Sent Thursday, March 29, 2001
Diary of a Trekker II
On the Trail to Mt. Everest
February 16, 2001
I'm in Namche Bazaar at 11,355 feet surrounded by white peaks.
Unfortunately, they hide behind a veil of cold foggy clouds at the moment.
Today Marci, Rich an I spent our acclimatization day hiking up and over the
ridge beyond this megalopolis of a mountain village.
The path, straight up the rocky, somewhat snowy terrain, brought us to
Kumjung, an hour and a half away. It snowed last night, luckily AFTER we got
here. Kumgjung is at 12,400 feet, and it was hard breathing for me. The
clouds were annoyingly persistent, blocking nearly every good view. High
above the fog, an occasional Himalayan symphony would salute a well defined
white peak. How majestic these mountains are, much taller than the
imagination will hold.
In the village of Kumjung, we walked to a nearby monastery which claims to
house an authentic yeti skull -- the skull of the abominable snowman. This
creature is much feared by the Sherpa villagers who live here among the
sacred Himalayas. The main monastery room was elaborately painted with
colorful Buddhist scenes and Tibetan designs. The room was dark and cold --
especially cold when we had to take off our shoes to enter.
The old monk with the keys to the monastery also had the key to the sacred
metal cabinet that held the skull. I noticed a large boil on his neck. He
opened the metal doors but not before pointing out the donation box. I have
read in travel books that this is really the skull of a baboon. Brown and
furry, it had a cone shaped head. It was rather disgusting. Pemba, my
friend, business partner, porter and guide, expressed his thoughts clearly.
"Just a coconut," he said, "not a yeti."
Next we headed further up the ridge to the Everest View Hotel at 12,700 feet.
The views of Everest here bring wealthy tourists who pay upwards of $200 a
night for a short stay. Our tea at the restaurant cost more than a dollar
for each small cup. Compare that to about 20 cents for tea in a local
Trekkers' Lodge.
There are four guests at the Everest View Hotel tonight who paid a load of
cash to see clouds. They can only stay a night or two because flying in to
this altitude doesn't allow the human body enough time to acclimatize. The
tourists are flown into a small airport above Namche and then hike only 40
minutes to get to the hotel. The body will naturally acclimatize if it is
given a few days to gain altitude slowly. Supposedly there are oxygen masks
above the beds in the rooms at this hotel, just like in an airplane. Leave
it to the Japanese to figure this one out.
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