Good morning to you in North America. It's currently coming up to 5:30 tomorrow afternoon here. We "the Fortunate Foursome" have, moments ago arrived back in Namche Bazar, under our own power, from where I wrote to what seems a lifetime ago.
Due to weather, trekking conditions, and advice, we reconfigured our trek to skip the Goyko Valley and the Cho La Pass. First of all we were going to go direct to Base Camp and achieve Objective #2 first, then we would do the Chola Pass and Goyko valley. One of the fortunates is for the locals, that it has snowed every afternoon, like clockwork, for the last five days. The locals are happy as this is their first snow of the winter, just as they are starting to plant their potatoes. Not a lot of snow each day, but enough to reduce visibility and make footing slippery. These are not conditions to be attempting the Pass. The guide books say simply that if it snows, go around. We decided not to bother, and just start a leisurely walk out. Most groups do the walk out in three days - all the way to the airport. As we have paid for the time, meals, and accommodations, we are going to stay in the area as sight see a bit more.
Another fortunate is that aside from each of us getting a flu like cold, cough, and congested chest, we are in fine health. Rodger and Bruce got it at the start, and Ed got it on the way down. He seems on the road to recovery today. A "fortunate" is our guide Raj (we were fortunete to ge him as our guide). He is a gentle soul who prompts us along gently. He has made the trek interesting and informative. He feels fortunate too, as his is the only group among all the groups we travelled with up the valley, where all his clients made it to Base Camp and have returned this far safely. Bruce is also the oldest person he has ever guided into Base Camp.
On a couple of occasions we have sat around the yak dung heaters in the lodges common rooms, sharing life stories with the Nepalese. They are at first surprised to hear that Ed is 45, past the age when most males venture very far from home. We then tell them Rodger is 55, and their eyes grow round in wonder. Then we tell them That Bruce is 60 and they just stare in disbelief.
The afternoon of March 16, 2009 as we trekked into Base Camp will never be forgotten by any
of us. We were the last group to get there, and the snow was pelting down, driven by a strong wind. Raj was concerned of the time so said to hurry with our photos and we had to get back. So we had a bunch of high-fives, hugs, and as many pictures as we could think of taking. Bruce brought a beer to share, but we passed on that one quickly. Rodger had brought some Canadian ice wine which we whet our whistle with and put away for later. The we walked back to Gorak Shep (17,000 feet) for the evening. We all agreed that that was the most difficult physical exercize we had ever had. I remember responding at one point that "there was no gas left in the tank, I was now running on fumes," and we still had an hour walk left.Nothing is ever level here, and nothing is easy. For example, today we walked down about 400 meters. But that started with a descent of 250 m to the river valley, followed by a climb of 600 m to the top of the ridge. From there the path looked smooth to Namche. Well, walking along hillsides (sometimes 1,000 m above the valley bottom) is like the cutting edge of a scalloped knife. Every time you come to a point, expecting the next point to be more or less the same elevation, you usually have to go up and down (in either order) to get to the next point. Long and arduous. But easier now than on the way up.
I think the comment every one makes is about the cold. Only one room in the tea houses is heated, the common room, and then only for dinner time. The coldest the bed room has been at bedtime was -7C/. We are all actually looking forward to returning to Kathmandu, despite the foul air and rotating blackouts, just to be warm. We are also looking forward to something different to eat. As we first started up the valley, the menu looked varied and interesting. The presentation always good. However, it has developed a sameness. Well, they charge by the minute here, so I won't stay any longer, but to say we are all glad to be back down the mountain this far. So far there are no bumps and bruises, we just stink.
