Everest Base Camp

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

A Walk amongst Giants.. Everest Base Camp

should you find any term undefined on this page, the answer probably can be found in the previous article 📃, titled 'EBC (intro)'.. feel free to read it here..

starting from, where we left in the last article.. The last word Always belongs to the mountain.. diluting literally to, while hiking, each one of us is always fighting against the mountain, and no-matter-what, we need to (learn to) respect every good / unexpected thing it has on offer 🙇.. there is simply no point in fighting against its strengths.. when in disagreement, Mountains Always Win 🙏, No Exceptions Whatsoever..

now, back to EBC..

the target, the summit, the EBC

08 Apr 2023 (Pune / Mumbai / Hyderabad / Delhi - Kathmandu)

15 days of schedule and everything goes dead well as planned.. ऐसा सिर्फ सपनों में ही हो सकता है 🤫.. but a roller-coaster at the start of first day itself! 😬 that's may be a bit too much.. so, the perfect unexpected start goes like this - Parag's day bag falls from the auto 🛺 and gets dragged by a Dzire 🚘 on the streets of Mumbai.. in no position to carry it any further / use it for the trek, he had no option but to trash bin 🗑️ it, buy a new one, and that too, from an airport.. to Parag - Cheers! 🍻

as 'departed' was stamped 🛃 on the passports, one can now observe the wheels of parked planes covered in aluminium foils to prevent their wear-n-tear due to scorching sun 🌞.. it was April and we were still in India 🇮🇳.. next,

at the Kathmandu airport, some of us bought the local SIM cards.. we already had at least one family members added to the WhatsApp group 👥, so that, update from any one of us was sufficient enough to update our individual 'entire' worlds 🌏, of our whereabouts.. indicatively, for the next 15 days, along with the successful completion of the trek, only (and only) thing that mattered ☺️, was this..

we 4 were warm welcomed by the Nepal agency and transferred to the residing hotel 🏨 of the night.. the representative was a Mt. Everest summiteer, which makes the count as 3, I have met till date.. after a brief introduction of the schedule for rest of the days, we went out shopping 🛍️ to complete the list of items asked for, under 'things to carry'.. you get everything here, at reasonable price, so even if we had landed empty handed, would have been fine.. असो, the highlight / surprise of this half of the day was purchase of a trekking pole.. while we thought, we were bargaining for 1 🦯, he offered us 1+1.. that goes out to Anuradha - Cheers! 🍻

as the day ended, we snoozed 🥱 off to get up early in the morning at 02:00 a.m.. why 2? - not all of us were aware that flights to / from Lukla no more take off from / land at Kathmandu 😒.. 'no more' as in, the only way of co-ordination with the starting point of EBC trek (from south), which is a small village "Lukla", and, which is "by air" 🛩️, had shifted in recent times.. so, we were to travel ~130 kms East of Kathmandu - to Ramechhap airport via mountains, a 4-hrs journey 🚐..

09 Apr 2023 (Kathmandu - Ramecchap - Lukla - Phakding)

after a quick hot / cold shower 🚿 and packed breakfast 🥚 🍎 🍌 🧃, we were joined by a group of another 3, from the biryani fame 🍗.. so, the maths for now was 4 + 3 + 1 (Pune + Hyderabad + Guide).. accompanied by bollywood songs 🎶, the road trip was fittingly supplemented with खैरियत lyrics "इस दर्द में ज़िन्दगी खुशहाल है" 😎..

on the way, around सेतिदेवि मंदिर, one can see thousands of mirrors 🪞, offered as prayers to goddess, to avoid accidents.. that reminds me of a vehicle 🚐, we saw at the roadside, fortunately the safer one, i.e., not the one against the valley.. of which we later came to know, the driver 👮 was drooling and had lost control (if you remember, we had left at 2 🕑, early morning).. nobody was injured, they immediately got a back-up, were back on their schedule 📋 and the travelers / passengers were none other than the Everester, Mr. Bhagwan Chawle and his team.. we'll read more about their plan soon.. till then, your guess will be as good as mine, if a mirror for that vehicle is placed at the सेतिदेवि मंदिर or not 😝..

The Network of Extraordinary Journeys.. from Ramechhap, we were to board a flight to one of the most dangerous airports 🥺 in the world.. it may not be an airport with the shortest runway or at the highest elevation.. but with a runway of only 527m, having -11.7% gradient, at the elevation of 2846m coupled with unpredictable Himalayan weather makes "Lukla", one of its kind, to offer services mostly to the "twin otter" airplanes 🛩️, which can carry not more than 20-22 passengers at once.. the tagline on these flying machines read, The Network of Extraordinary Journeys 😳.. anxious, I (and others) boarded the plane to not find any 4D 🙄 seat (as per my boarding pass 🎫) - it's just a 2x1 aircraft.. nobody was following the seat structure anyway, but everybody was very keen in offering others the seats in front.. 

