1. A Diary of
A Trek To Everest Base Camp By Jayant Doshi
From 16th October 2004 till 8th November 2004.
We landed at Kathmandu (4435 ft) airport at 9.00
p.m. on Saturday 16th October 2004, and Dhiru
and I were received with garlands. It dawned on us
that we were at last here to start our very first
trekking expedition. After months of preparations,
doubts and apprehension created by the political
situation in Nepal, and the fear of being persuaded
not to go, we had at last landed in Nepal. We faced
eighteen days of trekking on the mountains and we
felt ready for it, though unsure if we will be able to
accomplish it.
Ever since my first visit to the Himalayas in 1996, I had fallen in love with the beauty of
the region. While I visited the Himalayas twice since then, I always had that desire to roam the
region on foot and absorb the beauty that nature had endowed on the region. When someone
made the suggestion to go on a trek to Nepal, I
seized the idea and was excited by the
opportunity that had come my way. I asked
Dhiru who immediately showed keen interest.
We met in April and discussed what we could do.
We bought special trekking shoes in June. It is
important that shoes are really comfortable and
strong, and it is essential that the shoes are
worn in for some time for the feet to get used to
them. The thought of rebel activity in Nepal was
uppermost in our minds, and our resolve was
shaken by the advice given by the government.
But I pursued the idea and started our planning.
I was fortunate to make contact with Minal and Ketan who had been to Nepal five times. They
gave us great encouragement, and detailed advice on what to take, what to buy and where to
buy. Without their support our trekking trip perhaps might have floundered. The person who
initiated the idea pulled out, but Dhiru and I were firm on our resolve.
On Sunday morning Ajaya, the trek organiser, briefed us as to the itinerary and the
other requirements during the trek. We were taken around Kathmandu on a sightseeing trip.
Next morning we met Ganesh, our guide, who went
through all our equipment to ensure that we were
well prepared. In the afternoon we bought
medicines and other items required for the trek.
We were all prepared and ready for the trek, and
excited.
1st Day, Tuesday – We woke up early and got
ready. We were taken to the airport for our flight to
Lukla (9350 ft). It was chaotic at the airport but
Ganesh sorted out our boarding process.
Fortunately the flight was on time. Sixteen seat

2. plane flies over the mountains to land on a small
strip at Lukla airport after a thirty-minute flight.
Within minutes passengers disembark, baggage is
downloaded, and then new passengers embark and
the plane leaves within two to three minutes. Being
peak time for tourists, a few planes were landing
every few minutes and bringing hundreds of
trekkers. We walk down some very steep steps
from the airstrip, and we start our trek. We carried
a rucksack with water, windcheater, some snacks
and other essential items; the duffle bags were
carried by the porters. The porters normally walk
fast and reach the destination long before us and ensure that rooms are booked for us. Porters
are male as well as female, and many as young as eighteen or even less, and carry from
anywhere like 30 kg to 80 kg.
It dawned on me that after this airport, there are no vehicles of any sort. Those born in
this region would never have seen a wheel. Everybody seemed very fit – I guess they cannot
afford not to be. Only means of transporting any goods was either a yak or human beings. From
this point onward, we had to forget our world, totally cut off from what was happening in the
world, and away from all the modern amenities
we are so used to. But from now on, we are in a
land unpolluted or unspoilt by human greed; we
are out in the open, breathing crisp, fresh
mountain air, and viewing the world of nature
created by the almighty. All our lives we were
used to seeing man made monuments and cities,
and the artificial world created for our pleasure;
but for the next eighteen days we were going to
see the world created by god.
We crossed lots of swing bridges on
the first two days. Some of the swing bridges
were very long and they swung with every step.
We passed a village built by Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person ever to climb Mount Everest. It
has the only High School of the region. We also passed Dudh Koshi river, which literally means
“milk river”, and the water in fact looks milky white. The path was reasonably well maintained,
and we did five and a half hours of steady walking on the day, and reached our very first
teahouse (or a lodge) at 5.30 in the evening at Phakding (8800 ft).
