1. A Diary of
A Trek To Everest Base Camp
By Jayant Doshi
Part II
.
It is from Everest Base Camp that
every expedition to climb Mount Everest begins.
The mountaineers, porters, sherpas and guides,
and yaks who bring the supplies, set up their
camp here with all the supplies and
communications. After settling down in the base
camp, and acclimatising with the height, the
mountaineers and some sherpas begin their
climb on Mount Everest. A space has been
cleared to allow helicopters to land and bring
some of the supplies. As such, Everest base camp
has obtained international fame and a site that
must be visited, even though there is not really much to see. Even Mount Everest peak cannot
be seen from this point. But having been to Everest Base Camp has immediate recognition as a
great achievement. Every trekker who comes to
the Everest region aims to visit the base camp.
Climbing Gokyo Ri and Kala Patthar might be
greater achievements then visiting the Everest
Base Camp – but to the outside world, a visit
to the Everest Base Camp is a great
achievement which has immediate recognition
and acclaim.
We had the satisfaction that we had
made to the Everest Base Camp. Because it
was very cold, quite a few trekkers in Gorak
Shep had given up the idea of coming here.
But we had come, we did not consider giving
up and we had completed second of our three targets. We could not see Mount Everest from
here, and we were not on top of the Mount Everest either, but we felt as if we were on top of
the world. It was cold, but the feeling of being here was wonderful. We had glaciers, and ice
formations surrounding us. We could see snow covered peaks all around us. We could see
some mountaineers climbing one of the peaks
At this point, I was reminded of
the great Indian epic of Mahabharata. The
Pandav brothers, having won the war against
Kauravs, but disgusted by the killing of
cousins, friends and relations to win that war,
decide to hand over the kingdom to their
children, and seek solace in heaven. They all
proceed up the Himalayas to reach the gates of
heaven. But every one has to account for their
Karmas (deeds) during their lifetime, and
Pandav brothers started to drop on their way to
the gates of heaven. Yudhister, the upholder of
truth who never lied, fell at the very gates of

2. heaven because he lied once during the great
Mahabharata war. While our trek may not
have shown the path to heaven as described
in that great epic, our trek in the Himalayas
felt as if we were as near to heaven as one
could possibly be. The atmosphere here is
such that any human being would feel that
proximity with spirituality and heaven, if one
exists. Living in nature, as we did for the last
few weeks, was akin to being close to the
Supreme Being. All thoughts of lust, wealth
and worldly vices have no place in the mind
when one is here in the Himalayas.
We sat there on the rocks admiring the beauty of the place. We ate some
snacks and took some photos. We left at 2.00. The walk back was as interesting and
challenging. Walking over the rocks needs a
lot of concentration and good balancing
techniques. After walking for so long, it is to
be expected that the concentration would
start to falter. I lost balance a few times but
got hold of myself in time. We reached the
teahouse at about 5.00. We had been on our
feet for almost twelve hours. Ganesh told us
that we would have even longer day of
walking the next day also. I felt tired, but my
legs were not aching, and feet did not feel
squashed. Having woken up early, and
having walked for this long time, some
tiredness was to be expected, but it was not
severe, and if I had been asked to walk a few
more hours then my legs would not have refused.
We had not had any lunch. I had poor sleep the night before, and then I had woken up
early. I was feeling sleepy and uneasy. By the time our dinner came, I almost did not feel like
eating. The desire to sleep had literally robbed my appetite. We had to wake up early next day
too, and we crashed into our beds at the earliest opportunity.
14th Day – Monday : We were awake by 5.00. I had good sleep and felt fresh, though still little
uneasy. It was very cold. We had to leave as soon as possible to climb Kala Patthar (18750 ft).
We put on our clothes and rushed to the dining hall. As we were coming back, we did not have
to pack our bags or sleeping bags. In the dining hall, some one had ordered hot lemon tea the
previous night, and left the mug without
drinking any tea. When we went for our tea
at 5.30 the tea in the mug had become solid
ice. This gave a good indication of the cold
we were to face outside.
After our experience the day
before, we wrapped our water bottle tube
with scarf to stop it from freezing. But as
soon as we took a sip of water, the tube was
blocked by the formation of ice. A river
passing nearby was solid ice - a stone
thrown on the bed of the river would bounce
back showing how hard the surface was. We
left at 6.00. At first, the walk was gradual

