Everest Base Camp trek - Nepal TR

[Achas Veachas]

45. Face to face with our first Yak
46. A game of soccer at 3,500 meters

[SuperFlyer]

Unless the treeline is higher in Nepal than in the alps, how come you had breathing problems in an area of trees?

Or I read wrong?

Keep them coming !

[Achas Veachas]

First of all the treeline is probably higher in Nepal
But the presence of trees doesn't have to do with the breathing problem, the problem is that the higher up you go the lower the air pressure gets (just like the deeper you dive the higher the water pressure gets), lower air pressure means you take in less air per breath and therefore less oxygen.
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_high_altitude_on_humans )

[SuperFlyer]

First of all the treeline is probably higher in Nepal
But the presence of trees doesn't have to do with the breathing problem, the problem is that the higher up you go the lower the air pressure gets (just like the deeper you dive the higher the water pressure gets), lower air pressure means you take in less air per breath and therefore less oxygen.

right, but the higher you go, the less oxygen there is.

Also there is limit to how high trees grow.


Just checked it, in the alps the tree line is at 2500m and in Nepal 3500m.

[Achas Veachas]

The way I understand it the relative percentage of oxygen in the air is constant pretty much almost everywhere (somewhere around 20%), its the lower density of air that presents a problem.

[Fan of Dan]

It's funny that the tree line is at a different altitude in Nepal. I did have the same question though  .

[Dan]

Speaking of flights to Lukla...

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-27/plane-with-19-on-board-crashes-in-nepalese-capital

[Ergel]

6 crashes in the last 5 years. Wow

[ChAiM'l]

To be fair, this last crash wasn't at Lukla.

[Achas Veachas]

It's funny that the tree line is at a different altitude in Nepal. I did have the same question though  .

If you think bout it it makes sense, the Himalayas are alot higher then the alps

6 crashes in the last 5 years. Wow

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukla_Airport#Incidents_and_accidents
believe me if you saw the airport you'd be impressed it wasn't more, those must be the best pilots in the world

[ShmuliT]

Thanks, really enjoyed reading this detailed trip report + all the pics. Looking forward to more.

[satturn]

this has been the best trip report i have read yet......

[Achas Veachas]

Thanks for the feedback!

Day 3 – Shabbos
Namche (3,440m)

As mentioned; Shabbos was a scheduled acclimatization day, meaning all we had to do was relax and let our body do the rest. Friday night as the sun was setting over the mountains we went to the dining room and lit 2 candles, we then went to a side room for an uplifting Kabbolas Shabbos. As we sang Lecha Dodi, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the AriZa”l and his students, who would go out to the fields to greet the Shabbos queen.

After Davening we went to the dining room for our Seudas Shabbos. We had a bottle of wine with us from Kathmandu, but the only cups we had were the 10oz tin mugs we drank from the whole trip. I volunteered to do the Kiddush and drink “Rov Kos”, finding out in the process about another common –if not well understood- side effect of high altitude; the effects of alcohol are exaggerated.

All in all the meal was very pleasant, we ate, shared Divrey Torah and sang Zemiros to the delight of the other trekkers sharing the dining room with us. There was even a group of grandmothers from New-Zealand on their way down, that was a great morale booster for us.

The next morning we took our time waking up, by the time I was ready to Daven some of the earlier risers were finished Davening so I decided to Daven Beyechidus. I went to the cliff I found the day before and felt at one with the world and nature as I Davened the Shabbos Teffilos.

After Davening, instead of going back to the hotel, I decided to explore a bit more. Continuing on the ridge I came across a barbed wired area and as I was walking around it a Nepali soldier came towards me from the other side of the fence. Turns out I was exploring a Nepali army base. Why the Nepali army bothers to maintain an army base there is beyond me, the closest border is the border with Tibet, something tells me if the Chinese decide to invade the brave Nepali army will be no more than a minor obstacle, whatever. Anyway so this soldier comes over to me and tries to figure out where I landed from. Trouble is he didn’t speak English and I certainly didn’t speak Nepali (or any of the 15 other languages spoken in Nepal) so he just escorted me back to the path towards Namche.

I arrived at the Hotel and we got ready for Seudas Shabbos (this time I gave someone else the honor of making Kiddush). When the meal was served we were all curious to see how our Cholent came out. Turns out we should have been more specific with the recipe, we just told the cook to put together rice, potatoes, beans and some carrots and cook for a long time. Apparently with rice being the national food he basically made us rice, with a bit of potatoes and other stuff mixed in. regardless it was an enjoyable Seudah – like last night.