Lukla Airport end-to-end, credits: Ajay
(apron with 4 slots and a runway, that's all)

not more than 25 minutes later, we were safe again as we landed 🛬 at Lukla.. meanwhile, and obviously due to flying at a lower altitude than usual, the majestic views of the landscapes in the first half and super fascinating views of the Himalayas in the latter, had our eyes popped 🤩 out of the closed windows of the flyer all the time.. may be 🤷 we already had seen the Everest and the prime objective of this trip was already checked..

as we landed, we were at disposal of the Himalayas 🏔️.. similar to love at first sight during 'Valley of Flowers' trek, back in 2018, here too, a coned mountain 😍 was up to the likes of being christened as "Kothawade mansion".. next was time to hand over the duffle bags to porters, have the morning drink 🫖 and start the descend 📉 towards today's destination.. yes, that's correct, "descend", starting with 'd'.. and this also meant, last day of the trek was going to be the unwanted - last day ascend 📈 कौन करता है भाई? - EBC trekkers 😮‍💨..

national flower of Nepal

Pasang Lhamu Sherpa - first lady sherpa to climb Mt. Everest (1993), who also died while doing so, an entrance gate (कमान) is built here as a tribute to her, which needs to be crossed while commencing this 12-day journey.. not very far from here, we also now start seeing the beautiful 'laligurans' or 'rhododendron' 🌸 - national flower of Nepal.. it's also said that the national flag 🇳🇵 of Nepal gets its 'crimson red' color from this flower.. though, throughout the Lukla-Tengboche route, one can observe these in all the shades of pink and red 👍.. and, along with the mani stones, which we already talked about (in the intro article), we also see stupas, painted all in white, most of them having an unique drawing at their tops 👀, which we later learned, were 'buddha eyes'.. so, 'God is watching everybody everywhere everytime' is not an understatement 🫣..

meanwhile, when porters joined the party, the new equation was 4 + 3 + 2 + 4 (Pune + Hyderabad + Guides + Porters) - Indians still in majority 🤪, with a diversity of first time Himalayans and second time EBC.. poles apart variations, even when we were just 7 😵‍💫.. hereafter, guides will be कर्मा दाइ and चिरी दाइ..

at the other end of Phakding village, across the second suspension bridge 🌉 of the day, we were to close day 1.. or EOB, what we would have called otherwise, when not hiking.. sipping the tea 🍵, discussing about the 'Everest' movie 🎥, and a novel daily activity of jotting down the notes 📝 for this article was then on today's evening cards..

credits: Parag

10 Apr 2023 (Phakding - Namche)

I woke-up with a tingling finger and was like, 'no no, not yet, no AMS yet' 🙄, 'I have been to higher elevation before, and this cannot be happening at just 2600m levels' and most importantly, 'why every day has to start or end as unexpected?' 🤦.. deciding against paying any further attention to it, while having breakfast, we met a group of 18 people from Pune (hereafter, referred as 'SAF'), which we already knew, will be accompanying us, throughout the route 🤝..

today, we were officially entering the 'Sagarmatha National Park' ⛩️ (1,148 sq. km.), past Manjo village.. after this, there was a long walk along the 'Dudh Koshi' river till we got to the base of a hill / mountain, standing tall, completely concealing Namche / not revealing the surprise element.. the Hillary suspension bridge 🌉, today's 4th, total 6th, constructed at 2935m, flooded with prayer flags 🎏, then needs to be used to our aid of crossing the river last time for the day, before the steepness kicked-in 📈..

credits: Ajay

this ascend has a hopeless 'Everest View Point' (3140m) along the way 🙄.. even while returning, we could catch nothing.. clouds 🌥️ always spoiled the party.. plus, the view is blocked by numerous trees 🌲.. so, we had to wait some more time.. not disappointed - we always knew, it's not going anywhere, but we'll definitely reach somewhere, to enjoy its clear view.. Mt. Everest, आम्ही पण धीट आहोत 😏..

Kusum Kanguru (finally), courtesy: clouds

the tea shop (3300m) offers far better view of another peak, 'Kusum Kanguru (6367m)'.. as we waited for the clearance at the check-post 🛂, the discussion started if anybody has ever climbed this peak 🙎.. then, I faintly remembered 🤔 from recent past, where SAF had climbed an unnamed peak (6160m) and so, had earned the privilege ☝️ of hosting its naming ceremony, resulting in 'Guruganesh' and coincidently, we saw one of the celebrities 🏅 of the moment's talk, Omharsh approaching 🚶.. the conclusion being, if any peak has a name, there are high chances that somebody has already climbed it 🧗‍♂️, otherwise, it would just be referred as 'peak nnnn', as to what defense personnel 🪖 do.. btw, this theory can be wrong, completely - so, please don't quote me..

