Kathmandu

Sucking air at 20,000 ft High on Mera Peak

Summit of Mera Peak

Summit of Mera Peak

Sucking air at 20,000 ft. High up on Mera Peak

 I remember reaching the top of Mera Peak and feeling all of the endorphins rush through my body. After climbing for 8 or so hours and pushing through exhaustion with a few packets of Gu, a few gulps of water and putting my head down to follow my buddies footsteps; I had arrived. For me this was the highest I had ever been in my life, literally I felt high, the adrenaline surged and I went from zero energy to feeling like a hero jumping up and down while looking into the horizon. In the distance I could see Kanchenjunga, the world’s 5th highest peak along with Makalu and Everest peaking over the Lhotse wall “nearby.” I had just summited a 6000 meter peak and what sounds like an epic feat looks just like another mound in the high Himalaya. Multiple peaks and high points tower over Mera Peak. The three I mentioned above are all 8000 meter peaks. In the foreground there were several 6000 and 7000 meter mountains abound. If you look into trekking peaks of Nepal you will see that Mera Peak is one of the most popular nontechnical peaks in the country. I’m not the most technical guy yet I wanted to dabble with mountaineering in the Himalaya.

 My obsession with the Himalaya all began with my first trip to Nepal in 2003 through a school program called ‘Himalayan Ecology’ offered by Wildland Studies. I was going to college at the time in Bozeman Montana and I had finished the societal norm of 4 years of college but I still had 6 credits to go in order to graduate. In college I “Liked” a couple of classes so much that I had to retake them which in the end allowed me to have the opportunity of another semester. I was kind of over being in Bozeman at the time and had survived what was supposed to be one of the best years of your life, being a senior in college. For me it was a nightmare. The summer before I got dumped by my girlfriend who was graduating and moving on, the house where I lived on the south side of town down the street from campus with close friends disbanded and the tight nit community I once felt seemed to have evaporated. After writing a letter to the admissions office on why this program in Nepal would be more than substantial to count towards my credits for graduation they granted me permission. I felt like Charlie winning Willy Wonka’s golden ticket to the Chocolate Factory. I knew it was time for something new and this was my opportunity.

 I’ll never forget flying into Kathmandu for the first time. Walking out into the post monsoon warm sunshine with “chaos” going on all around me. We were greeted by our professor and other fellow students who had huge grins on their faces. I was so overwhelmed and had no idea how to interact with my new environment or the local culture. The local kids could smell my lack of awareness and instantly grabbed my bags and insisted on carrying them to the bus for me. In Nepal this is a good hustle for the youngsters as they “help” the tourists to their taxi or the bus. They really do help and they help you learn lessons the hard way. We got to our bus and they dropped my bags, right away they were asking for money. As I reached into my pocket I felt the wad of American cash I had and tried to pull out something small. It ended up being a 10 dollar bill. I sheepishly pulled it out and I handed it over. The kids went nuts! Minutes later our professor informed me that 10 dollars is about how much one earns in 3 days over in Nepal at the time. We were also told that we would be heading to the Khumbu after trekking around Kathmandu Valley for a week due to the Moaist insurgence. The Moaists were anti-government rebels and were a little violent here and there. The Khumbu would be a relatively safer spot because of the tourism. My eyes lit up because it had always been a dream to walk among the tallest mountains on earth ever since grade school.

 While visiting the local sights in Kathmandu we ended up going to Durbar Square in Patan, one of the main areas of the city. I realized that this was the place where my friend met a young gal and eventually ended up sponsoring her in a way. (He had a twist of fate and ended up in Patan even though he was intending to go somewhere else that day.) It hit me that maybe I could find her so I started asking around for Sunita. I asked young girls and boys if they knew Sunita and sure enough I found her! I explained who I was and how we had a common American friend. She showed my around the back alleys and smaller Hindu and Buddha temples. I met her mother and all of her friends that hung out in Durbar Square where they sold passport pouches and bracelets to bright eyed tourists. (She is still there and I find her every time I return just by looking and asking around.) She’s great and now has a daughter of her own while still selling bracelets to tourists.

