Today is a acclimatization day as we get ready for the really high altitudes. While the team took a short climb I decided to stay behind and rest my knee that is troubling me as tomorrow is a big day. Ahh…it felt good to sleep in, take a shower and chill. There is no heat by day so a couple of us hung out in the “sun room” on the top of the tea house. It has beautiful views of the valley and is very relaxing. It’s snowing for the first time which is exciting and beautiful to see, but it is a sign of the colder weather to come.
In the afternoon we had the Himalaya Rescue Association, hospital lead doctor come and talk to us about altitude sickness. It was about like being in drivers education when I was younger. Good to learn about but a bit sobering at the same time. If we take good care and follow the program we will be fine. It is really always cool to see doctors who donate their time in remote places to save lives. They operate purely off of donations so I bought a couple of hats and shirts from them. Where else can you get this from, but here _ they don’t sell them in Kathmandu or Wings back home:-)
Not a whole lot to report today so I think I would just share a few observations. First of all the Nepali people are extremely nice and decent people especially in the Khumbu valley. They are simple and poor people with a lot of pride and seem to be very happy. They are very family oriented and their religion and thick culture reign.
There is a caste system here they follow. On the trail you see this most prevalent with the Sherpa climbers, Sherpas and porters. The Sherpa climbers are top of the food chain. Not everyone wants to do it because it is so dangerous. You do enough climbs like Lakpa and eventually the mountains will get you. They are well paid and highly regarded. Lakpa has actually moved to Seattle and has a lovely home. His children are getting well educated in the us and I believe a couple maybe going to medial school and such.
The Sherpas are great too. They go to base camp and serve several roles. They carry our heavy bags, they help prepare the food, they serve us our meals, and they take care of about any need you have. They do all of this with a smile and pride. It is a good job and they are well paid for Nepal. The average person makes $1,000 a year or less. Some may aspire to be climbing Sherpas but lost seem happy with their role. At night they get together and party a little bit too.
The porters are lower in class. Watching them work is amazing. They are little people. Maybe 120 pounds carry up to 160 or more pounds on their backs. You pass them on the trail bent over with everything you can imagine on their backs. The most amazing ones are the ones carrying 12 pieces of 4 foot by 8 foot plywood boards. I am not sure how much that weighs but it is a lot. They do this bent over all day sometimes only wearing saddles like you might wear at the pool. Wow. They get paid between $3-10 a day. Again, stay in school kids and make money with you minds.
All of the folks running the tea houses have been nice too. They take good care of us and seem to be constantly cooking food. I thought I would loose weight on this trip but I am not so sure. We eat all the time trying to nourish our bodies. About the same thing every day. Porridge, eggs, and toast for breakfast. Soup and some sort of starch, carb for lunch. Soup, carbs and starch with maybe some meat – we had yak burgers the other day with desert – lots of Apple pie. I am not used to so much start and carbs in my diet, but I am eating like a champ which a good sign. Loss of appetite is a sign of altitude sickness.
Lastly, we spend lots of time at night talking , playing cards, trying to charge our electronics and trying to get on the interest. It costs about $3-$8 day to get on internet and they charge you a couple of dollars an hour to charge you iPads, phones, cameras etc. it’s the same routine everyday which is ok, but can get old too. I can’t imagine what it is like to be hear for 2 months like the climbers. Especially when you are staying In a tent and it is -20 degrees outside without the windchill.