EBC Journal: Day 10, Orsho, 1825 hours, 4100 meters

9 hours of walking. 400 metres sheer ascent and another 1400 lost steadily over 7 hours. Hard to believe its all in a single day’s work. 

We climbed to Kalapathar today. As someone said, you tell the world you went to Everest Base Camp but you climb Kalapathar for yourself. Steep 2 hour climb in the morning snow. Hard on the poor knee and rough on the exposed lips. Great views of distant Ama Dablam, Mera Peak & Thamserku. Pumori and Lingtran looked like you could touch them if you reached out. Brilliant massif right behind KP too. Everest remained shy – I don’t think I have great pictures of the mountain anyway. 

Without meaning any offence, Everest is the rich fat boy in the room who gets the babes but view wise I think I need to do better to see the mountain properly and feel like it is truly higher than the surrounding peaks! 

Killer day coming back down from Kalapathar. The knee threw a fit after the Kalapathar climb. And fever and a bad throat kicked in for added comfort (the bug has been travelling in the group). So much so that pretty much after we spent an hour out of Gorakshep on the way down it seemed like a torture. I had to stop off on the way to adjust the knee to the pain – admire the group for stopping off with me. However, coming down having done EBC and KP makes it worthwhile and the quiet air of resilience within the team makes it so special. 

Since the knee and fever keep me preoccupied I am going to switch to bullets to capture specific thoughts

• Seeing the Khumbu icefall was brilliant. Every-time you look at the blue ice you wonder what the glaciers hide and the stories in time they can tell
• The most beautiful mountains are not necessarily the tallest ones only. Thamserku dominates the Everest trek for a long time. Lingtran has an impressive if unusual feature like a giant snow slide (this seems replicated in part on the peak of Dhaulagiri), Ama Dablam (double humped) is oft cited as one of the prettiest mountains in the world. 
• While mountain land beyond the treeline is starkly beautiful crossing from one stage to the other is special – both leaving and re-entering the treeline
• EBC and KP were good to do but the journey, the bonding with the group, the mountain sights, getting a tan in the sun, squinting at the clear skies, learning about the ITB count for much more. 

Finally, I got a chance to really talk to a portion of the seven member Indian team that was trekking to Everest BC as well. Neha and Amrish live in HK and surprise surprise – they know about the ITB inflammation with Neha’s ITB bothering her a little too. Not the best conversation starter but well, the last 45 minutes walk to Orsho ranged from ITB, Teach for India and work back home. It was pleasant to have a conversation where someone understood your references and you could slip into Hindi if you needed to / felt like it. 

Thats all I can process as of now... Excited we visit the 150 year old Tengboche monastery tomorrow. 

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EBC Journal: Day 9, Lobuche, 0527 hours, 4820 meters

I don’t think I have ever been as warm as I was last night. Slept decently well. Even with a blanket of snow on the ground outside - it’s all white. Big day. All packed and set to go. Just need to chlorinate my water. PS – I am missing 10k Nepalese, bigger things to worry about though. 

 

1024 hours, Gorakshep, 5035 meters

 

I miss Dad. This place is a dream come true, right out of the movies and TV. Blue glaciers, the Khumbu glacier, Nuptse calling out to you as if you could reach out and touch it, Pumori and Lingtran in the near distance. You need to be here to see it. The camera will never capture the moment when it hits you that this is it – you can see Base Camp in the distance if you squint very hard. (very clear atmosphere here, could be over 3 km as the crow flies maybe).

 

The trail is tough, esp so on a bad knee. The head a little numb with the altitude, shoes a little wet but it does not seem to matter at all – the place blows you away. There was a huge rainbow over Nuptse for a while and then Lingtran is like a giant snow slide from the Nepal side. Pumori had a surreal mist over it the entire while we saw it. And you cannot take your ice off the blue ice in the glacier. Quick bite and then I am off to BC. Swap notes soon.

 

1820 hours, Gorakshep, dinner time

 

Adrenalin keeps you going. Dog tired. Maybe too tired to write and process information. Long day. We made EBC but it snowed all the way back and a little on the way in. I was always warm but I am completely drained from walking almost 11 hours today. The snow made the 210 minute walk back from base camp quite dreary. The sights in the ice were fantastic but I think I was just shuffling along in the snow to get home. I wish it were sunnier like in the morning. I wanted more moments to savour and think of Dad back and my Nana. At the same time we were lucky we made EBC. We were one of the last groups to do so and I know a group who failed to make it. 

 

The morning start was fantastic when we realized it was indeed Easter Sunday some 45 minutes into the walk. Big hugs all around. Missed Helen as she dropped out – its never good when the prettiest woman in the group cannot make it for a photo finish.

 

I know I am skipping topics yet I hear Indian accents around the room. I met the Indian gang from Kathmandu airport on the way back from EBC today. There is an Indian flag up in the lodge too. There is also one of the University of Chicago. Reminded of Dan, Sam and Kaberi. I know I will be more coherent tomorrow. Dinner right now. Dead on my feet is a good phrase to purloin. 2 ibuprofens in the system means that the headache is gone. Feels good.

 

2008 hours, in the sleeping bag and in bed

 

Seem to have gotten back some of my wit. Its a longer day tomorrow with a 0345 am start for Kalapathar. Dinner might have helped put EBC in perspective. All of us struggled in our own way up the hill but made it we did. As we kick off earlier to attempt Kalapathar I realize how much of a team effort it is going to be. Today was a great learning experience walking on a windy snowy trail with treacherous balance at times. It was like doing the moraine from the basic course but in a snow blizzard. I have swapped out my sunglasses for the new ones since I think the others were giving me a headache. Changed into a fresh beanie and have stowed away the camelbak tube into the insulated cover so that the water in the tube end does not freeze. Layered up aptly in bed and added a chocolate bar to the bag for the Kalapathar top. 

 

Hoping the knees hold up for the long day tomorrow. We have an intense 3 hour climb pre 7 am and then a 5.5 hour hike down to lunch and then a little after that. Have applied balm to the knees and stretched. Time to hit the sack.

