May 11, 2011

Yesterday, we drove from Shigatse to near base camp. Over 100 kilometers of the road was dirt, rock-strewn, rutted, dusty, muddy, snowy, winding, on the edge of cliffs roads. If you think you have the idea, you do not. We have never seen or been on so many switchbacks in our lives.

So, after 4 security checks, we made it to the area near the base camp. When we got there, we learned the park had been closed for the last 3 days and we were among the first visitors allowed in the park on this first day of reopening. We were thrilled to be able to make it.  From our drop off point we took a bus to the last security checkpoint, where we finally walked to base camp (maybe 30 steps or so since the range we were permitted to walk was limited).  Unfortunately the mountain was covered with clouds for the entire time we were there  and given our limited range in base camp we can't say much about it.

Having succeeded with the goal of reaching base camp and seeing Mt Everest, we returned to the monastery guest house for check-in and a brief respite. There was no heat, no running water; the one electric bulb hanging in the room worked only for a limited number of hours at night (and it was the new energy saving type of bulb too!) The outdoor facilities were in an area shared with yaks so we were sure to step carefully.

Luck was with us nonetheless because as the evening wore on, the temperature plummeted,  the wind picked up, and the clouds dispersed --- then we had a spectacular-beyond-words view of Mt Everest (called Qomolangma here), including an equally spectacular sunset.  Climber Paul touched the top of Mt Everest while Climber Claire hugged it;  Climber Janet has the pictures to prove it. After a while, Climbers Claire and Paul ran in and out of the social center of the guesthouse to snap pictures, while Climber Janet trekked down the road for pictures.

We went to our freezing rooms and tried to find a way to stay warm. In general we were not particularly successful but we did manage to catch a few hours of sleep with our camera batteries in our sleeping bags, which we had to keep warm so we could take more pictures.  The battery for the blog was left out and had to be recharged later in the day   We did have to visit the yak yard during the night and use a head lamp for sure footed steps.  The outing gave us a great opportunity to see the millions of stars in this region.  The Milky Way was brilliant.

We arose early in the morning to catch the sunrise on Mt Everest. It too was spectacular-beyond-words. We watched the sunlight gradually rise on the mountain for over an hour.  We  then started our trek back to Shigatse. The weather continued to be cold so we also were able to see Mt Everest, and its five sisters, as well as other mountains,  from one of the passes.

We use words like "spectacular" and we have probably taken over 200 pictures of Mt Everest and still it is hard to imagine the beauty of this area. It simply is unbelievably beautiful.

As we write this, we are in Shigatse and return to Lhasa tomorrow.