Everest: The Timeless Resilience

Himalaya. The name itself explains lot about this colossus mountain range of the planet. All the madness, the exhilaration, the excitement and most importantly the spiritual fact; the name Himalaya puts these all in plain words. Home to some of the world’s most infamous mountains plus the highest peak of the world-Everest; Himalaya dwarfs   all the other mountain ranges by far. It is solitary in every sense. Since the dawn of discovery, the prodigy of Himalaya kept on growing till today.

Mt. Everest has an undeniable ability to seduce explorers, travelers and climbers alike; with its breathtaking pose and supernatural conviction.  It is indeed a colossal icon of everlasting excitement to people of all ages throughout the world. Following the conquest of North and South Pole, this peak came to be known as the third pole of the world and the centre of eternal human interest for centuries. Mt. Everest, so called after the first person to record its height, Sir George Everest, translates in Nepalese and Tibetan as ‘Goddess in the Sky’ and ‘Mother Goddess of the Universe’, demonstrating the immense respect and reverence that the locals have for this awe-inspiring, 8848 meter mountain.

I’ve been to the Indian part of the Himalaya in a previous expedition in Himachal Pradesh climbing a 6187m peak. I’ve also climbed in Japan driven by my enthusiasm regarding mountains. But nothing was as electrifying as the thought of being up close to the divine figure of Everest in person.  It’s not only eying on the highest peak of the world, it is a distinction, it is being able to comprehend and redefine the scale of immensity. It was a dream-an aspiration since the day I first got up to the top of Bangladesh.

In October 2008, it was about to happen finally. I left home once again just the day before Eid to trek up to Everest Base Camp after sailing across ocean of distraction and all the odds accompanied by three of my adventure friends. I consider myself lucky to find the company of three more in this unknown venture.  It was our chance to stand before the divine stature of Mount Everest. Arriving in Kathmandu Airport with sizable backpacks and all the courage we could gather in our young hearts, we could smell the excitement in the air!

The majority of trekkers headed to Everest Base Camp start by flying into the precariously situated mountainside village of Lukla. The flight is an adventure in itself as you wing your way up the steep-walled valley of the Dudh Koshi River. From Lukla, it’s an eleven-day bone-crunching trek to base camp. However,

since you can’t even see the summit of Everest from base camp because of the structure of the mountain, you’re really better off skipping this climbers’ tent city and instead head to Gorakshep to climb to the summit of 18,190 foot /5,550-meter Kala-Patthar, from which you have a view of Mount Everest that would take your breath away if the elevation hadn’t already done just that! We planned on following the same route.

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu, we board a small aircraft of some sort, say our prayers and cast a worried eye on fellow passengers not to mention the flight crew. Some 40 minutes later a tiny land strip emerges below, tucked between lush valleys and majestic mountain walls. Touching down on Lukla airport, we breathe deep for the first time. The air is crisp and thin; chatty porters – looking for a day job – come rushing from all directions.

We started our trek leaving busy Lukla valley behind. It was a four hours’ moderate trek when we reached Phakding (2610m) on the first day. We continue north up to Dudh Koshi valley on the next day and the terrain was starting to

play its part on us. The trail was getting harder and harder as the gradient started to grow. The Route was breathtaking-before and around us, the snow-capped Himalayas and Mount Everest, an experience of a lifetime. We made it to Namche bazaar after the hardest day of trek so far. The temperature fell close to freezing point in the Sherpa capital. We’ve spent a day for acclimatization there. We had the first comprehensive view of the Everest as we left Namche Bazaar. On the trek we crossed rivers on cable and wooden bridges decorated with colorful prayer flags, some of them quite rickety and precarious. We came across Yaks moving up and down the trail carrying heavy loads of expedition parties every now and then. We moved up the trail to Lobuche (4910m) in the five few days; camping and spending nights at Tengboche (3860m), Dingboche (4410m) and Dughla (4620m).

The air became thinner and the level of oxygen dropped as we were struggling to make progress. As you reach higher altitudes the oxygen content of the air dramatically decreases. At 20,000 feet there is only half as much oxygen in the air as you are used to The temperature also fell closer to zero and made it even harder. We had a one day rest at Lobuche for acclimatization.  We’ve had some magnificent views of Everest along with Amadablam, Nuptse, Lohtse and overriding Pumori –some of the greatest of mountains along the trek.

We reached Gorakshep (5140m) on the next day. Kala Patthar was visible in distance from our camp site. The air was too thin and the sun was nowhere to be seen for last two days. We were literally gasping for oxygen on our trek and the extreme temperature along with shivering blizzard made life even harder; even though we could barely wait for the next morning to climb up to the top of Kala Patthar to watch Everest in its complete poise. Everest was just around the corner of our tent that night.

Climbing up to the top of Kala Patthar (5550m) on the next morning, it was a view we earned rightfully. The sun was out and shinning with all its glory and Everest was majestic. Looking intently to the Great Mountain, we were speechless and bewildered. All the trouble and hardship of the trek paid off giftedly. We were not just staring at the greatest of all mountains; we were gazing at the center of the last greatest human adventure interest existing in the world. It is such distinctness that deifies this divine peak of the Himalaya. The splendor of Everest is something else. It is this lethal magnetism and poisonous charisma that kept on luring men to its timeless resilience.

By | Saad Bin Hossain