Everest Base Camp!
When it comes to life above 5,000 metres clouds can be bad, if for no other reason they block the view of everything above you. But when the wind picks up to knock-me-over levels and the clouds take on a sinister gray look and cover you like a blanket you know you’ve got a new situation. And after eight beautiful days of blue skies and only three hours trek from our ultimate destination that’s what happened to us. Not good.
After having arrived at Gorak Shep, our highest overnight stop at 5,180 metres (over 16,000 feet) our plan was to climb the nearby peak of Kala Patthar to get great views of Mt. Everest at sunset. Unfortunately the heavy cloud cover, driving wind and now – for the first time – snow flurries, meant that we weren’t moving anywhere. So as the afternoon slowly passed we started to realise that our final climb to Everest Base Camp the next morning was in serious peril. We were definitely in the hands of the mountain gods.
We had a very grim night at Gorak Shep with a smoky stove for heat at dinner and our bare rooms that were around -6 degrees. And I won’t even talk about the alleged drop toilet facilities, suffice to say not inspirational. Anna and Carl had a particularly bad night and we all woke with excitement and dread. Excitement to make that final climb to the base camp but dread to find out if the weather would allow us to climb. Being snowed in was potentially a huge risk.
A peek through the thin faded curtains at dawn showed that the weather was still completely closed in with almost zero visibility and the wind was whipping across the wasteland but only about 2-3cm of snow had fallen overnight. It looked miserable.
The news at breakfast was that it was about -10 degrees outside with bad winds. The guides were not enthusiastic. Anna, Carl and I reviewed our wounds, took a deep breath and then told Arjan we had no choice – we had to trek to Everest Base Camp. So at 08.30 with maximum layers and equally strong determination we stepped outside. It not only looked miserable, it was miserable.
The climb to the base camp is only about 200 metres in elevation from Gorak Shep and mostly up and down loose scree and gravel from the Khumbu Glacier. The wind was at our back and there was a light snow falling, we took small short steps and stopped frequently to gasp for air. Our water was completely frozen so we had nothing to drink and our throats were dead dry. But despite the conditions we got closer and closer and as we reached 5,300 metres we actually felt a bit cocky because we knew nothing would stop us now.
At its official height of 5,364 metres (16,600 feet) Everest Base Camp is actually placed right on the Khumbu glacier which is covered by a layer of gravel and rock. Its beauty is in the glacier, the cliffs and pools of blue ice, the mountains all around and the extreme conditions that draw hundreds of trekkers and climbers every year. Friendly it is not.
The official site is marked by a large stone with the hand drawn words Everest Base Camp and the ubiquitous flapping prayer flags. I was the last of our group to make it after delicately negotiating the last crossing of sheet ice and immediately walked up to Anna and gave her a big hug. Through my dry crusty throat I said to her “Thank you” and more sincere words were never spoken. Through the generosity of her and Carl we all stood together as a team, having made our personal summit. It was a great moment.
The odd sensation at first was that even though we were supposedly walking down it didn’t seem like down at all. In fact, in the finest tradition of Nepali flat, the trail seemed much more like up and down. On top of that we were now walking into the wind which meant more chill factor and more heads-down walking. But it didn’t matter – we had made Everest Base Camp and that was that!
The snow began to fall harder and build up on the trail. Eventually the actual trail became invisible as it weaved its way through the gravel and glacial moraine; if not for our fearless leader Arjan we might still be out there. Fatigue was setting in, the cold and snow and wind degraded our condition and the slippery track made every step treacherous. There was plenty of slipping, falling, coughing and wheezing going on!
We made it back to our tea house at Gorak Shep around 11am, a return trip of three and a half hours but we were absolutely buggered, like hitting the proverbial wall while running a marathon. We were warmed by a tea and the thought we had accomplished our goal and had done it in conditions fitting of the context. Who wants to do Everest Base Camp on a short sleeve summer blue sky day? Not us!!
We had a potato soup lunch as we slowly warmed up, our Camelbaks thawed out and with a bit of food and a rest we came back to life. So as crazy as it sounds, and in worsening conditions, we stepped back outside and continued our trek down the mountain.
The psychology of going down caught us by surprise. Yes, most of the trail is downhill which makes it much easier but also there is the overwhelming feeling about mission accomplished, no more stress or wonder about whether we will make it, no risk of failure.
But the weather closed in on us and the snow began to fall harder. Our plan was to go down as far as we could, try to lose altitude and ditch the wind and snow, but the track was very slow and tricky, visibility almost zero, conditions very poor. Our progress was not as good as we had hoped and our fatigue factor was way up. We rolled into Lobuche, where we had stayed two nights ago, around 3.20 pm, and collapsed in our familiar communal room of the tea house, completely spent. We were frozen through, exposed faces starting to tingle as they thawed. A hot tea and a frozen Mars bar was part of the therapy but we told Arjan we could go no further, triumphant but seriously stuffed. And so it was.
But in all our minds we shared the grim satisfaction that we had made it to Everest Base Camp in fittingly atrocious conditions. And we knew it was all downhill from here. As if.