Homeward Bound!

22/11/10 9:04am

Well, after an early wake up and numerous security checks, I’m sat in the departure lounge at Kathmandu airport, waiting for boarding to Delhi. Spent much of yesterday afternoon dozing in front of the TV, only popping out to the bakery around the corner to get a slice of freshly made fruit cake and some cookies. Dinner in the hotel and an early night followed, knowing we had to be up at 6am to leave the hotel by 7.                                                                                                                 

I get the feeling today will be made up largely of waiting around, going through security checks and trying to find ways to relieve the boredom of sitting in airports. With the UK being 5hrs 30mins behind us, the flight from Delhi will take around 9hrs. I plan to set my watch to UK time as soon as we board in Delhi, I’m hopeful that will trick my mind and sort my body clock out asap.                  

So, as I sit here, waiting, I ponder to myself how to end this journal… What have I learned from my Himalayan Odyssey?

-          The Nepalese people are very friendly and welcoming to foreigners

-          Kathmandu is a very colourful & spiritual (& noisy) city

-          Yak & Buffalo make brilliant steaks

-          Never, ever stay in Lobuche – it officially takes the title of the most disgusting place I’ve ever spent a night.

-          It’s bloody cold at night!

We arrived back into Heathrow at 7pm UK time on Monday 22/11/2010. Megan met me at the arrivals gate and as surreal as it all was being back, we were back in Bristol for 10pm. I was asleep by 11, and promptly wide awake again at 2:30am. Of course, my body was 6hrs ahead, thinking it was 8.30am and time to wake up. I stayed awake from then, all through Tuesday, and fell asleep as my head hit the pillow at 8.30pm Tuesday night. Back on UK soil, and back on UK time. My Mount Everest journey - done.

Kathmandu

21/11/10 8:20am

Just woke up to the humming of solar panels outside my window, the one downside of having the penthouse room of the hotel!                                                                                                                                           

Had an absolutely terrific night last night. A traffic dodging 20min walk took us into town, and to the Rum Doodle restaurant.  It’s an institution in Kathmandu and famed for being the place where all those who summit Everest go for their celebratory dinner. Photos and signatures adorn the walls and everyone who has been to Everest is given a cardboard footprint to sign and pin to the wall. One small section is even signed ‘Ed Hillary 29/5/53’. Putting my name alongside that last night, was probably one of the proudest moments of my life. Truly unforgettable.

I should get up for breakfast in a moment, though I am still feeling pretty full. My guidebook recommended the lemon grilled chicken, as its one of the few meals in Kathmandu that comes with mashed potato. Good choice guidebook – it was delicious. After a couple of Everest Beers I was beginning to feel quite tipsy, and while others were going on to another bar, Mel & I were ready to head back. Hari hailed down a rickshaw for us, and for Rs100 each (about 80p each) we took a tipsy rickshaw ride back to the hotel. Was still in bed for 10pm, and because of the time difference, was able to watch live Premiership footie on the TV! Perfect end to the day! Right, breakfast time.

12:11pm

Just waiting to use the internet in the hotel. Had issues with using the ATM this morning, just need to check my bank balance! Did manage to go souvenir shopping though, and avoided getting run over on the mentally busy roads from the hotel into town. There was something happening at what looked like the central bank as well. Hundreds of people queuing and filling in various forms. All this while being well marshalled by the military who were armed with 3ft long wooden sticks…                 

Anyway, wondering through the crowded, noisy streets, I managed to buy a woolly hat for Meg, a small prayer wheel for myself & a t-shirt with a map of the trek route embroidered on the back – this I bartered down from Rs950 to Rs600. Still more than it should have been, but it was good fun haggling. On the way back, I passed a woman begging on the pavement. She had her toddler on her lap. We were told by Hari when we arrived not to give to beggars. It was difficult to just walk past.

As the stroll back in the now midday sun continued, a cacophony of screeching could be heard in the trees above my head. I looked up to see hundreds of bats flying between trees trying to get some sleep. They were huge bats as well, massive wing spans. No wonder they couldn’t catch any zzz’s though, the noise of car and motorbike engines, along with whistles from the military presence outside the bank and continuous horn beeps was deafening. Morning over, shopping done, time to get some lunch and spend the afternoon dozing in the sun.



Made it out!

