Big Brothers Big Sisters Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch

May 14, 2010 – Gorak Shep and Kala Patar

This is Leila Silveira reporting from Gorak Shep. Today was an extremely long day; we left Lobuche at 9am as usual with beautiful blue skies which is quite a treat on these particular days of our trek. We had views of all the big mountains including a clear view of Everest and base camp.

Upon arriving in Gorak shep at 16,962ft/5,170m, after having gained an altitude of 755ft/230m, the team took a lunch break, organized their gear in their rooms, and got out their warm jackets for the Kala Patar climb we had planned for the afternoon.

Kala Patar means black rock. When we make the first turn on the trail approaching Gorak Shep and see Kala Patar, most people underestimate the climb and think that will be a walk in the park. But at 18209ft/5,550 m high, almost 1312ft/400m higher than Gorak Shep, Kala Pattar will take a lot of your energy. And when the wind is blowing high, which it often is at that altitude, you had better be prepared for cold conditions. This means good gloves, a balaclava and a down jacket are a must, as well as a good camera. Today our team had a bit of a struggle. Because the conditions were really cold, their digital cameras started to give them problems. Luckily everyone had already been able to get clear photos of Everest and base camp from below.

Marta, who didn’t have a digital camera, had no problems and could take as many photos as she wanted.

Kala Patar has the best view point of Everest and the Khumbu Icefall but the team had to be a bit patient to get a clear view of Everest since the Big E kept hiding shyly behind the clouds.