 

PS – only warm water in the bed to prevent over heating like last night

PPS – need to call Tarini soon

PPPS – never been so mentally and physically tired. Needed a pep talk from Nimah – the knee has been bothering me a fair bit. Best was putting a head on Andrea’s shoulder as she went at her puzzle book. Hoping tomorrow is a clear day to make it worth our while trudging up to KP. Its snowed since 1300 and it should be clear for a while at least

PPPPS – first time I am sleeping with my camera batteries. Cant they make them more sleep-with-the-body friendly?!

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Day 8, Lobuche, 1355 hours, 4820 meters

Brilliant walking day, steep vertical ascents, crossed Lobuche peak in proximity, first snowfield, solemn moments while crossing the Everest memorial area, spotted an eagle... its snowing outside and I am almost too tired to write.

We began the day very early with a quick steep 50 meter ascent to the hill right behind out lodge. Afterward it was a gradual two hour walk on a wide plain with brilliant views of Thamserku and other mountains flanking us to the left and in the distance behind us. Enough chopper flights abound for some great pictures and calls to Denise to take some too! 

The flat section ended with mushroom soup at Thukla. After that we had a draining steep few hundred meters at least till the Everest memorial zone which was a solemn place to be. Post this we walked through a long-ish stretch of the moraine and ridge just before the glacier that surround Lobuche peak to make our way into Lobuche village. The lodge is brilliantly cosy around the dining hall. But the temperature is dropping as its snowing heavily outside. Thankfully this also means that the afternoon stroll has been canned and we can stay ensconced in our cosy dining area.

1610 hours

There is atleast a few inches of standing snow outside. I am sitting here with Josh, Nigel and Andrea (she’s tied to her puzzle book) as we all stare into the distance / contemplate the journey today. We’re up to trek to Everest Base Camp tomorrow and anticipation is in the air. Since we crossed the treeline its been a little desolate for scenic beauty and the mountains truly seem harsher. And...  my reverie is interrupted by people taking turns to draw in my book. The initiative is led by Andrea who’s drawn Mr Potato Head...

I just happened to speak to another Andrea from Austria who is trekking her 14 year old son and husband, who incidentally biked to Khardungla pass some 15 years ago. Sweet. I’d like to be able to do this trek as a family someday though I wonder if I’ll be this fit at 45. Me and my peg leg ;)

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Day 7, 1114 hours, Dingboche, 4400 meters

My knee has had me pre-occupied in the last 24 hours. Even though the last stretch of the walk last evening was quite pleasant - a transition as we left the treeline around 4000 meters and continued on a flat-ish patch that lasted about 800 meters to the lodge. Phortse was a brilliant place to stay. Here is a little less so but at a macro level things are ok. Well, relatively. 

It is an acclimatization day and I skipped the walk up the hill with the gang to rest the knee. I got to use the internet cafe and walk around the village, after I came back to the teahouse its been exercise for the knee – rolling with a bottle on the floor, stretches and a shower. Walking around the village was pretty painful too – I tried skipping over a few stone boundary walls and struggled there as well. Not a good sign. 

Anyway. I also discovered the caretaker has a 4 year old girl named Melissa. He has a 24 year old working in Malaysia and a 15 year old boy studying in Kathmandu. Its a pretty quaint life for the family here I wonder how the eldest son copes and what the future holds for the girl without any great education. 

1301 hours

The team that came back from the walk said its pretty cold and they had a hard time keeping warm at all. A pack of Uno came out post lunch but it turned out to be only half a deck of and it has instructions in Japanese besides being a Winnie the Pooh version. Oh Andrea! I am going to go back to the book after I pick up my clothes from the sun and contemplate the knee!

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Day 6, 1114 hours, Pangboche, 3920 meters

Gorgeous views of the mountains right outside the room this morning. The moon was still out when we got out of the room – up and over the mountains. Josh also pulled out his portable speakers and we had a bit of Dire Straits to kick off the morning breakfast. 

It has been a little tough with the knee as we go up and down the mountain. Apparently it is my ITB in the left thigh that is strained and it is hurting the knee. This problem takes away a lot from the trek and the photos. Everyone has been very nice and pitched with extra poles, advise to stretch the knee and the band specifically. However, the pain narrows one’s focus. I tried a global economies conversation with Denys and Nimah to distract me but I thinbk I was a rather lackisidical participant. I hope the knee problem clears up soon.

1334 hours, Orsho, 4190 meters

Some interesting firsts on this trek yet

- We’ve crossed the treeline

- We went to a 150 year old monastery today – a lot of the work is being redone and the monks were eating lunch. They were happy to chat but spoke no Hindi or English

- We saw our first set of mountain goats – we’d been seeing the jogpey (cross between yak and cow) for a while but the goats are a new phenomenon

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Day 5, 0655 hours, 3400 meters, Namche Bazaar

6 hour hike today. Did not sleep as well as I would have liked to. Was comfortable in the sleeping bag but sleep came and went. Gorgeous morning though. Walked to the end of the corridor (Nimah and Denise’s side grr...) and got two priceless photos of Thamserku overlooking Namche and also the market creaking to life. Slightly sore from yesterday’s walk so will take it easy today. Running to some breakfast

1630 hours

Phortse Gaon, Thamserku View Lodge

3780 meters

Micro Issues: my left knee hurts. Been a terrible 2 hours up and down hills. However, it seems to be diagnosed as a trekkers knee – stretching, anti-inflammatories and a slap to me should make it fine!

Macro: We’re staying at a lovely tea house. Its owned and run by a Sherpa family where a few of the men have climbed a chunk of the world’s 8-thousanders between them. I see certificates for Cho-Yoo, Everest and Makalu up on the wall. The tea house is also set in the middle of a village (phortse). Fields all around, mountains in the distance, people tilling the land peacefully or chilling in the sun – all seems reassuringly alright with the world!