3. slope. However, my thighs seemed stiff, and it
felt as if they were resisting and stopping me
from walking. I knew it was going to be difficult,
but I kept pushing myself. I set targets to stop,
and forced myself not to stop before that. After a
while the stiffness disappeared, and walking
eased. But then the steepness of the slope made
walking harder.
Kala Patthar (or literally Black Rock)
seemed less steep then Gokyo Ri. Kala Patthar is
higher than Gokyo Ri, but here we were starting
at a higher altitude. At Gokyo Ri we had to climb
almost 600 metres while here we were to climb
just under 500 metres. The dawn was still to set, and I got a chance to capture some
wonderful pictures showing the sun rays just peeping out from behind the snow covered
peaks. Then I had a view of golden rays from the sun lighting only the top of the peak, while
rest of the mountain was in shade. It was cold but refreshing; the scenery around us was
breathtaking.
The plain slope and scattered rocks, came to an end, and we were faced with a steep
peak totally covered with black rocks – and I guess that is what gave the name to the
mountain. It was difficult walking over those rocks.
I ultimately reached the top in just two and half
hours. For many younger climbers, one and half
hours was standard, but for some one like me this
was a good achievement and I was proud of it. I
struggled, I was puffing from breathlessness, I felt
uneasy at times, but still I made it and that was the
important fact.
The sun and the walking had
generated heat in my body. My hands were covered
with thick skiing gloves so they should be well
protected from the cold. However, when I reached
the top, and sat on a big rock, and when I removed
the gloves, my hands had gone numb with the cold.
All my fingers and thumbs were bent and the skin had gone hard. I could not feel my hands. I
was keen to remove the camera from the strap and take some pictures. While undoing a plastic
buckle, harmless at any time, I cut my thumb and some blood came out. I took the camera in
my hand but I could not use my fingers. I had to spend a few minutes to warm up my hand. I
had never experienced so much cold in my life.
After a while, Dhiru and Ganesh came to the top of Kala Patthar. Dhiru was in
celebratory mood, and over the moon for
completing all the targets on our trek. This
was the most difficult walk so far, but we both
made it and that is what mattered most. We
walked all these days in very cold conditions,
but we did not suffer from any sickness,
injury or tiredness. We felt proud and
rightfully too. Without any trekking experience
behind us, we had attempted and succeeded
in completing one of the most difficult treks of
Nepal. From the top of Kala Patthar we could
see lots of trekkers struggling to walk up, and
saw quite a few quitting and turning back. We

4. felt proud that we did not consider quitting and
turning back at any point.
We had a wonderful sighting of the
famous Himalayan peaks, including Mount
Everest, Amadabalam, Lhotse and Nuptse. It was
clear blue sky, and the sun was shining on us all.
We both took pictures of the wonderful views all
around us. We had a long day ahead as we were
reminded again and again by Ganesh. We started
our descent. We still had to be careful walking
down. But we did not have to stop for
breathlessness. I reached the teahouse in one
and half hours. We packed our bags, and
sleeping bags. We had some porridge for
breakfast, and started our trek at 11.30. Ganesh warned us that we had at least six hours of
walk ahead, and that we must walk faster if we are not to be delayed.
We had completed the difficult part of the trek. Now we were descending to go back to
Lukla. But it was not downhill all the way,
and we faced some difficult climbs, and
slopes. Also some downhill slopes were
slippery and difficult, and we had to use
both the walking sticks to keep control. The
beginning part of our walk was difficult. We
had to walk over rocky path, and at times
had to manoeuvre round some tricky rocks.
Dusty paths with small rocks posed a
threat, as shoes tend to slip on those tiny
stones. We were soon on the flat valley
which made walking much easier. This was
our second day of walking for long hours.
Both days we had woken up very early, and
today we had climbed a difficult mountain.
Our legs did not hurt; our feet were not tired of the shoes; but there was some resistance from
the legs when walking.
Dhiru and I are reasonably quite fit for our age, but we had never done such a long
trek in the past. The maximum that I had done was trekking around Mount Kailas, which was
for three days and I did not have to carry anything. I was worried that such long walking might
cause blisters in the feet, or the aged legs and thighs would ache, and that tiredness will
demand more rest. But none of this happened. We felt tiredness but nothing serious to need
long rest. After a long days walk, sitting down was enough to refresh us. At no time did we feel
that we had to rest. I never felt aches and pains. I
never had to take pain killer tablets or rub balm on
my calf muscles. However, I was certain that my
knee would give me problem. Last year I climbed
Girnar in Gujarat, and coming down those steps
gave me acute knee pain. I had prepared myself
with some good knee supports; but I never needed
to use them. Perhaps our fitness, and the mountain
atmosphere gave us that extra strength. Perhaps
breathing clean mountain air made us feel so fresh
and fit all these days, in spite of all the walking we
were doing. For all those days on the mountain, I
felt wonderful. There were no headaches, or feeling

5. of tiredness, or yawning. I felt energetic and
fresh all the time. Perhaps this had to do with
the fresh and clean mountain air, air which was
not polluted or spoilt by our chemicals and
pollution. This feeling stayed with me a few
weeks after the completion of the trek, but then
the modern life and pollution caught up with
me.
The morning climb of Kala Patthar
showed up in our walking, and we had to take a
break after two hours. Later we stopped in
Labouche for lunch. It was 3.15 by the time we
were ready to start our trek. Ganesh warned us
that we were running late, and that we should speed up. Ganesh was right. By 5.30 sun had
set, and it was getting dark. We had difficulty in
seeing the paths and we had to be extra careful
in walking. I had put my head torch in the big
bag thinking that it will not be needed. Dhiru
was not sure where he had kept his torch.
Ganesh had his torch but that was not enough
for us to see the path in the dark.
The porters normally walked fast and
reached the destination much before us, and
ensured that a room was available for us. Rajen,
the younger porter, had formed the habit of
walking towards us to meet us, and he would
normally help Dhiru with his rucksack. Today,
to our sighs of relief, Rajen appeared when it
was getting pitch dark and walking was getting
difficult. We were walking on a narrow path with
a valley on one side, with some thick growth on the other side. But Rajen came and he had a
torch. He took Dhiru’s and my rucksacks and made our walking easier. It was dark now; even
the full moon day had passed a few days back. We had to be extra vigilant to ensure that we
did not stumble against a hidden rock, or put our foot in a hole, or twisted our ankle in the
process.
Normally, the afternoons were cold and windy; but today, luckily, it had been a clear
day with no winds. The sky was clear, and there were thousands of stars in the sky. It was
after 7.00 that we reached our teahouse in Dingbouche (14700 ft). We had been walking for
thirteen hours, with two short breaks, and the last
two hours was in darkness at slow speed. Our walk
had included climbing a steep mountain, which
would have tested our legs to the maximum. The
last hour of the trek in the dark would count as the
most dangerous, but also the most adventurous
and memorable of our entire trek. Dhiru was
shaken too, because the next day he insisted that
we should never take a chance on timing, and we
do not want to walk in the dark again.
It was a day that we will remember for a
long time – perhaps every time we think of this
trekking trip, this day will be uppermost in our
thoughts. It was the longest and most difficult day

6. of trekking. We walked for thirteen hours, which
included almost two hours of walking in the dark. We
climbed Kala Patthar, difficult on its own, and on the
same day we walked down to Dingbouche, a descent of
almost a thousand metres, and after thirteen hours of
walking we were still on our feet, which was an
achievement to be proud of.
15th Day – Tuesday : We had the option to go and visit
Chungkung Valley or to rest at Dingbouche teahouse or
start our trek to the next stop. I was not tired. But I was
keen on going down and spending an extra day in
Namchi Bazaar, rather than walk one more day to see
that valley. I felt that I had seen enough; I felt that I had
walked enough; but more important I had that fear, or a
sixth sense feeling, that so far I had been lucky in that I
did not injure my knee or ankle, and that I will end up
with
such an
injury if I went today. The fear or the thought
came to mind at night and I decided that I
would stay here and take it easy rather then
let that imaginary fear come true. Dhiru was
very keen on going.
I did not try to change his mind.
Ganesh and Dhiru left after breakfast. I
decided to relax. I went in the room and
sorted out my bags. I repacked everything
properly, and arranged things in a systematic
way. The sky was blue, the sun was shining
and the tea house was surrounded by some
wonderful snow covered peaks. It was still very cold, but the strong sunrays made it lovely and
warm. I brought my diary and sat in the sun, and wrote my diary. I ordered some lemon tea
and took lots of pictures. I felt relaxed and relieved.
But my thoughts were interrupted when I saw Dhiru and Ganesh climbing the steps.
This was at 10.30, when I had hardly started writing my diary. Dhiru had injured his ankle in
the previous days – he did not say when it had happened. Today, while going for the trek, he
realised that his ankle was troubling him. It was nothing serious, but walking down could
aggravate the pain. My fear, my sixth sense, seemed to have come true but in a different way.
The choice was that we stay here for the day and let him rest his ankle. However, if the pain
still subsisted the next day, and we had a long day ahead, then we might have a problem. So it
was decided that we start our trek this afternoon and stop at Pangbouche instead of
Tengbouche as per the plan. This would
give Dhiru an idea of how bad the pain
was, or whether he could walk for that long
or not. If the pain persisted, and if walking
became difficult, then helicopter rescue
service would have to be called for him
Dhiru applied some homely
medicines to his ankle, put on the support,
and we left at 1.00 for our trek.
Pangbouche was three hours walk, but as
Dhiru was in pain, we had to walk slower
then normal. We walked through territory
we had passed before. But now we were