as the ascend was about to end, 3 dogs 🐕 scared the hell out of me, running so hard (against each other) that if there was no तार compound along the way, another unusual incident was already knocking at the door 🚪.. fortunate enough, next, the village 🏘️ unveiled itself and we were left stunned with the view of the establishment at such an elevation with no possible mechanisms of road transport 🛣️.. the prayer wheels here rotate non-stop, 24 hours, of course, clockwise, courtesy: the turbines attached to their bottom, supported by the copiousness of Himalayan water.. simple machine ♻️..

auto rotating prayer wheels

while we just had a sneak peak of Khumbila (5761m) on the way, as we entered the tea house and slid the curtains 🪟, we were left awestruck with the views of Kongde range and Thamserku peak (6623m).. the festive season of snow-clad mountains / peaks had just begun - अभी तो party शुरू हुई है 🥳..

Thamserku, sunset gold

tea house at Phakding had a charging point just outside the room.. here, it was inside.. मन में लड्डू फूटा? 💣.. we did not think twice before using it to our complete advantage (100% battery refill 🔋) as we knew, it will soon start to hurt our pockets 🫰.. another entry that got added to the evening list of thing-to-do was then the game 'Chain Reaction' 🔗..

11 Apr 2023 (Namche - Khumjung)

no, that wasn't the original plan 🙅‍♂️.. but, extrapolating based on our ascending / walking speed, कर्मा दाइ had already changed today's acclimatization day into a hiking day till Khumjung, yesterday itself 🤨.. though the ascend remained unchanged, the descend was now to the other side of the mountain ⬆️.. what changed overall?, the starting point and direction of the traverse for tomorrow.. and, we slept at a higher 💁 elevation than originally planned.. at 3790m, against 3440m.. as far as it was below today's highest point and tomorrow's sleeping levels, we were assertive about it 👍..

Kongde range, credits: Ajay

did I mention, no more disturbance from the finger 👋? - doesn't look like.. and, I was again back to no-more-worried state 😁.. but, after Phakding, I did not sleep well 🥱 as the oxygen levels were dropping, until Pheriche (6 days later), our first stay at a lower elevation than the previous day, after the summit.. so, a concern of different category was already cropping-up 😕..

ascend being same as that of what would have been on the acclimatization day, we did not expect any easy ride today 😥.. though a smaller one, it was hectic.. but, when the first view of Mt. Everest was at stake, we did pitch-in with everything we had 🤛.. with a small pit-stop at चिरी दाइ's hotel 🍵 on the way, we had first view of a new companion, to remain longest and closest to us during the entire route (by duration), Ama Dablam (6814m)..

further, as we reached today's highest point, slightly surrounded by clouds ⛅, we had then the first view of THE Mt. Everest.. somebody inside (Sunidhi Chauhan) had already started humming 🎵 a song, 'everytime I look into your eyes, I see my paradise' 🧚‍♂️.. we all had our moments, especially the birthday girl 🎂, with a hot chocolate 🧋, at the hotel Everest View..

on the way, we again met Bhagwan dada 🧔‍♂️.. his motivation for the trip was obviously more than EBC - to climb the 'Imja Tse (6160m)' second time, popularly known as 'Island Peak', with 2 other fellow members, proceed to EBC and then start towards world's fourth and fifth highest peaks, respectively 'Lhotse (8516m)' and 'Makalu (8481m)', as his 5th and 6th 8-thousanders, after having already successfully climbed 🫡 the world's first, third, eighth and tenth highest peaks, respectively Mt. Everest (8849m), Kangchenjunga (8586m), Manaslu (8163m) and Annapurna (8091m).. from his team, were 2 more on the expedition to climb Mt. Everest, Ms. Suvidha Kadlag 👩 and Mr. Shivaji Nanaware 👮‍♂️.. wishing them all the best (again), we started our mini descend towards changed destination for the day, Khumjung..

Khumbila (holy peak) and Khumjung (village)

kind of an isolated village, we were happy to be away from the mob 🔇, even if it was just for a day.. till now, we were getting the feeling of being at वैष्णोदेवी 🛕, difference being, with the people from different / multiple nationalities.. similar to 'hidden waterfall' near Pune, here as well, there was a tea house named 'hidden village lodge and restaurant' 🏨.. who gets / gives such stupid ideas? 😵.. ever heard of a person named 'hidden', 'गुप्त'?.. same logic, right?.. असो..