The teahouses look nice from the outside, constructed with stones and yak dung and
mud. But inside the walls, ceilings and floors are just plain ply boards. We were told that as we
went higher up, the standard of teahouses gets worse. Only the dining hall is well decorated with
photos and paintings, and office table type tables
and benches for sitting, and the floor covered with
carpet in places. One can see lot of Tibetan
influence in the décor. It is the only room in the tea
house where a wood fire is allowed from 4.00
onwards. It was nice to see the country observing
the strict laws for preserving the trees. As the room
is cold and lighting is poor, all trekkers, guides and
porters sit in the dining hall. Talking with other
trekkers, and reading or playing games was the
normal pastime. Dinner would be quite early, and
will be finished well before eight at night. Besides
the dining room, the bedrooms are very basic. The
walls, floors, door and ceiling are made of ply

3. board, which allows sound to travel with immunity.
Even a whisper could be heard in the other rooms. The
bedroom hardly seven by seven feet, has two beds each
two feet wide with little space left for bags and other
equipment. There are no hooks to hang clothes or any
other such amenity. Electric light was a rarity, and
where it existed, it was so dim that its only use was to
pack and unpack bags, but not good enough for
reading.
We met three people from Poona on the very
first day. Coincidentally, we kept meeting them on the
trek and also at the end when we had finished the trek.
The lady, past sixty, in the group had climbed quite a few mountains and was a keen trekker.
While hardly any Indians come for trekking, I was told that Poona has some active trekking
groups. As guides and porters sleep there, we had to go to our room by then, and as it was quite
cold we got used to going to sleep early. The rooms were very cold, and the outside temperature
was also near the freezing point. We were provided with sleeping bags, and we had brought inner
lining for them. Once we got into the sleeping bags it kept us so warm that we did not feel the
outside cold at all. In most tea houses Ganesh would arrange for a blanket, which provided extra
warmth.
2nd Day – Wednesday - We woke up at 6.00
a.m. The toilet was inside, but there was no
water facility or a sink. On request we were
given a small bowl of luke-warm water to wash
our faces and brush our teeth. We soon realised
that shaving would be a problem and time
consuming. We both decided to grow our
beards. After two mugs of hot lemon tea and
porridge and toast, we started our trek at eight.
We were told that this was going to be a long
day of trekking, and advised to take few stops
and walk faster. After lunch we had some steep
and tiring climbing to do. I kept getting out of breath and had to keep stopping every now and
then.
We reached Namchi Bazaar(11490 ft), a small town on the slopes of the mountains. This
is the last trading post where we could buy our requirements. After this, the world as we know
disappears. There is no electricity or telephone after this point. There is huge Tibetan open
market where the Tibetans come to sell their wares. We had problem finding a room and had to
walk right to the top of the town to find a room.
By this time Dhiru and I had caught a bad cold and cough, and we suffered from these
ailments till the end of the trek. In the dining hall we met a 71 year-old American who was
trekking on his own without a guide and carrying
his own luggage, and he walked much faster
then we did. We were slowly getting used to our
routine, and settling down in our meals. We were
expected to drink lot of liquids, and we found
lemon tea provided a good way of getting that
liquid into our bodies. We drank as much as six
to seven mugs of lemon tea daily, and we had
bowls of soup at lunch and dinnertime. All the
teahouses were tuned and trained to cater for
European palate, and we slowly got used to the

4. same. Rice and dal, or noodles, or pizza, or hash brown potatoes became our meals.
3rd Day – Thursday – I woke up with a bad cold, and a niggling pain in the forehead and felt
terrible for a while. We were staying at Namchi
Bazaar for a day to acclimatize ourselves before
going higher up the mountains. We had a
choice of doing trekking to a nearby spot or take
it easy for the day. As we had just started the
trek and had 16 more days to walk we decided
to spend the day in the lovely town, rather then
go for the trek and exhaust ourselves before
starting the main trek. We visited the museum
and the Tibetan market, and had wonderful
massage followed by a shower where Dhiru was
unfortunate to freeze in cold water. This was
our last opportunity to call our families and use
the internet and we took advantage of the same. We could see the majestic Mount Everest and
other peaks from this town.
