George Mallory once famously replied ‘Because it’s there” when asked why he wanted to summit Everest. Being in the mountains, I certainly came a little closer to understand this fascination – why so many risk life and limb to conquer this ‘Third Pole’. Even as we were preparing our final trek to EBC, a famous Nepali Sherpa, Kami Rita, was set to break his own record by summiting Everest for a mind-boggling 30th time!! You know what’s crazier – he was breaking his own record of 29 summits – the 29th summit a scant 2 weeks earlier!! It’s a special kind of madness, for sure! And then there’s the marathoners – yes, you heard me right, marathoners! May 29th is celebrated as Everest Day in honor of Norway and Hillary’s first successful summit – and there’s a marathon – all the way from EBC down to Lukla. So these intrepid athletes hike all the way up to EBC, with practice runs before the actual race, and then RUN all the way back to Lukla over the unforgiving terrain!! Our EBC adventure doesn’t seem so crazy now, does it?

After our acclimatization days in Dingboche, we were starting the most challenging phase of our trek – next few days we would be at altitudes of 5000m and more – physically demanding, with an elevated risk of oxygen deprivation and altitude sickness. We had an early start – another foggy, cloudy and cold day. Ama Dablam still refused to show her face as we walked away – pretty bleak landscape with the magnificent peaks hidden from view – all possible shades of brown and gray. It was interesting to see the high volume of helicopter traffic at a village called Pheriche down in the valley below! About the choppers – we had seen them ferrying back and forth right from Day 1 – but now, at this elevation, it was disconcerting to see them almost at eye-level, a constant reminder of how high we actually were! We reached Thukla, a pretty small place, with only a couple of teahouses – and as a backdrop, rose the Thukla Pass – a daunting slope, the most arduous stretch of today’s walk.

Probably the steepest walk so far, it was a relief to get through Thukla Pass! It did take us the better of 2 hours to ascend the 300 odd meters – and then suddenly, we were at 4800m!! The highest I had been before this was Pike’s Peak in Colorado – and that was 4300m – so way past that now!! At the top of Thukla Pass is a sobering sight – a memorial to those that have lost their lives in this quest to conquer the mountains. There’s a natural hush here, the only sounds the fluttering of the prayer flags and the constant moan of the wind – and the stone memorials and plaques tell the story of the indomitable human spirit pitted against the imperious Himalayas. As we walked around, I was struck by the wide range of ages, genders and nationalities of these martyrs – driven by the same passion, and paying the ultimate price to achieve their lofty goal. Most famous of these is the Scott Fischer memorial – btw, I highly recommend reading ‘Into Thin Air’ by Jon Krakauer to get a first-person view of the 1996 Everest tragedy!

After Thukla Pass, it was a more or less flat walk to the next village, Lobuche. It was very cold, though, and then it started to snow – not light, fluffy snowflakes, but small pellets that sting – so not very pleasant, no. Lobuche looked pretty run-down too – all the villages so far had had a certain charm, and maybe it was the weather, but Lobuche looked really depressing. We weren’t too stay here, though, our halt for the night was about half hour away – and truly, it was hands-down the coolest place we stayed at all trip! Welcome to the Pyramid – and observatory developed in collaboration with the Italian government – a scientific outpost to monitor changing weather patterns and effects of pollution! There was a large group of Italian hikers also staying here, so was quite busy! This was the first night we were all sharing a single room, plus the toilets were shared – so was sure to be an interesting experience! Weirdly enough, our room was right in the middle of the building – no walls exposed to the exterior – so was very warm and cozy!! Despite the altitude – we were at 5000m now! – we managed to sleep comfortably!