20/11/10 1:13pm

Back in Kathmandu, showered, caught up on the outside world on the internet, and just sat in the hotel garden in the sun, waiting for my lunch. It wasn’t all plain sailing though.  

After, as I expected, little to no sleep at all, we were all up at 5am and out of the lodge by 6. A mad 15 min dash through the main street of the village, carrying all our kit, took us to the airport. We were greeted by a crazy scene. Groups of people were gathering, some of whom had slept outside the main entrance, hoping to get a flight, individual travellers who had been stuck in Lukla over a week, trying to buy spare tickets on what was a growing black market. Tickets changing hands for envelopes of cash, the military marching around with AK-47s charging from $300 to $1000 USD for a seat on a helicopter, climbing gear and bags piling up around the check in desk, everyone shouting in a different language, trying to get themselves out of there.  It was nuts.                                                                                                

Yet through all this, Hari remained calm and confident we would fly. The weather our end was good, but thick early morning fog in Kathmandu delayed the early flights out. We were worrying by this point. Then, at 8.40am, Hari handed us all our tickets. On the tickets was stamped the flight number. ‘1’. The first flight out of there in 10 days, and we were on it! We had been very very lucky with the weather, and being a group rather than independent travellers, we seemed to have more power and priority. 

Our plane came in and at 9:50am we had to shove our way through the couple of hundred other people who were after our blood by this point. At 9:55, we hurtled down the runway at breakneck speed. Never has the term ‘down the runway’ been used more honestly – it actually slopes downwards. Due to the shortness of it, the pilot must make sure he has enough speed to be in the air by the time he hits the end and it just drops of the side of a mountain. I held on for dear life and half shut my eyes as everyone gasped nervously as the end of the runway approached…                                                                                                                                                                                   

And with that, we were airborne, to a cheer of relief from all on board. 30mins and a few bumpy moments later, we touchdown in warm, sunny Kathmandu. A 15min bus ride to the hotel, a shower, and here I am. Clean, relaxed, and going home soon! Time to chill for the afternoon.

Stranded in Lukla?

19/11/10 7:32am

Even at 2,600m, high altitude dreams continue to grace my sleep with their presence. Last night, I was taking part in a 5-mile race in Bath, where competitors were being chased by a crazed bull. Wierd.

16:53pm

Easy-ish walk to Lukla. It’s chaos here though. Lots of flights have been cancelled due to bad weather between here and Kathmandu. Some people in our group are becoming increasingly pessimistic about being able to get our flight tomorrow morning. The town is busy with people who are stuck here. If your flight is cancelled, you go to the back of the queue, and could be waiting days. Horror stories are flying between trekking groups about people being stranded here for 2, 5, even 9 or 10 days, missing all their international flights home and running out of money. We’ve even heard of a British guy being arrested for throwing a chair through a window at the airport!                  

Have to say, I’m not one of those panicking just yet. Hari is still saying that we will fly tomorrow, so that’s fine by me. If we don’t fly tomorrow, that’s the reason they allow an extra day at the end of the trip before our flights home. This must happen up here all the time, so I’m sure there’s a contingency plan for clearing any back log. Will keep you posted, but like I say, I’m not worrying too much…not just yet anyway…



The narrow streets of Lukla, complete with shops, cafes and pool bars.



8:51pm

Well, Hari has all but confirmed our flight will go ahead tomorrow. Only bad weather will scupper it now, so we’re all praying for sunny, clear skies. There were vicious rumours circling that others would get priority, but that seems not to be the case – scheduled flights will get priority if the weather is good. So a 6am airport dash it will be then, fingers crossed for blue sky!                                                                             

We’ve spent the evening in the lodge here in Lukla, there’s a bar downstairs. My pool playing record on this trip now stands at played 4, lost 4. But hey, ‘twas good fun! And the music was again excellent - Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Nickelback, even a bit of Michael Buble! But yes, an early start tomorrow, not sure how much sleep we’ll all get, anxiety about the weather tomorrow, and the noise from the bar downstairs will certainly be factors. Night night!

Namche - Phakding

17/11/10 18:06pm

Back in Namche and feeling tired but a whole lot better after a shower. Yes, a real shower! It’s been a long drag down today, 8hrs from start to finish, with some steep descents followed by punishing climbs through the dusty, rocky trails. Good to see trees again though, and the civilisation of Namche. Think we’re heading into the town after dinner, and there may be a can of Everest Beer with my name on it. I feel now that the end is in sight, with just the steep descent to Phakding tomorrow, then a shorter walk to Lukla on Friday. I think you might be able to tell I haven’t been in the most cheerful mood the past few days. That’s because I haven’t been. It’s been a very testing few days, but myself and the group has come through it, and like I said, now feeling clean and refreshed with Kathmandu almost touching distance, whoop!