12 Apr 2023 (Khumjung - Tengboche)

elevation wise, we were to travel today from 3790m to 3840m.. should be easy? in Himalayas? you wish 🥴.. there is a reason why this article starts with, The last word Always belongs to the mountain.. it demanded us to descend 📉 all the way to 3300m levels, cross the suspension bridge, which we missed yesterday, and then jump back 📈 to more or less the same levels from the morning's starting point 🏁.. meanwhile, the stay was again arranged back to Tengboche, as some (unknown) group dropped-out, where कर्मा दाइ had slightly disappointed us by telling the day before, that we'll have to go to Deboche (lower elevation than Khumjung / Tengboche), due to unavailability of rooms at the former location..

as we started, we saw the flowing water, turned to ice 🧊 overnight, along the way.. the temperatures were speaking out loud 📣 and we were still 4 days away from the summit.. the descend was fast, and in no time, we were sipping the 'ginger lemon honey' drink 🍹 besides the 'Dudh Koshi' river for the last time.. nobody in any mood of early lunch, we learnt about 3 sherpas missing in an avalanche, while setting up the camp 2 (on the way to Mt. Everest).. pulling out a moment to pray 🛐 for them, we joined the other route, which was the actual plan (implying, the mob was back), resumed the ascend, and I went rouge, as in, खाज 😜..

spotting a shortcut on the left ↖️, I opted for it, without communicating 😮‍💨 anything to fellow members or guides, with an assumption that it won't be long before I join them back and they may not even know about it.. apparently, not the case 😟.. but, I wasn't completely alone either.. as I marched ahead, I saw many locals / porters, which commute via this route, being the older / shorter / steeper than the newer alternative, but there were no tourists to be found 🤷.. feeling guilty 😔 about the act, I tried to check with them for a connecting link, without any luck in favour.. out of options, I followed the route, intermittently checking GPS location 🛰️ on the GMaps, indicating way-off from the trail.. after about an hour, as I joined back the trail, I saw चिरी दाइ approaching from the new trail.. apologizing 🙇 to him and later to कर्मा दाइ, I was more relieved 🎉 for the fact that, it was all shadows and I made it before them for the first time in last 4 days..

Tengboche was still far, as I saw कर्मा दाइ also carrying Anuradha's day bag.. deprived of energy and possibly short of breath 😥, she had become dead slow 🐌.. as non-stop but slowly as we can, we reached the tea house, to hear her at lowest of her confidence, 'होईल ना EBC माझ्याकडून?' 😰.. as कर्मा दाइ suggested her, you may have to return back, Ajay mildly told him "get lost", and to her, "don't give yourself an option 2".. now, you are wondering, who is Ajay?.. this is the time to introduce you to the hyderabadi nawabs.. Ajay is happy-go-lucky kinds 🧔, Srinivas is a half knowledge doctor ⚕️ (sorry for this, doc) and Sandeep is their baba 🧙.. Srinivas handed-over her some tablet 💊 and suggested to double the diamox (acetazolamide) dose.. within an hour or 2, she was completely back in the game ✌️.. Cheers!

Ama Dablam (close-up)
credits: Ajay

Ama Dablam (from a distance)

whole day, Ama Dablam was hiding 🫣 behind the mountain, but when it re-appeared by the EOB, we had its 'larger than life' view to our delight 😍.. the Everest too was well organized than yesterday, and I just could not get my eyes off its beauty.. it peaking above the Nuptse-Lhotse ridge is hypnotizing enough to be explained here.. you'll have to visit Tengboche for more.. ह्याच साठी केला होता अट्टाहास 🤗..

Nuptse, Mt. Everest, Lhotse, credits: Ajay

finally, the prime objective of the trip was satisfactorily checked ✔️.. I could already hear the other me saying, आता EBC नाही झाला तरी चालेल 🤦, similar to what we said after winning the semi-final against Pakistan 🏏 in 2011.. आता final मध्ये काही झालं तरी चालेल.. that's basically called, fooling ourselves 😖..

today's evening was very perfectly spent being with all the positive vibes, divine interiors (spiritual, architectural) of the Tengboche monastery 🏯.. period.

13 Apr 2023 (Tengboche - Dingboche)

time-lapse sunrise, 45m in 10s

today's first part was to descend to Deboche 🏘️, before crossing the 'Imja Khola' for the first time, using the last suspension bridge of the trek.. nothing much to write about today, we were to walk left ↖️ of Ama Dablam, with the understanding that when its left sub-peak starts to appear to the right of its actual peak, we'll reach Dingboche.. similar to the terms sunset and sunrise 🌞, we were expecting the mountain 🏔️ to perform this shift, where actor is altogether a different entity 🔀..

the route was not as tough as compared to earlier 2 days and the gradual ascend, now used-to conditions, made the task appear easier than it actually was.. but, Dingboche made us wait ⏳ too long that we were tired enough of walking even on a plain terrain.. may be 🙄, the known fact of tomorrow being an acclimatization day, also played a role towards this impression.. as the village revealed itself at a distance, Taboche was happily smiling 😄 at us, for our achievement, behind our back, at 6495m.. expanse of Ama Dablam was beyond any measures 💓.. and, my body took on a new elevation 🏅, at 4410m, surpassing previous highest from the earlier 2 Himalayans.. everything came together, exactly same as a perfect solution to a jigsaw puzzle 🧩 does. including a round of अंताक्षरी 🗣️..

