Return to Kathmandu

The rest as they say, is history. It took us one day to get down to Lama, another day to get back to Syabrubesi, and yet another with a long jeep ride back to KTM. And for those who are wondering, the climb down was just as hard as the climb up.

There's nothing like checking-in to a 5-star hotel after a gruelling 10-day trek.

This trip was an incredible and wonderful experience.

And the journey was so much more fun thanks to the excellent company.

Our friend Romy went on to climb Cho Oyu - 8,200m - you can read his story here.

Would I do the same thing again? Probably not. Will I recommend it to others? Absolutely.

90% Mental

I woke up at 12 midnight with a thumping headache... heart rate was at 15 bp10s - my poor heart! It must have been slaving away all night. I stayed up for another hour or so to try and get it under control. I think it was at this point that I told Romy and LA that "I now officially feel like shit".

Doesn't it make you wonder why these mountaineers keep climbing mountains?

At 3am "Biker" (one of our guides) woke us up with breakfast. I was clearly in no shape to join the assault but I did manage to gulp down all the stuff they gave us to eat. Food seemed to be yummier up here.

4am, on schedule, the expedition promptly took off for the final assault. I wished them luck, and dropped back to sleep.

An amazing thing happened four and a half hours later as I woke up to Yaks breying (er. growling? rawr) in the hillside. While I was asleep, all the clouds snuck away, and what was left was a breath-taking 360-degree view of the grand snow-capped mountains surrounding the Langtang valley.

Too bad I didn't have a camera. Ha!

It was so nice and so peaceful up there, all alone with nothing but empty blue sky and those giants towering over you.

Later that day, I missed Ching so much I ran 5 hours down, resting for only a quick snack at Kyangin before continuing on to Langtang. It felt so nice to be in her arms again!

Yala Base Camp push

Today is the day!!! Having stocked up on food and water the previous night I woke up today in good spirits. Tonight will be the first (and only) night to sleep in a tent. And there would be no more tea house comfort rooms to do business in - at least for the next 2 days.

Trek pants - check. Trek shirt - check. Rain jacket - check. Boots - check. Backpack - check. Trek poles - check.

I'm ready!!!

We set off at a blistering pace and covered a lot of ground in the first 2 hours. Keep up with Josaw, keep up with Josaw. Time to give it my all - no more conservation needed (or so I thought). We rested easy at the half-way point. I think the Sherpa was surprised at my show of energy this morning.

And I paid for it... at the end of the 3rd hour I was dead. Romy and Josaw and LA had to literally drag me to base camp that final 4th hour of trekking. (Technically it was pushing since they were behind me) Apparently I hit a wall after 3+ hours of medium-to-high exertion.



This is a picture of me at base camp AFTER having had lunch and AFTER recovering for at least 2 hours. When we first got to base camp and everyone was setting up the tents I couldn't even move to let them stick the tent stakes in the proper location. It was very exhausting. But thrilling! I couldn't help wish that I was more fit.

I can still remember how my legs wouldn't move. They just refused to obey my brain.

The guys and I passed the time away taking photos of the surrounding country side, making sure we caught TheNorthFace logos printed on our gear for selling to TNF later on. Josaw - who was deathly afraid of the cold - went back to Kyangin shortly after lunch. You have got to admire this girl though, she hardly broke a sweat the past 10 days. I was pretty sure she could have made it to Yala peak if she wanted to.

Up at 4,400m but too cloudy to see anything. I couldn't wait for the weather to clear...

Glacier hunt

I woke up with my heart rate at 150bps, and feeling really weak. Looks like the meditation last night was not enough. Trouble!!! Good thing today was a rest day. Romy and Josaw were nice enough to serve me breakfast in bed. I forced myself to finish the tiny cup of noodle soup, drank a liter of water, and jumped into my trek gear for the all-important acclimitization trip to the nearby glacier (kala ko ba rest day...).

I managed to get as far as the half-way mark at 4,000m (see pic above) at which point I decided to call it quits. It might not be obvious, but I was too tired to move when they took the picture. I rested for a few minutes in the Yak-cheese maker's hut before heading back down.


Ching and the rest of the gang continued to pursue the glacier for another hour and a half, complete with a daring raging river crossing. They were not able to catch the glacier but eventually climbed up to 4,400m.

Langtang Village

We made Langtang village yesterday after a solid 6 hours of trekking - that was another completely wet day. I guess one of those expensive Goretex jackets would have come in handy. We had to dry our clothes in the common room, which had the huge heater, but also unfortunately a lot of smoke. I'm glad my shirt was not permanently damaged but I did have to endure the smell for the rest of the trip.

Also having reached 3,500m, it was my first encounter with AMS. The headache simply wouldn't go away. It was not debilitating in itself but it gets very annoying when you have to breathe harder due to less O2 in the air. I managed to get my heart rate down to 7 bp10s through meditation/controlled breathing. That night was tough... (but nothing compared to base camp)

The pictures above show Langtang the morning after - with much nicer weather - as we set off for Kyangin Gomba.

And we're off!!!

We set off for the first day of trekking. We were all suited up, backpack with hydration bladder ready, trek poles in hand.

It was tough work earning our lunch with 4 hours of steep ascent. We enjoyed half an hour of local soap opera drama as two teahouse owners shouted at each other across the valley -- loudly, passionately, incessantly. I think they were fighting about one trying to steal customers away from the other. Life moves on...

As we hit the wet, dark trail again... we also hit some limatics. Fun! That's one way to give anybody incentive to finish yet another 4 hours of wet arduous trekking. It was so traumatic I even dreamt about the wriggling, slimy little critters that night.

We hit Lama hotel, dead-tired, soaking wet and a bit bloody. =)

Prep List

1. Complete diagnostic - done (8/14/2005 ran 10km, walked 13km)
2. Book flights - done (8/12/2005)
3. Finish shopping - done (8/19/2005 9:17PM)
4. Finish packing
5. Climb!