Our team is currently almost half way through our nine day trek from Lukla to base camp. I am loving every minute of it.
In contrast to Kathmandu, where the city has changed dramatically in the thirty years since I was last there, the Solu-Khumbu region feels largely the same. The river valleys and surrounding peaks are as gorgeous, the Sherpa people as polite and friendly, and the experience of walking through mountain villages accessible only on foot is as enchanting.
The lower portion of the trek follows rushing mountain rivers, crosses deep gorges on suspension bridges, and climbs ridges through pine and rhododendron forests. As you walk along the trail, you encounter porters and yak-like animals called zokyos carrying loads between villages, small children in uniforms cheerily walking long distances to school, and people everywhere exchanging the ubiquitous greeting “Namaste”. As you climb higher, the terrain opens up and the highest peaks in the world surround you.
The Buddhist religion is an inherent part of the fabric. You constantly pass prayer wheels, mani stones carved with prayer symbols, graceful stupas, and colorful prayer flags streaming in the breeze. The custom is to pass to the left of the mani stones, and everyone follows it. Multiple times, I have watched our Sherpa guides go out of their way to do so, and similarly to give the prayer wheels a clockwise spin in order to send the prayers to the gods.
Here is a photo from our first day on the trail. If you zoom in, you can see a large mani stone below the stupa up on the hill.
It is kind of hard to believe that all of this still exists, but it does. The trailside lodges have proliferated and grown more comfortable, wireless internet is available in many spots, and the villages have expanded in size. But the core character and spirit remain.
The Solu-Khumbu is just starting to open again to outsiders and there are vastly fewer visitors here than normal. Trails that normally would be filled with trekkers are almost empty, and most of the shops and lodges remain closed. In a region that depends on trekking and mountaineering for its livelihood, people thank us with clear emotion for returning. It is an interesting time to be here, and perhaps is giving me an artificial sense of how little things have changed over the years. Unique times or not, much of the beauty and magic of the Khumbu endure.
Yesterday we got our first view of Everest, towering above its neighbors with its signature plume of snow being blasted off the summit by the jet stream. I took in that view with Jill in 1990 and felt the same sense of reverence and awe. This time, I felt something else as well. I looked up at that summit ridge, so high and distant and in some ways terrifying, and said to myself “I am going there”. I stood gazing up at it for a long while, internalizing the sight and the feeling.
Approach treks are a great way to get to know one’s fellow climbers. There are long hours walking side by side, or sitting together at rest stops and meals. Our team consists of seven summit climbers and one woman – wife of one of the seven- who plans to climb a third of the way up the mountain to Camp 2 before heading home.
It is a good group. In contrast to some of the people showing up on Everest these days, our team members all have multiple years of big mountain experience. As examples, everyone has summited Denali and Aconcagua, most have climbed Vinson in Antarctica, several have climbed other major Himalayan peaks, and two have already taken a shot at Everest. One has also skied the last degree of latitude to the south and north poles.
More important in many ways than the climbing resumes are the core personal traits. Here again, my early sense is that we are in good shape. Not surprisingly, people who pursue this sort of thing have a lot in common. While we inevitably have a range of personalities on the team, and I can already sense that my values align better with some than others, I don’t see any major warning flags. Having now spent over a week together, I think this group is going to get along well. And that matters.
I will try in a future post to give you more of a sense of each of the individuals, and also to describe our overall climbing approach and philosophy relative to other teams. There are some notable differences.
Today, we walked from Namche to the village of Deboche. The family that runs the lodge we stayed at in Namche has hosted our guides and their teams for many Everest climbing seasons. Before we hit the trail, the mother and son offered us a blessing for safe climbing. The first part involved dipping your ring finger in a brass pot of special water and flicking the drops over your left shoulder in the direction of a mountain god who lives above the village. The second part involved them putting kata scarves around our necks. As we left the lodge, I heard the mother say to our Expedition Leader Ben Jones: “Safe climbing this year on the mountain. I will pray for you every day”. Here is a photo from the blessing. The amazingly cool mother is on the right. The son is in the middle, putting a kata on our expedition cook Gopal. One of our lead guides, Jangbu Sherpa, is on the left.
On a less heart-warming note, today the high peaks were hidden in a smokey haze that has drifted up from the plains. The smoke is from wildfires caused by an abnormally warm and dry winter, and is part of what has been causing the exceptionally poor air quality in Kathmandu. I thought I had left all that behind, but it turns out I haven’t. Our guides have never experienced this kind of smoke in the mountains before. While the Khumbu may feel timeless, the global climate clearly is not. Hopefully the wind direction will shift soon and we will return to the clear mountain air and exhilarating views that we cherish.