but now, we had lost 🚫 birds 🐦 and trees 🌲.. only a few shrubs to our company, them too, soon to perish because of decreasing oxygen levels.. that reminds me of a group of 5 NRIs, following the same schedule and the Nepal agency, as ours.. one of them 🇨🇦 was admitted upon reaching here, and was advised to return back 🚁, seemingly fittest and fastest of them all.. fingers crossed 🤞, our jigsaw was still intact, as non-stop but slow.. 🍀

14 Apr 2023 (Dingboche - Nangkartshang - Dingboche)

today's day was completely devoted to 'Nangkartshang'.. today's day was going to be out-and-back.. today's day was going to be majestic 🥰.. today's need was to call-out the down jacket 🧥 and gloves 🧤 borrowed from Vaibhav and Mahesh.. many thanks 🙏 for them guys.. they helped a lot, especially, day after tomorrow..

कर्मा दाइ suggested to ascend only till the second visible flag 🎏, which was roughly 30-40 minutes, and return back, against the original plan of going beyond 5000m levels 😣.. we respectfully disagreed 🚫, as it was very much not in accordance with the purpose behind including acclimatization days in the schedule.. nonetheless, we decided on a turnaround time of 11:30 a.m. 🕦 (only a gut feeling, with no defined logic), irrespective of where we then would be.. he agreed 👍, and said, चिरी दाइ will accompany us.. then, from the second flag, Parag and Anuradha returned back with him..

rest 5 + 1 of us were marching ahead, as non-stop but slow, to attain the maximum height as we could.. and eventually, we decided to call '4870m' as the new normal 🫡.. along the way, one can see many Tibetan flags - somebody please replace them - they are beyond proper recognition as the vicious wind 💨 has sucked the life out of them, somewhat similar to what dementors 👻 keep trying with Harry Potter 🤓..

Ama Dablam

Kangtega, Thamserku

this mountain is flooded with numerous cairns, of different shapes, which in itself, is a treat to watch 😍.. some were really innovative - with more than one pillars, more than 20 stones and likewise stuff..

along with Lhotse, now Makalu and Baruntse (7162m) could also be seen on the right 👉.. on the left 👈, we were gifted with the views of Chinese range, including world's sixth highest peak, 'Cho Oyu (8188m)'.. behind our back, Taboche, Cholatse and Arakamtse were only getting bigger since we saw them the first time, 2 days ago 🤩.. if you are searching for a definition of contentment, this is the place..

credits: PeakFinder

Chinese border / range, credits: PeakFinder

Taboche, Cholatse and Arakamtse

living upto the expectations, the day turned out to be, nothing less than, 'majestic'..

15 Apr 2023 (Dingboche - Lobuche)

today we were again going to change 🔁 the definition of normal (4940m), with due permission of the mountains, at expense of shrubs 🌱.. initial few metres were same as yesterday, before we jumped over the ridge and started towards the North ⬆️.. again a long, plain, monotonous walk.. the 'day before yesterday' was back and haunting us.. on the left ⬅️, we could now see the 'Pheriche' village, our day after tomorrow's stay, more importantly, post-summit 🥹..

after the afternoon meal 🍛, we were set to ascend, one step at a time.. negotiating rocks and boulders of various shapes and sizes, one can observe multiple shades of geology, kind-of reminding one of seven colored soil on रायरेश्वर.. highlight of today were the memorials 🪦, one can see at the Thukla pass, built in memory of the climbers who died 🙏 while climbing various mountains, from Ama Dablam to Mt. Everest, from 'Dhaulagiri (8162m)' to 'Nanga Parbat (8126m)' and from Scott Fischer to Anjali Kulkarni.. may their soul find the purpose again 🙇.. more on this when we return.. 

after this pass, one could clearly see the Lobuche (East) peak (6119m) and its base camp at a distance, accompanied by a glacier, being enjoyed by its probable summiteers.. somewhere, one could even see the 'Kala Patthar', just in front of Pumori (7161m), similar to the emoji of a father and a son 👨‍👦 on WhatsApp.. Nuptse was all guarding the Mt. Everest, Lhotse and other peaks, standing firm and bold at 7861m..

after reaching the tea house, we saw कर्मा दाइ, with a tissue stuffed inside his nose 👃 (left nostril), slowly turning brick red 🩸.. when enquired, he replied the root cause being, daily dose of black coffee ☕ and khukri rum 🍷.. implying, even in Himalayas, the body heat can be fatal..

of all the stays (so far and beyond), stay at the Lobuche village today was the most inconvenient 😟, as we could not manage a sound sleep on a double-bed, actually designed for an adult and a kid 👩‍👧.. the immediate request to कर्मा दाइ, as we got up the next day was, try to get individual beds 🛏️ for each one of us, does not matter, how many he needs to fit-in in a single room.. and, he did..

