Nepal Part III: Trek to Everest Base Camp

So we have finally arrived back in Lukla on our 15th day of trekking! It has been an incredible journey and one that I will not quickly forget. I last left you on the afternoon that we arrived in Tengboche to visit the monastery there, having detoured to stuff our faces with delicious apple pie and real espresso at the bakery. Afterwards we went to the visitor's centre and watched a short documentary on the history and purpose of the monastery, followed by the opportunity to witness the monks chanting. It was a mesmerizing experience, in fact, listening to the methodically and rhythmic words put me into a meditative and very relaxed state, such that when it was time to depart- I had to be knocked back to reality. Descending from the monastery through a lovely birch forest, we came upon our accommodation for our sixth night on the trail: The Rivendell Lodge (which was named after the home of the elves in Lord of the Rings- very exciting for a LOTR geek fan like me). It was in a beautiful setting with views extending over Everest and Ama Dablam. That evening was especially memorable for me as Vern and I were joined by a wonderful guitarist named Ryan, who was a climbing member of another expedition sharing the lodge that evening. After dinner, we sat playing and singing tunes until about 10pm (which is in fact quite late to be up on this trip, we've typically been going to bed around 8pm, so its not as lame as it sounds!) for a rapt audience of mostly sherpas who clapped and sang along. I even got the chance to try out "I've Got You Under My Skin" in an a capella style with clapping for percussive background. Lots of fun. The following day brought me my most memorable experience of the trek. I had the incredible opportunity to witness the climbers receivng a "Phuja" ceremony, where they are blessed by Lama Geishy to climb Sagarmatha (Everest). A Lama is a Buddhist teacher, a holy man, who is believed by the people to be a reincarnation of a Buddha. I watched, entranced, as the Lama chanted, beat a drum rhythmically, and then one by one, blessed each member of the climbing expedition with prayer shawl and red corded necklace. After we were each given a handful of rice which we threw in the air for good luck. It may sound corny, but it was an extremely emotional experience and it had me in tears very quickly. Once the climbers left, the few trekkers who'd come the hard way up the mountain to see the Lama were lucky enough to receive our own Phuja. It was something that I will not soon forget. We spent the next two nights in Pheriche (approx 14,000 feet)- the following day being somewhat of an acclimatization/rest day. By this point, a number of us had succumbed to hypoxia related conditions: Harris had been flown by helicopter back to Kathmandu for a GI virus, and now about four others were sick with GI/AMS symptoms. The degree to which we were all at risk of getting so ill that we couldn't continue trekking, was not something I had given a great deal of consideration to. As it turned out, one of the climbers, and six of the trekkers got seriously ill on the trip at some point, and four had to turn around before getting to base camp! In Pheriche, I came down with a cold, but nothing more serious than a slight temperature and a hacking cough (which still...eight days later has not gone away). From what I can tell, the trouble is caused by a combination of factors: 1 - altitude. Lack of oxygen (hypoxia) causes a weakening of the body's immune system making it more difficult to ward off bugs in the first place, and harder to battle them once they are contracted 2 - melting pot of people from everywhere all crammed into teahouses which become petri dishes for germs 3 - huge amounts of dust on the trail get into your lungs and cause respiratory problems 4- Yak dung and trash is burned and get into the atmosphere, and therefore, into your lungs. Yuck. Despite being quite ill, I still managed to sing to an even larger crowd that night in the beautiful pine, large common room at the Himalayan Hotel, which got so hot from the 50 or so bodies in there that it seemed ridiculous to be dressed up in warm hiking gear. After hacking all night, I was separated from my roomate and given my own room to recover in the next day - score! I had a lovely hot shower, napped, read, and tried to regain strength for the next day...and more elevation gain. The sunsets at Pheriche were astounding...lots of pink skies providing a dramatic backdrop to the towering peaks all around us. The next day was to be the last that the trekkers were walking together with the climbers, and having gotten quite attached to the latter group, I was not looking forward to saying goodbye. After a morning visit to an Italian Atmospheric research station, I joined the climbers for the afternoon steep slog up to the settlement of Lobuche at just over 15,500 feet. I was definitely beginning to feel the altitude, but pressure breathing seemed to help a lot. This was the first night that I woke up in the night kind of gasping for air, and I succumbed to taking half a tablet of Diamox...falling right back to sleep. Lobuche was a tiny village...the facilities were becoming more basic the higher we climbed. On the way, we stopped at a memorial site to climbers that had perished on Everest. It was a sombre location, covered in epitats and colorful Tibetan Prayer flags. I found the memorial to Scott Fischer from the 1996 disaster. That day the landscape really became more grand and awe-inspiring, now we were walking alongside the towering giants like Nuptse. I snapped a LOT of photos...can't wait to share them! Arriving at the teahouse with the climbers, I was dismayed to learn that our two groups would be in separate accommodation that evening. However, after taking some tea and preparing to leave, Lakpa Rita came over and invited me to sleep in Jan's room that night, and enjoy my last evening dinner with the climbers. I was overjoyed and had a thoroughly memorable evening talking, laughing, and sharing with my new friends. Victor even shared one more scene from "The Holy Grail" with me...which had me in stitches. Having held it together the night before, I was not having such luck in the morning. I sobbed my heart out as I hugged and bid goodbye to Vern, Garrett, Victor, Jack, and....Quatchi! Yes...I decided to give Quatchi to JR for the remainder of the expedition, as he said he'd be happy to carry him up to the summit of Everest with him and his mascot, Spike. So, as I type, Quatchi is at base camp preparing to tackle the Khumbu Icefall to Camp I. Can't wait to see the photos of that! Wiping away my tears and trying hard not to think about the potential perils my friends would be facing in the next six weeks, I joined the trekkers (although Don, a climber, was walking on with his wife Joyce and the trekking party through to base camp, so one goodbye could wait) as we headed on up to the trickily high base of Gorak Shep at almost 17,000 feet! On arrival, I was quite pleased with how cute our wooden little teahouse was, and we were given the afternoon to rest. Rest? I was feeling pretty good, SO- Don and I decided to tackle Kala Pattar ( a peak of just over 18,500 feet) that afternoon because of the good light, instead of waiting until the day after next when the group was scheduled to summit it together in the morning. Initially, I planned to just walk half way...but I got summit fever and Don and I decided to go all the way to the top. The views were astounding and we got some incredible pics. Will have to leave it there for now....in Lukla and will finish this tomorrow in Kathmandu! Love to you all!