Part 7: Everest Base Camp and Lobuche Summit Attempt
The next day, I nursed my inevitable nose burn from the prior day’s ice practice.
Then we said goodbye to the remaining trekkers. Although the climbers complained that the trekkers brought more than their fair share of colds to the group, (and hearing the cacophony of their phlegmy hacks at meals, I couldn’t help but agree), it was awesome to have them in the group and to get to know them all. They softened the dynamic with more playfulness, less intensity, less constant measuring up. I would miss them all. Especially Jeanie and her sweet and spiritual attitude, and her guidance with some breathing and yoga exercises to help with my climbing. I knew the atmosphere was going to change: more zeal and machismo, especially since I was now the only female client left in the group.
It’s been fine so far, but I’ve kind of had to adjust my expectations and not take things personally. I’ll get the occasional brainless comment that’s makes me mad though. For example, I got pretty pissed off when a couple of the guys insisted that I’d be struck by the siren call of needing to have a baby by my mid 30s.
Phunuru brought me this cool hat from the Khumbu climbing center that I had expressed regret over not buying.
Then we reluctantly left the luxuries of Everest Base Camp to return to Lobuche Base Camp in order to attempt to summit Lobuche peak (20,075 feet, my first Himalayan mountain attempt and my second tallest peak after Aconcagua).
On the trek there, I was proud to sport my new face glove that Phunuru had helped me shape previously, and get the team used to the ~new and masked me~. But within two hours, I managed to lose it on the trail, after I put it in my pocket for a break around Lobuche Village. A sherpa was sent back a ways on a recovery mission, but once that turned unfruitful, we had to keep going. I wanted more than anything to retrace my steps until I recovered the treasure. But I also didn’t want to turn into a belligerent client and piss off the sherpas.
I felt sluggish after. Every step was a step away from my precious face glove and Base Camp’s Wi-Fi.
Later when we arrived at Lobuche Base Camp, I learned that instead of heading up to high camp to position ourselves for the summit attempt the next afternoon, we would take a full rest day, while the team recovered from their plethora of minor colds. Everyone argued with Max, outraged how taking this day would affect the schedule going forward, although we have two full weeks of contingency days built into our schedule. With my own slight congestion and fatigue, I personally was glad for the rest day. I sometimes feel sorry for 25-year old Max, the youngest in the group, and our Western guide. All of the clients are older than him, and often seem pretty hesitant to respect and listen to him.
We also learned that that morning, three sherpas had been killed on the Khumbu Icefall, just above Base Camp, and one of the most dangerous parts of the mountain. An ice avalanche had struck and completely buried them so that rescue missions could not even recover their bodies. It was especially shocking since it was so early in the season, and everything seemed to be going so smoothly until then. This will cause a bit of a delay in summit practice and attempts as a new path needs to be forged around the accident spot. It’s heartbreaking how much risk these sherpas take on in order to make a past time possible for us. It’s easy to forget how high stakes this is when I’m living in comparative luxury and safety as a client in the IMG program everyday.
The next day, I did a whole lot of nothing. I’m getting good at this whole rest thing. I’ve spent so much time relaxing in my yellow tents, that I think my eyes have permanently adjusted to seeing everything in a yellow tint.
Out of pity, Jonathan let me borrow his nose guard until I could get my shit together and scrounge up my own.
Between reading and trying to nap, there was a thunderous crashing sound nearby, which turned out to be massive rockfall eerily along our impending route up Lobuche.
Reading Stephen King’s “The Shining” is also not helping my tortured sleep. I’m running quickly through kindle books: anyone have any book recommendations?
The next morning, I woke up with the usual halo of icy drool surrounding the head of my sleeping bag. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these deathly freezing nights in the Himalayas.
After lunch, we climbed up to Lobuche High Camp at around 18,500 feet. Halfway through, we got to break out our triple boots and crampons for the first time on the trip. It took a little while to get used to what felt like space boots. But it felt great to have more traction on the snow with the crampons.
Once we got there, we climbed into our tents and then grabbed an early dinner. Cooks Tenzing and Taeshing Sherpa invited me to sit on a stool with them in the warm cooking tent to eat and we chatted about our hometowns and families.
I settled in for a fitful night’s sleep at about 7 PM, then woke up at 3 for a 4 AM departure. I got paired with Kadji Sherpa, a very patient, thoughtful, and talented guide.
As we ascended and traversed up the mountain, our headlamps shone through the pitch dark and captured our steaming breath in front of the looming giants in the clear night sky.
The sky gradually lightened as we ascended.
We finally summited around 6 AM. There were amazing views of surrounding peaks including Everest.
Then we belayed down to High Camp, packed up our stuff, and headed back down to Lobuche Base Camp.
Sleep deprived from our alpine start, I slept like a baby that night. I woke up between 6 and 7 AM, feeling the sun slowly warm up the tent and melt the frost that had gathered inside overnight.
After breakfast, we said goodbye to Corey and Dave, the two climbers who were leaving after summitting Lobuche. They were a lot of fun, and their absence would again shift the dynamic to even more seriousness.
On our way back to Everest Base Camp, Max pointed out this rock that’s famous because it’s an eerily accurate replica of Mount Everest!
It was a relief to get back to Everest Base Camp, where we’d spend most of our nights for the remainder of the expedition. It already felt like home to me. I reorganized my gear and then took a much needed shower and washed away a week’s worth of dirt and sweat.
After dinner, we played the Alphabet Game: where we tried to keep our altitude-compromised brains sharp by naming A-Z subjects like countries, cities, climbing terms, and vegetables (which I absolutely dominated on).