16 Apr 2023 (Lobuche - Gorakshep - EBC - Gorakshep)

the d-day was here 👊.. so close, yet so far.. morning drink ☕ before the start, breakfast 🍳 at Gorakshep and lunch 🍛 after the summit, when back to Gorakshep, was prompt suggestion by the doc and we all complied to it 🤝.. but, where was Gorakshep? all we could see was only a valley, ending at the far end, in an ascend.. and when enquired, that ascend was supposed to be mid-point of Lobuche and Gorakshep.. phew! 😥

slow and steady, we had now crossed the 5000m mark.. without any greenery around, we were now on our own, to manage the oxygen levels 🫁.. slowest of all the 8 days combined, with empty stomachs, all the physical entities were very much under protest 😦.. but we had the will-power in our favour.. as the valley and ascend ended, we were challenged with an another one, this time to be traversed, while the earlier one was to be walked through 😰..

far far away, we could now see the tents ⛺ at EBC, but the summit (hook shaped rock) could still not be clearly identified.. 'सब्र करो बालक', we heard the आकाशवाणी 🎙️.. crossing / traversing the valley, we finally saw some tea houses, confirming, we were finally at today's first destination 👌, at 5180m.. gulping and munching some breakfast, shifting to a lighter backpack 🎒, seeking blessings from छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज 🚩 (statue is established here, as his highness' world's highest), we were next off to summit of the day, summit of the trek, summit of the lifetime.. Everest Base Camp 🪨..

Nuptse

at the same time, cloud formation ☁️ in the other direction had already started raising our eyebrows 🤨.. having successfully convinced now some physical entities to work in our favour, we were more prepared than the morning 💪.. the EBC tents grew in size but the stone was still nowhere to be seen.. आकाशवाणी again? you guessed it right 😆.. though the terrain was no more tough, we had no alternative against the thin air..

Lingtren, Khumbutse, Changtse, Nuptse

walking the ridge, I then got the glimpse of something greyish-black, behind the clouds to the left of Nuptse.. that's the closest I saw / will ever see the Mt. Everest.. assuming the 'Measure Distance' utility by GMaps is not configured to consider the Pythagoras theorem in its calculation 🧮, the shortest and unobstructed distance between my peak 🙆‍♂️ and the world's highest peak 🏔️ was recorded to be about 8.85 kms (calculated using Pythagoras theorem 😌)..

few minutes later, we were welcomed 🙏 by people of the same Nepal agency, who had tied-up with the Nepal govt. as part of cleaning campaigns, in this region.. they took us completely by surprise, when they greeted us with a cup of tea 🫖 complemented with coconut biscuits 🍪.. the tea was a perfect blend of everything one expects from a beverage from its category 👌 👌.. far better than we had at any 'TEA house' in the last 8 days.. wishing everybody on their success 🤝, I checked the 'PeakFinder' to indicate me being at the 5284m levels.. as perplexed 🤔 as you are, I had / have no choice but to believe, the figure printed on the rock does not belong to the location, where it actually stands / resides.. one can even confirm this on GMaps, viewed in terrain mode - the contour line of 5300m actually surrounds the location of EBC.. sorry if that disappoints you, but the EBC trek summit is not 5364m 😐.. unexpected / unfair? can't help..

EBC (of probable summiteers), Khumbu Glacier

soon, the corn snow flakes ❄️ were showering all over.. super delighted, we could not have asked for more.. but, the clouds had already pressed the accelerator and were revving up like anything 🏃‍♂️.. in no time, the flakes were to turn into fall 🌨️.. so, we took-off from the summit, back towards Gorakshep as fast as our tea-boosted energy levels permitted.. and, the inevitable happened.. it snowed, and it snowed hard 🌨️ 🌨️.. any other day or location, one would have definitely enjoyed today's weather.. but, today and here, I was only thinking about - we took 8 days to reach here, and have to walk back all those 50+ kms, starting tomorrow, in just about 4 days - not in any mood of enjoying.. Vaibhav and Mahesh, thank you again - down jacket 🧥 and gloves 🧤, did save me fortunes..

intermittently, shrugging off the settled snow (jacket, cap, pant), I started worrying about the shoes 🥾, not being waterproof.. fortunately, the temperatures did not allow to melt it even a drop 💧, and remaining 4 days were very much still in the safe zone 😇.. relieved, I had already decided to skip tomorrow's optional summit to 'Kala Patthar'.. Mt. Everest got checked (multiple times) ✅ ☑️, EBC was done (with chai biscuit and snow flakes) ✔️.. next / now, we / I only wanted to get back to Lukla, asap..

as the day ended, 5 of us already had opted out.. only Ajay and Srinivas were to get-up at 2:30 a.m. 🕝 (along with चिरी दाइ) and start towards the second summit, scheduled for tomorrow ⏭️..

