My trek to Everest Base Camp-Part 6.

Day 3 started early. We opened our eyes to a majestic snow covered peak, towering over our teahouse. Balaram introduced her - ‘Kusum Kanguru’. With such a beautiful name, she had to be a woman! She stood there, tall, magnificent. So seemingly close-as if at stone’s throw. At almost 6400 meters, she was taller than the tallest in Europe, Africa, Australia, and North America-but here, among her high achieving peers, she was small and unknown-except in mountaineering circles. We had not noticed her the previous day. It was like she had nudged herself into position while we were asleep to surprise us. What a magnificent start for the day!

After a quick breakfast, we got started. Our destination was Namche(3400). And I was reminded about one bitter fact : the trek had been easy the previous day because we had been mostly descending! Thado Kosi was 400 meters below Lukla ! And we would now start our gradual ascent till we reached Namche. Of course our descent the previous day had been interrupted by a few ascents. Just as our ascent now would be embellished with several descents. Climb painstakingly up, come down again. And then repeat. Again and Again and Again. Throughout the 15 day trek. This was going be entertaining indeed!

Balaram’s cheery chant continued ‘Madam, bery bery difficult for you, Namche bery difficult. Sir, no problem. For you, difficult’ .And he shook his head side to side. I asked him to shut up. If determination had one disciple, it was going to be me. Nobody, except me, was going to decide what I was capable of. I was here to get to Base Camp. I was going to get there. Period.

The journey to Phakding- our 1^st stop for the day - was a gentle trudge mostly , allowing us to take in the scenery along way. We passed several hamlets; went through bright green fields ; crossed trickling streams; stopped at gurgling waterfalls and worshipped all the Chortens (Buddhist stupa-like structures) along the way. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were travelling on a centuries old path from Nepal to Tibet.

The guide book had mentioned that we would take around 6-7 hours to get to Namche from Thado Kosi. 1-1.5 hours to Phakding, another 1.5 to Monjo, and then a final intense steep climb to Namche that would take three to four hours, with no rest-stops in between.

Trekking Distances in Nepal are never mentioned in terms of distance but in terms of time taken or elevation gained or lost. Ask a trekker how much further you need to go and expect to hear ‘Oh you have thirty minutes’ or a similar time-estimate. It could mean ‘ I just completed this easy sprint in 30 minutes’, or it could mean ‘It feels like thirty minutes to me-but I don’t quite know.’ Balaram, the eternal optimist, decided early on that the ‘Average time estimates’ that apply to ‘Average trekkers’ did not apply in my case. I was not Average, you see. He would just double the time-estimates provided by every other source. I was furious at first. But, slowly, I came to grudgingly accept that his estimates were usually Bang-On. I was an outlier alright. The only trekkers I consistently outpaced were those over 80.

After a quick R&R (restroom and refreshment) stop at Phakding(2600 meters), we proceeded to Monjo. Phakding being a popular night stop , the path was now crowded with trekkers. We met several trekkers, but one group stood out : a tour group of British senior citizen trekkers – many over eighty.(yes, the one I overtook!). The idea that you could be 80 and be trekking in the Nepal Himalayas was mind-bending. If there was ever a singular ‘Eureka’ moment about how much the Everest captures collective, popular imagination- this was it.

We had a couple of hard steep climbs enroute to Monjo, but we made it there by lunch time. We had put in around 4-5 hours of climb for the day, but we were only halfway done. Balaram tried one last time – he suggested we stay over in Monjo and ascend Namche the next day to ensure we complete the trek with daylight. We glared him down.

After we stocked up on energy bars (mars candy), and water and started –what is often billed by many – as the hardest section of the trek. We were at around 2800 meters now. We would be ascending 600 meters more- at one stretch now.

We crossed a small suspension bridge, with Dudh Kosi flowing below us at touching distance. We then walked along the pebbled river bank, relishing the noisy chatter of the gushing river. Finally, we started to climb up the mountain one painstaking step at a time. The fields had vanished and the evergreens took over – covering every visible slope . In about an hour- the path before us ended. We could now hear the river way down below – it was a precipitous drop into a deep ravine. Before us – was our only pathway to the other side of the gorge – an elongated suspension bridge – welcoming every passenger by swaying wildly and making sounds that seemed to reveal its age.

I was petrified. I had a fear of heights. But there was no alternative. So I devised a bridge crossing routine that I would follow for every crossing for the rest of the trip. Ajit had to stay just before me, Balaram after. I held onto the side of the bridge (in case it collapsed under my feet!). And as we walked over the bridge, I looked neither left, nor right. No stopping to view the breathtaking scenery –for Ajit and Balaram either. Till the bridge crossing was done, my heart stopped palpitating and that sinking feeling at the pit of my stomach disappeared.

The climb on the other side through the trees was treacherous and never ending, and just all up. I kept my mind on the climb by counting my steps. We could now see far below us, the death-defying bridge crossing. There were trees all around us and a clear blue sky above. But, I was beginning to get exhausted. As we reached a flat landing, all of a sudden - Sagarmatha –Everest- emerged into view. In the not so distant horizon, but fully aware of her importance. It was only day three, but we had already had our 1^st viewing. We had not known this when we started, that she was not just the destination, she was your companion through the trek. We were going to walk alongside her! She would disappear for a while in between, but reappear soon enough. Getting closer, getting bigger, each passing day.

After soaking in the view and energized by it, we began the ‘last mile’. ‘Average estimates’ had put this last trudge at 45 minutes, but I was not ‘average’ and was at the end of a 10 hour trekking day. Ajit had begun to tire out as well . He coped by switching on his iPod and increasing his pace. My response was the opposite- I stopped and sat down every few paces, which seemed to push my destination further out. After it seemed like every ounce of energy was sucked out from my body- 12 hours after we had started, Namche appeared. Namche inspired us to forget our fatigue, our pain, and we doubled up. As we entered Namche, the last rays of daylight were being replaced by the many dazzling lights of the night. It been a tough, long day - but we had made it. Our final destination –Base Camp - now seemed within reach.