I scramble out of bed at 3 in the morning to Nepali murmoring. "Shuba Biyhani" - good morning, Gopal announces triumphantly to each tent. I rub my eyes. Today is the day we go over. As Gopal later tells me, there is only one day of trekking, "the pass day". Today is our day. Lisa has already reported to me numerous times this morning how miserably cold the weather is outside. As I appreciate the weather report, it quite frankly does not motivate to make the move outside the tent. I prepare for the day's events by putting on just about every article of clothing I own: Hat, gloves, sweater, jacket, thermals, you name it I have it on.
After a few minutes, I venture outside. It's a day off from being a full moon, but the moon shines bright nevertheless. The coldness sets in. Oh my god, I need to start moving soon.
After using the lovely facilities, we go into the dining tent for a modest meal of hot water and ramen. While it's not much, it sure topples the disaster of last night's meal of the return of the spaghetti and cheese. Barf on a plate did not cut it for me last night. I felt compelled to eat as much as possible as I dig around the cheese for every last morsel of carbohydrate. Again, I am eating for energy, not for pleasure.
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Karna, the porter has made walking sticks for all of the westerners in the group days ago. While I think a tool like a walking stick may be unnecessary, the porters and guides tell me that it will be crucial today. I should take heed of this advice, for if the Nepalis tell me it will be tough, it will most likely be more excruciating than I could possibly imagine.
Jose is a wreck this morning as he is running late from the tent. Rick checks in on Jose inside the tent and observes that Jose's items are everywhere. The altitude is starting to hit him as he claims to be feeling light headed. It's going to be a long day for Jose.
We officially begin the trek at 4 AM. In addition to our group, we are joined by the Canadians (Don and Linda) as well as a set of Czechs, an Austrian named Ziggy, and some Chinese. We are roughly 40 people in total - taking turns along the trail for rest stops and bathroom stops. I can now tell you that using the outdoor restroom at 15000 feet at 5 in the morning is not what I call luxury.
Within the first hour, Jose is overheating. He bought an "old navy security" jacket along that has kept him almost too warm. We stop for him to take off a layer, and then continue. Roughly 5 minutes after beginning to walk again, Jose can not find his hat. Jose at this point is freaking out. Rick joins jose in marcingh halfway down the hill to look for the hat. No such luck. Rick is slightly irritated. We are all cold. We continue the trip. The current time now is 4:40 AM.
After the first two hours of walking, we begin to see bits of sunshine. Looking around, the landscape seems lunar. The snow in every direction reminds me of moon rock. There are huge mountains in every direction. We are at roughly 16,000 feet. We have developed a steady pace and stop roughly once every 20 minutes. I use my walking stick to finally crack open my water frozen nalgene bottle. Since everyone else's water supply has been frozen, I share out my newly found treasure with everyone - Bobby, Lisa, Gopal and Jose.
Soon enough we see a rounded hill full of snow. I ask Gopal how much time we have until we reach the Larke Pass. Gopal responds in his relaxed fashion, "Maybe 1 hour, maybe after this hill, or the next one". We reach the summit of the first hill only to find that there are more hills up on the next horoizon. Large black poles have appeared to guide us through the Larke Pass. It is quite usual for the path to be covered with snow, so on heavy storm days - the poles are your only guides.
The rest stops have become more frequent now. It's tough to walk for more than 10 minutes without a quick break. Jose is struggling with the altitude as his head continues to hurt. Bobby and I are tired, but are doing well under the circumstances. Lisa is starting to grow headaches but is not sure whether or not it is due to more from the altitude or just her usual migraines. Under the circumstances, Lisa is doing amazing - helping out Jose as much as possible.
I reach a point where I need to continue to walk if ever so slowly. I feel as if I were to stop, that I would not start again. Lisa gives me the okay to walk ahead. She is in good hands with Bobby and Gopal. I trudge further along and pass the Canadians, Don and Linda. Ziggy the Austrian is still ahead of me. He hurdles through the poles one at a time in disciplined fashion.
I see Anup about 200 ft. ahead. His pace seems to be going slower now. I eventually catch up to him and we rest for a bit. I break my rule and take a bit of water and eat my last cliff bar. Anup is struggling as well. I offer him some water and the last half of my cliff bar. Anup tells me he is okay, and that he just needs to rest. I tell him that we are all here if you slip further behind.
My frustration has turned to anger as it is now almost 4 hours passed and no Larke Pass as of yet. Each hill seems more cumbersome than the last. Don and Linda catch up to me. I express my mild frustration of not reaching the pass as of yet. They inform me that I will know when the pass is coming by the prayer flags. These are the multi-colored banner flags that symbolize a Buddhist town or outpost: Blue for sky, White for clouds, Red fire, Yellow Jungle, and the Green Earth. I would take some green earth right about now.
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Alas, the prayer flags. Like a man dying of thirst finding a canteen in the middle of the desert, the peak is in within Reach. I take my stride up one notch and see Rick beaming down the hill back towards me. He asks me how I am doing, and I manage to tell him I am well. I tell him about Jose and the others. Him and Tika are going back to help out.
I climb a bit further and meet Vinay. We high-five each other as I reach the Larke Pass. I did it. We did it. I also inform Vinay about the others and he goes back down for a bit to find them. I hunch over a bit and look out. I'm on top of the trail. The Canadians have just made it up the pass as well. I become the guest photo taker for a while. I have no energy left, but I'm still able to focus into a viewfinder and snap a photo.
About 20 minutes later, everyone else has made it up the pass. We all celebrate. We are so estatic. Everyone takes pictures of everyone else. Jose is exhuasted but fine. Anup and Lisa have some headaches, but they are holding it together. One pass. One trek. One day only. It's all downhill from here. Unfortunately the first part of the downhill is at at 20+ degree incline with ice and rock. It deserves its own blog entry. For now, we celebrate our accomplishments. I'll get back to you once I am on safe ground below.
-Travelling Sherman
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