1756 hours

Showered and changed. The dining room is nice and toasty. Despite the 14 people in the room though you could hear a pin drop (just experimented with a toothpick). Egg fried rice and Sherpa stew for dinner. Nimah has passed me some anti inflammatory for the knee. I also have been told two stretching exercises. Hopefully all will be well.

1944 hours

Knee hurts but dinner was awesome. I was so taken in by Phortse earlier that I forgot to mention our brilliant views of Ama Dabalam and Thamserku earlier this afternoon. Hopefully I have some stunning pictures to boot.

The conversation post dinner turned to British geography with Helen. With three Welsh and two English on the trek its pretty clear that regional distinctions are nice and vivid. The Welsh have a great back up in the form of Adrian and Kate – another couple who are charting the same route as us and meet us often. So now I know a little more about the midlands, Wales and Scotland. My roomie Nigel comes from Milford Haven and Denys and Kate from Haverford West. 

Stina on the other hand bought up Kabbalah, religion, India and spirituality. Its always a challenge as I seek logic in these things and they are a recreation for most people. I think I managed to not cross the line by appearing too firm. That is good. 

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Day 22, Bhaktapur, 10 k from Kathmandu

Bhaktapur I imagine is like those old fort towns in India that people continue to live in. Its so quiant that its hard to imagine people stay in that place. Its a little buit like a showcase city / doll house. The town square is a cluster of buuldings on display but in use. Most of it comes alive in the festive season. There is also a temple that seems to be under renovation for the upcoming festival season. Till then its cordoned off to visitors.

I spent a few hours in Bhaktapur today. Lets see if the pictures below tell a good tale.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]The town square as soon as you enter with the pagoda like building to the right

[[posterous-content:pid___1]]The main square begins here on with a cluster of buildings - houses, temples, out buildings - now converted to restaurants, hotels, a museum etc

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The juxtaposition of the old and the new? 400 year old temple entrance and a pretty new motobike

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The temple area begins. I thought the lions guarding the buuildings were pretty striking and replicated in metal / stone all over

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Metal lion at the temple

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They call this the Golden Gate. 1. made me think of how I still want to see the Golden Gate in SF 2. awesome woodwork in the area inside

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Trying to get a better look at the woodworl

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My coffee place almost at the entrance of the town square

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Wooden ties anyone?

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Monasteruy! I climbed up the stairs and they were building a Buddha statue. Sweet chat with the owner and worker there, how do they come across as so humble?

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I met two ducks on the way...

[[posterous-content:pid___17]]Still amazed that they live here

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A tiny lane between buildings. The extent of woodwork is stellar though it has been redone multiple times yes[[posterous-content:pid___21]]

The temple at the furthest square for tourists in town

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Guardian of the temple steps. Distinct Indian / Hindu influences

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Walked onto this thanka shop in a bylane on my way to the potters area of the town

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Two old men and a game of chess - btw I bought myself one of these hats. Super Nepali convert

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A corner of the potters area

[[posterous-content:pid___31]]And I could not resist taking one of the old man staring out in deep thought of this wondow

To the White Monastery early tomorrow morning at 0630 I go. Time to wind up today :)

 

 

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Day 4, Namche Bazar, 3375 metres, 0723 hours

Kalapathar Guest House Dining Hall 

Great start to the morning with yoga class thanks to Stina. It is amusing to hear an non Indian chant Sat-naam and have the whole crowd listen to the meaning of it. But boy what a good way to open up those muscles and realize for the nth time that I am as flexible as an iron rod (not true, I am very flexible – it just depends on the issue at hand). Beautiful views right outside the corridor. I believe Nimah and Denise have a room where the sun floods in and they have a breathtaking view of Namche. Envious. Looks like a clear day till noon topday atleast. Feeling supple thanks to yoga, excited that we get to spot Everest today.

1817 hours

Busy day. 4 hour hike to the Sagarmatha Park Museum and a higher point above the Namche Airstrip. The clouds closed in and we did not make it to Khumjung for a better view. Some interesting stuff over at the Museum about Everest and the surrounding region. First sighting of Ama Dablam - Everest remained shy and hid behind a cloud. Good sighting of Lohtse and its neighbouring peak Lohtse Shar though. 

We ascended beyond the airfield and came down back to Namche for acclimatization. Realizing for the first time how hard the descent could be. Gang quite excited to touch 3800 meters. I was surprised to know the highest spot in the UK – Ben Nevis is just shy of 2000 metres maybe. I should know my mountain stuff better.

AND I also met my old pal Michelle from the airplane. Good to see hm. He calls me “Ta-hun”. Good to hear him call out and see his gang. Even Prakash our guide has started looking out for him now. 

I also realized that I might need a base-layer shirt. Hence I’ve invested in a reed Sherpa baselayer that seems to fit well and is quick drying. It is going to be priceless in the windy cold. 

Still need to hit email but quite tired with the walking today. Will do so post dinner. Have some repacking to do to. Forgot to mention – brilliant food day. Steak for lunch with chapatti and veg, chocolate cake with Denys and Nigel this afternoon at the Everest bakery & sharing spag bol with Josh tonight. Stomach feels happy!

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Day 3, 0641 hours, 2595 meters, Phakding

Well slept and rested. Breakfast on the way. Rained last night hence should be a clear day. Full moon as I mentioned. Excited to be hitting Namche soon.

2690 meters, Benkgar Guest House. Approx 11 am

First tea break of the day. Rhododendrons on the way and a well lit path. Spotted Mt Thamserku on the way. At 6600 meters appros it is quite an imposing peak on the trail. See a lot of helicopters to and fro BC and Namche Bazar. A sign here says we’re halfway between Lukla and Namche (4 hours each way) and then cheekily adds it depends on walking speed. I am avoiding the tea for now but doing well on the fluid intake. (pee and tell). Will probably email the world from Namche Bazar!