4th Day – Friday – Today also we left the teahouse early to start our day of trekking. We were
leaving behind all the modern amenities and would be cut off from the world for the next 15 days
or so. We stopped at Everest View Hotel, which
have wonderful views of Everest and other peaks
from its balcony. It is claimed to be the only
hotel at a height of over 4000 metres (13500 ft)
and is built by some Japanese entrepreneur.
Tourists are brought by helicopter for a stay at
this hotel, or the only alternative is by walking
from Lukla. The hotel is for the super rich who
want to enjoy the nature without taking the
effort to actually do the trek.
We reached Khumjung (12270 ft)
by 11.00 a.m. The teahouse was very basic. The
toilet was outside, built of corrugated sheets,
with a ply board floor with a hole. It was very sunny with clear blue skies, but by noon it got
cloudy and very cold. My cold and nagging headache were bothering me since the day before. I
seemed to have no desire to eat and felt funny in the head. After lunch we walked to Khunde, a
military hospital for the benefit of trekkers and local people. There is also a helicopter rescue
service, and we could see the helicopter almost everyday.
The major problem anyone faces on such a trek is altitude sickness. The body takes
time to adjust to higher altitude, but time is limited and sometimes one is tempted to keep
moving. On the way back I decided to start on the altitude sickness medicine rather then
jeopardise the rest of the trek. I felt good since then
and did not regret the decision, though I will never
know if I would have suffered from altitude sickness. I
slept in the afternoon and felt much better after that.
We went to sleep before 9.00 p.m. hoping
that we do not have to wake up at night to visit the
outside toilet. To put the inner lining and then to
slide into the sleeping bag was difficult as it is; then
to wake up in the dark, search for the torch, and then
come out of the sleeping bag, put on warm clothes
and walk in the dark to the outside in the freezing
cold was a frightening thought; and to top it all, to

5. come back and then slide back into the sleeping
bag and keep the liner in its place was something
that has to be experienced to understand the
difficulties involved.
5th Day – Saturday – I woke at 6.00 and went to
the toilet outside the tea house. There was ice on
the grass, and the temperatures possibly below
zero. I was well wrapped but it was still very cold.
There were some Tibetans sleeping out there in
tents. I got a bowl of warm water, brushed and
washed my face and rushed back inside; that is
all I was willing to do in that cold weather. We stopped at a small village for lemon tea. I had
acquired a taste for lemon tea in the last few days. We walked for an hour or so, and then
stopped for lunch.
We reached Dole (13620 ft) for our night
stop. Dole is a small village on the bank of a river
with a few lodges. There is no electricity or phone
service, and rooms were very basic. While the
mornings are sunny with clear skies, by noon or
early afternoon, the clouds cover the skies, the
cold wind starts blowing and temperatures drop
drastically. We reached Dole by 3.30 but any
thought of going for a stroll disappeared when we
felt the cold winds. Outside toilet was getting
normal now, and a fear of coming out at middle of
the night to the toilet was frightening. There were
two solar powered lights in the dining hall. The
lights were so dim that those lights would not allow one to read anything. We spent our time
talking and playing cards. We had to leave dining hall by 8.00 and there was nothing to do in a
cold dark bed room then to go to bed early. We had sound sleep on this night.
6th Day – Sunday : We woke up at 7.00 and were ready to start our trek by 8.00. There were
many tents in the grounds indicating a large camping group was present. We had a very steep
climb for two and half hours, followed by downward easy walking. We reached Machhermo
(14885 ft) just after mid-day. The tea house was surrounded by mountains and rivers and the
scenery was breathtaking. The teahouse we stayed in was large and quite modern looking. While
the bedroom was similar to what we had so far, it at least had carpet and hooks to hang our
clothes. The toilet was inside and near our room. Overall, the accommodation was much better
then what we had the previous two nights.
The restaurant was quite busy and
the selection on the menu was quite impressive.
