The path to your Everest

We have been preparing for our trip to Nepal for almost a year. What we thought about while in Moscow, and what actually happened, agree on only one thing - this is an unforgettable adventure in life. I can't even believe it. The photographs do not convey a single drop of the scorching feeling that we experienced on the way from Lukla to Kala Patthar. You need to see it with your own eyes and go through it with your own feet. No hot shower, no warm blanket, in the middle of the mountains, stunning starry sky and cold. My longest journey, with every step revealing not only unrealistic pictures of nature, but also my own possibilities. Go higher and higher, when your head fills with lead, your breath and strength are not enough to overcome even a couple of steps, your backpack drags you back... To your peak, to your Everest, who silently watched and thank you for letting you get closer to you. Now I know how difficult it is. But this is the best adventure of my life!

And I want to tell everyone - pack your backpack and go! You need to be in such places at least once. Outdoorukraine in the person of Kirill is a reliable shoulder nearby throughout the entire route. We have to go together, it’s not scary)). This is our first acquaintance with Outdoorukraine. I think it would be nice to get together with the same company and rise even higher! Kirill, thank you very much for the perfectly organized trip! For anyone interested in learning a little more about our climb to Kala Patthar...read on!

Our whole life consists of habits. In the morning: shower, breakfast, work. In the evening: shower, dinner, sleep. Comfort limits. Try to get out of them and your mood deteriorates, and you say: “everything went wrong,” “I got off on the wrong foot.” We don't think about every day. How it begins and passes, and sometimes passes you by. It’s strange, but only after you’ve disrupted your seemingly established way of life do you realize that you need to style yourself completely differently, that your head will be freed from a million unnecessary thoughts if you shake off the dust that has already settled. This is exactly what I think about on the first working morning after a trip to Nepal, sitting on the subway.

We conceived this trip without imagining half of what actually happened. We thought: we’ll buy some equipment, a couple of pills, a camera and we’ll do great. Well, that’s exactly what happened. But none of us knew how difficult, incredible and memorable the days of our ascent to Kala Patthar would be!

And it all started like this. Having packed our backpacks in a snowstorm, we got into a Moscow taxi in the hope that our plane would take off on schedule, and with a bunch of other thoughts about what was to come and more. Kathmandu greeted us with pestering Nepalese, for whom the only way to get money is through tourists. As we drove from the airport to the hotel, the taxi driver and his travel manager partner (yes) tried unsuccessfully to persuade us to use their services. The first plus is that the drive is only about 40 minutes.

The hotel turned out to be very ok. Warm water, light - everything is in place. We unpacked, met our guide Kirill and scheduled an early rise in order to fly to Lukla, where our trekking actually begins. It turns out that we’ll look at Kathmandu on the way back.

The morning haze accompanied us to the airport; as we later found out, it can hang over the city all day. A small plane should take us from this haze to sunny Lukla (altitude 2860m). He dropped off the tanned people, refueled, tightened a couple of screws and is now ready to open up the world of the Himalayas to us. We sat down, plugged our ears with cotton wool, candy in our mouths - we were ready to take off. The flight, I’ll tell you, is not Qatar Airways)). The air currents in the mountains seemed to be arguing in which direction to pull our plane. But we aimed firmly at Lukla, cutting through the air. If a bird flew past, it would see foreheads stuck to the windows and thoughtful glances at the snowy peaks above the clouds, small villages on the slopes, rivers spreading gorges, and even lonely houses... Everything is like in a fairy tale. And when we saw the Lukla runway, which is considered one of the shortest in the world, it was hard to believe that planes could accelerate on it like a toy. But the Nepalese somehow manage)).

The plane landed, everyone exhaled and immediately swallowed the cold air of Lukla - the sun had not yet flared up. And we stood with the thought: our porter would come sooner. Porter is a porter of things. The local population, most of them Sherpas, transport anything in the mountains in trunks or special baskets. Traditionally, on the head. We got a smiling, 18-year-old, but already experienced Gyan. On the track, he will not only carry some of our things, but will also take care of our accommodation. We filled his trunk with sleeping bags and heavy boots, and began our journey.