3395 meters, Namche Bazar, 1600 hours

700 metres+ gained in less than 7 hours. Feels geekily good. We had a fair shower getting into Namche and it was a wonderful chance to test my waterproof equipment. Well at least the top jacket and the bag cover. I think I am well served! The children, as always in the hills, are pick cheeked and sweet. Yesterday as I whipped out my camera to catch a girl with the cat she was cuddling she promptly shouted “No pic-chah!”. I got some of my own back today when I shook hands with a young boy, flashed the camera at him and he had me surprised when he posed promptly at attention for the picture, had a quick look and then bobbed away down the mountain. I wish we’d swapped names. Also – if you hold you a hand the kids high five you and them scamper away. Charming

2121 hours, post dinner

 

Post shower and a well deserved tea at Namche bazaar done we took a quick stroll around Namche Bazaar. Its a bustling place with shops, trekkers and porters. The mountain views of he surrounding peaks even from the village itself are splendid. 

Tomorrow is another day at Namche. We are trekking out till lunch and then have the afternoon to relax and recoup. We see our first sight of Everest (think we missed one of the way up from Namche due to rain and clouds). We will also see Ama Dablam for the first time. 

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Day 2, 0739 hours, Kathmandu Domestic Airport

We’re squatting at the airport waiting for our flight to Lukla. 0530 does not feel like an early start at all with the whole place teeming with activity and lots of people with backpacks getting set to get out of Kathmandu and into the mountains. We had a final and slightly late addition to the gang last night – Nimah from Ireland joined us – she’s tall! Might be taller than me and reminds me of a family joke about how I could be the tallest in the family from Ma’s side.

The flight to Lukla is not until 0830 and the famished part of me is wondering how soon food is going to come around. Meanwhile, Kathmandu / Thamel is extremely touristy. Dinner last night was actually stupendous with ham and salami pizza and beers flowing all around. Certainly a very different start from mountaineering course or even the climb to Machoi. Makes me think this is quite tourist friendly and a do-able climb. 

Otherwise Kathmandu is old school and quaint by the first look. A little like small town India or how big cities were a while ago. Dharamshala may be a very good parallel – cosmopolitan, good food, lots of different nationalities but the town shuts early and everyone knows each other – familiar good feeling. 

Like I mentioned yesterday the preponderance of teachers in the group is amazing. Between special ed, middle school, language teachers, college lecturers and primary school there is a lot of experience in this gang. 

1020 hours

Still  at the airport! No breakfast yet. Without a phone and hence not fiddling with it all the time. Wise decision. Also met a gaggle of 7 indians climbing to EBC. Actually people from across different cities in India but ones who live outside the country right now. While there have been snatches of time to think I seem to not have sunk in yet into thinking mode. A friend said turning 25 is contemplative. Wonder how contemplative it is going to be for me.

1842 hours, 2600 meteres

Phakding

Trekking = a shower and meal well earned. We just wrapped up the first three hour leg from Lukla to Phakding along the Dudh Kosi river. Great views and fresh legs put to good use. I am looking forward to my Nepal set meal and garlic soup. 

Before the 3 hour stint we took a teeny 16 seater Otter plane from Kathmandu to Lukla. On a depressurized plane it was a joy to see the altimeter on the Sunnto tick up the gain in altitude and register the changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature. Though the sighting of the mountains was far and few in between (we had cloud cover) Lukla is a sight to behold! The airstrip runs UP a hill and seems too tiny for the plan to land on. You can actually see the end of the runaway and I let out a loud whoop when I first saw it. Quite sure we were going to run into the rockface (I had also imagined a tabletop runway with clear airspace on both sides).

It is also a full moon might tonight. Nigel and I tried some shots with the camera – they seem to come out like sunrise. I knocked the door next door but Andrea and Helen seemed a little unimpressed. I am sure I am going to get some flak tomorrow for talking about the full moon (I did).

End note: the tea house is rather luxurious compared to what he Intrepid trip notes mentioned. The food is awesome, the shower hot and the room has an ensuite loo! Proper sit down potty with a roll of toilet paper screwed into the wall. We trek to Namche Bazar tomorrow which is an altitude gain of approximately 500 meters from here. We’ll spend two nights there acclimatizing befoe moving onto the next stop. 

 

Tomorrow is a 0600 start to the day so I am going to get into my sleeping bag. And I am still not sure how to set an altitude alarm on the Sunnto (do I need one really? )

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Day 1, 1200 noon, 1350 meters, Kathmandu Guest House, Ktm, Nepal

It’s nice and quiet here.  I landed at about 1000 am, took in the nice brick laid airport (fascinated at being in a new country within a 1.5 hour flight, notwithstanding the standard 2.5 – 3 hours check-in) and stepped out expectantly into the Nepalese sun. Was promptly mobbed by the usual taxi –wallahs. Ultimately a polite Gorkha, Kamal, took me to the Guest House. If Dalhousie or Nanital, as I remember it, were to have an airport it would be a lot like Kathmandu. Kamal says I look European because I am so big and even called me handsome. I have no such illusions but its always good to hear ;)

I met a Swiss man Michelle on the plane. We shared an excitement for the peaks appearing out of our window to the left from our aircraft window especially since Michelle was great to offer me the window seat that was booked under his name. I had completely forgotten to ask for my usual left window seat but Michelle was nice enough to help. He is going to the Gokoyo Ri peak and has been trekking in Nepal a lot. To one it seems like a chilled out European life – retired / given up a business, Mont Blanc circuits in the European summer, Nepal treks in the spring / autumn and a few summits in the middle. 

My room is sweet. I came in, pulled out the curtains, unlaced the boots and hit the bed. The cool bedsheets were a welcome change from Delhi. They reminded me of the hills and lulled me into a quick and much needed 20 min nap.

I am now down at the lobby indulging myself with a cappuccino. Fish curry is on its way. I am  meant to get done with lunch and be ready by 1300 for the first briefing and meeting with my intrepid group. It seems I am amongst the first ones from the group to arrive. I do not see many other people around. I am excited about meeting my new team. 

PS – the decision to carry the laptop or not seems to have been taken out of my hands. The charger does not seem to work. I am leaving the PC behind! 

