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On the tenth day of the trek, we arrived at our camp at Gorak Shep at 17,000 feet. We were surrounded by peaks – the windswept peak of Everest, the impressive sheer west wall of Nuptse and the perfectly rounded snow-coned summit of Pumori being the most eye-catching. Some of us hiked up toward Kala Patar for even better views. From Gorak Shep we would get up early the next morning and hike to Everest Base Camp. The day before a cute mountain dog had adopted us for half a cookie and now it spent the ENTIRE night running around barking with its dog friends at Gorak Shep. Not that any of us slept a lot that night anyway – we were up high, it was cold, and we were all pretty excited about tomorrow's destination.
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| Today's destination – Everest Base Camp. We got up at 5:00 a.m. and an hour later we were on the trail. The first couple of hours we hiked in total silence – it was windy and we were all bundled up, impatiently waiting for the sun to rise above the peaks and send some warmth to our frozen bodies. All the way we had clear views of the humongous Khumbu Glacier to the right and as we got closer to base camp the contour of the famous and feared Khumbu Ice Fall appeared. Except for a group of yaks returning from the last Everest expedition of the season, we were the only people on the trail. Surely, base camp must have looked a lot different earlier this year, when the 50th Anniversary for the Everest summit was celebrated here by thousands of people. |
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| We spent about an hour at base camp – enjoying the incredible views and taking lots and lots of pictures. A few of us had brought prayer flags and held a small ceremony for people in our lives who have passed away too early in life. It was the perfect day for this – a sunny, clear sky and a little windy. We made two "poles" of rocks and hung our flags which immediately started blowing in the wind. In Buddhism, the wind is considered an expression of our minds, and the mental energy that activates them. The wind - like the mind - carries the blessings throughout the world. It's such a beautiful tradition and brought tears to my dusty, dry eyes…. |
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| After Base Camp, we were retracing our steps back to Lukla where we started the trek. On our way up, we had skipped an overnight at camp at Dingboche to make it back to Tengboche on November 10 to attend the Mani Rimdu Festival at Tengboche Monastery. This was one of my favorite days on the trip – not only because of the beautiful costumes, but I was sitting among a large group of Tibetan women, and to be among them was just as entertaining as the masked dancing. These women are so beautiful, their faces have so much character – and though we couldn't communicate, a lot of curious looks and smiles were exchanged. |
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| Back in San Francisco, the Himalayas seem so far away and yet the trip made such a strong impression on me that I will never forget. The stunning views of Ama Dablam, the prayer flag ceremony at Base Camp, the group camaraderie and our hilariously funny dinners in the mess-tent, Deepah's smiling face bringing me tea in the tent every morning, and walking behind Long Tensing – our 70-year-old sirdar who has been on several Everest expeditions in his younger days. I know I will be back very soon – this time to hopefully take a look at Ama Dablam up "really" close…. |
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