He survived Mt. Everest…

The following is a report received at the end of the Nepal segment of his journey. Succinctly: He survived Mt. Everest… but what did he learn?

Maybe this should be called Torgeir and Esteban’s Excellent Adventure. (Bonus points awarded…)

For other armchair adventurers accompanying our daring duo, I suggest two books to supplement Torgeir’s trip commentary. The first is an audiobook. Currently, I am listening to Michael Palin’s Himalaya, a diary of his trip to the same parts of the world as Torgier is visiting, only Palin was there 20 years ago. (Yes, that Michael Palin, of Monty Python. He is also a fine writer.) The second is a delightful historical and philosophical examination (from a Eurocentric view) of journeying in past centuries, The Meaning of Travel, by Emily Thomas, an English professor. The last I heard (on Joanna Penn’s Books and Travel podcast) she was spending time in Africa, practicing what she philosophically preaches.

<Blatant self-promotion>

Reading through Torgeir’s report, I recognized several similarities to my own mountain-climbing adventure as described in my book Chinese Road Trip.

</Blatant self-promotion>

Finally, here is a link (two, actually) to an interview of one member of the TEL community, Jorah Kai (pronounced KI as in “kite”). Kai is currently a popular and respected high school teacher. Please don’t tell his students about his misspent, mischievous youth. I am happy to share any suitable links and announcements by or about members of our delightful community of weird people.

https://notforvanity.com/2023/03/20/life-of-an-artist-in-conversation-with-jorah-kai-part-one/

https://notforvanity.com/2023/03/24/life-of-an-artist-in-conversation-with-jorah-kai-part-two/

Randy

And now, hereeee’s Torgeir.

***************************’

It was three o’ clock in the night, completely dark and every step I took was painful. Ten centimeters of new snow covered the track. How Chuldum Sherpa in front of me was able to find the path was to me a mystery. I knew from the test climb the day before that it was very steep. If I slip I would fall 200 meters down a rocky mountainside. I gasp for breath. "Need another short break" I was constantly thinking. The 54 year old compact man who guided me had ten kg more than me in his backpack. Still, he was never tired.

“We need to be on the top at 10AM to be able to get down again during the daylight”, I remember he said when we planned this climb. How did I put myself in this situation? It is only the sherpa and me on the mountain.

A young Japanese couple were climbing ahead of us with their guide. But they turned around. The girl was crying while they passed us, walking slowly down on the slippery snowy path. [Randy: Wonderful, evocative writing. In a couple of sentences, Torgeir described a broken dream. No dialogue even. Hemingway couldn't have done it better.]

Island Peak (6189m) was used by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing in 1953 as a test climb before the famous Everest attempt. They tested oxygen tanks and techniques for crossing crevasses. Chuldum and I are following in their footsteps, the same route as they chose. We must use ladders and jumars on a fixed line. Just like they did 70 years ago.

I came to Nepal ten days before the climb towards Island Peak. As usual I went to a neighborhood empty of tourists, just to check how the real locals live their life in Kathmandu. Those first nights were horrible. The apartment I rented had thin walls. Outside in the street a mad dog was barking constantly for several hours. It was so loud! It was like the dog was in my bed, barking into my ear. There must have been hundreds who lived in the neighborhood. None of them seemed to care. By allowing aggressive dogs to terrorize the neighborhood, they ensure that these traits are passed on to the next generation of howling dogs.

Another thing that bothered me - in addition to sleepless nights - was the fact that my friend Esteban was sick. Although we had a risk analysis with "food poisoning" as one of the ingredients – and how to avoid it – Esteban had got exactly that. On Day One in Nepal. Could he recover in time?

We had paid for the airline tickets to Lukla (2800m). And since we had a tight budget, we could not buy a new ticket. So, Esteban tried. To make things worse, the airline company changed our tickets, and put us in two different flights. Me at 7AM, Esteban at 10AM. Our plan to walk together in one day from Lukla to the biggest village in the mountain, Namche – was now impossible. A couple of hours of trekking revealed that Esteban's condition was seriously poor. His illness got worse.

