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!