23:25pm

Late isn’t it! After dinner the Sherpa’s took us to a bar in Namche called ‘Club Paradise’. Cheesy music with a bit of Kings of Leon thrown in, cans of Everest Beer, and a pool table made an evening of fun and laughs, despite everyone’s tiredness. Adrian and I took on 2 of the Sherpa’s at pool. And lost. Both times. But it was lovely to just unwind a bit, knowing the hardest bits are over. We all signed a Nepalese football shirt and pinned it to the ceiling. It’s tradition that all trekking and climbing groups sign t-shirts and flags, and hang them in the lodges and café’s along the route. Now our shirt joins that elite group.

18/11/10 7:54pm

Back in Phakding tonight after a long long walk down from Namche. At least we got a lie in and a leisurely start after the late night last night. We had time to do a bit of souvenir shopping, and wander through the Tibetan market in Namche – tucked away in a corner of the town, during climbing season; Tibetans make the 7 day walk from Tibet to Namche, carrying all their wares to sell. They camp in what can only be described as refugee camp conditions until they have sold all their goods, then walk 7 days back to Tibet, collect more goods, and walk 7 days back to Namche and do it all again. Crazy.         

Anyway, after we set off, the trail snaked steeply downwards as we remembered the efforts we went to to get up there. The trail was really busy today, with trekkers heading up to Namche and with Sherpa’s carrying vast supplies. This did have one advantage though, it gave our knees and aching thighs a regular break, but then did prevent getting into any kind of rhythm, so made for a disjointed morning. A few bridge crossings and we stopped for lunch. Afterwards, the clouds came in and any promise of shorts and t-shirts soon gave way to hats and fleeces. The long trudge to Phakding was at least broken up by some wayward yaks, whose handler had clearly lost control of his large herd as one or two of them just lumbered themselves right into us, and 4 of them took a totally different route entirely, continuing up the wrong path, much to our amusement.                               

Finally though, we arrived, and after a massive yak/buffalo steak for dinner, I’m now in bed.

Descending

16/11/10 5:55pm

Peace at last. Sat quietly around the small main room in a lodge we had lunch in the other day. We’re staying here tonight and we’re the only group here. It’s been a long, tough day. I awoke early in Gorak Shep. I’d opted not to take the early morning climb up Kala Pattar, and in the end, only 5 of the 16 of us in the group made it. My mild dose of Khumbu Cough had worsened overnight in the cold air – the temperature highlighted by the inch thick sheet of ice on the INSIDE of the small window in our room.  

Descending from Gorak Shep

The view on approach to Gorak Shep (5,180m)

Some of us set off to begin our descent at 8:15am, while the others waited for the ‘frozen five’ to return from their early morning stroll. Due to the severity of his altitude sickness, we had to hire a horse to carry Wayne down, though he improved as the day went on. From 9am, I realised I hadn’t fully recovered either – the immodium I’d taken in Lobuche wore off, and I had to make a quick & embarrassing jump behind a large rock, before popping another tablet. Having not eaten much for a couple of days, the lack of physical and mental energy began to show. My back ached, I felt cold, shivery and miserable, and until the immodium kicked in, my guts were doing somersaults again. After stopping for lunch in Pheriche (where I managed to eat half a plate of roast potatoes, I perked up a bit and virtually sprinted down to here! I’m pretty sure I have the same stomach problem I got in Ethiopia, and am now longing for the relative comfort of our hotel in Kathmandu, so I can stop taking immodium and flush it all out of my system. At the moment, I’d happily spend the whole weekend in the hotel room.                                                                                                                         

Ah, the landlady here is stoking up the burner again – nothing like the smell of burning yak dung mixed with kerosene! Seriously, anything to keep warm up here. It’s still chilly, despite the 1,200m descent today.

20:32pm

Sleeping bag cold. Again. Grrrr. Still, back in Namche tomorrow, then Phakding on Thursday, Lukla on Friday, and back to Kathmandu first thing Saturday. After tonight, only 3 more in the cold. Think the MP3 player will get some serious use over the next few days to keep me going. Some good news though – Simon announced after dinner that he had proposed to Emilie at Base Camp yesterday and she’d said yes! Right, headphones in now, night all!

