November 6

Today, we had a relatively short two-hour walk up to Gorak Shep, our highest stop at about 17,000 feet. Lal didn't want to stay there, because it is cold and expensive, but Kala Pattar was my main destination, so I wanted to stay close to it, and Lal would do whatever I asked. I was relieved to discover that we did not have to climb the rocks above Lobuje, as I had thought. Instead, we continued gently up the valley, following the shallow, icy river. We had to rock-hop across it twice, and eventually came to a steep hill, the most difficult of the day. Then the trail climbed to the top of a rocky ridge high above the Khumbu Glacier, and continued up and down over rocky ridges until it reached Gorak Shep, at 17000 feet. All the little climbs were tiring at this elevation, and I let Lal go ahead of me to find a lodge.

Gorak Shep and Kala Pattar, with Pumori

We stopped at the first of three lodges in Gorak Shep. There were tables and lounge chairs (mostly in disrepair) outside on the patio, and many people were sitting around. The tip of Mt. Everest was visible over the ridge above the roof of the lodge. I had an early lunch of watery tomato soup and biscuits, then we rested a couple of hours. I wanted to climb Kala Pattar, the 18,450 foot hill next to Gorak Shep, in the afternoon so that the sun would hit Mt. Everest from a good angle for photographs, and there would be enough clouds to make the sky interesting. Lal had a plate of yak meat with the other Nepalese while waiting.

I took a Diamox, a diuretic which aids acclimatization, after lunch to see what effect it would have. It is said that Diamox helps the body use oxygen more efficiently by acidifying the blood. I had not tried any altitude medication earlier, because I was not having any real troubles, and once you start taking it, you must continue until you descend to the same elevation. This was our highest point, so I could safely try one to see if it would make the climb any easier.

I cleaned my glasses and camera lens, and told Lal I was ready at 2 PM. He then bought some biscuits and Cadbury bars for snacks, and told me he would like to have some sunglasses, because it was very bright. He did not like the reddish tint of the ski goggles I lent him this morning. I bought him a pair of mirrored sunglasses with red frames he liked in the lodge store for 500 Rs. I put on my warmest clothes, including a down jacket, pile jacket, pile pants, nylon wind pants, and two layers of thermal underwear: a capilene undershirt and a full set of wool-polypropalene underwear. I carried a fresh bottle of hot, boiled water in a pouch under my down jacket. I also brought my heavy Columbia gloves and a fleece balaclava to keep my face warm. Lal liked my gloves, which he thought looked like motorcycle gloves. Unfortunately, I could not take pictures while wearing them. I lent Lal my wool gloves, which were better than his, and my nylon jacket.

We crossed a flat, sandy dry lake-bed next to the town, which was little more than three lodges, and started the climb. It went easier than I had expected. I don't know if this was because of the Diamox I took, or because I was not carrying a pack. Up to the first plateau, I needed no rest stops, and we kept a surprisingly fast pace on the very steep trail. Most of the people I had watched climbing from the hotel earlier were moving like zombies here. Because of our relatively late start, we were practically alone now. There were only a few other people coming down.

At the plateau, we got our first good view of Mt. Everest. Lal joked that we should try climbing it in twelve hours and set a record. When we started climbing the final rocky top of Kala Pattar, I slowed down a bit, and took some rests. Lal started running, but he didn't run long before needing a rest himself. He sat down on a rock, and I gave him some of my water. After that, we were within sight of the top. Lal kept a steadier pace, and reached the top after climbing for about an hour and fifteen minutes. I took an extra fifteen minutes, which was still a good time. I had wanted to do well on this climb, since we were considering crossing Cho La pass, and Lal was afraid he would be cold if I walked too slowly, so he would be watching how I did today. However, the difficulty of this climb was already giving me strong second thoughts about whether I wanted to try to cross the pass, since I would have to carry my pack at a comparable elevation to this hill.

Mt. Everest and Nuptse from Kala Pattar

On top of the hill, it was 30 with a strong wind. Lal was not as well-dressed as I was, but he said he was warm enough. He gave me a piece of his Cadbury bar, which was frozen solid. We took a lot of pictures. The mountain views were spectacular in all directions. Mt. Everest was clearly visible, but my favorite view was back down the valley we had just come up, which was lined with a multitude of mountains. Pumori was the closest mountain, just above us, in the direction opposite Gorak Shep. A glacier and lake were visible over the steep other side of Kala Pattar, and between Everest and Pumori, we could see a pass to Tibet and Changtse, a mountain across the border. I didn't go all the way to the highest point, because of the steep drop-offs and strong gusty wind, but I went close, and Lal and I took turns taking pictures of each other on the peak.

The walk down was much faster, but very steep, and it was easy to slip on the sandy trail. One lady was coming up, alone, as we were going down. She would be the last person on the hill. Already, it was becoming very cloudy, and the views would be limited. She planned to come back in the morning, as well. I originally had similar plans, but now I no longer thought I wanted to repeat that exhausting and painful climb. A partial climb to see how Everest looks in the morning might be nice. It is not necessary to climb all the way. I also decided that I would probably skip the walk to the base camp, since it was a six hour round trip, and there is no view since it is in the valley. There was no expedition there now, so there would be nothing to see. Otherwise, the glacier is the main attraction. A short walk along it might be nice.

When we returned to the lodge, we had tea, and I ate the biscuits and Cadbury bar Lal bought me earlier. It was too cold to spend time eating at the summit. Lal brought us two plates of yak meat, which were not as highly spiced as in Tengboche, but all sorts of hot sauces were available on the table, including Tabasco. Lal suggested getting some beer or chhang to go with it, but I thought this was a bad idea at this altitude, and anyway, it would not mix with the Diamox I had taken. I ordered a hot chocolate instead.

Nuptse Sunset

As we ate the yak meat, Lal told me he had a headache, and asked for a Diamox, which I gave him. He then curled up in a corner by the stove in his sleeping bag (a thin summer bag). For dinner, I ordered dal bhatt with vegetable curry, which was pretty good here, but Lal said he wasn't hungry. This was a bad sign, since it can be a symptom of altitude problems. At sunset, the clouds broke up just enough for a glimpse of Nuptse and Everest illuminated by a reddish light.

After dinner, a lady staying at the lodge told me I should keep an eye on my guide, because he didn't look well. A short while later, Lal went outside and threw up. One lady in the lodge was a nurse. She gave him a coordination test, which he passed. If he hadn't, we would have had to try to get him down to Lobuche or further immediately, in the dark. She had him take another Diamox and drink a lot of water, but he couldn't keep it down. I mentioned that I had a stronger medicine, dexamethazone, but we weren't sure he should take it so soon after taking Diamox, and anyway, he didn't trust anything but Diamox. The lodge manager told me that the Nepalese were suspicious of drugs, and while Diamox had become accepted by some because of promotion by the clinic in Pheriche, they usually preferred their own remedies, such as garlic.

We kept him awake until bed time, when the light was left on while I watched him for a couple of hours, to make sure he was breathing well and did not get worse. After about 10:30, I was too cold and tired to continue, and the solar electricity was running out. The lodge owner lit a candle, and I brought my sleeping bag into the dining room to lie next to him, where the Nepalese slept around the stove. Some extra blankets and a sleeping bag were donated to keep Lal warm as the fire died in the stove. I slept very close to him and tried to watch him as much as I could, although I was too tired from climbing Kala Pattar to stay awake much, and I unintentionally had my best sleep yet on this trek.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.