We had to descend to a height of 2652m, to the village of Pakding. In Nepal, “going down” does not mean going down at all, these are mountains)). So we walked up and down, along stones and paths, contemplating the incredible nature and breathing in the sweetish spruce air, which was already beginning to warm up. Even though I had 10 kilograms on my back, it was still easy, there was more than enough oxygen. Before sunset, we were already settled in the lodge - this is the name of the habitats in the Himalayas. They are a hotel with a couple of stars and a minimum set of services: there are two beds in the room, and if you’re lucky, hangers and a shelf; shared toilet on the floor and shower room, one per hotel. One day we were very lucky and there was a toilet in the room!

The first night in sleeping bags went well: we slept well and didn’t get cold, but crawled out for breakfast in down jackets. In the mornings, when the sun has not yet come out, it is very cold. And we looked forward to it every morning. In general, in the mountains the sun is of great importance; it is needed not only to keep warm, but also to heat water, dry clothes, and grow vegetables.

After breakfast I wanted to hit the road as soon as possible so as not to freeze. That's what we did.

Today, according to the plan, we will climb to 3440m and move to Namche Bazar. This is no longer yesterday’s 5 hours on the trail, but all 8! Long haul. And on this way there is the same suspension bridge from the movie “Everest” that I really wanted to walk along. It’s strange, but it was after watching this film that we decided to go trekking. It is unclear who inspired whom: Max likes to plan, I like to dream, and we both strive for new sensations. That's how we ended up here.

Meanwhile, having reached Namche Bazaar and had dinner, we indulged in the pleasure of taking a hot shower. It was real happiness! And it only cost three dollars)). Whatever the shower, water is water - it washed away the dust and fatigue of the whole day. I want to live with rosy cheeks! Namche Bazaar is the last civilization on the way to Everest - inexpensive, relatively warm and therefore comfortable. Enjoy! After all, who knows what will happen next?

The next morning we rushed even higher, to the radial - an acclimatization exit, to the village of Kumchung (altitude 3780m). The feeling of an abandoned deserted area. Houses, vegetable gardens, even a couple of horses in the pasture, but not a single person.

Only as we entered the winding streets did we begin to discover men working at a construction site. Moreover, the word “construction” itself, which is so voluminous in our understanding, means something completely different to the Nepalese. They break large stones into small ones and stack them tightly together. There was also a bucket, apparently, with a solution, but the Nepalese didn’t really use it)).

We also met a grimy girl, very cute)). In general, Nepalese children are interesting, all with cheeks, smeared, sometimes chewing something, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes climbing a rock. Captivating with their lively emotions. One girl grabbed my hands and smiled, I gave her the candy, she was so happy, as if I had poured a handful of gold on her. Although, here sweets are worth their weight in gold)). In general, the kids there are great.

We continue our acquaintance with amazing Nepal. We reached the lodge where our Gyan had planned lunch, and the owner turned out to be a Sherpa who had climbed Everest three times! It’s clear that we reached for our cameras, but he was so modest and also smiling, like our Gyan. In the Himalayas, apparently, it is customary to enjoy life. The conqueror of Everest also turned out to be a good part-time cook)).

In general, you can’t just build a lodge or a store here; you need money. And because There are plenty of tourists who want to climb Everest, and they always need porters with them, it is not surprising that they manage to earn decent money. When you enter a lodge or store, you can always see photographs of the owner, who has been to the peaks of Everest (8848m), Ama Dablam (6814m) and other mountains more than once. Local businessmen)).

