Magical, Majestic, Mystical

by SHAILEE BASNET

FROM ISSUE # 151 (July 2008) | IN THIS ISSUE
	REFER TO FRIEND		PRINT THIS ARTICLE

WORLD SUMMIT EXPLORER PVT Shailee and Pema Diki on the way to the summit.

Destination: Top of the world, Mt. Chomolungma
What to take: Good set of mountaineering gear, a good team, loads of will power and luck.

She is the tallest of all on this planet, yet Chomolungma (Everest) keeps herself veiled as much as possible. As the First Inclusive Women's Sagarmatha Expedition 2008 Spring (FIWSE) left for Lukla on 17 April, we had little idea how the expedition would turn out. For a team with the majority of members new to mountaineering, this expedition was filled with excitement and apprehension.

The uphill climb to Namche was toiling but even a glimpse of Chomolungma from any point along the trek makes it easier. Even from this close, seeing Chomolungma is as difficult as it is climbing it, she seems to play hide and seek along the route. Namche is the beginning of the high altitude zone. Thanks to our calculated pace, none of us were troubled by high altitude sickness. But this was only the beginning; there was Debuche, Pangboche, Pheriche, Lobuche, Gorakhshep and finally Everest Base Camp. As we got closer to base camp, Nuptse seemed to be on centre stage while Chomolungma was nowhere to be seen. I wanted to see more of the southeast route to Chomolungma, but between Lho-la and Nuptse, the Khumbu Icefall and tip of Lhotse were all one could see.

Shailee with Himalmedia's flag on the top of the world.

The Khumbu Icefall is one of the danger zones, a chaotic jumble of huge ice chunks, with numerous bottomless blue-green crevasses. Our guides told us the famous saying, "If you fall into one of these, you get to New York and you don't even need a visa". The determination with which we reached there wasn't enough and even up there we had to practice ladder crossing along the crevasses, jummering and rappelling. And we also had the gods with us after the puja.

Ready to hit the icefall, we set out at 5AM equipped with rucksacks on our back and iceaxe in hand. This was the moment I was waiting for, my first entry into a mountain. But my apprehension hadn't died. I was waiting for this moment so that I could judge whether I was fit for the highest mountain in the world. A clear morning gave the team a moral boost and we were very excited on returning to base camp.

Alumunium ladders erected to climb vertical ice block at Khumbu Icefall.

Our next move was to Camp I, we were closer to Chomolungma and Lhotse and could see much more of the southeast route. Two nights at Camp I, six members returned to base camp and four of them had already reached base camp the day before. While climbing big mountains one needs to visit camps a couple of times before pushing for the summit. This is required to get used to the high altitude, its called acclimatisation.  An upset tummy tried to put a stop to my journey with our general leader Da Gombu Sherpa advising me to go back but I wasn't ready to give up. But there is only so much the body can take and half the way to Camp I, I could feel my energy level dwindling. Left with no choice I had to come down.

For the next seven days I communicated with my leaders at higher camps about when I should move up. It kept getting postponed and I never went for a second round of acclimatisation. Everyday at base camp, army officers on liaison duty would visit me, ask about my health, wish me luck for next morning's move and see me wandering in the camp the next day! It almost started to get embarrassing.
 

View of an avalanche from Base Camp.

Finally, my friends were back. We were then divided into different groups for the final push to the summit. I was in the second group but I left with the first group because I was well rested and needed time to acclimatise. Susmita, Maya, Pujan and Nimdoma left for Camp II whereas I stayed at Camp I with Kaji dai. My friends had already acclimatised, so I was afraid Kaji dai might get irritated with my pace but I was overwhelmed by the care, understanding and sense of responsibility he had towards me. The trek from Camp I to Camp II is undoubtedly the easiest section on this route. It's almost flat and so it's a nice walk. I was back again with the gang but was supposed to wait for the second group there. However, Pemba dai suggested that since I was in good health I could go for the summit with the first group. I couldn't have wished for anything more.

Once the blue-ice section en-route to Camp III began, the end never seemed to come. It was not an easy task to acclimatise at 7300 meters. Next day we all geared up again, this time equipped with bottled oxygen towards the last camp. Also known as South Col, we came across Yellow Band, a section of crumbling limestone. Then came Geneva Spur, a rock hill that seemed gigantic to me but  we covered the distance quicker than I had expected. At the saddle between Lhotse and Chomolungma, the time for the summit had come. If I had made it this high, then I was sure I could make it to the top, but who knew. I couldn't avoid such positive and negative thoughts haunting my mind as we rested.

After the puja at Everest Base Camp

Around 10 PM we started for the final section of Chomolungma. If we couldn't make it, it meant turning back. There was no camp waiting for us above. My climbing guide Pasang dai and I were late to start out. As I wondered what the journey ahead would be like, my thoughts were interrupted by Pasang dai. He had torn his summit suit which had been hit by a falling rock and I had no choice but to turn back.
 
On our way down, we came across a climber trying to revive a fallen team-member. As we got close, I heard someone saying into the walkie-talkie, "He's dead." A Swiss climber had summitted without oxygen but died of edema on the way down. We sat with him for more than an hour, watching the enormous Lhotse in front painted in the white of snow and the darkness of night. Buddhist chants were ringing in my ears, as if someone close-by were chanting them. The more I gazed to the enormous figure of Lhotse the more I felt as if it was her repeating those mantras. The dead body behind me and the chant made me question if the mountain was a demon or a divine being. I still had to reach the summit, so I forced myself to think she was god.

Pictures of Dalai Lama and other Rinpoche's at the Summit.

Throughout that most unpleasant, cold, almost frozen night inside my tent at South Col, I kept my fingers crossed for a second chance. I was not sure if my return meant the end of the expedition for me. The next morning I heard that five of my friends, Ngwang Phuti, Nimdoma, Susmita, Pujan and Maya made it to the top. It filled me with pride, as though I had reached the top and somehow I knew I could do it as well.
 
On 23 May at night, we set off again. After a change of oxygen cylinders at the famous balcony, the wind started to blow angrily and there was some snow. I knew it was normal but started to worry a little thinking what if it got worse. At the summit ridge, I realised traffic jams are universal, because even on the top of the world there was a queue of people. This was the famous Everest traffic jam. As we moved up slowly in the dark, Makalu emerged as a silhouette against the eastern sky. The moon and stars were dazzling above, but the horizon was tinged light blue as dawn broke. The sun was up by the time we got to the summit.

Then came the notorious Hillary Step Passing which would have taken forever had it not been for our climbing guides. Finally the veil was off around 8.15 AM on 24 May, I was on top of the world, literally. It was a gentle top with a cornice on the edge. I was so excited to see the summit that I didn't bother about the view. It's magical, mystical and majestic up there. I bowed down to the Buddha's statue, prayer flags and picture of Lamas. Then I got out the Himalmedia and Federation of Nepali Journalists flag and posed for pictures. This was the most fulfilling moment of my life. I sang a song and danced with Asha, and looked down towards the rest of the world.