2056 hours 

Unexpected turn of events post dinner with a few people from the new group. There is an Irish bar right opposite the Kathmandu Guest House where we are staying and the pub is blaring awesome music. Settled in for a few drinks – they have Bushmills! I have yet to find that whisky in India outside of my tasting in Belfast! Helen and Andrea who I went with are both teachers from England teaching at an international school inHK. There are 5+ teachers in this group but no-one seems to have heard of Teach for America / Teach for India / Teach First.  I wonder if and when we will get talking about teaching and children. 

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D Day is here

Bags packed. Going to be slightly sleep deprived - I leave in four hours. Good last day before I go.

- I picked up the Suunto I wanted to - I'm going to read the manual on the plane. I think its an awesome piece of equipment. 

- I did a good deed and helped my maid's kid when she hurt herself - then I took some pictures with the kids. :) As you can see with the pictures below I did try to make the youngest one a climber (joke)

- Good omen: I skinned my knee on my trekking bag I think. Did not notice it but the bedspread was crimson by the time I did. 

- I've had my share of goodbyes but being able to say hello to my cousin on her birthday was special - Happy Birthday Aakriti!

- Kary called from Japan - it takes a good man to remember I am leaving in the middle of aftershocks in Tokyo. Karan is a champion

- I've mentioned it only to a few but its true. I turn a year older on the trek. I am kicked. Its a big birthday. I think I will love it

- As I type Ma is sitting quietly grinding my water purifying tabs to powder. It's a sweet moment just before I leave to be sitting itminaan se in a room with her. Like Diwali '08 on my trek I'll miss my family on the birthday

So, this is it. Its on. Back to the blog as soon as I can. 

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Amit dropped by this morning to say good luck for the 'long walk' that 60 year olds do too. Thank god for Amit - always brings you down to mother earth. We managed to catch Vidur on the phone too to say hello.

Then I went to Def Col to run errands - medicines, camelbak and stuff. 

Ishan says go with the flow and come back and catch a beer with me when you're back. Rob says - I'm going to go to Sikkim / Leh so I'll see you when I see you ;)

I pick up the meds and a huge pack of sunscreen and then head to the adventure store. I think there I make one of the best decisions to date by picking up a 3 ltr Camelbak - I think its going to be a lifesaver

I might take a big decision tomorrow and pick up a Suunto with an altimeter, barometer and alarm. If I do - I am going to have to plan another trek soon to make sure I out my money to good use. ;)

 

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D Day minus two - the devil lies in the details

Its down to the details now for the EBC and ABC trek. Wrapping up work while running multiple errands is the tough part. But here's what today looked like

- camera spare batteries and charger procured. Little bit of running around to replace the faulty charger but worth it
- quick run down of inventory. Thanks to Chandini I now have a neck warmer and a spare beanie that fits my big head to boot AND
- a cool set of - 'expose to the air and have them warm' pads that are great to insert into a sleeping bag at night - final list of missing equipment - camel pack, fleece jacket, wondering if I need gor-tex lowers.

No workout today on purpose. I feel pretty fit. I have not lost much weight or maybe none at all but I've been throwing myself at the cardio bikes, cross trainer and treadmill. I've pushed and pulled weights. I've eaten early and slept a lot. I think I still carry 4 kilos too many but I think the legs and back are strong. I definitely find the regular gym routine - bike 3 km at a resistance of ~ 11, cross train ~ 3km at a varying resistance, 100 push ups / 60 stomach curls, 40 deadlifts / 60 squats quite a breeze. Usually I'll also throw in an extra km on the mill, few minutes on the bike, 40 extra push ups. The back niggles are gone - I've been doing a lot of horizontal lying swing from the hip. Feel like I have a new back. I don't think I'll be the sinewest on the trek but I think I'll be battle hardened with Everest for a solid hike up Annapurna.

I've also had a very heart warming response to my trip from friends and colleagues - I sent out an email and collectively the replies gave me goose bumps when I replayed them in my head. This stuff is what dreams are made off - ok, maybe small dreams :)

I also managed to close the day by extracting four 5 rupee coins out of my gorgeous dinner date. Not bad eh? Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

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Day minus 5 – checklist and gear

At this point I am most concerned about having my gear in place for the EBC and ABC trek.

I think the physical fitness is more or less there. I feel good and I think I am looking forward to the mountain air like it’s the fix I have been waiting for. 

The major part of the gear is done:

- I shopped a fair bit last week in India (light shoes, thermal and blister preventing socks, medicine, inner layers) and pulled out my trekking boots and packs. The headlight and torch (trusted maglite) and spare batteries are also ready

- My friend, Chandini (and an adventure type herself - you should check out her Antarctica pictures sometime) carted all the stuff I ordered via Craghoppers online all the way back from London. My beanie is small! I think she’s lending me hers. Sweetheart.

- Craghoppers took sometime to process an international order but the stuff is fabulous! The stitching is great, the finished products superb and hope they last well. I got a few kiwi trousers, a couple of shirts and waterproof stuff

- A friend of my Dad’s gifted me a telescopic walking stick and a waterproof pack cover – essential items for this trek

- Ma’s been nice enough to stitch a sleeping bag inner layer – critical for cleanliness and warmth

The list will go on – I think I pack up day after on Wednesday and then I’ll rush for last min stuff. 

Intrepid wrote in with a sweet note to check if I was all set. Like that about them – and as I told them, I cannot wait to go.

Tomorrow is the day to collect cash and travelers cheques, pick up memory cards for the camera and scoop up some music for the iPod. 

And oh yeah – Kaberi popped some great recommendations for reading on the trek. I think I am carrying some Pico Iyer and Marcus Aurelius’s – Meditations. Looking good yet. 

