Page 45 - Explore Magazine Spring 2017

our trek to the village of Namche Bazaar, the largest Sherpa village
in the Kumbu Valley. We crossed into Sagarmatha (Everest) National 43
Park and trekked alongside the Dudh Kosi River to Namche Hill,
climbing nearly 610 metres on a winding steep track for four and
a half hours. I walked with another lady and we set our own pace.
Breathing was hard and I could definitely feel the altitude but the
views were amazing! We stayed two nights in Namche to rest and
adjust to the altitude of 3,444 metres and it was a great place for
picking up supplies for the rest of the trek and buying gifts to take
home. It was now starting to get quite cold at night and we slept with
hot water bottles to keep warm.
We were up early for our next trek to Pangboche and my walking
buddy Yvonne and I were given a head start as we were the slowest
in the group. We started at 6.30am from Namche, travelled 6km
to Tengboche village where we visited the monastery and reached
Pangboche 3km away at 5.30pm. At an altitude of 3,985 metres it was
very cold (-4 C.) and breathing was difficult. It was a very long day
but the scenery was again amazing.

And that’s where I had my
life-changing experience: I

saw how far I had come, what
I had achieved and what I was

capable of doing.

The next morning it was up early again and we went to visit a
local lama, Lama Gershi, for a special blessing. This day I found
particularly difficult because when I started out I was struggling
to breathe after just a couple of steps. I was drinking lots of
water but had lost my appetite. The next part of our trek took
us to Pheriche (altitude 4,270 metres) – three hours and 12km of
hard slog but we made it. The temperature was -14 C. that night
so I was wrapped up snugly in my sleeping bag.
Speaking of living at high altitude, it is best to be prepared at
night because the Diamox medication that you take to reduce
altitude sickness is a diuretic, and with all the water you drink
you have to get up during the night. The teahouses (small hotels)
that travellers stay in have shared bathroom facilities down the
hall so I had my slipper shoes, torch and jacket waiting beside
my bed.
A sleep-in! At 9am the next day we set off on an acclimatisation
trek uphill to a ridge above Pheriche village. It was so hard and
coming down was even worse: my trekking poles got a good
workout and saved me from slipping several times. Once back at
the teahouse I was not feeling good and was advised not to go
the next day to Everest Base Camp. My body was experiencing
mild altitude sickness and after waving goodbye to the group
my young Sherpa guide Mingma and I headed back to Pangboche
and waited for three nights for the group to return. I stayed in
a teahouse called Sonam Lodge where I was well looked after
by Mingma and the family who own the teahouse. They and the
village hold a special place in my heart forever.
The next day our group made the eight-hour trek back to
Namche where we stayed for a night. On our last day in Nepal
we took a scenic helicopter flight up to Mt Everest and then back
to Lukla. We flew over the route we had just trekked and I saw
where the rest of the group had walked on to Everest Base Camp
and the amazing mountain itself, up close.
And that’s where I had my life-changing experience: I saw how
far I had come, what I had achieved and what I was capable of
doing. All of this in a beautiful country with amazing people.

HELLOWORLD : EXPLORE : SPRING EDITION