Not only lunch took place in Kumchung. In addition to the stupa (this is a Buddhist architectural and sculptural structure found quite often in Nepal), there is another attraction here - the scalp of a yeti, once taken (according to legend) from a real yeti who wandered into the village. But, to be honest, I don’t really believe in it. It seems to me that it was a tourist lying around in the mountains and very overgrown)). In general, we didn’t go look and saved 500 local rupees on charging the batteries. Electricity in the Himalayas is partially produced using solar panels. A common picture is a teapot on a large locator catching the sun's rays. Therefore, the higher the mountains, the more expensive hot water and battery charging are. So without the sun, one thing to do is sleep. We went back to Namche Bazaar.

And already that night in our group the first signs of altitude sickness were discovered : headache due to oxygen starting to “decrease”. In the morning, one of the group members’ temperature rose to 40 degrees! The body has released a virus, the only right decision in such a situation is to go down. We called a local doctor, a helicopter and evacuated our Dima, along with his companion Christina.

We panicked a little, reached for our belays, but there were none. This means that if evacuation is required, it will not be the insurance company that will pay for it, but us. And this, for a moment, is 3500 dollars, and, of course, the higher the mountains, the more expensive the flight. I don't understand how this happened. I prepared like crazy and tried to plan for everything, but... In general, don’t repeat this omission of mine.

Of course, from that moment on, every sneeze was examined through a magnifying glass)). And not as jokingly as from the very beginning, I looked at the device for measuring oxygen levels. Oxygen must be measured daily, we measured twice a day, minimum. As a rule, in the evening the oxygen level is lower - the body is not yet accustomed to the altitude, which took the whole day to reach. If the oxygen level has increased in the morning, acclimatization has been successful. But gradually the numbers dropped, even for me. "Even" - because on the first day my oxygen levels were at their highest. Such things.

So, our team now has three guys from Kyiv left: Max, Oleg, Kirill and us. Our journey continued. We reached the village of Tengboche at an altitude of 3860m.

This is already the fourth day and more than 40 km have been covered, but the fatigue instantly disappeared when we saw Everest, Ama Dablam and Lhotse (8516m) in the fading rays of the sun. And even our room, surrounded by the street, with a gap in the window frame, did not thicken the clouds. Although, to be honest, at first I didn’t want to believe my eyes, which, by the way, also grew larger when they saw a sink on the street and a basin of frozen water.

But Tengboche has an incredible sky - myriads of stars, a distinct bear and the Milky Way. If it weren’t for such cold, I would have stayed asleep on the ground, comprehending the infinity of the stars. Nepalese are happy people - they live in true beauty. I don’t know if they notice it like we, the guests, do, but it’s a fact.

The next day for us meant a climb to 4400m. We go to the village of Dingboche. There are no greens or cabbage in the beds - it’s cold. And the path is no longer as easy as at the very beginning. The backpack began to weigh a ton more, even though warm clothes were taken out and put on. Breathing, especially on the way up, becomes faster, you constantly have to stop, catch your breath, gain strength, which is only enough for the next couple of steps. But we made it! And as a reward we got those same rooms with a toilet, a view of the now native Ama Dablam and amazing Veg momo (this is a mixture of dumplings and manti stuffed with vegetables). A two-day stay here should help the body acclimatize. I also managed to wash a couple of things and leave them to dry in the sun. The whole thing)). From that day on, the shower either ceased to exist or became an obsession, somewhere on the verge. Before going to bed, we went to the radial trail along the spur of the Nagartasang hill. Freshly.

In the morning, on the sixth day, we went to a larger radial on Chukung-Ri with the goal of reaching 5000 m! An unimaginable height for me. We were lucky that we went without our heavy backpacks. It’s hard to even just move your legs! In such cases, the music in the player really helps: my favorites Above&Beyond, Moonbeam. On the track I discovered Moderat and Luigi Lusini. Music takes your thoughts far from the present moment, at some second you get a second wind, and you, no longer noticing the shortness of breath, are looking up.