 

 

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Meerut & how 1995 seems so long ago

I wish this post had many more pictures – it would make things so much better and easier to capture. Especially when my mind goes back to the huge kadhai of gulab jamuns that I could just leap into. Aah life…

Meerut. Dusty Uttar Pradesh. Hick cowboy country. Loud. Surprisingly polite people – you wont guess it from the way they drive. Home. Correction – grandparents home – so better than home. Shastri Nagar. I lived here for a year in 1995. Familiar. Graciously and reassuringly unchanging.

I was tiny when I was here last. The walk to the end of the lane was long. Running an errand to the local market for grandma a chore. Getting to extra math lessons was a job. Now the same distances seem puny.  Navigating the city seems easy and figuring out all the new construction is a breeze.

Still it’s a timeless place. The old book shop remains. You find a chappie selling kuhar wali chai on the street. The shopkeepers are so polite. The roads remain chaotic – I have been tacking this pothole for a decade that remains a crater despite repeated re-metalling. Its awesome how Mayawati manages that (and how in my head craters in UP = Mayawati’s duty).

At the same time change is very palpable. The ATM density is tremendous. There’s TATA Photon and 3G billboards everywhere, there are so many new schools, everyone wears jeans, there are so many more women on the roads – driving, riding, running business – it is amazing to see. And a reminder of how deprived childhood has been ;) 1995 seems such a generation ago.

Photos for next time. I need to go perambulate to digest my sweet binge. I seem unable to control myself when I enter a true blue halwai shop regardless of the time of day / state of my belly. The rasmalai and lassi and the gulab jamun to add to it… whew. Such good food man. Need to come back again with an emptier stomach. (oh wait – I packed some milk cake). Life is good.  

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Spring, family & strategic expansion of 5 rupee coin collection

The second time I woke up this morning I found my little sister, Tarini counting her collection of 5 rupee coins on the dining table. As THE collector of 5 rupee coins I had to get out my own collection and stack it against hers… of course the fact it was a lazy Sunday morning helped.

As you can see here, my collection (left) considerably thumps hers (more than double for the record). In the end, the challenging army (Tarini’s 5 rupee coin collection) retreated the battlefield and agreed to a takeover by the stronger but benevolent army (the firepower of 18 ten rupee coins can be quite intimidating). For a princely sum of 1900 rupees my collection is now one and a half times its size. 

If this wasn’t quite a great beginning to Sunday the 0645 first awakening was. I dashed to the door, picked up and read the news of the Indian World Cup victory. To hold a copy in print of the victorious Indian team was quite worth it. Realizing it was all real and that we had indeed won me quietly snuck back into bed and slept another hour and a half soundly.

Those two stories are unrelated but significant. Tarini has been here about two weeks and the Varma family of four is together again. It takes some time to settle into being four in a house but its beautiful. The post dinner ice creams are more spontaneous, the jabbering at dinner light hearted and the sense of humour goes up quite a bit. From 2004 when we were last together, to now, Tarini and I have both gone through college and jobs and living away from home. We’re both older and more opinionated and set in our ways – four adults in the house vis-à-vis two adults and two teenagers. How time flies

This family bonding is poignant. In under two weeks, Tarini leaves for business school (God bless the hearts she’s going to steal at ISB this year), I for my quest to trek to Everest and Annapurna base camps and Ma and Dad are likely to take a holiday to the east. We will soon have great stories to regale each other with. 

The Indian teams apparent purple patch has coincided with brilliant spring weather in Delhi. The lanes of Lutyens Delhi are a burst of bright green, the koel coos gently through the day and the evenings are pleasant. For a city that generally doles out harsh weather, the moderation is a good pit stop. Here is to a great summer and good times with family and friends.

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I come from Nigana where we munch sugarcane stalks for sugar shocks

I am frequently asked - where do you come from? I usually say Dad’s in the Army, lived all over, so I am from no-where. Now I know better! Effectively for me (and post partition for my ancestors)- I come from a little village in Haryana called Nigana. 7500 people, lots of farms, cow dung cakes for cooking fuel and no refrigerators. And yes the sheer joy of plucking sugarcame from the field and plugging your own quick sugar fix right there.

Two and a half hours from Delhi, where I live right now, is Rohtak where one of the latest Indian Institutes of Management came up. 30 minutes from there off a dusty bylane is the village where my grandfathers younger brother is the village numberdar (local village headman). This is where my father spent a few years growing up, summer hols flinging himself off trees into the village pond, hung on buffalo tails while they bathed to learn how to swim, stole into relatives houses to sip milk out of earthenware pots with a hollow wheat stalk as a straw. 

It is the place which powers stories of the hearty north Indian family, of young boy exploits from my Dad’s two brothers, of my newlywed mothers’ attempts to adapt to village life for a few days she spent there (it was the first time she learnt how to fire an earthen oven), of my elder Uncles’ stunts with the new tractor and pranks with my great grandfather - Lala Buda Ram. (Mr Old Chap is the literal and accurate translation I believe).

As the lines of inheritance pass down, to my name will come a few sarson fields and a deed on paper that says I own a chunk of land. I went to Nigana to revisit my father’s childhood and see this chunk of land. I was not surprised. I saw my Dad jump out of the car and explore the little haveli, the cow shed, the outhouse and the roof, point out the neighbours and the common village tandoor like he’d never been away. It’s like catching a glimpse of your own youth in your father (it helps that we look pricelessly alike). And that glimpse is a moment no son should ever miss. (For the record, my Dad’s far more carefree, youthful and chiller than me. He has a love for life, food and a natural balance that I would do well to learn from).

The village btw is exactly that – a copy book Indian village. The wood burning stoves, brick kilns, bunch of buffalos addling by with that massively clueless look their large faces (I might vote to be re-incarnated as a farm animal – it’s a good ambivalent life of sunning oneself, chewing cud and perambulating at a leisurely pace almost always). I loved the roti and parathna cooked over cow dung fire, the glasses of lassi and the walks in the fresh smelling air. I marveled at the old “dudes” (as a few friends would call them) with their elegant turbans, shawls thrown over their shoulders with the elegance of a belle, the gnarled hands and the straight-as-a-lance bearing.  Endless fields with laborers toiling, pumps spouting rivulets of water and fields swaying in the breeze…

What I did not expect to register and what is not romantic is the sheer gulf that exists between life as-I-know-it in the city and the village. The lack of infrastructure, access to a great education and woefully outdated systems of hygiene and waste disposal is appalling. The restricted opportunity if you’re a village kid and the absence of a means to make an informed choice on what you want to do with your life can stunt generations. 

