Everest Base Camp - Tibetan Side!

  Mount Qomolangma, China
Sunday, August 27, 2006

We had the altitude sickness medication ready just in case, and for the same reason we decided to ride a pony and trap the 5 miles up to Everest Base Camp. It was such a magical experience - the silence was only broken by the jingling of the bells on the horses' harnesses and the drivers singing haunting Tibetan folksongs.

06 5,000m plus pass on the way to Everest

The view we had at first was a cloudy one - the mountain was teasing us and only revealing a little of herself at a time. So we whiled away a couple of hours eating and drinking lots of jasmine tea in one of the enormous, cosy yak hair tents. After a while the owner, a weather-beaten man in his twenties, came in shouting "Qomolangma, Qomolangma!" - it took us a second to realise he was telling us the peak was visible outside.

18 Easier than walking (well it is over 5000m+!)

The Tibetan name Qomolangma (pronounced Chomolangma) roughly means "Goddess Mother of the Snows"; the Nepalese call the mountain Sagarmatha (taken from Sanskrit and translated roughly as "Forehead of the Sky"). It become Mount Everest in 1865 when Andrew Waugh, the British surveyor-general of India, named it after his predecessor Colonel Sir George Everest.

22 Our home for the night

Even that glimpse was pretty breath-taking and we all went to sleep on a high. But not before we drank a couple of beers to celebrate being so intrepid. Eight of us slept in one tent - all arranged on carpeted benches around the walls. It was heated by a very efficient pot-bellied stove. Our host was so sweet that before he turned out the light, he came around and tucked us all in with extra blankets!

24 We're the 1st E

Unfortunately, this may have contributed the panic attack I (Sian) had when I woke up in the early hours unable to breathe - had I so many layers of bedding pressing on my chest. The camp is at 5,200 metres - so there's only roughly 50% of the oxygen available compared to at sea level so you can get breathless going to the loo or rolling over in bed. The peak is at roughly 8,848 metres, although there are disputes as to whether you should count the snow and ice on top of it or just the rock.

28 Pleased to see the mountain!

When first light came we had our fingers crossed the skies would clear and luckily our prayers were answered. Have a look at the pictures to get an idea of the enormity of the thing. We were so ecstatic at getting to see her in her full glory we decided to pay our own modern art homage to the Goddess herself. Great idea at first, but the effort of sitting on the floor and raising your arms to form an "E" was surprisingly knackering!

That's all from the Roof of the World, except to say "Happy Birthday Tom!"