Being close to the mountain is an exhilarating and awesome experience. To witness at close hand the grandeur, beauty and majesty of these mighty bulges in the earth crust is breathtaking, besides providing an opportunity of immersing in the surrounding beauty and enjoying the fresh air. We started our trekking adventure rather late in life.
However going by the saying better late than never, I and my husband decided to start our trekking adventure when we had stepped into that part of life where many simply throw in the towel. In 2019 we trekked to base camp Nanga Parbat, a 3/4 days trek at an elevation of about 4000 meters. Our next goal was either K2 or Everest base camp, the latter being slightly longer and at an higher elevation.
Unfortunately Covid cut short our plans and for the next three years we could not undertake any trekking expedition. In October last year we did the Rakaposhi Base Camp, a mountain in the Karakoram range situated in the middle of Nagar Valley. The next on the list was Everest base camp.
A 10/11 days journey to reach the camp, including 2 days acclimatisation trek each going up to about 500 meters. This was a difficult undertaking considering that I was reaching 60 and my husband 71. We were fortunate that two other friends Shamsuddin Shaikh and Nadeem Shaikh joined us on this journey.
After months of anticipation and meticulous planning, the time had finally arrived and the four of us headed to Napal for this once in a life time adventure. Everest Base Camp was no walk in the park and involved climbing up to an altitude of about 5500 meters. The trek especially after 3500 meters is not a well laid out path but involves climbing through huge stones and boulders.
The trek starts from Lukla, a small town at half an hour flight from Manthali airport, which itself is about 5 hours drive from Kathmandu, through some winding roads. Climbers/trekkers have to leave for Manthali at around 1 am to reach there in time to take the early morning flight. Our other two group members had to wait till the evening when the flight resumed.
Having travelled all night, and in our case the night before (Karachi to Kathmandu) there was hardly any time to take even a small nap. The first stop from Lukla is Pakding a trek of 6/7 hours which is relatively easy but we felt the full force of high altitude trekking here specially due to our earlier two sleepless nights of travel. Shams and Nadeem arrived late in the evening and had to trek up to Pakding in pitch dark, a pretty dangerous effort Having been up for two nights and then driving through winding roads and trekking immediately thereafter, when reaching Pakding I started having a terrible headache and vomits, which my husband thought was the onset of of acute mountain sickness (AMS) as the symptoms were similar.
AMS is caused by lower oxygen and is quite dangerous as it can develop into pulmonary or cerebral edema both of which are fatal and require immediate decent and hospitalisation. We were extremely disappointed at the prospect of having to abort the trek at the first place but if it was the start of AMS it was best to go down. The guides are however well trained.
He advised me to immediately start a medicine called Diamox which helps in preventing AMS. By morning I was fine. Next day we started for Namchi Bazar a trek of 10/12 hours with a steep climb of over 900 meters.
Here we also had to cross the first of the 8 suspension bridges. A metal bridge over the rushing river and continuously shaking with trekkers, Sharpas and animals like Yaks travelling in both directions over it. The next stop is Dingbouche.
Though a difficult trek, but the shortest one in the entire trip being only 5/6 hours with an altitude of 4500 meters. One stays here for two nights, the next day being the second acclimatisation climb to a nearby mountain. It was here that my husband, who was not taking Diamox, started developing some symptoms of AMS as he completely lost his appetite and had to climb another 1500 meters, including the acclimatisation hike, and another 3 days without any food.
Fortunately the blizzard stopped and there was even some faint rays of sunshine so we could make the attempt. By this time my husband had not had any food for more than 48 hours and was weakened and exhausted and I was not sure if he had the strength to go further. But to return at the last stage would have been heart breaking and he was also in no mood to stay back.
Within half hour the blizzard returned though it was not as heavy as before. Either having returned to a lower altitude or the euphoria of every one singing happy birthday, my husband was able to eat a little and on that happy note our memorable journey came to an end. Despite the difficulties, reaching Everest Base Camp is a rewarding achievement, and the sense of fulfilment that came with conquering such a formidable challenge.
The feeling of standing at the foot of the world’s highest mountain is truly awe-inspiring. The author, Aamira Rizvi is an educationist, she is the Director of Operational Head in a well reputable school in Karachi with 35 years of experience in the field..
