It was day 10 of our Everest base camp trek. The most important day of the entire trek had arrived as we would be at Everest base camp today. I was up much before the alarm went off at 5 am and got ready very quickly before the queues at the common toilets! It was very cold and brushing teeth was an ordeal. I was feeling perfectly fine, the fatigue and sleepiness of the previous day were not there anymore. Our friend with the ankle injury had planned to leave for base camp very early in the morning, by about 530 am. I was in the dining area for breakfast at 615 am and figured out that my other friend who had an headache the previous day was also leaving early to head to base camp. Our planned departure time was 7 am. My friend with the upset stomach was not in great shape, it was a good decision to descend and head back to Lobuche; he could not eat breakfast and that was an indication that things weren’t improving and the only option was to descent down; Nima was to accompany him to Lobuche. With this, at 7 am, I and the only other group member left, the same person who had summit-ed Kalapathar the previous evening were left at the breakfast table; we decided to head to base camp with Minmar as our guide. It was extremely cold outside and we needed our thermals, down jacket, 2 layers of gloves, woolen cap and the all weather jacket to just step out of the tea house.
As we walked into the vast expanse of rocks, ice and boulders and the beautiful snow clad Himalayan peaks, I wondered how our group had disintegrated. I was thinking of the people who had gone ahead and the ones I had left behind. I didn’t feel great about it but I knew I had to walk my walk, reach base camp and turn around and head to Lobuche. I was hoping to be back in Lobuche by lunch time.
It was going to take the two of us anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours to reach base camp. There was no real trail here, we just had to walk in the general direction and find our way past large rocks and boulders. The Khumbhu glacier was to our right all along.
After a 45 minute walk on boulders and rocks, it seemed like we were headed nowhere! It was just more rocks, ice and boulders. It was 745 am by now and the sun was shining bright. It was a surreal view; no civilization in sight, just shades of brown on the ground, powdery white on the mountains and clear blue skies.
Finally, we could see the area that was base camp at a distance. It was not peak climbing season and there were no tents. There were just some prayer flags at a distance. We could distinctly locate the Khumbu icefall with the powdery white snow. The Khumbu icefall, at an altitude of 5486 m, is at the head of the Khumbu glacier, just above base camp and south west of Everest summit. It is considered one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest summit. The Khumbu glacier moves at 1 to 1.2 m down the mountain and can cause large crevasses to open up suddenly or for large seracs to collapse suddenly.
We met 2 members of our group returning from base camp. They were very excited to have made it. Our friend with the ankle injury was happy that she had persevered despite the injury and had reached base camp. After a couple of minutes of discussion, we proceeded towards base camp. Along the way, I was surprised to see vegetation, I found a plant with purple flowers and green leaves; seeing a life form thrive in such conditions was sheer fortitude!
As we approach base camp, we find that most rocks on which we set foot are not stable but moving; the suns’ rays had melted the ice that acted as a glue between the rocks. We navigate a very narrow stretch and Minmar tells us that its very dangerous as rocks perched precariously above could fall anytime. We make our way past it and are finally at base camp at 915 am, at an altitude of 5380 m. This was it, this was the moment for which we had prepared for over 7 months; this was the moment for which we had walked for the last 10 days and it was finally here! I cannot describe in words how I felt standing there. I wondered what a journey it had been, there was a gush of emotions, I just stood there and took in the 360 degree view.
After spending 30 minutes, it was time to start the trek back to Gorakshep. I cannot explain why, but the walk back seemed easy. I was surprised by my ability to keep going at that altitude. I had more time to enjoy the scenic view all around and check out the small plants and flowers. We reached the tea house in Gorakshep by about 1145 am. I was hungry and straight headed to the dining area for a quick lunch. It made sense for all of us to have our lunch and then start back to Lobuche. The 4 of us were at lunch together but missed our group member who had decided to return to Lobuche in the morning. We were wondering if he was better and if he had reached Lobuche.
After a good lunch of the usual garlic soup and Dal Bhatt and some rest, we were ready to start our walk back to Lobuche. We were hoping to reach by 4 pm in the evening. I bid one final farewell to the wilderness of Gorakshep and wondered if I would be here again, perhaps to come back to Everest Base Camp, better still, perhaps to climb Mt. Everest. No one knows. On that note, I started my journey back to Lobuche. The trek seemed easy and we were in our tea house in Lobuche just before 4 pm. I went up to check on our group member who had returned from Gorakshep earlier in the morning; he didn’t seem to be doing too well; it must have been a very difficult walk from Gorakshep to Lobuche for him. In the end, it was a good decision to return without seeing Everest Base Camp.
It was pretty cold in the evening and all of us were assembled in the dining area waiting for the heating to get started. There were many people from different parts of the world, with their stories, but in that small dining area, we were all huddled up. It was a common mission, getting to Everest base camp that united all of us.
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