Today is a very big day. For the Trekkers, it is summit day. Today we are going to climb to the summit of Kala Patar (18,500 ft.) in the morning and then trek to Mt. Everest base camp in the afternoon. That is a big day by anyone’s standards. I think everyone is very excited for this day.
The day begins at 5:00 am as we are leaving early so we can watch the sun rise over Everest. Unfortunately, the altitude has caught up with me and I have gotten sick. We are already at 17,100 ft. and I wasn’t able to sleep, was nauseous, and have had a headache most the night. Generally, you just feel sick and fatigued. It had been building for a couple of days, but I think the higher altitude and cold just caught up with me. When I got up, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to summit kala Patar as I wanted to make sure I got to Everest base camp feeling decent. However, I had some tea and gave it a whirl.
When we got outside it was really cold and every step seemed very difficult. Luckily, Kami, one of our Sherpa took my backpack and began to help me out. Vern tajas stayed to the back of the back with me as well and helped me with my pressure breathing and pace. I was at the very back of the group and just focused on one step and breath after another. After an hour or so I was thinking that I needed to turn back. However, kami stayed with me and coached and encouraged me step by step. This was definitely the hardest day and thing I had to do on this trip.
After an hour or two we got a great break. Vern yelled to look at Everest. The sun was just peaking out over the summit of Everest. Was a great moment and some great pictures as the suns rays streaked across the sky over Everest. For a few moments, I forgot all about the fatigue I was feeling.
From there, we continued to climb up to the peak of kala Patar. Again, it is 18,500 ft. which is higher than any mountain in the continental US or in Europe and just 500 ft lower than Kilimanjaro. This is by far my own personal record. It really was a very hard climb for me because of how bad I felt and to be honest it was also a very emotional summit. It really didn’t think I was going to make it and I was so happy and proud to have accomplished it. However, I would not have made it without Kami. I am posting a picture of kami and I at the top. I could not have thanked him enough because I would have been so sad if I didn’t summit.
It had snowed a little the night before so the rocks at the top were very slippery so you had to be careful. It was a small summit and about 25 people trying to position themselves at the very top for photo ops. We stayed there and looked out at the amazing views of Everest and the Khimbu valley. That is why people climb kala Patar. It has the best views in the valley of Everest and the surrounding skyline. If you ever go there, I think it is a must do personally.
After 15 mins at the top, it was time to make our way down. Luckily, down is not as hard on your heart as up – just on this old man’s knees. The gameplay was to climb down by lunch time and meet up with the climbers at the tea house to begin our journey to base camp. I can’t tell you how much I welcomed the break before we started our trek to base camp.
As a side note, I did not like gorak shep. It is very small (maybe only 3 tea houses) and very dirty. Sanitary conditions deteriorate as you get to the higher elevations – and they start very low! It is just part of the gig, but it doesn’t make it any easier. At this point in the trip you really begin to want a hot shower or the ability to really wash your hands…not just use your hand sanitizer.
Also, we got bad news too. Several of the folks had gotten money stolen from their bags in their rooms. All in all, it was thousands of dollars which is a lot of money in Nepal. They were smart in that they did not take all of their money, just part so folks would not immediately recognize it was missing. Also, no one was sure whether it happend in gorak shep or lobouche which was the town before gorak shep. Unfortunately, I doubt there will be anything anyone will be able to do.
