01/14--Day minus 1--The Prelude--19/09/2022

So this was the penultimate day.  We would travel the next morning by Air India to Delhi and in the afternoon by the same airline to Kathmandu, there to commence the trek that we committed ourselves to some five months prior.

Who are the 'We' here? How did the 11 of us, all decidedly on the wrong side of 40, some on the wrong side of 50, and a couple on the wrong side of 60-- and with varying degrees of fitness to boot, come together to embark on this (once-in-a-lifetime/ amazing/ foolhardy/ suicidal/ all of the above) trek? And more fundamentally, how did Rathika and I, who have never ever trekked before, become part of this group that was attempting this ultra-marathon of treks?

Like many things in my life-- including the first job I got, the last apartment I bought, and the only marriage I got into, it all started with a firm NO. 

Rathika and I are both part of Bessie Flyers, a running group that haunts the stretch opposite Yes Bank  on the Besant Nagar beachfront between 4 and 6 AM on three mornings a week. Two of the wayward spirits in that group go by the name of Capt. (Dr.) Narasimha and his wife Malthy. Besides being awesome runners, they are very experienced trekkers, having summitted Kilimanjaro and trekked to Pindari glacier and Machu Picchu. In the spare time they have between these activities, Capt Narasimha is the Chief Medical Officer of a respected corporate house, and Malthy is a practicing psychologist. Between them, so to speak, they cover both physical and mental wellness of individuals.

Capt.Narasimha phoned me up one day in May and asked if Rathika and I would like to be part of a group they were forming, to trek to the Everest Base Camp. Not ever having trekked anywhere before, and on being told that there would be a time investment of 15-16 days for this trek, I promptly declined and put the conversation out of my mind immediately.

Some 20 days later, the good doctor called again and said that another couple had to drop out and so two vacancies in the group had once more cropped up. This time, I did what I normally do-- I called up HQrs. and asked the wife her opinion. The wife, being the crystal clear thinker that she is, summarized the problem statement before us as follows:-

"To undertake a trek like this, you need three things-- fitness, money and company. We are fit today, at any rate, fitter than we will be this time next year. We have the money now, and while inshallah we may have it a few years hence too, we may not want to spend it on a trek to the Himalayas. And most importantly, today we have an opportunity to trek with a group of our own-- friends, and friends of friends-- and led by the aforementioned experienced couple to boot. Say yes."

So I said yes. And from here on commenced the flurry of preparations-- strength training, walking, purchases, mutual accusations about not taking this seriously, running, climbing stairs, purchases, being more careful about what you eat, mutual accusations about not taking this seriously, checking for the best airline deals, purchases....

Ah, the purchases--- we had no idea what all we needed to get. I actually thought we were going to trek in jeans and sneakers-- I had not even heard of trekking pants.  We made multiple trips to 2-3 outlets of Decathlon in Chennai, picking up assorted tee shirts, thermals, quick dry towels, water bottles, woollen socks, headlamps, torches, 10 litre backpacks, rechargeable batteries, wraparound sunglasses... the rest of the group also got their trekking shoes, down and fleece jackets from there. Rathika's sister from California offered to send us all their down and fleece jackets and assorted other stuff like wind and rain proof hoodies.. so we did not buy those.

And the shoes-- we were not quite comfortable with what Decathlon had to offer by way of trekking shoes, so we headed to the Columbia outlet in Phoenix Mall, Velachery and asked to try on their waterproof, ankle length shoes. The store was empty but for one other customer, and both the manager and that customer came to our assistance in selecting the right shoes. They were particularly concerned when they heard that this was to be our first trek, and positively incredulous when we told them that the first trek was going to be to the Everest Base Camp! Anyway, we got the shoes, I was fine with mine, but Rathika wasn't and went back the next day to exchange them for another pair. 

And then the practice-- I resumed strength training-- groaning and moaning three days a week at the fitness centre, under the unsympathetic gaze of the trainer, who kept berating me for doing squats when he asked me to do deadlifts and the reverse when he asked me to do squats. And we walked 2-3 hours on the Chennai roads, getting used to wearing our backpacks weighed down with 5 kgs of stuff. One of our group, Babu, packed his backpack with rice, dal and other provisions that he purchased, thus no doubt getting brownie points from his wife, along with the much needed training. 

We simulated altitude by climbing flyovers and foot overbridges (I kid you not). We couldn't simulate the minus-degree Celsius temperatures, given that Chennai at that time was in the plus forties. Oh well, you can't have it all.

                                              

There are many trek operators who offer EBC treks-- to suit every kind of traveller, solo or group, budget or affluent. Captain selected We Ramblers, a Bangalore based operator, and given his experience in these matters, we left all these decisions to him.  He also meticulously calculated and circulated the expected costs per person, the list of items we should carry with us and briefed us on the challenges to be prepared for, both physical and mental. He also organized an incredibly enlightening Teams meeting with S Venkatachalam, a runner, punner, corporate honcho, and one of our vintage, who had recently completed the EBC trek with his own group.

As we were to learn, this was the best decision each of us took-- putting complete trust in Capt Narasimha's plans and decisions.

Thus armed with the aforementioned preparations, insurance arranged, leave from  our respective offices applied for and granted, group members motivating each other and getting motivated in turn by them, the son and heir informed of what is where, just  in case, you know.... and we are here, suitcases and bags packed, for the early morning flight to Delhi en route to Kathmandu.... trepidation and excitement in equal measure,... no, excitement far outweighing trepidation..