17 Apr 2023 (Gorakshep - Pheriche)

Kala Patthar, translating literally to black stone ⚫.. named so, because, the entire mountain is almost black soiled.. even if it has a snow clad Pumori as its neighbour, this fellow somehow always repels the white and solid form of the water.. EBC has no Mt. Everest view to offer, so Kala Patthar does the task on its behalf, from a slightly higher elevation, implying a better expanse.. so humble 😌

as we woke-up in the morning, we came to know, even the doc had to return halfway, with his hands all frozen 🧤.. so, only Ajay was the one, who did it all 👏.. today's morning was also the most lenient, since last Sunday.. we started almost at 09:00 🕘 and were caught red handed in the bright daylight ☀️, making it more difficult than the other day, when we crossed the valley, starting from the other side.. it was a never-ending strenuous walk on the very familiar yet 'was it really this long?' trail 😥.. I had already exhausted one of my water bottles, even before reaching the descend, midway to Lobuche.. did not expect it to get this tough.. 😢

they ascend faster than we descend

finally, after reaching Lobuche, we filled-up the bottles, and saw a familiar face, this time, alone.. the one we met while travelling from Kathmandu to Ramecchap - that guy from Yavatmal, whose team was planning the 3 passes trek.. as he told, rest of the guys had dropped-out 🤒, and he was to proceed towards EBC the following day.. at Gorakshep, we even learned about Bhagwan dada not summitting the Island Peak, as one of his partners went unconscious 🫥 during summit, just a few metres away.. when approaching Pheriche, we were also enlightened about 2 (of total 18) SAF members not able to make EBC due to chest pain 🥶..  

back to Thukla pass, I observed one of the memorial 🪦 was built to remember 10 people died getting killed in a terrorist attack, while climbing Nanga Parbat in Pakistan 🇵🇰.. wtf! even in the remotest of imagination, one cannot 🙅‍♂️ think of doing such a heinous act.. attack on 8-thousander climbers? did terrorist actually suspect, they were going to capture it and claim / attack something by staying there?.. or was it just some misunderstanding, that they believed to their convenience? 🤨..

after lunch, we were to walk through the valley, and this time, the wind 🌪️ was at its best of volumes.. the flowing water was as clear as we find in सह्याद्रीs.. comparison should have been the other way, but you got the point 🏞️.. the shrubs were back and that was more than enough to bring back also the oxygen rich smile on our faces 😃..

before I forget to mention - on all the days, we had helicopters 🚁 to on-and-off accompany us, many a times, also seen to be carrying luggage 🧳, tugged below them, but most of the times were tourists, which were either touring the area, or returning 🔙 from their summit.. in exceptional cases, returning due to medical reasons 🤕.. another popular mode of transportation seen was also the zopkio 🐂 - hybrid production of yak and cow, along with mules which we generally see in the Indian Himalayas..

as we reached the tea house, we were feeling very proud, satisfied and happy 🤗 about our group that nobody had to skip anything due to medical reasons.. Kala Patthar was a VRS - nobody was fired 🤪.. plans had already started brewing on how to celebrate 🍾 this success, when we were regularly hearing about such cases from the other groups?.. for now, it was just the 'Everest' movie 📽️, playing in the common area 📺..

18 Apr 2023 (Pheriche - Tengboche)

as said before, I had the best of sleeping 😴 package today (duration wise), after Phakding, because of having to get up at levels lower than yesterday's 👍.. with a refreshed mind and body 🧘‍♂️, we listened to the soft and romantic nepali songs 🎶 - enjoyed the music, who cares about the lyrics?.. then, the owner played some हिंदी classics, including 'दो लफ्ज़ों की है, दिल की कहानी' ⛵ and the song, which recently gained popularity because of its unplugged version, 'रोज रोज आँखों तले'.. Ajay even told about some भजनs 🕉️ being played, before we came down.. #CannotAskForMore

Himalayan Tahr / mountain goat, credits: Ajay 

once set, we started descend 📉 towards Deboche, which was then supposed to extend in a small 🤏 ascend towards Tengboche.. on the way, few of us decided to visit the Pangboche monastery - not me.. later, I heard about some ramp walk 🦹 those guys had as everyone was getting bored of walking and somebody had to pivot as entertainer 🎭.. also, they saw a Yeti skull 💀, which कर्मा दाइ said, was an artificial one.. along with shrubs, now trees 🌲 and birds 🐦 were also back to life.. as we crossed the Pangboche from this side, we even saw a 'Himalayan Tahr', popularly known as mountain goat 🐐..

if we were together at SarPass, above should remind you of something.. if not, just enjoy the void.. ⭕

right next to the monastery, it was good to be back to the same all-facilities-equipped tea house, 'Himalayan' 🤗.. after waiting some time for final views of the Mt. Everest, we saw the clouds again being somehow adamant about it 😞.. we gave up in the not-so-cold weather (due to clouds), but an observation worth sparing a thought is, how come the mornings are always clear and clouds are back around 11 a.m. every single day? 🧐.. only logical explanation behind this, I can think of is, evaporation 🌡️ of the ice at their peaks, after the sunrise 🌄, which condenses ❄️ back after the sunset.. when there is too much of either processes, there is a rainfall / snowfall.. I may be wrong 🤷, but right now, don't have a better fitting theory, and not interested in any R&D.. असो,

after another round to the monastery, we relaxed all we could, and celebrated small with a carrot cake 🧁.. some observations regarding the tea houses were - 1. mostly owned by the ladies 👩, 2. every room we stayed was equipped with a 2-way switch 🎚️, 3. obviously, the food, charging 🔌, wi-fi 🛜 and hot shower 🚿 charges were directly proportional to the elevation, 4. achievements from many groups can be seen pinned 🖼️ on their wooden walls..

