Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Day 8 – Dughla (4,600m) to Lobuche (4,940m)
Average trekking time: 3-4 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
The headache wasn’t bad, very mild actually but my neck hurt
though. I had developed a neck sprain. I dutifully informed Kaji of the
headache and neck sprain, and sought his opinion on taking Diamox. He was of
the opinion that the headache was likely due to prolonged exposure to the cold
wind on the trail yesterday (should have listened to my instincts!), because I had slept well, ate well and had 'a good color on my face’. He said
a mild headache at this altitude was normal for many people, and would
sometimes disappear as our bodies acclimated, and advised against my taking
Diamox for it, other factors considered.
“If the symptoms are
mild and we still feel well, the best remedy is to let our body heal naturally. Drink lots of water, rest and eat well. Taking medicine for
every little bit of ailment makes our body weak.”
As for the neck sprain, he said it was probably because I
had slept in my down jacket and sleeping bag – the bulky hoods gathered at the
neck area made for awkward sleeping positions and alignment resulting in the
sprain.
By now, I had learned to listen to my Sherpa guide – though never
blindly. If his words made sense and aligned with my thoughts and gut feeling,
I would listen. He was a no-nonsense type of person who spoke frankly and
directly, a personality which suited me well. I thought over the advice, and then
packed the Diamox away and set off for the day.
The trek from Dughla was tough. The first part of the trail was
a steep climb up a hill towards Dughla
Pass
Kaji showed us the memorial of Scott Fischer – the climber and guide who died on Everest, and featured in the book and movie “Into Thin Air”. I have a confession – at the time, the name sounded vaguely familiar but I had no idea who Scott Fischer was. I was mortified at my ignorance when Kaji talked about him as we ascended up the hill. It took my Nepali Sherpa guide to educate me about Scott Fisher, and also Babu Chiri Sherpa, the legendary guide who made 10 Everest summits, whose memorial was also there.
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| Heading out of Dughla |
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| Trekkers chilling out at Dughla Pass |
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| Ulla and Leif taking a break |
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| Memorial of Scott Fischer | Memorial of Babu Chiri Sherpa |
After a short rest at the pass, we pressed on. Phuri had shown up a short while ago. He had gone all the way to Lobuche, and doubled back to help D. That guy's a machine! As before, he walked with D while Kaji walked with me. This time, I kept to my own pace, not letting Kaji push me with his, even though I was stronger now. I noticed I had been growing stronger everyday since the start of the trek. My stamina and endurance had improved tremendously. I was walking faster, even on uphill climbs. The mild headache that I had just this morning had disappeared by now.
Soon Lobuche appeared in the horizon. Like other villages at
this altitude, it was barely made up of a few lodges. Our lodge was a welcome
contrast to the cold, barren landscape outside. It had translucent panels in
the roof that allowed sunlight to penetrate and warm the interior. The room was
spacious and cozy, and even had a mirror! I hadn’t looked in a mirror for
more than a few seconds, for days.
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| Tents seen from the trail |
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| Lobuche |
I think the lack of mirrors does something to us. At least
it did to me. Having little access to mirrors on the trek, I didn’t visually see
myself much, and consequently didn’t visualize myself in my mind much. Somehow,
because of this, my sense of self grew. It was like I existed simply as a
person, without a face. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror in that room, I felt
momentarily disconnected from the face that stared back, but at the same time, the
reflection reminded me of who I was. This
is me. This is who I am.
My body had changed too. My arms were thin and sinewy, my leg
muscles strong and defined. I was certain I had lost weight, though I had been
eating more than what I normally ate. There was practically no excess fat left
on my body. I felt healthy, strong and blessed. I was in my element. EBC was
just one day away and barring unforeseen circumstances, it was within my reach.
I could actually do this. I could become one of the rare Malaysians who made it to the Everest Base Camp. I was excited, and terrified.
D came through the door of the lodge about an hour later, barely walking on her own. She was nauseous, disoriented and
in complete physical and mental exhaustion. Her fever, cold and diarrhea had
not subsided, maybe had even worsened. From the look on Kaji’s face, I knew he
was concerned, as I was.
We met Fernando and Loretta for the last time in the dining
hall that afternoon. They had just returned from Kala Patthar, and were on
their way down, stopping at the lodge for their lunch. They had decided not to
stay a night at Gorak Shep and chosen to go straight to Kala Patthar from Lobuche
this morning, forgoing Everest Base Camp. Loretta looked impeccable, but I knew underneath was a tough woman.
She spoke candidly about the difficulty and toughness of the trek ahead, but
gave us a lot of encouragement. We also met two young Indian women who were planning
to summit
Mt. Island Peak
I spent the rest of the afternoon in the hall writing my
journal, and cracking my head for options. What
if D isn’t able to continue tomorrow? Is there anything we can do to give her a
chance? We were just one day away from Gorak Shep and EBC. Our itinerary
was to go to Gorak Shep and EBC tomorrow, spend the night in Gorak Shep, and
then go to Kala Patthar the next day. We needed an alternative plan if at least
one of us was going to finish this.
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| Scene in the dining hall |
Finally I came up with this: I would go to Gorak Shep and EBC tomorrow as planned, but return to Lobuche, while D would remain in Lobuche. This would give her an extra day to rest, acclimatize and hopefully recover. If she was better the day after tomorrow, I would go to Gorak Shep again, with her, and then either to EBC or Kala Patthar if we could manage it. From there, we would then descend as planned.
D agreed with the plan but when we presented it to Kaji, he was
apprehensive even though we offered to pay for the extra night at the Lobuche
lodge. He was of the view that D should descend given her condition, and that
staying another night at 4,900m was not going to make her better. Suresh shared
the same view. Finally, we decided to leave the decision till tomorrow.
That night, almost everyone was discussing plans with their
guides. I was to be ready by 5am for a cup of coffee and a quick snack, and start
our trek at 5.30am. We would have our breakfast in Gorak Shep, and then head
for EBC and return to Gorak Shep for late lunch. After that, we would return to
either Lobuche or Dughla, depending on our decision on D.
With the plans settled, I was excited and scared. I realized
that I would be doing this alone. If I made it to EBC, I would have no one to
share the moment with, except with my Sherpa guide by my side. I loved solitude and had always preferred to do things alone. But at that moment, I wished my
husband was there with me. I wished D could be there with me. The irony did not
escape me. I was to do this alone.
Excited and high on adrenaline, I barely slept that night.
| Previous Day > Day 7 - Dingboche to Dughla | Next Day > Day 9 - Lobuche to Everest Base Camp to Dughla |
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