Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch

October 17, 2011 – Into the Shadows of Ama Dablam

This is Wally calling from the “Sky Lounge” in Pangboche at Ang Temba and Yangzing’s lodge. Our days have been so full; these past two trekking days have been long and indescribably rich with all sorts of experiences, people, mountains and adventures along the way. I try to give you a few highlights.

Yesterday we left Thame quite early and we went down the opposite side of the river to visit the small hydro project that supplies electricity to the people of the Khumbu Valley. We went into the power plant and Robert, who was trained as a hydro engineer and as a young man worked in South Africa on hydro projects, was fascinated by the operations and machinery. In fact, we were all interested in the technology that assists people of the Khumbu in their daily lives—including providing trekkers like us with electric blankets, of course.

We continued trekking and stopped for lunch. Jenny was approached by a fascinating, extremely old Sherpa woman with a very wrinkly face and warm toothless smile. She recognized Jenny because she had given her cough drops at the market in Namche two days before. The woman was pointing at her chest and still coughing so Jenny kindly gave the old woman some more cough drops. They shared a few moments together before we continued on our way.

After lunch yesterday we climbed up past the Syanboche airstrip and on towards the villages of Khunde and Khumjung. Bob, Ryan and Ang Temba took the long road and went to visit Dr. Kami Sherpa at the Khunde hospital. The rest of us went directly to our lodge in Khumjung with a brief visit to the Hillary School. The school is celebrating its 50th anniversary having been founded by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1961 and supported by the Himalayan Trust ever since. It is a good place to ponder all the good that has been done for the Sherpa people.

We settled into the lodge and into our rooms and then enjoyed our afternoon tea and popcorn. Temba, Bob and Ryan joined us and we had a great dinner together.

This morning we woke to amazing views. Ama Dablam was before us, right out the window of our lodge. Ama Dablam is definitely Raquel’s favorite mountain. She loves them all, anytime she hears the name and certainly now that she sees the amazing vista before us, she can’t contain her enthusiasm. It has been beautiful watching the mountain change as we enter into her shadows. We have had amazing views of Everest and Lhoste as well.

Before lunch, we climbed the Tengboche Hill. While it isn’t as well-known as the Namche Hill, it isn’t any easier either! I hiked up the hill with Larry and Raquel and there was a long yak train just behind us. Yaks are generally harmless, but their size and long horns can be a little intimidating. Larry asked me, “Do you think we should let the yaks pass?” I said, “No, they’re going the same pace as us,” and we continued. A little later Larry asked me again because there was a particular yak who was following right behind him. We decided to let the yaks pass. When we reached the top of the hill, the same yak which had been following Larry found him again. It was then that we realized that maybe this yak wasn’t in a hurry to get up the hill, it just really liked Larry.

By lunchtime we were at the famous Tengboche monastery. Last time Bob visited Tengboche monastery was in 1993 just four years after the monastery had burned down in 1989. He was really impressed to see how the monastery has been completely rebuilt and the activities restored and revived. It is quite a vibrant place now as anyone who has visited it knows. It is one of the most famous Buddhist monasteries in the world. We certainly enjoyed having lunch there and hanging out. After lunch, Bob and I went out along the ridge to visit the American memorial for the members of the 1963 Everest expedition - Barry Bishop, Gil Robers, Lute Jersted and Jake Breitenbach - who have memorials there in that beautiful place. Jake actually died on that expedition in 1963 when a serac collapsed on him in the Khumbu ice fall. Bob and I enjoyed hanging out for a bit before we left to catch the group as they headed on to Pangboche.

It is always great to arrive in Pangboche with the beautiful views which I have already described. Yangzing gave us a very warm welcome as she always does. She has been very busy with 30-40 trekkers a night and tonight it was only Berg Adventures, but we still keep her busy! We have enjoyed great hospitality in Pangboche and it is always good to see our friends.

A very special man dropped by a few minutes ago and that is Dasona. He has been the lead climbing Sherpa for the last several Berg Adventures Everest expeditions. Dasona has been on a climbing expedition to Shishapangma, an 8000m peak in Tibet which his team successfully climbed, and he just returned home. In fact, his first attempts to get home from Kathmandu were delayed. It just shows how lucky we have been. Thirty flights were cancelled leaving Kathmandu the day before yesterday because of bad weather there. Dasona was able to get a ride by helicopter yesterday and it took him all the way home to Pangboche. He came to see us as soon as we arrived. To our delight, he happily agreed to come with us to climb on Lobuche Peak as a climbing guide for Denio and Raquel. This is a special development for Denio because in 2004 when he was last here with Berg Adventures to climb Lobuche Peak, Dasona climbed with him also. Dasona will be on the team with Denio and Raquel after the Everest Base Camp team has travelled back down the valley. It was great to see him again.

The entire team is doing great. I am impressed by how well everyone gets along and with how much fun we are having. We are healthy and it is just so hard to share all the stories – there are so many. Times are great, people are wonderful. It is inspiring to be in this valley and to share these experiences together. We will continue reporting to you day to day and we will try to send photographs if we can. We should be able to send photos tomorrow from Pheriche where there is good internet. Bye for now and we will keep you posted as the days go by.