 Back in the day at a mere 12 years old I sat in my 6th grade classroom. Our  teacher announced that we were going to have to do these country projects and they were going to be a big part of our grade. We weren’t allowed to choose our country and instead would be assigned some foreign place that we probably had not even heard of. As fate would have it I was dealt the Nepal card, one of the Himalayan kingdoms. I remember borrowing a National Geographic magazine that had a couple of articles on Nepal and cutting out all of the pictures of the Himalayas and pasting them on a box to display the large geographic features of the country. I can’t remember the outcome of how well I did but I do remember being exposed for the first time to a landscape and culture that would become a big part of my life. I displayed the three different climatic zones in Nepal which includes the Terai (jungle area), middle hills and the Himalaya. I have not ventured yet to the Terai in all my visits.

 On that first trip after walking around the Kathmandu Valley for a week and getting introduced to the ‘Dehli Belly’ for the first time I quickly earned the nickname ‘Leaky Butt.’ It was horrible, I had never experienced such a ‘grip it and rip it’ sensation as I ran to the toilet tent on multiple occasions. I think I took the ‘Cypro’ antibiotic on four different occasions. What made up for that fact of this new unplanned diuretic was the view on the first morning. I awoke in one of the lower villages above Lukla to a cool calm day and felt excited to be in the mountains. (Lukla became famous in 1954 when Sir Edmond Hillary built a runway there so they could fly supplies to the mountain villages in order to improve the infrastructure including the Sir Edmond Hillary school in the village of Khumjung.) I remember after finishing my ‘Bed tea’ (Our expedition cooks would bring us black tea in the morning tentside) I unzipped the tent and stepped out while looking up at the towering white peaks above. I was blown away, I couldn’t believe how high those things were, the day before we came into camp and due to the classic afternoon clouds our view was limited to the low lying valley. I immediately felt ecstatic and was stoked to be in this new mysterious and magical place.

 When you go to places for the first time they have the potential for being so amazing just by soaking it in and being present. That has been the case for a lot of areas I have backpacked through or traveled to. When you return it is always still amazing but not like that initial shock. My professor explained that if you go to a place for a week you’ll write a book, if you stay for a month, you’ll write a paper, if you stay for a year you probably will not write anything at all.

 On that first trek we were exposed to the mountains and the Sherpa culture for the first time and felt the hospitality and fragility of the high mountain environment. I had the opportunity to go to now one of the more visited exotic places, Everest Base Camp. We also hiked up Kala Pattar, Gokyo Ri, and over Cho La pass the connector between Gokyo Lakes and the Everest route. We spent 4 days at the Tengboche monastery experiencing the Mani Rimdu (Budddhist) festival and eating goodies at the bakery that had probably sat on the shelves for a couple of weeks. Most importantly it was what wet my lips for a desire to continue to return and explore this beautiful country.

 I had traveled back a couple of times in between my first visit and when I climbed Mera Peak. I took my dad there to show him around while trekking in the Khumbu. Our high point was the Gokyo Lakes region where we ventured above the first couple of lakes towards the base of Cho Oyu, another 8,000 meter peak. It was pretty neat to share the magic of Nepal with my dad. I think it was a hard transition for him from a meatloaf and other American culinary classics diet to the typical dal bhat (rice & lentils) Nepali cuisine.

 One instance that stuck out on our adventure was an encounter with a couple of Tibetan traders. We were higher up in the Gokyo valley when two people approached my dad and I along with our friend/guide Karma. The two Tibetans were trying to sell us beads. My dad described them as backcountry financers who despite traveling along their trade route through the mountains from Tibet to Namche Bazaar (the main village and trading hub of the Khumbu) they knew the exchange rate for us Americans. When trying to barter with our shiny American Express travelers checks they wanted nothing to do with them. The wrinkled texture on their sun burnt leathery foreheads frowned and became more pronounced as they inspected what we had to offer. They pushed the keys feverishly on the calculator showing us the “best price.” With the help of Karma we finally settled on a fair price and walked away with the beads around our neck and lighter pockets from the rupees spent.

