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| On top of the world |
3-Apr-2007 |
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Have a blast on a mighty mountain. By Bianca Nogrady
THE howling, freezing wind scours my chapped face and sucks the air from my lungs as I stagger over the rocky terrain and wonder what the heck I’m doing here.
Mount Everest Base Camp in Tibet is as close to hell on Earth as I’ve ever experienced. Ferocious, icy winds descend from the mighty Himalayas like some vengeful Mongol horde, sweeping through a long, desiccated valley filled with glacial debris before battering mercilessly against the tiny Tibetan monastery of Rongphu and its surrounding camp sites. At 5000m above sea level, oxygen is scarce and every step towards the mountain feels like 50.
Despite this discomfort, I’m privileged to visit this pinnacle of the Earth and stand before Mount Everest, or ‘Mother Goddess of the Earth’ to those who live in her shadow. At 8848m, Mount Everest represents a challenge to some, a pilgrimage to others, but undoubtedly one of the planet’s most awe-inspiring sights.
The massive mountain is striated with black rock and white snow and the wind currently removing my epidermis is even stronger at the mountain’s summit, driving a huge but delicate plume of snow off the peak.
I’d like to brag that I have carried enormous loads and endured unenviable hardships to get to this point, but for the past 10 days I have ‘suffered’ three-course meals, comfortable tents and a yak to carry my gear. I have also been woken by the sunrise on snow-capped peaks and a cup of hot tea delivered to my tent door. I am one of six trekkers who have been pampered by a team of four yak herders, six yaks, two Nepali cooks, one assistant Nepali guide, a Tibetan guide and a Nepali guide leader. This is trekking in style.
But don’t start thinking this is relaxing. Since our 10-day trek with World Expeditions began, we have scaled two snowy mountain passes, each about 5200m above sea level, crossed unstable scree and avalanche debris, ascended and descended up to 1000m in a day, and walked in low-oxygen conditions for up to eight hours a day.
Despite the luxuries, this is not a journey for the fragile or unfit, and it is not to be taken lightly. The sun may be shining but in an instant the weather can turn, you can lose your way, and the mountains will swallow you without a trace.
We were blessed with picture-perfect weather for much of the trek, with the occasional light dusting of snow to remind us we were on the roof of the world, and a blast of real Himalayan fury at Base Camp. It was as if the mountain was daring us to take our chances.
No thanks, I’ve got a hot lunch to get back to.
When to go: Trekking season in the Tibetan Himalayas is October to May.
Further information: World Expeditions operates numerous treks in the Tibetan, Nepali and Indian Himalayas. www.worldexpeditions.com
Getting there: Fly to Kathmandu or Lhasa (Tibet) via Kathmandu. Flights to Kathmandu start at about $1200.
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