We have five days left to base camp. As we continue to gain elevation, we will leave the forest and major villages behind and start traversing wide open glacial moraine.
Lots to love. I am guessing my next post will come after we arrive at base camp.
Continued thanks for your interest and support!
Wonderful to hear from you and how nice that your spirits are so high!
Tom, we look forward to your posts and really appreciate the thoughtful descriptive detail of your surroundings.
I was going to do an easy workout this morning but your post has inspired me to “push a little harder”.
Wonderful to read your update, Tom.
Until base camp!
T Hawk
Thanks for reminding us all what a real adventure is – complete with long preparation, uncertainty and even a little mysticism. I’m really inspired.
E
Look forward to hearing more about people–the ones you meet and of course your team.
Just amazing Frenchy………….keep the reports coming. It has to be such an amazing experience with so much anticipation. Thanks for keeping us in the loop!!!
Good to hear your positive thoughts on the team. I’m curious to hear your thoughts about the personalities of the individuals, the team’s climbing philosophies and stories where these are exemplified.
So fun to experience this with you, Tom. In your writing, I can sense your growing excitement but also your experienced acknowledgment of what you’re about to attempt. I know we all wish you God Speed. Thank you for allowing us to share this with you.
So enjoy your posts Tom. Stay well.
Thank you as always Tom
Fascinated by your views on team
But mostly I love the image of you staring at Everest and saying “I am going there”
Way to go. Stay safe!
Continued good wishes on this amazing journey – and thank you so much for keeping us all in the loop!
Don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to receive blog updates before! Much easier on us all to live (and climb) vicariously through you and your life-long expedition! Be safe, and savor each and every moment!
Can’t wait for the next blog!
Just Wow! Whilst we are all limiting ourselves, you are taking us to Everest in detail. I personally love seeing the dress your hostess had on, I want to see everyone’s shoes, more mani stones, more about the villages. Are there dogs? What does the zokyos look like? I have never heard of them! Have you seen yaks/drunk yak butter tea? What is the food like? Thank you, thank you, Tom.
Tom, thank you for offering an uplifting break from my many hours of Zoom! Thrilling to read and feel the excitement and gratitude in your words.
Tom,
Hope the cleansing winds blow the right way. There are things we remember indellibly for the rest of life and this will surly be one of those for you.
Good luck, Dave
French,
Love the rituals and people parts and the climb is pretty cool too! 😉 Best book club I’ve been in – and I know the main character! Cool! 😎 Can’t wait for the next chapter!
Stay safe, keep enjoying!
Namaste,
Kataisto ✌️
Love these updates, Mon Vieux, as always…very glad to hear that you have confidence in the individuals in your climbing group…very important as I think we have discussed before…you will need the whole team to accomplish your goal. My mother departed on her ultimate journey last night, and my thoughts have been more philosophical than usual…go with God…in bocca a’ lupo… -ghc-
Wonderful blog. Amazing trip. Best wishes. Looking forward to hearing more when you are back in Dover.
Great to hear from Our Great Adventurer and to know all is well half way to Base Camp! A Tibetan prayer that made me think of you today:
Offering The Mandala
Here is the great Earth,
Filled with the smell of incense,
Covered with a blanket of flowers,
The Great Mountain, the Four Continents,
Wearing a jewel of the Sun and Moon.
In my mind I make them the Paradise of a Buddha,
And offer it all to You.
By this deed, may every living being
Experience the Pure World.
Much love and continued strength and safety on your journey ahead! I can’t wait to hear what comes next . . .
Thomas,
Reassuring to know that the team members are strong and as prepared as you are. It’s fascinating to learn your views on the local culture. You got this!!
I can almost remember the smells and feeling…Sweet milky tea still on the wood stove?
I love the respect you show for the people, the culture, the language , the environs and most of all the mountain. I can’t imagine the power of the words “ I am going there” ( as Chris said above) as they ricocheted about your head, as surely they must have.
After reading your blog I walked home and along the way passed the Empire State Building . Google informed me that you will be climbing to a height of quite nearly 20 Empire State Buildings, one placed neatly on top of the other. It is hard to comprehend so I won’t.
Thank you for sharing the details of the people you meet along the way, their attitudes, culture and rituals. Strikes me that this adventure is as much about the teamwork, camaraderie, and support of others as it is the technical requirements of climbing. Look forward to hearing your tales from Base Camp..
Namaste indeed! Glad to read about the characteristics of your team. Good omen. Carry on!
Your blog brings back many memories of my trip with Sam Bernard to India. Thank you for sharing. Wonderful. Please keep us updated and come home safe. Very happy for you! We miss the Tomahawk! Graham is not the same.