it is also known as one of the most dangerous airports (more like airstrip) in the world. Many times flights are delayed or cancelled due to precipitous changes in the weather and many planes have been known to crash by clipping tips of mountains. This is the main reason Briana and I decided to hike the extra 8 days and also because we have a 45 day visa which allows us to do so. However, due to a couple unplanned rest days on the way to Namche we have decided that it would be best to fly back to Kathmandu from Lukla. We have heard many wonderful things about the second largest city in Nepal called Pokhara and we want to make it back with enough time to relax for a week in this city.
    Tomorrow we head out to our final destination, Gokyo. Gokyo is at approximately 4,750 meters which is around 15,500 feet. It will take us around 4 days to hike there. Each day we will hike about 3 hours or less in order to slowly acclimatize to the high elevation. In Gokyo we plan to stay for 3 days in which we will hike t Gokyo Ri which is a 5,360 meters or 17,500 feet! On one of the days we also plan to hike to the Sacred Lakes, 5 lakes high in the Everest Region. During the Sacred Thread Festival in August hundreds of Nepalis make a pilgrimage to immerse themselves in the lakes. Brian and I are contemplating doing this, but I am afraid I might become hypothermic.
    Side Note: We did attempt to get into the 5th lake and immediately regretted our decision when we realized that it was A: freezing and B: the mud at the bottom was so slippery that we were afraid we wouldn't be able to get back out of the lake. We ended up stripping down and only getting in up to our knees.

May 19, 2012 Jiri, Shivalaya, Bandar, Sete, Junbesi, Ringmo

    After spending four days in Kathmandu tying up odds and ends we finally hopped on the 9 AM bus to Jiri, a village up in the mountains. The bus ride was exciting, to say the least. We wound up and down mountains and valleys picking up various people along the way. By the time we arrived in Jiri (10 hours later) we had accumulated enough people to fill the bus and the roof rack along with 20 huge bags of rice, which took up most of the aisle. We were very glad to get off when we finally arrived in Jiri. However, the ride did make us more and more excited for our trek because the views were amazing. Everywhere we looked we were surrounded by rolling green hills with terraces running up and down the sides. Each terrace was man made in order to provide the villages with adequate land to grow crops. The further we got away from the city the more beautiful the landscape became. We also noticed the culture changing as well from fast paced city life to rural Sherpa villages. We passed people with large baskets on their backs hauling crops up the mountain.
    It is incredible seeing people carry large loads like this on their backs. Many times during the hike we saw people carrying multiple large jugs of water up the trail and most of the weight is distributed on their head where a thick strap is placed to carry the loads. Sometimes they use small walking sticks (that resemble upside down mallets) that force them to bend over almost at a 90 degree angle. Occasionally they stop to res on the mallet, balancing their loads on the flat top. I feel bad every time I complain that my back or feet hurt while carrying only 40 pounds. Most of the time we get passed by people carrying what looks to be almost 100 plus pounds and usually the man or woman carrying it looks about 75. It's pretty incredible.
    So far we've made our way to a village called Ringmo (it has taken us 6 days) where we decided to take a rest day, mainly because we drank too much of the local beer called Chaang (it looks similar to pureed corn). We have also been drinking a lot of Raksi which is another local liquor. They call it Nepali whiskey, but it tastes more like bad rice wine and looks like water.
    The hike thus far has been very tiring. Each day we have spent anywhere from 7 to 9 hours hiking from village to village. The weather has been great though, which definitely helps. Most of the hikes have very steep ascents and descents and your feet feel like hell at the end of the day. Our average ascent is about 3,000 vertical feet a day and we have 40 pounds on our back. I have to say I've been pretty proud of myself so far!
    Although the hiking can be physically straining, the scenery makes up for it. Nepal is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. Almost all of the villages we have stopped in are only accessible by foot. Every material in the villages is either hauled in on foot or taken from the land. We have even seen men with multiple long 2 by 4s about 8 by 10 feet on their backs bringing them up the mountain to build new lodges. Unfortunately, during part of our hike we witnessed what the trekking industry has done to the land. Many people living in the mountains have begun housing and feeding trekkers as a main source of income and thus a large amount of deforestation has occurred in order to build lodges, heat food and water, etc. Our trekking guide book has been very adamant about trying to avoid places that use wood and gravitate more towards propane and solar energy. A few times we have even seen lodges using what looks like a reflective satellite dish to heat water in the sun. Brian and I have also strictly been using our UV water purifier for water. We have noticed that there is no form of trash pickup or recycling available in many of the villages so many lodges just dump their trash into  valleys or rivers. Therefor we are trying our hardest to "leave no trace".
    The food at many of the lodges is the same (lots of soups, rice and noodles) and we find ourselves fantasizing about food from home during our hikes. I've decided that I am going straight to New York Subs (in Bend, OR) when I get back and getting a turkey sub with cheese, mayo, lettuce and grilled onions. Brian has been craving a fat juicy cheeseburger. It's the little things in life.
   We have also discovered that Snickers are like gold here. All trekkers want them so lodges can charge almost 2 dollars a bar! But we are almost always willing to pay.