There had been heavy snowfall in the area and the
temperatures were below freezing. We had a free
afternoon but we did not want to sleep as this
would affect our night sleep. After lunch we decided
to go for a stroll and enjoy the beauty of the
mountains. But it was so cold outside that we
decided to come back and sit in the dining hall,
which also was cold but better then the bedroom.
The wood fire starts only after four. All the trekkers
staying in the lodge were in the dining hall – some
reading, some playing chess or cards, some talking

6. and some lying down or sleeping, while some
just sat there staring around them. There was
not much that could be done in this weather.
We spent the afternoon and the evening in the
dining hall till 8.30 at night. I did not sleep too
well during the night.
7th Day – Monday : We woke up at 7.00. In this
lodge we had the luxury of running hot water
from a barrel, and soap was also provided. We
started our trek at about 8.15. The early
trekking was some steep climbing followed by
easier gradient and then flat land. It was very
cold and windy, and the sky was covered in
gloomy grey clouds; but this was counter-balanced by some spectacular scenery on the way. We
watched some lovely snow clad mountain peaks, rivers flowing in the valley, and generally very
serene and lovely atmosphere. Later, the sun came out, the clouds dispersed, and it became
pleasantly warm though still freezing.
Our destination today was the Gokyo valley. It has the largest glacier in the world.
Gokyo (15970 ft) has six large lakes and several small lakes. Set amidst towering mountain
giants and jewelled with sparkling azure lakes,
Gokyo village remains one of the last unspoilt
destinations in the Everest region. A sparsely
populated valley, it was until recently occupied by
yak herders during the warmer summer months.
As Gokyo has been developed
recently, the teahouses seem modern compared to
what we had experienced so far. Gokyo village, if it
can be so called, is a plot of land no more then
three acres surrounded by two hundred feet high
mountain on one side and a lake on the other side.
On the other side, on the upper level of wall like
mountain is the Gokyo glacier with numerous
small lakes, many of them totally frozen. Our
teahouse boasted of satellite telephone, hot shower, and solar powered battery recharging
service. However, the battery charging did not seem to work and the satellite phones were not
able to get the signal. In the bedroom the walls were covered with wallpapers, there was a mirror
in the room and hooks for hanging clothes. The toilet was western style with provision for water
to wash hands with a mirror nearby for those who wished to shave. This teahouse was far better
then all the teahouses we had stayed in so far – seemed like five star accommodation. Quality of
food was also much better. But the teahouse had many trekkers staying, and the dining hall was
over crowded.
8th Day – Tuesday : Gokyo Ri (18280 ft) was right
across from where we were staying. Gokyo Ri gives
spectacular views of four Himalayan peaks. From
the teahouse it seemed like an easy mountain to
climb. But we were going to climb at least 2300 feet
from where we were staying, and that is no easy
climb. As mornings are always clear and sunny and
get cloudy later in the day, Ganesh suggested that
we start at 5.00 in the morning to get a clear view of
the Everest and other peaks. Climbing Gokyo Ri,

7. and view the splendour of Everest and other
peaks was one of the three targets on our trek.
I had poor sleep, possibly in
anticipation of being woken up early in the
morning. Many trekkers had left well before we
woke up, and we met many coming back when
we started our climb. We left at 5.15 in the
dark, in extremely cold weather. My guess is
that it was minus ten C at least at that time.
With very thick and warm gloves, my hands
were still numb with cold, and I could not
open a simple plastic buckle with my hands.
We crossed a river where rocks had been laid
to make the crossing easy. But one had to be
careful tackling those rocks. A slip could mean
ice-cold water getting into the shoes and perhaps wetting the clothes. A lady walking behind me
did slip but luckily got away with wet hands. We were well covered in warm clothes, with woollen
cap and gloves, and a head torch to guide us in the dark.
The icicles on the ground and on the rocks glistened like crystals. Grass blades were
covered with snow, and it appeared as if white grass was growing naturally. It was very cold, but
luckily it was not windy. We started our walk up the Gokyo Ri. The zigzagging tracks helped to
ease the steep gradient and made the steep slope easier to walk.