This is not my take on village life. In the brief hours I spent there I can imagine that sleeping on a charpoy under the stars in the summer, the fresh food and clean air makes for a healthier life than the city. It is just that it does not afford you the opportunity to do anything new or break the mould easily to turn entrepreneur. It is just a very long ride out of the cycle for a lot of people.

I am yet to fully decipher what my discovery means and what I believe can be done o create opportunity for so much of India that sits in the villages. Two things hold a small hope

1. I will, over the next few months work with Lisa Heydlauff and her great team on the Be!Fund. The Be!Fund Invests in the potential of young entrepreneurs who live in India’s slums and villages to pioneer enterprises that solve problems in their communities: water, waste, energy . I will play a role interviewing and working with young entrepreneurs on ideas for this market. See how the Be!Fund works here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSd6KtRGoPM 

2. I am at the Unbox Festival from 24th – 27th February 2011. The workshops and agenda might spark interesting thoughts on ideas and innovation that works for India. 

I left Nigana feeling incredibly lucky. Lucky because my Dad made use of the exposure given to him by my grandfather and built a life for himself that meant a better education and life for me and my little sister. He shrugs off his toil but I know he and my mother have made sure we've had the best possible education and support to date. It's something that I am deeply thankful for. Someday maybe I’ll accumulate the means and idea to help change the status quo in Nigana. Till then I munch the sugarcane brought back from the village in deep thought.

Did someone screech they can hear the energy buzzing from me? It’s just the sugar guys. It's just the sugar.

 

 

 

 

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I am going Everest & Annapurna Base Camp

I know it is close to five months away but I have committed a small fortune to make the trek to Everest and Annapurna Base camps in April 2011.

It is a small fortune because I have committed 40 days from Gaboli to go away into the mountains to do something I have wanted to since I did my basic course at NIM, Uttarkashi in 2008. And I have been reminded of my dream everytime I made the flight to Calcutta on work. Do you know when you fly from New Delhi to Calcutta, 20-25 mins into the flight (just beyond Lucknow I believe) onto your left you can see the Everest massif? (Yes, I've received many a quizzical looks from the Indigo chaps when I request to be seated on the left window seat.) And everytime I have seen Nuptse, Lohtse and Everest pushing into the sky, like a quiet prayer, I have felt the urge to be get closer.

When I was planning my trip people often said Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) was a prettier trail. A friend who did ABC in 2009 and EBC in 2010 says ABC was tougher to get to because of the sheer number of steps but Everest far more stunning because of the sheer glory of the tall Everest massif. Of course I want to do both. 

As I gear up, work on fitness training (the fitter you are more you enjoy the experience) and read up, I realize how this is becoming a pilgrimage for me. In a good way. I know I am blessed to be doing this relatively early in life. I know I'll want to do Kanchenjunga Base Camp, I know I am, somewhere in my mind, raring to actually climb an eight thousander in my life but this trek for me represents a time where I believe I can go away from work and Delhi and figure out a part of my life so important to me outside of my work and city bound life. 

I love the mountains. My mother is fond of telling a story where in a Kindergarten class when played a audio clip, while the rest of the class identified the rumble as a motorcycle, young Tarun Varma piped up and said "avalanche!". I grew up in the mountains in Himachal, Shillong, Wellington and Kashmir. My father trained and climbed them with his Army teams as a part of his tenure at the High Altitude Warfare School. With his old ice axe up on the living room wall, I always wondered what he found in the mountains that kept him so far away from home and his family. When I left the mountains and moved to Secunderabad and then onto Delhi-Pune-Bangalore I felt the tug of the mountains and trekked a little. However, as work got more intense and I began to travel I realized a mountain stream, slightly overcast morning and the prospect of a long walk in slightly too cold weather brought a smile to my face. I also found the silence heart warming.

I went back; climbing in Sept 2009 with my Dad's team in Ladakh and summitted Machoi. It was a tough and technical climb. I wondered how I made it when I did. I'd lost a major love around the same time but I was beginning to find one that could susbstitute for her just a little! They both made me a little weak-in-the-knees (albeit in different ways!) but gave me a peace that I'd always wanted. And only on top I realized my first summit was also the one my father had first summitted when he kicked off his climbing. In some little way, I knew then why climbing Everest was so intensely spiritual for Jamling Norgay. And I knew for sure I would always keep coming back to the mountains. 

I missed the climb to Stok Kangri earlier this year due to an avalanche warning and I knew I had to make up for it. I am very glad to be doing EBC & ABC with Intrepid. Introduced to me by my Mt Kailash climbing spirited pal, Reshma, Interpid does these treks (amongst others) round the year with only 14 people per trek. I hope this trek will mix me with fellow mountain lovers from across the world. Maybe one of these friendships will lead to trekking and climbing in Europe, New Zealand, America and Antarctica one day. Otherwise, I am happy to dissolve myself into a multitude of people as we explore the Himalayas together.

I am also curious about the work of the American Himalayan Foundation in the region. Since I read the brilliantly edited set of essays in Himalaya, by members of the foundation, I have been curious if I can, in any way turn my love for the mountains into something concrete and helpful. We shall discover in due course! :) 

Wish me luck as I prep for the trek and hope the gods smile and I get a clear view of both the massifs as I trek to their base camps. I hope I manage to do a series / diary on my trek.

And oh - Happy Childrens Day! Stay young!

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Friends, Appams, Filter Coffee, Palaces and the Zoo: Namma Bengaluru

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To live in a city where the ambient temperature is 23 degrees is a pleasure that a Delhi man knows when he descends from the plane at Bengaluru Airport. I’ll be quick to admit that this was a recurring theme during my weekend at Bangalore but it’s heartfelt. It helps that I have fantastic memories of Bangalore.