19 Apr 2023 (Tengboche - Manjo)

back on the same route, I did not take any shortcut this time 😑.. the ascend after the river crossing was just too much on a way back.. negotiating it as non-stop but slow, we halted for a coffee ☕ break, when we knew the nature of rest of the terrain (for today) no more included any major ascend ☺️.. when the round of coffee was done, the owner's daughter 👧 came out, should have been max. 4 years young, and started climbing on each one of us, as if she was our own.. literally, everybody was trying to save themselves from her.. when playing with Sandeep, somehow, she got hold of his phone 📱.. what next she did was really surprising.. she opened the camera, changed to selfie mode 🤳 and took selfies of hers with each one of us - too good / much for a child of her age 🙃..

Pemba Doma Sherpa - somewhere at the start, you read about Pasang Lhamu Sherpa being the first sherpa woman to climb Mt. Everest.. while that was from the southern side ⬆️, Pemba Doma Sherpa from Namche, was the first sherpa woman to do so from the northern side ⬇️.. few years later, she died while descending Mt. Lhotse, first South Asian woman to summit the world's fourth highest..

at Namche

exiting the Sagarmatha National Park, we soon entered the tea house, that was either a disaster or a marvel.. whoever is from the architecture field, could have commented more on that, but we felt a major disconnect 😵.. what mattered the most was - we slept well 🛌.. food should have been better, considering we were now back to 2850m levels..

20 Apr 2023 (Manjo - Lukla)

all thanks to Ajay and doc to plan the day in advance duly respecting the weather forecast / overcast at Lukla.. we got up early and left at 06:00 a.m. 🕕 to get across the last patch of the trek, before rain 🌧️ could possibly ruin all we had achieved in the last 12 days.. in quick time, we reached the same tea house in Phakding for breakfast 🍳, where we stayed, while going North..

mani stones again

as we reached the other side of the working day, we were pretty satisfied to have dodged the rain.. later in the day, it did rain a little, not to the extent which could have disappointed us had we been still walking, but we all were happy to be safe in our dungeons 🏠.. an achievement from one of the groups was pinned 📌 on the tea house wall here, that read, 'Go Hard or Go Everest' 🤔.. whatever is your interpretation, I'll be happy to learn about it, because I just couldn't get my head around this phrase 🤷..

Use me well, keep me clean, and I shall not tell what I have seen - some of the tea houses had these posters inside their washrooms 🚽.. don't know, 'why?' but just felt like, including this in the article.. while that was about washrooms, along the route, one can see multiple arrangements done to dispose off the garbage 🚮, helping in keeping the entire route as clean as it is today.. any location from सह्याद्रीs close to this, with such a traffic, can only be वासोटा 🤘..

21-23 Apr 2023 (Lukla - India)

after the breakfast, we flew back to Ramechhap ✈️ (फाटेल पण मजा वाटेल 😆), drove back to Kathmandu 🚐, had lunch on the way.. roamed around the only walking street 🚶‍♂️ in Thamel (Kathmandu).. had few of the really heavy items from New Satkar Veg 🍱 (Punjabi) restaurant's menu.. did some shopping for the family members.. received a farewell dinner from Nepal agency, coupled with their cultural program (dance performances 💃).. converted the jotted notes to draft of these 2 articles.. and finally, flew back to our mother land..

फाटेल पण मजा वाटेल 😆

caption credits: Amol

regarding not summitting 'Kala Patthar'.. there is a dialog in 3 Idiots, 'दोस्त fail हो जाये तो दुःख होता है 🙁, पर first आ जाये तो ज्यादा दुःख होता है ☹️'.. amongst 4 of us, nobody failed, nobody came first.. so, all were / are happy 😀 for each other.. and thus, no regrets of even not attempting it, let alone summit..

many many thanks 🙏 to the mother nature for not playing the role of a spoiler, weather wise.. no flights delayed and no disturbance to hiking schedule.. not a single second of halt due to any undesired weather gesture 🙌..

now that you know a little more about EBC, I'll sign-off from the Himalayas 🏔️.. after all, it's good to retire, when the career is at its peak..

see you in सह्याद्रीs ⛰️..

आपली माती, आपली माणसं..