Gorak Shep & Base Camp!

15/11/10 5:26pm

A day of total ups and downs from start to finish. It started very down at 5:15am, after a sleepless and diarrhoea filled night in the hell hole that was Lobuche. I can’t put into words how it felt lying there, on a wooden board, looking at pitch blackness, and occasionally my watch, all night. With my stomach churning, I was up to use the stench ridden toilet throughout the night. Everyone was the same. No-one had slept, everyone was miserable and Wayne had spent the night being sick. Even the group hard man, Kev, spent the night shivering with the cold. We were happy to leave there at 6.30am, despite the freezing temperature and lack of sunlight.
                                                                          

The first 3hrs today, up to Gorak Shep at 5,180m weren’t much better, for myself at least. I’d managed a bite of dry toast and diamox for breakfast, and was terribly dehydrated. To make it even worse, my stomach was turning like a washing machine, yet every time I found a suitable rock behind which to ‘go’, the immodium proved its worth and I actually couldn’t.  The ups and downs continued along the trail itself, and every time you spent all your energy and effort to get to the top of one section, expecting to see our destination, your heart would sink, as all you could see was another bloody hill to climb up. Fancy that, hills in the Himalayas! 

                                                                      

In all honesty, I have no idea how I made it through last night and this morning – the toughest physical and mental test I’ve ever been through.  On the up side – Gorak Shep, despite its high altitude, is clean, and warmer, and has electric lights and even mobile phone signal! Texting Meg has brightened my day. I even managed to eat some toast and honey when we got here for a break, yay! I sipped down rehydration salts as we headed back out, on our way to the Holy Grail of climbers and mountaineers the world over – Mount Everest.                                                                                              

The rocky, dusty trail was again full of teasing, cruel, seemingly endless ups and downs before the peak the Nepalese call Sagamartha and the breathtaking Khumbu Glacier came into view. It seemed an age between first sighting and actually getting there, but eventually after a further 2hrs, we crossed a small section of the glacier, and realised it was worth the slog. Mount Everest Base Camp. We had made it. We hugged and congratulated each other, hugged the Sherpa’s, hugged each other again, before the huge round of photo taking began. The weather was beautifully clear and sunny, and dare I say it, almost warm in the valley between these snow covered Himalayan giants. I text Meg, and my family, and even remembered Gordon the hamster (my sisters cuddly toy work mascot)

After a good 30-40mins at Base Camp, it was time to retrace our steps, and the steps of numerous climbing legends before us, to Gorak Shep. I found myself (feeling the best I have done all day) taking the downhill sections a little too quickly, then struggling for breath heading back up. Although we descended 300m from Base Camp to Gorak Shep, when you’re going from 5,400 to 5,180m, it doesn’t make a huge difference, 49-50% oxygen compared with sea level. 

At the summit of Everest by the way, it’s 33% and not enough to sustain human life.  Summiteers have maybe 15-20mins at the top, maximum. 

Just had vegetable spring rolls for my tea – my first proper meal in 48hrs! Fingers crossed it settles ok. Currently sat discussing arrangements for tomorrow, there’s an optional early morning climb up Kala Pattar to get the best views of Everest and the whole mountain range. Now it had been my intention to do this, until the past 24hrs happened. Half of the group will be up at 5am for the 3hr round trip to 5,545m. The rest of us will be staying in bed until 7am before starting the 7hr, 1000m decent tomorrow. I feel I’ve achieved what I came here to do, and have seen the places I wanted to, and as I mentioned, last night and today have pushed me to a level I didn’t know I had, and despite succumbing to Khumbu Cough, I have done it. Everest Base Camp 2010 – mission accomplished!

20:22pm

Meg just text me saying ‘have fun celebrating’. To which I replied; ‘Yeh right, we’re all off to bed, totally exhausted and coughing, and Emilie is currently being sick into a carrier bag’. Tonight we all sat around after tea, looking battered and broken. As people one by one, retired to their sleeping bags, Paul and I got the least subtle hint the Sherpa have made yet that we should go to bed – they actually came over and took our table away! Now I’m tucked up in bed too, last really cold night hopefully, and with all the snoring, coughing and occasional vomiting going on, I think the ear plugs will be well used tonight.