I was back in Bangalore after three years I think. The new airport is striking not because it’s efficient but because the people and public transport support teams are heart warming-ly polite. The public transport is 3 years ahead of rest of India as Dan said. 60 minutes from the airport to the city centre, uniformed chauffer for a driver, quiet air conditioned bus, great people to talk to – it was love at first sight.

-    Dinner #1: Bangalore is an incredible place to eat out. Off the bus, big group hug with Dan and Sam done, we tumbled into Coconut Grove off Church Street for Appam, Crabs and Fish Fry. A pitcher of Kingfisher to wash it down helped. It also sparked an idea in Sam’s head. She realized that Dan was the “Appam of her Eye”.

The 2330 shut down meant that we had to keep our party instinct in check (stop sniggering the ones who know me) but we caught an absolutely pleasant walk down Church Street and MG Road and managed to polish off a chocolate sundae between us before catching an auto home.

-    Breakfast #1: I don’t know why holidays make me so hungry. The beautiful drive to Mysore only whetted this appetite and the Kamat Restaurant by the road was like the Messiah bringing deliverance to his people. (Pardon this completely ungainly way of introducing my fascinating and hilarious holiday read: Lamb, The Gospel according to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore). Back to the food – I don’t know how I got up from the breakfast buffet and made it to the car. I know Dan walked it off by searching for Sam and me, while we stood right in front of the sweet shop contemplating the sweets with hungry eyes but buying a bottle of water instead.

-    How I got distracted from food: Before we had lunch we paid ode to Tipu Sultan’s summer palace at Seringapatinum. We also stopped by the amazing Philomena’s Church on the way ahead though the crypt had me freaked out. Quite unlike my memory from St Paul’s in London where I remember spending some of my most peaceful hours ever.

The Mysore Palace which came into service as a house for the Kings of Mysore in 1912 is perhaps one of the best maintained palaces in India. It helps that it is not 400 or 4000 years old. From the elaborate woodwork, to the exquisite stained glass windows and ceilings, the cannons and the carved gates, the palace is opulent and colourful without being garish and a very pleasant testament to the luxury of kings. Always a history student at heart, I thoroughly enjoyed the audio guide and it’s little nuggets of information.
   
-    Lunch#1: one would have thought I’d be a little careful after breakfast not so long ago the same day. To my defense – thali’s are hard to resist especially when it a hearty south Indian one that packs in Kesari Bhath to finish off the meal. Only the fact that we were headed to the zoo right after lunch kept me from passing out on the table or in the car.

-    Zoo!: It helps Dan and Sam are from the US. I got to revisit an old joke. There are no animals in the wild in the US. I find it very hard to imagine for a country so big! And speak to any American about it and you’ll find that at some point they’ll be like... “yeah.. we ate them all up!” That said they do have bears and deer in the wild. Snigger. For this Tiger loving Indian that is another joke. Anyhow before I offend the Americans...

The zoo was awesome. I was reminded how the human form is ungainly and clumsy compared to the sleek animals. Also, the peace and calm around the animals is completely seductive. I wish I was so chilled out. While the range of birds was stunning (Military Macaw from South America, pelicans, white peahens, eagles etc) I was the most impressed by the Gaur. After a lifetime of seeing pansy looking cows all over India the heft that the Gaur packs is quite a surprise. In perspective, I think it makes me believe that my sun sign actually packs a punch which is why I like it so much. Otherwise till now I thought the bull as a symbol was ok but could have been cooler. Of course the roaring Tiger, the Giraffes, alligators and the turtles were all very impressive, calming, insipid and hilarious in that order.

-    Devaraj Market: I always wondered where National Geographic and it’s ilk got those photos of India with flower markets and heaps of colour and dye. I’d never seen any across my travels - I know now!

Devaraj market exports flowers, garlands, fruit, vegetables, incense, ironware across the states neighbouring Karnataka. I’d forgotten what it is to be like in a mad, by lane ridden, seemingly chaotic but actually clearly organized Indian Baazar. Though I abashedly felt like a tourist it was an experience I’d never swap for hours in a mall.

As it began pouring a little harder we headed out to grab filter coffee and a quick break from the walking and ended up sampling more than a little of the Mysore Pak and Milk cake while at it.

-    Mysore Palace Redux: If it’s gorgeous on the daytime the Mysore Palace is bewitching in the evening. Not unlike the London Eye fireworks at New Years when they turn on the rows of lights that garland the palace exterior at 1900 hours a collective gasp goes out from the surrounding crowd. The hush inspired by sheer beauty.

-    The drive back: Wine and conversations to end the day, more fish and neer dosa at Fishland and driving on rainswept roads made for 1 am return to Bangalore and a good night’s sleep. I confess I dreamt of more food. It’s true.

-    Sunday & Closure: holiday and party Saturdays are the best. You have another  day of relaxing to follow. By the time I hit up my sweetheart (the Bangalore airport bus) to go back to Delhi we’d managed great coffee and sandwiches for late breakfast, chocolate mousse cake, a superb walk around 80 feet road & MG Road and a beer at Hard Rock Cafe. Bangalore has always helped me make some wonderful memories. I was lucky to be with Dan and Sam there this year. With Gaboli expanding it’s office in the city I am happy to know I will be back soon

-    I was super lucky to catch family in Bangalore too. The young kids make me feel old! I came back to Delhi to the annual family Rakhi get-together and got to me all my cousin Mamus all at once and meet new relatives who I had not chatted with before. We have an Everest Base Camper in the brood already – hopefully there will be another one soon ;)

-    Complete Disclosure: I flew to Bangalore without a toothbrush. And I came back 48 hours later without having brushed. Gross? Not really. I was helped by Colgate Wisp – wonder of wonders. Travel / mini toothbrushes that I discovered thanks to Sam. Pretty cool stuff. And yes, I came back and brushed first thing – relax!

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