‘Why Am I Here?’

Sometimes going through the bitter cold evenings waiting for dinner to be served and having difficulties in sleeping could be harder than the trekking itself and loneliness crept in as we hunched up in the sleeping bags like cocoons. And during many of these cold and wintry nights, we asked ourselves, ‘Why are we here, forsaking the warmth and coziness of homes?’ But the answer was obvious – ‘because the mountain is there’. (Quote from the great mountaineer, George Mallory, when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest.)

From Lobuje, we headed for Gorak Shep at 5,160m.

It was a tough 3-hour trek to Gorak Shep. From the wide open space of undulating trail we traversed through very steep rocky and fragmented boulders track. Sometimes there is no clear-cut track and we had to follow closely behind porters or other trekkers. Along the way, we saw the famous Khumbu Glacier and Khumbu Icefall, where climbers heading for Mt. Everest peak would have to pass, near to the Everest Base Camp. We also had a good view of Pumori peak for the first time.

As the day wore on, we became more and more tired; steps became heavier and pace, slower. As we were panting, puffing and struggling up the steep uneven rocky trail, the occasional flat sections came as a great relief to our pounding hearts and weary legs. The air was getting thinner and thinner as we ascended and we had to stop more and more often to catch our breath. The consolation was that the weather was good. It was not too cold, neither was it too windy. We beamed with joy (despite the tiredness) when we finally saw some lodges appear not too far in the distance. We were almost there. After a short descent, we finally reached the sandy flat expanse of Gorak Shep.