Riiiiiight, where to start where to start...

Well, first thing to say is - Mission Accomplished. Scratch one Himalayan mountain.

Made it to Everest Base Camp, and more. The summit of Kala Pattar was always secretly the main underlying goal, but a small bit of me knew there was a possibility that i might not be able to do it and may have to settle with base camp, which isn't bad by any means. That was not to be, we actually did the whole trek, including Kala Pattar a couple of days quicker than the norm. I'm a machine! Well, not quite, as it did almost kill me at one point, but apart from maybe 2-3 days climbing at the higher altitudes, it wasn't actually that hard. Well, of course it was, but it wasn't as hard as i had convinced myself it was going to be. Averaged about 6hrs walking a day, except for the last few days where it was something stupidly high like 9hrs. But its not the length and distance really which is the main factor, but the climbing and elevation that you gain. Day 2 with the climb to Namche was short, but easily the 2nd hardest day as the climb just went on and on and you had to crawl up the side of the valley. I almost had to break out the trekking poles, but I had convinced myself that I would look silly using them that early on in the trek. When theres groups of 'serious' american trekkers all kitted up in their ridiculously expensive gear, GPS handheld whatsyamacallits and walking poles, all power-walking along an easy straight bit, you'd do anything not to look like them.

I used the same guide from my first short camping trek in the Annapurna range earlier in the month, KC is name was. Trekked most of the time with an Ozzie, but also different days with different people. Alot of Canadians, a spanish guy, an american guy, a few english people, a couple from Newtownards back home (!) and a girl we met coming down Kala Pattar from Galway. So, a real mix-mash of people, which was cool. There were always people staying in the lodges along the trail to meet so that kept things interesting after the days walking had finished.

A usual day on the trek consisted of being woken up at 7am with a knock on the door and a cup of strong tea from my guide, who then took my order for breakfast, which was usually some type of eggs on some tibetan bread (very sweet bread, like soda bread meets pancake). Packed all my gear up, took it down and helped my porter pack it up. He usually set off before us to arrive ahead at the next stop and make sure theres a place for us to stay the night. All this while carrying 25kg of my crap on his back and wearing only sandles. He was the fittest man alive, you could see him off in the distance powering up the sides of mountains. Insane. Speaking of porters, the local ones carried all sorts of crazy stuff up into the mountains, ranging from doors,tables,chairs,satellite dishes to multiple crates of beer and a pool table. A pool table. Yeah. They kept passing us on the trek, and i was carrying a measley 30L rucksack with only about 10kg in it.

I didn't get any major symptoms of Altitude sickness at all, which was surprising, especially as I more or less live at sea level back home. But i did pass alot of people who were miserable and sick, and quite a number of people i trekked with at the start didnt end up making it to Gorak Shep (the last point on the trail, base of Kala Pattar and way to Base Camp). I saw one girl on her hands and knees vomitting actually, which was lovely. Most people who did get sick had to stay behind and wait at the lodge and watch as the rest of us pushed on. I did get the odd headache and many a restless night, but that was it. The main thing was breathing - if you didnt consciously control your breathing all the time (much like when your SCUBA diving) you would find yourself completely and hopelessly out of breath. I was continually out of breath for two weeks, which i think must be some kind of record - i'll check that. Everynight, at least 3 or 4 times I would wake up gasping for air. I ended up taking what i dubbed as 'labour puffs' while trekking to try keep my breathing steady and that seemed to work, albeit making me look like a bit of an eijitt.

Everest then....

more on that another day.

to be continued...