Intrepid Scotsman John MacDonald is not one for lounging about watching tv and his latest adventure took him to Nepal and the Himalayas. The following is John’s story in his own words and we have broken it down into sections. We’re sure you will find it as interesting as we did.
It started as an idea two years ago. I had taken my partner Niki to Nepal to visit the birth place of The Lord Buddha in Lumbini. On the way back we stayed in Kathmandu for a few days sight-seeing and decided to take a tourist flight on a small 20 seater plane around the Everest region of the Himalayas. The mountains were stunning and the sight of the Everest Massif was awe inspiring. It was then I decided that I needed to take a closer look.
I put the word out that I was planning a trip to Everest base camp and would anyone like to join me. Quite a few friends said yes but as time went on they all dropped out for one reason or another. Then out of the blue my daughter Sarah got in touch to say that she was definitely going to go. This delighted and surprised me at the same time as Sarah had always hated the regular family walks back home in Scotland.
I booked the trip for late November- early December as the research I did indicated that this was the best time to go as the trail would be quiet with winter coming in. The skies would be clear and the views of the mountains would be at their best, we were not to be disappointed.
I met Sarah in Kathmandu Airport on the 25th Nov. Her flight from London was on time and my Thai Air flight from Bangkok was its usual 1 hour late. As she waited for me to arrive, she had the company of a group of Buddhist monks who told her stories and fed her sour tasting soup that she didn’t really like but was too polite to refuse.
We got a taxi to the hotel and I was happy to see that Kathmandu was back to its chaotic self despite the earthquake of 2015 that killed 9000 people. The next day we met our guide and the other members of our group, Emma, Gemma and Brodie. All three girls were in their mid-twenties and all were from Melbourne in Australia but who had never met each other before that day.
Sarah was delighted to have instant new friends of her age, of course I felt like “father”. The guide “Prem” a Sherpa by birth, went through the itinerary of the trip and discussed the effects of altitude sickness. He talked about the use of the medication Diamox but most of us took this advice lightly!!
The rest of the day was spent doing some last minute shopping and renting some gear for the trek. All of us had bought most of our gear beforehand, which I now realize was a big mistake as everything could have been bought in Kathmandu at a fraction of the prices charged in Bangkok and London. All that is except for the hiking boots which had to be bought months before and “worn in”.
The next day found us again at Kathmandu Airport for the short 45 minute flight to Lukla which means the place with many sheep and goats! The views during this flight are amazing but as we drew closer to Lukla I started to notice that the small aircraft was only a few wing lengths from the hillside and not far from skimming the ridge. I was getting concerned when with no warning there was a loud thud and we had landed.
Little did I know that Lukla airfield is perched on the side of a hill at 2,840 metres and is known as the most dangerous airfield in the world with the pilots having to make many maneuvers to land safely. The runway is only 500 metres long with an uphill slope of 12 degrees on landing which makes taking off feel like a roller coaster as you charge downhill and straight off the side of the mountain. As we alighted from the aircraft, I took a deep breath only to find that the air was not quite the same as before. The effects of altitude were already apparent!
After a light meal we made our way through the cobbled paths of the village to the start of the Sagarmatha National Park. The entrance to the park was a busy place with people and ponies getting loaded up with supplies for the many villages in the park as there are no roads and everything must be carried in on the backs of animals or humans.
The porters here (young, old, male and female but mostly young men) are paid by the kilo carried and the distance they have to walk, so the heavier the load the more they are paid. We witnessed some guys carrying at least 100 kilos and wearing flip flops or crocs, truly super human considering the terrain and heights involved.
We trekked for 3 hours, mostly downhill, along a dusty, rocky path through trees, following the milky white Dudh Kosi River to our first overnight stop in the village of Phakding at 2,600 metres. We settled into our first “tea house” which we would call a guest house.
Tea houses are typically stone built on the outside with plywood walls and ceilings on the inside. They consist of a lounge with a wood burning stove which rarely burns wood, it’s mostly dried Yak dung or chocolate brownies as they are affectionately called and the stove would only be lit from 5pm until about 7pm. There is a basic kitchen in which the women manage to supply a variety of wholesome dishes.
The bedrooms are no more than small ply wood boxes with a very low wattage light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The beds (2 single) are again made from plywood and have a mattress of foam, a blanket and a pillow. There was a normal toilet and shower room.
As the girls chatted excitedly, I decided to have a walk around the village which was only really one path with houses and shops on either side. I noticed a full- sized snooker table in one of the shops/bar with a few young local men playing. I thought to myself, “How the hell did they get that up here?” Then a couple of shops further into the village there was another ,then another!! I counted 7 snooker/pool tables in this very small village and this was to become a common sight all the way along the valley! Again, how the hell did they get them up here??
After dinner and some chat everyone decided to retire as the stove was going out. It was getting cold and an early start was called for the next day. I awoke at 4.30 am with the need to go to the toilet (too much milk tea in the evening was soon seen as a mistake) so donning my head torch (no electric at night), I made my way to the toilet. During the natural event another natural event took place.
There was an almighty roaring sound and the building shook violently. I could hear the sound of rocks crashing into each other as they cascaded down the hillside and a man in the house was screaming ,”Earthquake! Earthquake!” Fortunately, it was over very quickly and no apparent damage was done. However, we did find out later that the quake measured 5.6 with the epicentre being only a few kilometres from us. One Sherpa sadly died on a mountainside after being hit by falling ice.
Needless to say everyone was up before the alarm clock went off, gear packed and then ate a hearty breakfast. I had started to eat porridge again with plenty of sugar in it for energy but you could have pretty much what you wanted.Pancakes with honey was a favourite with the girls and of course the guides and porters had “Dhal bat” for just about every meal. This is a large helping of rice with a lentil soup and a few bits of meat. If you had this for dinner or lunch, free seconds or thirds were always available.
The 6 hour walk (all uphill) was to take us across many of the suspension bridges that span the valley, some of these being over 100 metres long and just as high, or so it seemed. They were very wobbly but the cattle, yaks and horses took them in their stride.
I was lucky later on to meet the Swiss engineer who for 25 years had overseen the construction of these bridges and we had a long chat about his adventures in the mountains while building the bridges. To this day his construction methods are being followed and around 200 bridges per year are being built in the Nepal Himalayas.
The walking speed was kept deliberately slow to help with altitude acclimatization which was good as there was a lot of uphill. The views from the high paths were stunning in all directions whether it be looking back down the valley or upwards to the towering peaks in front of us.
We eventually reached Namche Bazaar perched on the hillside. It was bigger than I expected and it had cafés, shops, restaurants and even an Irish pub. However, the local women still had to do their laundry in the freezing- cold streams that run through the town.
We settled into our tea house and ate dinner . I then decided to have a hot shower (300 rupees) and a lady got the shower up and running, a complicated business by all accounts. The hot shower was great after a long, dusty day on the trail but eventually I had to turn the hot water off as others may want to use it. It was then a mad panic to get dried and dressed quickly or freeze to death.
We were to stay in Namche Bazaar for two nights for acclimatization and while there visit the Sagarmatha National Park Visitors Centre where they have a statue of Tenzing Norgay who together with Sir Edmund Hillary were the first people to conquer Everest . It was from here that we were to get our first sight of Everest in the far distance.
To be continued: