I was 13 when Into Thin Air was released, Jon Krakauer’s account of the catastrophe on Everest in 1996. When my father got his hands on the book, he devoured it. From that moment on he had mountain fever, which he passed on to me. I am sure we bored all of our family members by talking about different ascent routes, mountaineering and upcoming expeditions, all without ever climbing any mountains ourselves.
Everest seemed to be a distant dream that none of us would ever be able to achieve, but it inspired in me a love of the outdoors that I nourished by touring the Alps and the low mountain ranges in Germany. Fast forward 20 years and I live in Nepal with my nine-year-old daughter. My father and I wanted a chance to live out our dream, so finally, in the spring season, three generations of my family went on the Everest Base Camp Trek together. And what a fantastic time we had!
We started
the trek by flying into Lukla, which was the first massive challenge for me.
While my daughter fell asleep during the flight and my father enjoyed the
views, I was fighting off a panic attack at every little rocking movement of
the plane. Of course we landed safely, as most flights do, and after some
repacking at the airport, we started our hike.
The first
day was short, as we only wanted to reach Phakding, but we were all exhausted
after the excitement of the early morning flight. After reaching the guesthouse
at around lunchtime, I literally passed out in the dining room. When I woke up,
I found my father and my daughter outside, working on their sketchbooks
together.
The next
day, we started early to make the long and intense climb to Namche Bazaar.
After following the river for a while, we had to cross a terrifying suspension
bridge before the real climbing started. My father and daughter happily hopped
over, while I had to force myself not to look down; it really does not pay to
be the only family member with a fear of heights on a trek like this. After an
intense two hours of uphill walking and a first glimpse of the mighty Everest,
we reached Namche Bazaar, the famous village that we had read so much about. It
was such a special feeling to enter the settlement together.
After some
excellent food in the guesthouse, we went to bed early, as the altitude was
catching up with us. The next day was going to be our first acclimatisation day,
on which we would only climb up a couple of hundred metres and then go back
down, to give our bodies time to adjust. My daughter did not really understand
the concept of going back after having spent so much energy to get up in the
first place, but after a couple of days, she also learned the importance of
acclimatising well. The view of Namche Bazaar from above was really magical,
and finally, we were able to take the picture of the town ourselves that we had
seen so many times.
The next
day we continued our hike towards Tengboche, but got caught in bad weather. The
clouds started to close in on us, and then it even started snowing. My daughter
had wanted to see snow for a long time, but that was not how I had imagined it.
After lunch, the storm let up and it was much easier to keep walking. When the
steep ascent towards Tengboche began, I was actually quite glad that the sun
was not out, as it was hot enough as it was.
In
Tengboche, we visited the famous monastery, which is the largest in the Khumbu
region and the place where would-be Everest summiteers go to be blessed by the
head lama before tackling the mountain. While we were walking around I realised
how different my life was now compared to how it had been in Germany. While my
father took many pictures and was intrigued by the exotic decorations of the
monastery, for my daughter and me, it was just another monastery, like the ones
that were part of our daily life now.
The evening
held a special treat in store for us. While we were enjoying one of the best
dal bhats I have ever tasted, we had our first unobstructed view of Everest,
tinted in the pink light of the setting sun. Sitting at the table, my father
and I just looked at each other, as neither of us could quite believe that we
had really made it this far. We were really doing it! We would be standing at
Everest Base Camp in a couple of days.
The next
day we continued to Dingboche, our next stop for an acclimatisation day. In the
afternoon, the clouds closed in on us again, and suddenly the temperatures
dropped. It was a small taste of how cold it would get further up. When we
reached the village, we could only see a couple of metres ahead of us in the
fog. So, you can imagine our surprise and excitement the next morning when we
realised we had reached the foot of Ama Dablam, with its beautifully shaped
peak right in front of us.
After an acclimatisation day that we spent hiking up the hill behind the village, and one more venture into the side valley towards Chukkung, we continued our hike to Lobuche, where we spent an icy night. Sleeping at this altitude of 4940 metres became increasingly hard for my father and me, although my daughter did not care and slept like a baby. The temperatures dipped well below zero during the night, which not only resulted in a cold nose for me but also in frozen toilets – something that none of us had expected.
The next
day led us to Gorak Shep, the last stop before Everest Base Camp. The way there
was challenging, and we all took turns complaining as we trudged through a vast
scree landscape that didn’t seem to end. Long columns of yaks and dzo (a hybrid
between domestic cows and yaks) passed us by, and we were more than happy to
let them take the right of way, as it gave us an excuse to have short breaks from
walking. When we saw the small settlement of Gorak Shep in the distance I was
extremely relieved, as all of us needed a break.
The next morning
was the big day. We were going to walk the remaining kilometers towards Base Camp
in the morning, before making our way back down. The last hours felt much
longer than I thought they would, but after a while, we spotted the small
yellow dots of the tents at Base Camp.
The closer we got, the more dots we discovered. Finally, we were able to see
the different camps. After crossing a section of the rubble the Khumbu Glacier
left behind, we made it to the sign that told us we had finally made it.
We climbed a
short way down towards the Khumbu Glacier, and there we took in the beauty of
this place. Many people say Base Camp itself is not that special, as the view
of Everest is obstructed. But for us, this was very special. We had read so
much about this place, had talked about it so intensely for so many years, and
our passion for this mountain – even from afar – was a big part of our family relationships.
Now here we were together, and sharing it with my daughter. For her, Everest
will not be a distant dream, but a close memory of a special time with her
grandfather. I have seldom felt as accomplished as I did when we started
walking back, and an accomplishment has seldom felt so good or whole.
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