Getting High (on life)

I was trying to think of some way to describe the experience of being in a place like like bottom of the Khumbu Icefall at the Base Camp for Mt. Everest. I could use words like incredible and amazing, but I don't think that those are sufficient. I would like to try though, to convey some of feelings through my pictures and maybe a little narrative.

The hike up to Base Camp was for the most part not that difficult - although I did train for about 6 months beforehand for it, so that may have been some help! The trail was mostly wide and easy (I'll cover details of the rest of the hike in another post.) But the day we arrived in Base Camp, I was more than a little exhausted. It is difficult to describe the effects of high altitude (17,700 ft) to someone who has not experienced it. The exhaustion and lethargy are unbelieveable. Added to that is the effect that it has on you mentally - which leads some part of you to keep saying to yourself "just give up." That makes it sound like it was a terrible experience - rather, it was probably the most amazing experience of my life and even thinking of it now practically brings me to tears. To say it was a life changing experience may sound melodramatic, but I feel that there is something fundamentally "different" about me now, in the way I feel about everything. The strange thing is, I can't really say what the difference is - perhaps that will come when I have more perspective on the whole thing.

Anyway, that sounds like a rambling stream of consciousness, but here some cool pictures!!

Here's a great group picture of all eight of us above Namche, which was "only" about 13,000 ft. It was a great hike and there's a view of Everest far off in the distance about at the centre top of the picture. My buddies Dave and Mike are in the front row on the left. The mountain Ama Dablam rises dramatically on the far right.

Here's a picture of the trail when we were almost to Lobuche which was one stop below Gorak Shep (the highest place we stayed). This was the day before we got to Base Camp.

Team Canada with the Khumbu Glacier in the background. Feelin' fine!!

This is just before we got to Base Camp. We were all feeling pretty crappy by this point from the altitude, but pressed on! You can see Everest peeking over the mountains in the foreground. The base of Nuptse is on the right, with the peak that forms the bottom of the Western ridge of Everest beside it. The Khumbu Icefall is coming down between them..

Triumph! Here I am - it's funny because I remember when that picture was taken, I was saying "please hurry, I can't keep my arms up!" The Khumbu Icefall is in the background - this is the first major part that the people who are actually climbing Everest have to get through, and the most dangerous. Although it looks like you could almost just walk up that short snowfield, that's because perception is completely messed up there. Everything LOOKS smaller and closer than it is. The chunks of ice in the Icefall can be 100 ft high! Climbers must negotiate a series of ladders that bridge the crevasses. A fall is deadly.

Team Canada arrives! This is the three of us (Me, Mike and Dave) at Base Camp. The flag is actually one we borrowed from the lodge at Gorak Shep. We forgot to bring one!!

Anyway, it was truly an amazing experience - I will discuss the people of Nepal next post. It won't be too long, I promise!!