 In the 2006, the year before climbing Mera Peak I had the opportunity to guide over there with a company I worked for in the past. They had two different trips lined up and gave me a call. I gladly accepted the duty and flew to Nepal. I was informed that I would be co-guiding with a local Sherpa for both of the trips. This was my first introduction to my main man Furba Sherpa.

Furba Sherpa

Furba Sherpa

 Furba is a kind gentle soul. He’s a family man and him and his wife run a small restaurant below where they live in Kathmandu. It’s where the locals of the area come for a quick meal or drink. His wife Kanchi is an amazing cook and is always busy cooking in the kitchen. Within the first few days of getting to know each other Furba zipped me around Kathmandu while I sat on the back of his motorbike. It was such a rush, constantly tucking in my knees and avoiding near disasters and holding on while slaloming through Nepal traffic. The thing about traffic over there is there are no rules, anything goes. I pitty the traffic cops who stand in the middle of intersections blowing their whistle, waving their hands, all the while inhaling all of the exhaust. They must have had some kind of karma to end up with that job. Somehow it all works out though.

 I laugh every time we drive by the “Drivers ed” field where youngsters are driving around in circles and learning how to navigate the battle scene for the first time. The taxi drivers decorate the dashboard with their favorite god/goddess shrine in their taxis and through their worship and prayer they end up avoiding accidents (most of the time). Last time I was there riding in a jeep we came pretty close to hitting another vehicle, after a quick reaction from our driver we avoided the damage and immediately he was reciting his prayers while touching his shrine.

 Furba and I got to know each other over the course of the next few weeks with two separate trips to the Khumbu with two different groups. He’s always on the lookout for various things, interesting sights/insights and of course people that he knows. Throughout the last couple of times in Nepal we have really bonded and I have spent some time with him and his family in the Solu Khumbu region where he grew up. Last trip we scouted a route together and trekked through the middle hills for 10 days while sampling many varieties of dal bhat. Traveling with him is great because I get pulled into the hearth (or the kitchen) of each teahouse and really get the flavor of the locals and what goes on behind the scene. I have no clue what they are saying but it doesn’t matter. It’s fun playing with the kids that inhabit the basic buildings while the elders drink tea. Sometimes a lot of fun and entertainment can come from just playing catch with a rock with the kids as I found out last year.

 My connection with Furba has deepened my experience in Nepal in so many ways, most importantly with his people. I love just hanging in the restaurant and being the white person in his alley of Kathmandu. Some people engage with me and others just sit and drink the local spirit, Tongba. Tongba is a hot millet based alcoholic beverage that can cause a pretty impressive headache the day after if one is not careful. I think what I am really thankful for is the warmth and hospitality of him, his family, and the people in general of Nepal.

My buddy that sponsors a gal in Kathmandu that I mentioned above always talked about how the people of Nepal love their kids. I started paying attention and it is very true, everyone is a parent in a way over there, kids run about as kids do while the people older in age keep an eye out. Whatever lodge or teahouse you find yourself in the owners are there for you, to serve food, copious amounts of tea and a heat source full of yak dung and wood.

 While standing on top of Mera Peak I could have used some of that hospitality sooner rather than later. My buddy and I stood at top and took it all in. I didn’t feel like I had to leave anything on the summit to claim my accomplishment, I just felt so humbled to be up there and to have walked up a huge snowy hill in the Himalaya. After snapping a few photos we began our descent as it was late in the day. As I walked down my energy level was still pretty high. It’s amazing what your body can do on little food, water and not much sleep. I think I ate a couple of chunks of Nak (Female version of the yak) cheese and some pieces of a Snickers bar. We packed up camp near the Col and descended all the way down to the highest village in the valley. It was pretty dark the last couple of hours hiking down but the stars were so bright it didn’t really matter. After a 15 hour day of being on our feet and reaching the highest elevation of our lives, we were finally eating a bowl of warm dal bhat snuggled in our tent that we erected in exhaustion.

Racing the light on the descent

Racing the light on the descent

Lhotse Wall with the tip of Everest behind

Lhotse Wall with the tip of Everest behind