Our guide wanted us to go on a small hike to help us acclimatize better, I didn’t think it Shabbosdik (and anyway I thought I had enough with my “hike” before the meal), so I just retired to my rooms to relax. Some of the guys did go though; they hiked up a nearby hill to a place called Everst View Hotel. It was built by someone who had the idea that rich people would pay a nice penny to stay at a hotel with a view of the tallest mountain in the world. Only later did they realize that anyone paying for a helicopter ride to stay at the hotel would be poorly acclimatized and would have to take the helicopter right back down, on an oxygen mask. Needless to say the hotel as imagined was a financial flop but it did become a popular destination for trekkers acclimatizing at Namche, and reportedly the views are great.

The rest of Shabbos was uneventful as far as I recall.


Due to the Holiness of Shabbos there are no pictures to accompany this post

[SuperFlyer]

I wish I could escape the world for 3 weeks and do such a trek !

[Achas Veachas]

Day 5 – Sunday
Namche (3,440m) – Tengboche (3,867m)

Early Sunday morning we left our “luxury” hotel and were on our way. The views today were different then last weeks, last week were hiking down in the valley, now we were on the ridge so we had a much better view of the surrounding mountains.

Even though we could still see Mt. Everest in the background, the most prominent mountain on the “skyline” for the next few days was Ama Dablam (6,812m). Although it’s nowhere near as high as Mt. Everest, its double peak causes it to stand out much more, and in my humble opinion it is by far the nicest mountain in the area.

As soon as we were out of Namche we ran into “traffic”, the Nepali army was doing exercises on the path ahead, we all stood to the side as 30 soldiers ran past us down the path, then continued along the ridge.

During the walk we came to a fork in the road with a roadside pointing towards the local school. This school was the only one for a few days distance, and during the mornings of our trek it was a common sight seeing Nepali kids with their backpacks during their 3-4-5 hour walk to school (try telling that to your kids when they complain school’s too hard).

After 3-4 hours of walking on the ridge we descended down to the valley, there near the river was a small guesthouse where we stopped for lunch. As we were waiting for the kitchen staff to finish making lunch, I felt the call of nature. I asked the guide where the closest restroom was and he pointed me to a room in the guesthouse. I guess after being spoiled by “sitting” toilets in our last few camps I wasn’t expecting the sight. The room was completely bare save for a hole in the wooden floor that led to a room in the basement. I never saw a “squatting” toilet before and wasn’t sure how to use one so I decided to pass. After we finished lunch I couldn’t ignore my body any longer and so went my “initiation” into trekkers’ reality.

After a small break we crossed the river on a rickety bridge and started climbing up every inch we gained going down then some . We got to the top and passed a nice arch into the town of Tengboche, a really nice town with a stunning view of Everest. We arrived at our camp (the first one with our “Rocket Tent”) and had some tea. After we settled in, the guide suggested we visit the famous “Tengboche Monastery”. Some of the guys went, I wasn’t sure of the Avoda Zarah aspects of it so I passed.

While on the subject, most people think Avodah zarah is something in Seforim and history books, in Nepal it’s day-to-day life. Throughout the trek we came across Avodah Zara on every step, literally על ההרים הרמים ועל הגבעות ותחת כל עץ רענן. All the pretty flags you might see in the pictures are sacred prayer flags. On every path we took there would be a pile of stones that the locals would make sure to go around counter-clockwise. In the beginning I would make it a point to go clockwise because of Chukos Hagoyim, when I realized that  I was attracting stares I decided to just take the shortest way around regardless of the direction (that’s what most foreigners would do).

When the guys came back from their tour they brought back a surprise from one of the local shops: Pringles! We enjoyed a taste of home while waiting for our supper.

At night it got really chilly and for the first time we ate supper in our down coats. After supper as usual the kitchen staff filled our water bottles with boiled water (the local water had to be sterilized to make it potable, and after every meal we would fill our water bottle with freshly boiled water), our guide suggested we keep the hot water bottles with us in our sleeping bags to help keep warm. Though I did feel bad for anyone who would have to wake up for the bathroom in middle of the night…

[Achas Veachas]

47. Nepal army exercises
48. our faithfull porters. (Everest in the background)

[Achas Veachas]

Views from the days hike
49. Everest (the little bump in the middle) surrounded by Nuptse and Lhotse
50. Ama Dablam

[Achas Veachas]

51. Crossing the river, this bridge bounced every time someone crossed it...
52. Our shoes after a days hike (some of these started off black!)

[Achas Veachas]

53. Tengbuche (Everest is in the back)
54. Another angle

[Achas Veachas]

55. Pringles!!!
56. The rocket tent
57. Shacharis in Tangbuche