Post from Michelle:
We started our hike to Everest Base Camp under low hanging gray clouds and fast dropping temperatures. The threat of snow was obvious but we were anxious to see Base Camp. After all, we had hiked nine days to get this far.
We walked for a couple hours along a glacier stream, among huge gray boulders and on a thin path along a mountain ridge. A glacier sat below and mountain peaks towered above us. From here we could just see Everest Base Camp, the tents distant colored dots.
Our group climbed down the steep ridge, amidst a sea of rocks and began our hike on the Kumbu Glacier. I didn't really realize I was walking on a glacier until I looked down and saw a huge crevasse along the side of the trail. Peering inside there seemed to be no bottom, only darkness. I joked that jumping in would be the fast and cheap way to return home, on the other side of the world. But I also made a serious mental note to watch my steps more carefully. The stark terrain made me feel like I was on another planet. Large boulders, the size of small cars, balanced precariously on small nuggets of ice. Impressive ice forms jutted out along the way, at times looking like an ice forest.
A thunderous sound echoed and we stopped to watch an avalanche cascade down the nearby ice fall. The resulting roar and displaced snow reminded us of nature's power. It was then I saw a line of small dots on the left side of the giant ice fall - Everest climbers practicing for their climb to the summit. I couldn't imagine what they were thinking at that moment, being so close to the avalanche. Later, a sherpa told me many sherpa climbers had died there due to the instability of the ice.
Mid-afternoon we arrived at Base Camp (17,600 ft). It was a colorful "tent city" in a landscape of rock. The first group of tents to greet us belonged to the Korean expedition, their flags waving in the wind. I peeked in their dining tent and saw people eating lunch. I wondered what it was like to live in this cold world of rock and ice for weeks on end.
Base Camp is especially busy this year with 14 expedition teams. It is not a cheap undertaking to organize an expedition. Nepal charges $70,000 per seven member team and an additional $10,000 for each additional climber. Add the cost of equipment, supplies, and hiring sherpas and porters, and it equals a small fortune.
One team had a satellite dish and I assumed that was the American group. I had heard there was a morning news show there to document and televise the American climbers. Porters had carried the satallite dish in in small pieces. Tibetan prayer flags fluttered in the wind, no doubt, sending up protection prayers to the heavens for the climbers.
The clouds became more thick and menacing and we could see the snow falling in the distance. Relunctantly, we decided to head back to our lodge. Halfway home it started snowing and made the world a winter wonderland. It was a perfect ending to an exciting day.
We walked for a couple hours along a glacier stream, among huge gray boulders and on a thin path along a mountain ridge. A glacier sat below and mountain peaks towered above us. From here we could just see Everest Base Camp, the tents distant colored dots.
Our group climbed down the steep ridge, amidst a sea of rocks and began our hike on the Kumbu Glacier. I didn't really realize I was walking on a glacier until I looked down and saw a huge crevasse along the side of the trail. Peering inside there seemed to be no bottom, only darkness. I joked that jumping in would be the fast and cheap way to return home, on the other side of the world. But I also made a serious mental note to watch my steps more carefully. The stark terrain made me feel like I was on another planet. Large boulders, the size of small cars, balanced precariously on small nuggets of ice. Impressive ice forms jutted out along the way, at times looking like an ice forest.
A thunderous sound echoed and we stopped to watch an avalanche cascade down the nearby ice fall. The resulting roar and displaced snow reminded us of nature's power. It was then I saw a line of small dots on the left side of the giant ice fall - Everest climbers practicing for their climb to the summit. I couldn't imagine what they were thinking at that moment, being so close to the avalanche. Later, a sherpa told me many sherpa climbers had died there due to the instability of the ice.
Mid-afternoon we arrived at Base Camp (17,600 ft). It was a colorful "tent city" in a landscape of rock. The first group of tents to greet us belonged to the Korean expedition, their flags waving in the wind. I peeked in their dining tent and saw people eating lunch. I wondered what it was like to live in this cold world of rock and ice for weeks on end.
Base Camp is especially busy this year with 14 expedition teams. It is not a cheap undertaking to organize an expedition. Nepal charges $70,000 per seven member team and an additional $10,000 for each additional climber. Add the cost of equipment, supplies, and hiring sherpas and porters, and it equals a small fortune.
One team had a satellite dish and I assumed that was the American group. I had heard there was a morning news show there to document and televise the American climbers. Porters had carried the satallite dish in in small pieces. Tibetan prayer flags fluttered in the wind, no doubt, sending up protection prayers to the heavens for the climbers.
The clouds became more thick and menacing and we could see the snow falling in the distance. Relunctantly, we decided to head back to our lodge. Halfway home it started snowing and made the world a winter wonderland. It was a perfect ending to an exciting day.
Photos From This Location