There are still 550 meters to the very top of the mountain, but we don’t need it. We have reached our 5000 m! Some with their tongue on their down jacket, and some Gyan in flip-flops)). From here you can clearly see: Island Peak (6165m) and the top of Makalu (8485m)! We didn’t stay at the top for long - it was windy, and we didn’t want to return completely in the dark, although we had flashlights with us.

The road down has begun. With every step my head filled with lead, my temples crackled like clockwork, I felt so bad there for the first time. I look at Max: the same. We took the pills (citramon) and went to bed.

The most dangerous time in the mountains is the night, especially around 4 o’clock. During the day the body is alert, but at night it relaxes, and if there is a weak spot somewhere, then “the virus comes in, you will be a guest,” or what’s worst: cerebral edema or pulmonary edema. It’s clear that if you don’t quickly go down at this moment and take appropriate measures, hello, death. We panicked. We decided: in the morning we will tell the “coach” whether we are going further or not.

The morning turned out to be like in a fairy tale - wiser than the evening. We more or less slept, measured the oxygen level at breakfast as usual, made sure that everything was in order, got equipped and went to the “horizontal mountains”. The road is mostly flat, through stones and a river, past the very small village of Dugla (altitude 4600m), leading up to one big climb.

This is the Thokla Pass, behind which lies the memorial to those who died on Everest (altitude 4808m). A magical place where you feel the power of the mountain. In general, I believe that nature should remain superior to man. There is no need for him to climb to such heights, challenging the primacy. But many believe otherwise, and some of them have chortens (stone monuments) erected here; their bodies still lie on the slopes of Everest. Some could not be found, others could not be taken from there. Sad.

Everest today attracts huge crowds of climbers to its summit, despite the sad stories. I definitely wouldn't go up there. I would like to reach 5645m, to Kala Patthar. Nature resists, doesn’t let me in, my body is going through hard times right now, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be two months at an altitude above 5000m, in a tent fixed on the ice. These climbers are obsessed. Either due to lack of oxygen they lose their sense of reality, not otherwise.

I was distracted from these gloomy thoughts by a dog that didn’t even intend to shake from the cold. I never thought I’d meet her here, at such a height.

Meanwhile, it was not long left to Lobuche (altitude 4940m), but we were already feeling tired and started our monotonous chatter of whiskey again. We arrived early enough so that we could stretch ourselves out on the bed, drink hot tea and sleep peacefully. Sleeping during the day at altitude is undesirable. Firstly, you won’t fall asleep at night, although at such a height it’s rare that anyone can allow you to shake the walls with excellent snoring. And secondly, the miner may be less tolerated. Here immediately the thought “what’s even worse?”

Therefore, Kirill took us to the local moraine - this is a mound of rock fragments that appeared due to the movement of glaciers. Sometimes they reach quite good sizes, but ours was small. And it was enough to make us feel completely exhausted. This is beneficial for healthy and deep sleep! I hope)).

In fact, today you need to sleep well, because... Tomorrow plans are a whirlwind: we reach Gorakshep (height 5164m), throw our backpacks and head to Kala Patthar! Important day. Having slept somewhere from 20 to 01 at night, around this period of time it was possible to sleep relatively soundly for the 8 days that were already left behind, and the long wait for the morning began. Attempts to sleep sometimes turned into panic attacks for some nonsense reason. Sleeping bag won't unzip? Well, that’s all... If I don’t get enough sleep, I won’t have the strength to go upstairs... And then Max: “Where’s the lantern?” I let out a breath: well, at least I’m not the only one going crazy. We can declare our room a ward. Strange sensations, you seem to be in a sober mind, but your consciousness has gone on a spree. This is all due to lack of oxygen. Now I willingly believe in stories about climbers who, in 40-degree frost, take off their gloves, jackets, fleeces... you see, it’s hot. Hmmm. We really felt uneasy.

Closer to the morning, the snoring in the guys' room died down, you could hear Kirill thundering like lightning - that's it, get up! We got equipped and let's go, let's go... Endless turns, behind which you hope to finally see Gorakshep, but after the next turn: ....not yet?....!