After a few days of great pain, he was transported back to Kathmandu in helicopter and plane, for treatment in hospital.

We agreed that I was to continue and reach our goals. Since we visit the mountains in early March, I was walking very much alone. I had plenty of time to notice “The Heroes of Himalaya”, i.e., the porters! They move building materials, cement, tables and chairs, oxygen tanks. They carry groceries and tourist’s backpacks and everything the tourists need to stay in this No Man’s Land. They wear sandals, plastic Crocs and worn-out jogging shoes, and carry 15 to 30kg up, up, up - a dozen hours every day.

As one of few tourists, I could enjoy the Himalaya slowly waking up to spring and a new tourist season. With great speed, I walked 1000 meters up and 17 to 20 km every day. The lodges were empty, so I could choose my room and my view. One place I had Chuckhung Ri I and Chuckhurg Tse outside my window.

After a week, I had walked up to Kala Patthar (5644m). It provided me a spectacular closeup view of Everest, Nuptse, and Changtse. I could also see the northern flank and summit of Lhotse.

I spent time at the altitude 5000m to get ready for the climb up to 6200. The only problem the first week was that the sun burned my skull to the second degree. A hat made of wool did not protect, I learned. So that's why everyone wore thick jacket hoods even in the heat!

I enjoy the advantage of traveling alone, and I had became very good at it. "Should we leave soon?", "Does anyone need to go to the bathroom first?", "Should we stop to eat expensive and bland food and sit on a plastic chair for an hour?". I hate to travel in a group. Better to decide the answers solo. It is incredible to observe how groups struggle to solve simple tasks!

Could I take with me my wife Mona and my children on this trip?  They would love the nature… but not the “hotel rooms". I got them for free; that says something about the standard. Minus 4 degrees inside at night. "Solar panels don't work for heating the rooms," said the manager. One night, he knocked on the 20mm thick plate which was the door to the room. He offered me a rubber bag full of boiling water. First time I've used one like this. Made me fall asleep.

Why don't they dam up the river and offer the citizens and tourists plenty of energy? A Hydro Power Plant would heat up all houses in the region, all year. We could even charge our phones in our own rooms!

By chance I got to know a couple of sherpas. They have been on peaks bigger than 6000m more than a thousand times, and they have summited several 8000m peaks in Nepal. I really enjoyed their company. Even on our way up to Island Peak we were able to laugh and smile.

After four hours of painful steps in the darkness, we could enter the snowy part of the mountain and see everything in the sun. I thought the worst part was over. But I was wrong. With crampons on, we entered blue ice. Since we were the first summit attempt this year, we could not foreseen the sight that waited us. All the ropes were stuck in the ice. So, we had to put up new ones. After struggling with that for an hour, we arrived at crevasses so big that we needed a ladder to cross them. I took my ice axe and jumped across one of them, attached to a rope my new friend secured in the ice. But more obstacles confronted us around the next false summit. An avalanche a few weeks old covered the size of ten soccer fields on the south side of the mountain. It looked like rough waves had frozen overnight, with a carpet of new snow on top of it. For every step, our crampons got stuck in big holes in this giant mess. I have never been so exhausted in my life. At 6000m, we had to give up. A thirty-meter deep crevasse was impossible to cross, and the great crack was several hundred meters long. To pass it, we had to go down and choose a new route.

After 13 days and almost 200km of walks in the mountains (carrying my 13kg backpack) I flew back to Kathmandu. I feel stronger than ever, and I have learned a lot. Not only about climbing, but about me and my limitations. I had a great reunion with Esteban, who had recovered from his severe stomach infection. It was good to see him back in shape.

I will not recommend my way of travelling. Most people who visit Himalaya do it with a travel agency who provide everything. I think that is for a reason. They have porters and guides, and compared to what I have done they do a “walk in the park”. But I recommend Nepal! The mountain people really impressed me. After a few drinks of rice beer they also told me their personal stories, and how accidently they ended up in the high altitude tourist business.

Now I look forward to warm climate. A few days in India, then Thailand.