The dawn rose behind the peaks,
and gave a wonderful aura to the atmosphere. The
peaks one by one glowed with the first rays of the
morning sun. The sun came out from behind the
peaks, and gradually threw its golden rays on the
snow peaks, lighting each peak in turn. The
scenery was breathtaking. Words fail to describe it
all. The camera can capture the scenery, but
cannot catch the beauty of the time. We were awe-
stricken by the wonder of nature. The golden rays
lighting the peaks of the snow-covered mountains
were seized on the camera, but the beauty of the
moment could only be appreciated in person. In
spite of all the hardships, I knew that the trip was
worth it just for viewing this beauty.
As we reached the point, which we could see from the teahouse, we saw a rocky
mountain in front of us, which was the real Gokyo
Ri. But we knew that we could do it; we knew that
we had to do this. For us this was a great
achievement; we have conquered Gokyo Ri – now
here we come Kala Patthar.
Ganesh told us that he could climb Gokyo
Ri in one hour, and many trekkers did climb in less
than two hours. We took three and half-hours.
Ultimately, age overwhelmed our fitness and
enthusiasm. Our legs were strong, but our lungs
were aged. We were slow but we made it. The
altitude and aged lungs were not in our favour but
we did not stop and turn back; our legs did not give
up. We did not have aching knees or tired legs. We
had started early hoping that while the skies were clear we would get a good view of the Everest
and other snow covered peaks. However, by the time we reached the top it had become cloudy

8. and missed those scenes. We did not regret
that. Everest, but for us this was no less an
achievement. After taking some photos, we
started our descent. However, the tiredness hit
us and the last walk seemed as if it was not
going to end. By the time we finished, we were
really tired and as soon as we reached the
teahouse, we collapsed in our beds. We did ask
Ganesh why we are spending another night in
Gokyo when our climb of Gokyo Ri would be
finished by mid-day. Now we realised why. We
had no energy left to walk any more.
We had the afternoon free. The
teahouse had shower facility. We were sceptical about these showers, but when we heard praise
from another guest, we decided to try the shower. It was our first shower after a week. The
shower room was like a dilapidated shanty town shack. The shower cabin was outside the
teahouse, built of wooden frame with glass, some of which were broken, and plastic sheet roof.
The shower room was filthy, and broken glass windows and the door had gaps to blow cold air
from outside. There were some nails to hang
our clothes, but not enough space to change
our clothes. We opted for a bucket bath as the
shower was also connected to a bucket but one
would not know when the water would be
finished. We had our shower, but we were no
better then before we had the shower. We were
shivering before starting the shower; and we
were shivering even more after the shower.
Dhiru was unlucky. While he got a bucket full
of very hot water, the cold water finished soon
after he started his shower, and he could not
bathe in the hot water.
9TH Day – Wednesday : We went to bed early as
usual the previous night. It snowed at night and left an inch of snow on the ground. The
morning was chilly, but sunny and clear We were going to Dola all the way down from 15970 feet
to 13615 feet. But most important peril is the effect on the knees. Walking down the slope puts
more strain on the knees – especially when the knees are aged. It is important not to take too big
a step.
Dhiru had a narrow escape today. There were four yaks, with heavy loads, coming from
the opposition direction. One yak went wild and the two attendants tried to control the yak. The
other three, in the meantime, went down the
slope on the side of the path. Ganesh asked us
to pass the unruly yak. Dhiru was about to
walk past when the yak set itself free and moved
towards Dhiru. It all happened in a few seconds.
Dhiru panicked and moved backwards onto a
slope with some wild growth. He could have
easily tripped and fallen down, or slipped down
the hilly slope, and that could have caused
some injuries. Luckily, he controlled himself
and maintained his balance. The yak ran down
the slope, and we took a sigh of relief.

9. 10th Day – Thursday : It snowed during the
night, and there was a thin covering on the
ground in the morning. I had a good night’s
sleep. We woke by 6.30 and were ready and on
our way by 8.00. The initial walk was up the
mountain and then along the mountain ridge.
