10/14-- Day 8--Lobuche to Gorakshep--28/9/2022

On the morning of the 28th, we commenced what was to the final day of our ascent to the EBC. We were to reach Gorakshep (5190m) in 2 hours, have lunch, and then continue on to the goal-- Everest Base Camp for another 2-3 hours, celebrate our achievement and return to Gorakshep for the night. 

However, we made extremely slow progress, struggling to move forward as we neared the snow line. All vegetation barring hardy weeds had long since disappeared. We ascended and descended peak after peak, but Gorakshep remained as far away as ever. The stunning, stark beauty of the massive mountains all around us-- Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, Nuptse, did partly compensate for the pain that we were putting ourselves through. We spied a tiny, insignificant peak, well, peeking over the shoulder of the mighty Nuptse, and were stunned to learn that peak was Mt Everest 😁 . The whole journey was ethereal, so much so that as I write this a year later, those mountains are as fresh in my mind as if I had trekked them just today!

It eventually took us about 5 hours (11 AM) to reach Gorakshep, a tiny, seasonal outpost  situated on the bed of a frozen lake, that serves as the last staging point before the Base Camp itself, for those attempting to summit Everest. In early days, Gorakshep was in fact the Everest Base Camp, and we heard that it might soon be in the future as well- since the Khumbu glacier's constant movement is making the current EBC unsafe.

As we sat for lunch in the tea house named Yeti Resort, we realised a few things clearly. One, that given our rate of progress as a group, it seemed highly unlikely that we would be able to reach the base camp and  return to Gorakshep before dusk. None of us felt it safe to be out there in the mountains once darkness descended. Two, we also felt that rather than trekking downward over three days to Lukla, it would make sense to take a heli directly to Lukla from Gorakshep after we reach the EBC. This would mean sacrificing the trek to Kala Patthar, about which we had divided opinions in the group, but on balance, we decided that it would be best to drop the Kalapatthar trek.

We informed Tenzing, our Chief Guide, who understandably was not happy with the change of plan. He was justified, because we were violating the "Climb High, Sleep Low" principle that had governed our trekking all these days, and he was worried that we may not be able to bear the lack of oxygen that night in Gorakshep. However, on  our insistence, he relented and advised us to climb a hill that was part of the Kala Patthar route, so that there would be at least some  degree of acclimatization. We dutifully obeyed him, but found the going tough, with the chill winds and extremely slippery path up the mountain. Barring Babu and Jeeva, who sincerely did the full  trail, the rest of us returned midway.

We debated on doing the downward trek vs returning by helicopter. We did the math and found that returning by heli was feasible. We accordingly collected the money that we had with us, and paid for the helicopter at the hotel. Out in the Everest Region, calling in a heli is as easy as hailing an autorickshaw in Chennai, and in fact more reliable provided the weather is favourable. Which admittedly is a big proviso, as the window for heli operations can reduce drastically in no time at all. 

We also realised that it was best that some of our team go to EBC by pony rather than trek the final, treacherous route. We accordingly arranged for ponies. Tenzing decided that two of the people riding ponies should go to the EBC that afternoon itself, so that the rest of the group could trek as one band the next day and return early enough to take the helicopter.  An early return from EBC was important because the weather is usually clear early on in the day, and cloud cover tends to build up by say 12 noon or so, when helicopter operations could be jeopardised.

Tenzing accordingly set off with those travelling by pony while the rest of us hunkered down in our rooms. The rooms were the tiniest that we had seen during the trek, with two beds practically adjacent to each other, and with no space for storing anything at all. While this was okay for Rathika and I, as well as for Captain and Malthy (we had after all signed up for enforced closeness all those years ago 😉), it was a bit ucomfortable for the others who were on twin-sharing basis. The washrooms were also among the most basic that we saw on this trek, though to be fair, even they were clean.

The heartening news was that those who proceeded by pony had reached EBC safely and we oohed and aahed at the pics and videos they had taken on the famed rock....the overcast, snow-laden clouds added to the stark beauty. The pics were motivating in the extreme and equipped us mentally with regard to the trek the next day. 

This is not to say that all was fine with us that penultimate night, physically or mentally. Rathika was in bad shape because of her cold and the persisting drowsiness caused by the meds. Once again, I had doubts as to whether she could undertake the last part of the trek tomorrow. She rejected all advise to use a pony the next day, and said she would trek if she was in a position to.  After a meal of aloo parantha and some rice, we retired to our rooms. Gorakshep was the one place where packaged drinking water was not available; the water was obtained from melted snow. Anyway, we all were using water purifying tablets throughout the trek, and we did the same this night as well. 

While I myself was okay, I was haunted by worry on whether Rathika would be able to undertake the trek tomorrow, and therefore slept in fits and starts. Fortunately, none of us in the group had any breathing problems that night, which had been a major worry of Tenzing.