It’s amazing that at such a height, among moraines, with the edges of glaciers peeking out, there is a village. If in the morning we heard the sound of a mountain river, then here there is silence - the river is frozen, there is ice all around. It is difficult to get water, so the usual picture in Gorakshep is a man picking pieces from an icy puddle, and promising barrels. It turns out that Gorakshep is a frozen lake bed, with land unsuitable for growing plants, and the Nepalese are here only because of the tourists.

My head feels heavy again. We had lunch, left our backpacks, and, taking only tea, flashlights and a camera, began climbing to the highest point of our route. Kala Pathar is not an independent peak, but a ledge of Mount Pumori (7161m) - beautiful and monumental, it is also called the daughter of Everest.

The day turned out to be the most difficult for me. The whiskey tried to break my head in half, the light backpack on my back felt like a heavy stone, after a couple of upward movements, my breathing felt like I was running a marathon for three million euros.

I look at Max - he’s also barely dragging along, Gyan is with him, carrying a hot orange in his pocket. In general, we were lucky with the porter, he is very caring, smart, cheerful and resilient, with 20 kg on his head he flew to the lodge faster than all of us, and reached an altitude of 5000 m in flip-flops. And now he’s stomping - hands in his pockets)).

And yet we perched ourselves! finally! This is the top! Flags, wind, cold, and the world's coolest view of Everest and the Khumbu Glacier! Chomolungma is a queen surrounded by Lhotse, Nuptse (7861m), Changtse (7553m)! A wild headache, short sleep, lack of a hot shower took a back seat... I got there! True, it turned out without a storm of emotions, there was no time for a storm)). A huge abyss on one side, a pile of stones on the other, a couple of photos and I’m already walking down. I understand!

It was much easier to get back, emotions drowned out the cracking headache. There is a short night ahead, a very early start without breakfast to Everest Base Camp (altitude 5364m). The path is not difficult, especially without backpacks, but it is long. This time we shared space with huge ice blocks buried in moraines - the valley of the Khumbu glacier. It is from here that climbers begin their ascent to the top of Everest, passing the most dangerous section of the route - the Khumbu Icefall. It is dangerous because the ice is constantly moving and ice collapses occur. Climbers in crampons, with ice axes, throw ladders over huge cracks in the glacier, stretch rope railings, risk their lives, but go up.

This is also where the first base camp is located - EBC, all the same chortens, flags, memorable photos from successful expeditions, rip signs and whatever came into anyone's head. We end our route here and will soon be skipping to a hot shower and other joys of life. And for a climber, EBC becomes home for two months of life, among snow, ice and danger, moving away from oxygen and earthly life, to an altitude of 8848m, if you're lucky. This is mountain madness that leaves you no choice, because everything is decided by the mountain, not you. But - to each his own. As for me, I rather hurry into warmth and oxygen. I'm running, as they say, with my hair back. And I thank the mountains for letting me come closer!

That's it. The way back turned out to be much easier, although, while descending, we made considerable climbs. On one of which, I encountered a yak. He was coming straight at me, I pressed myself against the wall and tried to push him away, but with my weight it’s just ridiculous, I had to jump back. It’s good that she escaped with only a scratch on her elbow. Apparently, I lost so much weight here that they didn’t notice me)). Usually there are quite a lot of yaks on the trails, monotonously carrying oxygen cylinders, barrels, and bales, and they try not to step on tourists. Such things.

We quickly walked down, the headache no longer grew, an appetite appeared, and a great desire to stand under hot water, open a can of beer and feel like a winner was knocking on our shoulders. Cool. I get the feeling that something important has happened in my life. And in general, overcoming oneself comes with faith in one’s own strength, in the ability to do more. I hope that I won’t lose this feeling anywhere, and that something more will easily come into my life)).

And we enter the plane, which is ready to take us from the wonderful world of the Himalayas to Kathmandu airport.

We have three busy days ahead of us, but that’s a completely different story.