The path along the ridge was narrow, covered
with snow and quite slippery. As snow started
melting, it became muddy and even more
slippery. I slipped a few times, and one time it
was serious but luckily nothing happened. I
slipped, got to the ground but got control of
myself in time and avoided any damage.
The walk was through mountains, and
valleys covered with pine trees. There was utter
silence all around. The sheer silence in the
mountains was broken by the thunder of the falls, and the roar of the gushing waters of the
river, but that was all music to the ears. Scenery was stunning, and I could not but keep
clicking my camera. We took our lunch at Porsche. The walk after lunch was a mixture of going
up and coming down. As usual, it became cloudy and cool. We reached Pangboche (13100 ft) at
4.45. It was a long day for trekking, but a
very enjoyable day with some stunning
scenery on the way. Pangbouche is the
highest Sherpa settlement in Nepal.
While many might consider our
completing our very first trek, and that also
as difficult as this one, as a great
achievement at our age, when we met other
trekkers and heard of their achievement, we
felt as if what we will be doing would be
insignificant. We met a 71 year old American
who trekked without a porter or a guide and
walked much faster then us. We a met a 72
year old Japanese woman who was climbing
the New Peak which is over 20000 feet, much more then Gokyo Ri which we climbed. We met a
75 year old American who climbed Everest at 55, and is on record as the oldest person to have
done so, was here to do trekking to Everest base camp, with the hope of climbing Mount Everest
next year. Looking at his physique, I had my doubts if he will make it.
11th Day – Friday : We woke up to a bright sunny morning with clear blue skies. The teahouse
had some stunning lovely mountain peaks, and I took some photos of the same. After breakfast,
we visited 600 year old monastery. We just missed
a major festival that took place here a few days
back.
We left for Pheriche (14135 ft) at 8.30. It
was a gradual uphill walk, and we were hoping to
be there by lunchtime. We were walking on one
side of the mountain range, the valley in the middle
and another mountain range across, with the river
flowing in the valley. Since we left Pangbouche,
Mount Everest could be seen all along the way, and
all the time it felt as if we were walking towards the
Everest. By mid-day it became cloudy and cold.
Pheriche consisted of a few teahouses along the

10. riverbank. Rest of the day we spent in the dining
hall.
We had got into a set routine after one
or two days of starting our trek. As soon as we
reached a teahouse, no matter what the time
was, we would prepare our bed by putting the
bed sheet we had brought, open the sleeping bag
and insert the inner liner. I would change my
shoes, and put on the tracksuit bottom and a
tea shirt, and I would sleep in the same. We
would empty the water from the jugs into the
water bottle we carried in our rucksacks, and then take the jugs to the dining hall to get hot
water for the next day. While the big bags were open, we would prepare the rucksacks for the
next day. We will put all the items we might need for the next day, including snacks. We would
keep our head torches readily available for the night. When we come back after dinner, with the
jugs of boiled water, we would put iodine drops in the water to purify it, and then add vitamin C
tablet to bring taste to the water.
When we woke up, first thing we do would be to visit the toilet. Then we change into our
trekking clothes, and the shoes, and then go outside to clean our teeth and wash our face with a
small bowl of warm water provided. We go to our
room, pack the sleeping bags, and then pack our
large bags, ensuring that we do not leave any
item in the room. We will take our rucksacks
and walking sticks, and the camera, and go to
the dining hall for breakfast. The porter would
come and take our main bags. This became our
daily routine. We had to ensure that we were
ready in time as specified by Ganesh, and this
did not allow much free time to take it easy.
12th Day – Saturday : We woke up to a very clear
sky and a sunny day – something we had got
used to by now, knowing that by midday it
would be cloudy and windy. We left the teahouse well before eight in the morning. We were going
up as much as 2350 feet so we were expecting some steep climbs and difficult walking. But the
day’s walking was different and interesting. The first part of the walk was through a valley. We
had to cross several streams while walking the almost flat valley between two mountain ranges.