7. more relaxed and had more time to
appreciate and enjoy the nature around
us. I felt the great satisfaction that we had
completed the trek without any mishaps. It
dawned on me that we were coming to the
end of this wonderful trek. We had
completed fourteen days, and had four
days to complete our trip. I had mixed
feelings and thoughts. In a way, I was glad
and happy that it was all going to be over.
After two weeks I will be able to contact my
family whom I miss a lot. I was glad that
soon I would be using all the conveniences
and comforts of modern life, which we did
not have for the last two weeks. I was glad it was almost over because I miss my routine life of
golf, badminton and bridge, and some valuable time I spend with my lovely grand children.
I will not miss the chilly winds that tore through my body, and I will not miss quickly
washing my face with a small bowl of slightly warm water. I will not miss the ice cold bedroom
where I want to get immediately inside the sleeping bag, and not try to clean my teeth, or sort
out my bags, or write or read. I will be glad that I will be away from those sleepless nights
dreading to be woken up in the middle of the
night to relieve my bladders outside in the dark
and very cold night. I will be glad to get my daily
shower, and use a proper toilet.
But then a gloom pervaded in my heart.
It had been a wonderful trekking holiday. The
trek was a test of our stamina and our ability to
walk for hours at a time, and for day after day for
eighteen days, especially at our age, and we came
through the test with flying colours. The
satisfaction in that thought was immense.
I knew that I will miss the pure
mountain air, not polluted nor spoilt by human
ingenuity or greed. I will miss the rocky
mountain slopes, the slopes covered with trees, snow covered peaks, the valleys, the glaciers
and rivers, the waterfalls and the lakes. I will miss the musical sound of roaring waters of the
river. I will miss the clouds descending on to the earth, the lovely blue skies and the cold
sunshine. I will miss the beautiful snow capped peaks gleaming in the sunrays, and then
watch the clouds moving in and covering those peaks. I will miss the waterfalls and the
streams sliding along the face of the slopes. And I will miss the nice people of Nepal, and their
welcoming Namaste with a smile.
But time stops for no one; life has to go
on. All good things come to an end. I have the
wonderful memories of this trek to cling to. At
least we know that we have done it and that we
can do it. We have acquired the courage to try
such a trek again. I saw the beauty of the
mountains and the nature, and I know that there
is nothing to compare with that on this world. If
circumstances permit, then my aim will be to
come in this region again.
16th Day – Wednesday : While we completed our
targets, we still had two days of trekking to do. It

