{"id":14298,"date":"2013-04-04T09:35:37","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T15:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=14298"},"modified":"2016-05-27T17:17:27","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T23:17:27","slug":"everest-2013-the-trek-goes-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2013\/04\/04\/everest-2013-the-trek-goes-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest 2013: The Trek Goes On"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lhotse<\/a>
Lhotse Peak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just a quick update today as teams are still on the trek to Everest Base Camp. Many of the updates are about what they are seeing, here<\/a> and feeling along the way. However, this may be the strangest collection of updates I have ever posted!<\/p>\n

I’m seeing several reports of stomach issues the past few days. This is fairly common as Westerners adjust their systems to the local food. Most climbers will get things sorted by the time they arrive at Base Camp.<\/p>\n

Steve Whittington<\/a> gave us this insight:<\/p>\n

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I was suffering from a G.I. bacteria that has worked it\u2019s way through almost every team member. I was feeling so bad that every day after the trek I just reed into my sleeping bag for the night. \u00a0The pre-everest weight I had put on is already starting to shed. Namche!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0To further complicate this situation, climber Dave Mauro<\/a> posted this about the accommodations in one teahouse:<\/p>\n

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There were two twin beds and a bare\u00a0incandescent light bulb hanging from the\u00a0ceiling. The Proprietor explained there were only 3 working toilets at the Inn, and they did not work particularly well. We were instructed to place toilet paper in a waste bin instead of flushing it down. All of this might be off-putting if not for the simple fact it was still much better than tent camping \u00a0…and this was Nepal.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

By the way, Dave is posting his resting heart rate (68) and his blood oxygen saturation level (SPO2) 93 as he goes along. Not bad for 8,691 feet!<\/p>\n

But David Tait’s<\/a> post is one of the most disturbing I have ever read, and I mean that with a smile on my face. His wife is on the trek with him to EBC and dropped her sunglasses down the ‘hole’. David, being a fine British gentleman, went for the rescue. This is bathroom humor at its worst or finest depending on your stomach:<\/p>\n

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… Owing to the fact that she didn\u2019t have a spare pair, and sunglasses are crucial at altitude, I elected to try and rescue them, which entailed plunging my hand into the foul recess and praying. Sadly \u201cu\u201d bends had not been employed and it appeared the glasses were lost forever. Trying not to gag, I set about trying to scrub the filth off my hand \u2013 and thought I had done a good job.<\/p>\n

Minutes later dinner was served; potatoes, tinned tuna, coleslaw and pita-bread. No sooner had I swallowed the last mouthful, I started to feel \u201cstrange\u201d …<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You must read the rest as this is the first Blog of the Day<\/strong> of Everest 2013.<\/p>\n

I like this update from the US Air Force <\/a>(USAF) team as they landed in Lukla:<\/p>\n

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So, what I anticipated to be a terrifying flight actually became a hilarious nerd-fest for our team\u2019s aviation enthusiasts (picture five guys crowded around the cockpit cracking jokes about how ridiculously outdated the controls of our plane was and then promptly arguing over who would be more capable taking control if the pilot became incapacitated).<\/p>\n

Anyway, we landed safely and the rest of the day turned out to be really pleasant as we weaved our way up to Phakding. It was awesome to finally be out of Kathmandu and into a world that is absent of gas powered machinery. Everything from here on up is powered by people and Yaks and the strength of that effort is amazingly impressive. In my mind, seeing the Sherpas lug loads up the valley affirmed their status as the world\u2019s premier badasses. Some of them were portering giant loads that easily weighed 200 pounds\u2014and keep in mind most of these guys are barely 5\u2019 6\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is quite common to have strange dreams at altitude. Chris Jensen Burke tells us of her’s and the aftermath:<\/p>\n

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On my first night arriving at Namche, I had my first altitude dream of the trip.\u00a0 I made the \u2018mistake\u2019 of sharing it with the team.\u00a0 It had a lot in it to do with the wilds of Africa and several hundred gorillas (!!).\u00a0 Warren, who works at Taronga Zoo, decided to interpret the dream … On the way down, Sumit wanted to take an \u2018action shot\u2019 of the team and Warren broke into an impersonation of the late and great Steve Irwin.\u00a0 I\u2019m a big fan of the late Crocodile Hunter and I was in stitches.\u00a0 It was way too funny.\u00a0\u00a0 At every other opportunity on the walk, other team members brought my gorillas into the conversation.\u00a0 You can tell we have far too little to occupy our brains (and too little oxygen) at altitude!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Let me end this section on different note. The trek often causes people to become introspective, this is a good example from Melissa Arnot<\/a> , who has summited four times and is leading a womens trek to EBC and working to support Sherpa families killed while guiding. She is going for her fifth summit this year:<\/p>\n

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Seeing Everest for the first time was emotional for much for the group, including me. It\u2019s hard to wrap my brain around exactly how special that mountain is to me. The goddess that lives in the mountain is said to ride a tiger and hold a basket of fruit in her right hand, and a mongoose that spits wealth from her left. The mountains around offer support and have goddesses of their own. As I look around at the sun cresting the other peaks, I can feel the energy of that support, and I know I am in the right place.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lhotse<\/h3>\n

Not all climbers are going for Everest. Lhotse at 27,940 feet or 8516 meters is the world’s 4th highest peak and is increasing in popularity. It is often termed slightly more technical than Everest due to climbing a narrow, rock filled gully on the final summit push. But a Lhotse expedition is 90% identical to an Everest climb. You follow the same acclimatization schedule, use the same camps from Base Camp to Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face.<\/p>\n

But the departure occurs when everyone is going for their respective summit pushes. Leaving Camp 3 at 23,000′ climbers cross the Yellow Band. Soon thereafter, Everest climbers continue up the Geneva Spur to the South Col while Lhotse climbers take a hard right and continue straight up the steep face.\u00a0 No, there is no signpost! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

One the largest financial differences between an Everest and a Lhotse climb is the permit fee charged by Nepal. For a seven member team on Everest, the fee breaks down to $10,000 per climber while on Lhotse for a seven member team, the permit is only USD$1,428 per climber.<\/p>\n

I did an in-depth report<\/a> comparing Everest and Lhotse last year.<\/p>\n

OK, that’s all for today. Sounds like our climbers are having a good time!<\/p>\n

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything<\/p>\n

Personal Note: A deep and sincere thanks to all who have made a donation<\/a> to one of the Alzheimer’s non-profits. You are what keeps me going for this coverage.<\/p>\n

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