Rocks had been put in a haphazard way in the streams to help the trekkers to cross. But one
had to select the right rock and walk carefully. A stumble, a slip or a loss of balance could end in
a taste of freezing water.
It was so cold that we could see big lumps of icicles hanging from the growth around the
streams; some of those icicles would weigh a few
pounds at least. Temperatures must be below
freezing all the time to keep those large lumps of ice
hanging on those plants. We climbed a gentle slope,
came to a teahouse and had a break for tea. But
after tea we were faced with a mountain slope
which was not very steep, neither gentle as such,
but littered or literally covered with rocks of every
shape and size. We had to manoeuvre our way
through those thousands of rocks. At last we
reached the top, and we gave a sigh of relief. After a
short break we started walking again, but now it

11. was a long walk over a flat surface, and much
easier to tackle. We passed a few rivers, and
the rivers had ice floating on the water or had
lumps of ice on the banks. The fact that the
ice was not melting in the strong sun showed
how cold the temperatures were.
We reached Lobuche (16450 ft).
Having reached at such a great height above
the sea level, we could feel the extreme cold
weather. We did not really find breathing that
difficult, except when we were walking up a
steep slope. Our stop for the night had a
luxurious teahouse built recently with much
better facilities, and were hoping to spend the
night in that teahouse by paying for the room. But the teahouse was full and we had to accept
an ordinary teahouse for the night. The teahouse we got was the worst so far in our trek. It was
freezing outside, and in our room too. We had no choice, and had to spend the night in that
freezing room. We spent the afternoon and the evening in the dining room as that was the only
place with little warmth. We spent our time
talking and playing cards.
We met a nineteen-year old sherpa. He
first tried to climb Mount Everest at the age of
fourteen, and lost five fingers due to frostbite on
that attempt. In spite of that, and not deterred
from that bad experience, he tried again at the
age of sixteen, succeeded and became the
youngest person ever to have climbed that
highest mountain in the world. While he got
glory for his success, and place in history, the
financial rewards are meagre. No wonder that he
still is a porter on the Nepal treks.
13th Day – Sunday : We had a very long day
ahead of us today. We were awake by 4.30 and left the teahouse by 5.30. It was very cold, and
my conservative estimate is that it was at least minus ten degrees C. When I put on my
rucksack, I checked if water was flowing through the tube. It was fine. But we had hardly come
out of the teahouse when the water in the tube became ice and blocked the flow of the water.
The camera battery, which was in working order the previous night, was gone. The small
batteries in the head torch also were dead. The cold and altitude had this impact on those
batteries. I was wearing thick skiing gloves, while Dhiru had two pairs of gloves on his hands,
but still our hands were frozen from the cold. The stream on the way was solid ice, and the big
lake had thick cover of ice on the surface.
Our trek today was over ground covered with rocks of all shapes and sizes. It appeared
as if a huge earthquake had taken place and
blown a mountain to all these thousands of
rocks. By now, we had got used to walking over
these rocks, though we were very aware of the
dangers of any mistake while walking over these
rocks. At our age, it is very easy to injure the
knees by taking much bigger step over some
rocks, or trying to jump from one rock to the
other. It took us three and a half hours to reach
Gorak Shep (17280 ft). We had left in the

12. morning with only a cup of lemon tea. At Gorak Shep we had our breakfast.
We left at 10.00 to walk to the Everest Base Camp
(17860 ft). Ganesh and Tara carried our
rucksacks. As we were coming back to Gorak Shep
for the night there was no other luggage, and they
kindly agreed to carry our rucksacks. The walk
was on a flat surface to start with, but followed
with going up and down the hills. We also had to
do with some snacks as our lunch. We had woken
up early and had walked a lot already. We kept
walking with tiredness showing in our steps, and
in our minds, and by 1.30 we reached the base
camp area. We faced icy conditions and I once
slipped, which could have been costly, but luckily I
managed to keep my balance. To get a proper view of the base camp area, one still needed to
walk a lot more, but we could get a good view of the base camp area. But having walked for over
seven hours since morning, we decided that we had enough, and did not wish to go any further.
(continued Part II )