8. still was not time to relax. We woke up at 6.00
and were out by 7.30. While temperatures
were rising from the extreme cold of Kala
Patthar, it was still quite cold.
We reached Tengboche (12600 ft).
Tengboche is the highest sherpa settlement in
Nepal, and has a famous historical Buddhist
monastery. Tengboche is a well-known
settlement in the Solu-Khumbhu region for
nature and culture. The views of the
Himalayan range seen from here are among
the best in the nature’s creation. The
surrounding panorama consisting of
magnificient peaks such as Thamserku,
Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, Kwangde, Kantega, Tawachee and Khymbila contribute
to make this settlement highly spectacular, a must destination for an adventurer.
We visited the impressive, well maintained and decorated monastery. Prayers were in
progress inside. We sat for a while but were
unable to take any photos.
We continued our walk to Namchi
Bazaar. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant
along the route. We reached Namchee Bazaar
at 5.00, and after nine and half hours of
walking, this became another long day for
us. After sixteen days of walking, and
without a shower for most of those days, a
soothing, relaxing massage was most
welcome, followed by a hot shower refreshed
us after all these days.
We at last got the opportunity to
contact our families. But we both got a voice
mail on the other side and had no option but to leave a message on the voice mail.
17th Day – Thursday : We were supposed to wake up at leisure as there was no rush to reach
our next stop. However, we had got the habit of waking up early, and having gone to bed early,
it was not possible to sleep till late hour. We got up, packed our bags, had our breakfast and
then we went into an internet café. We sent out emails to inform our successful completion of
the great trek.
We left at 12.20 for Phakding.
It was a downward descent for quite some
time, making our walking easy going. But I
found that on dry soil, and small stones, it
was easy to slip. Realising this, after a few
slips, I became more cautious in my steps.
However the main problem was the scores
of yaks, laden with big loads, and hundreds
of trekkers and their guides who were
coming from the opposite direction. These
were the people who were starting their trek
while we were on the last stretch. Quite
often the trek was narrow, and we had to
stop to let people coming up, quite often in
a row, to pass before we could descent. This

9. delayed us a lot. It was amazing to see
the number of trekkers who were starting
the trek at this time
Once more we had to walk in the
dark for at least an hour. For once, Rajen
did not come to our rescue, and we had
to struggle in the dark. We reached our
tea house, we had our dinner, and retired
for the night.
18th Day – Friday : This was the last day
of our trek, and the distance we had to
cover was small compared to what we
had walked so far. We woke, and got
ready very leisurely. We had our
breakfast and left just before 9.00. Our
walk to Lukla was uphill, but we were not in a hurry. We stopped often to admire the beauty,
and to take lots of pictures. We chose a lovely spot in the sun for our lunch, and had a
leisurely lunch break. We talked with some trekkers from Europe. We reached Lukla at 2.30,
and we took a photo to mark the end of our trek. There was problem with the tea house we
had booked, and we had to go and look for
another suitable tea house. To our surprise,
we met there the people from Poona whom
we had met on the first day when we started
the trek.
We spent the afternoon and
evening in the dining room, and had some
celebratory drinks. We talked with the
people from Poona and exchanged
addresses. We all talked about the
successful trek, our future plans and hopes
for a revisit, and looking forwards to joining
the world we had left behind. After dinner
we went to bed, knowing that this was the
last time we will be unpacking and sleeping
in the sleeping bag.
19th Day – Saturday : We woke up, and packed our sleeping bags for the last time. We got
ready, and left for the Lukla airport, which was within walking distance. As before, the airport
was in chaos, but Ganesh managed everything for us. Planes were coming literally every
minute, and leaving at the same speed. Soon we were on our flight. It was time for us to leave
this wonderful land of the Everest, and leave the trekking behind.
But as the hoardings said in big
letters, we heartily agreed with it: “Never say
Good bye to the Himalayas.” With a great
desire and hope that we will visit the
Himalayas again, hopefully in the near future,
we embarked on to our plane and had our
final look at this beautiful land.
This would have been the end of my diary of
the great trek. But I have to mention the
surprise we got when we reached Kathmandu.
Ajaya came to pick us up, and took us to his

10. home in Bhaktipur, an adjoining but historical town. He wanted us to enjoy and experience
the Nepali hospitality. He lived in a big house on a large plot of land. We met his father and
mother, and his wife. His children were at boarding school. We spent next twenty-four hours at
their place and we experienced some wonderful Nepali food, and still more wonderful Nepali
hospitality. We had lunch, dinner and breakfast at his home, and that was something money
cannot buy. I have been to many countries, but it is rare to get an opportunity to meet and
talk with the local people, live with them, and eat with them. It is rare opportunity to taste the
home cooking in a country we visit. Ajaya’s parents were also very hospitable, and we talked
with them till late hour. His wife gave us all the hospitality one can think of. In the morning we
had some home grown fruits from the garden. After a successful and wonderful trekking trip,
this was something we had not expected. This stay gave a wonderful finale to our whole trip,
and made the trip so much more memorable.
- End -