Post from Tim:
Gorek Shep: Some would say it isn't the destination, but the journey. And certainly, 12 days into our trek into Everest's Khumbu Valley, the journey has been fantastic. We have gradually acclimatized from Kathmandu's 1,400 meters (4 595 ft.) to Gorek Shep's 5,170 meters (16,962 ft.), met lots of good friends in lodges along the way, and walked through amazing scenery.
But today we faced the destination of our journey: the 5,600-meter (18,373-ft.) peak of Kala Pattar. A mountain that, though it requires no guides or climbing experience, could offer us a beautiful view of Mount Everest and its surrounding ranges and take us higher in altitude than we have ever been before. (Pictured here as the smaller of two peaks, next to Pumori at 7,145 m.)
When we started up towards the peak early in the morning, a cloud line hung above 5,400 meters and blocked the view from the top. Many trekkers considered the climb worthless and descended to wait for fair weather. We just remained optimistic and kept moving up the snow-covered trail.
The track rose up the mountain gradually, but at 5 500 meters the air pressure was 50% that of sea level and we struggled just to inhale enough oxygen to keep moving. After 12 days of walking up hills I felt great, and yet I still stopped, gasping for air every few minutes to catch my breath.
We rose slowly up the mountain, scrambled up the final rock pile to the very top and arrived to 5,600 meters and a great view of... clouds!
No big surprise - after all, we were walking in fog. But in the space of five minutes, the clouds lifted up out of view like a curtain on our mountain stage. Suddenly we were surrounded by 360 degrees of the world's largest mountains: Nuptse at 7,861 m, Lhotse at 8,501 m, several peaks over 6,500 m, and of course the king of all - Everest at 8,850. Below it all ran the Khumbu Glacier, sweeping miles of rock and ice down towards the lowlands at a rate of four inches per day.
I sat thunderstruck and felt a genuine sense of joy. The immensity of these surroundings humbled me in a way that is indescribable, like standing on a cliff overlooking the Grand Canyon, but without the roads, phones, cars, and help nearby. I'd walked 12 days to get here, dealt with diarrhea and sleeping in the cold. I'd cast off the warm sense of security from my life at home. And now I felt fully alive on top of the world.
This is what my year is all about - learning to live life as fully as possible.
But today we faced the destination of our journey: the 5,600-meter (18,373-ft.) peak of Kala Pattar. A mountain that, though it requires no guides or climbing experience, could offer us a beautiful view of Mount Everest and its surrounding ranges and take us higher in altitude than we have ever been before. (Pictured here as the smaller of two peaks, next to Pumori at 7,145 m.)
When we started up towards the peak early in the morning, a cloud line hung above 5,400 meters and blocked the view from the top. Many trekkers considered the climb worthless and descended to wait for fair weather. We just remained optimistic and kept moving up the snow-covered trail.
The track rose up the mountain gradually, but at 5 500 meters the air pressure was 50% that of sea level and we struggled just to inhale enough oxygen to keep moving. After 12 days of walking up hills I felt great, and yet I still stopped, gasping for air every few minutes to catch my breath. We rose slowly up the mountain, scrambled up the final rock pile to the very top and arrived to 5,600 meters and a great view of... clouds!
No big surprise - after all, we were walking in fog. But in the space of five minutes, the clouds lifted up out of view like a curtain on our mountain stage. Suddenly we were surrounded by 360 degrees of the world's largest mountains: Nuptse at 7,861 m, Lhotse at 8,501 m, several peaks over 6,500 m, and of course the king of all - Everest at 8,850. Below it all ran the Khumbu Glacier, sweeping miles of rock and ice down towards the lowlands at a rate of four inches per day.
I sat thunderstruck and felt a genuine sense of joy. The immensity of these surroundings humbled me in a way that is indescribable, like standing on a cliff overlooking the Grand Canyon, but without the roads, phones, cars, and help nearby. I'd walked 12 days to get here, dealt with diarrhea and sleeping in the cold. I'd cast off the warm sense of security from my life at home. And now I felt fully alive on top of the world.
This is what my year is all about - learning to live life as fully as possible.
Photos From This Location