And then here we were – the BIG DAY!!! Fingers crossed, we would be at EBC today! A beautiful day, the first sight the beautiful Pumori as the backdrop to the Pyramid! By the way, Pumori translates to ‘Daughter of Everest’ – isn’t that beautiful? We set off in high spirits, and after climbing for an hour or so, the most gorgeous vista of the Khumbu valley opened up before us, and our very first glimpse of EBC!! The trail was quite narrow – I lost a glove when I stopped for a photo, saw it tumble to the valley below. The mountains are simply mesmerizing here – this area is known as the ‘Lap of Gods’ – and I can say without a doubt, that the presence of divinity is omnipresent here! And then there’s that surprise glimpse of Everest – peaking out over the shoulder of Nuptse – all the discomfort, the tiredness – simply disappears in this pristine beauty. Gorakshep – last stop before Everest Base Camp – sitting at almost 5200m. As we walked into our teahouse to drop off our bags and for a quick lunch, a very unusual sight stopped me in my tracks! There was a statue of our great Shivaji Maharaj, right in the courtyard! But we’ll come back to that a little later – right now, EBC awaits!!

From Gorakshep we set off with just water bottles – and after a short walk through a desert like plateau, we were soon walking along the edge of the Khumbu glaciers. The trail was a bit of challenge her – scrambling over huge boulders, very narrow at places and navigating rock falls. Loud cracks as the ice melted and fell into the glacier pools were heard quite often. Surprisingly, this narrow trail was quite busy – other hikers, of course, and numerous yak trains and porters carrying equipment back and forth from EBC. We saw some ridiculous items being ferried – metal bed frames, mattresses, wicker chairs and tables, all kinds of piping and a weird looking contraption, possibly a portable generator! Soon, we could see the cluster of yellow tents in the distance that marked the Base Camp, right beside the Khumbu Ice Fall – so tantalizingly close, and still quite a bit of walk away – it was almost a good 2 hour hike to EBC from Gorakshep! As we got closer, there was a bit of foot traffic jam – waited impatiently for our turn – so close, so close!

And there it was – the famous sign – WE HAD MADE IT!! Truly a very emotional moment – for almost a year and half, we had been living with this dream – and now here we were, all of us together – pinch me somebody, I’ve finally made it to Everest Base Camp! All the hard work, the difficult road to get here – so, so worth every drop of sweat and every moment of anxiety!! I have to admit, until this moment, somewhere deep inside, I had harbored a kernel of doubt – and to be here, was honestly a pinnacle of personal achievement for me! And Ajey!! He was absolutely thrilled to bits!!! Undoubtedly, he has been the driving force behind getting us all the way here – believing when I didn’t, holding me up when I faltered, cheering me on every step of the way, even tying my shoelaces for me! No chance that either Manasi or me would be here without him – so I’ll say it, I’m grateful he talked me into this absolutely wonderful experience!! EBC!! Seriously, EBC!!!!! The iconic bean rock has been somewhat covered by the new sign, and after we took like ten thousand pictures, Ajey and Manasi climbed up onto the rock for some more pictures! Savoring every moment of being here, just soaking it all in!! Ganesh brought Bourbon biscuits (no, no liquor, these are chocolate biscuits with a chocolate filling, and are absolutely delicious!) – and it was the perfect way to celebrate!!

Hearts full, we almost floated back to Gorakshep!! And oh yes, the statue of Shivaji Maharaj – so a mountaineering club from our hometown, Pune – Giripremi Mountaineers installed this statue at Hotel Himalaya in Gorakshep before their successful Everest summit in 2012. Very inspiring, and touched our hearts to find a piece of home away from home! Ganesh had discussed the possibility of venturing out to Kala Patthar for sunset view of Everest – but it was with a bit of relief that we saw the clouds rolling in – it had been an absolutely exhausting day, and I don’t think I could have dredged up the energy for another hike! We also had a decision to make now – do we head back to Lukla the same way we came up? Or do we go via another route – which meant few more days of difficult walks, but with the reward of getting through Cho-la Pass and the scenic Gokyo-Ri area? First though, we were planning on an early hike to Kala Patthar, hoping to catch the sunrise over Everest – we could decide later where we go next, right? However, certain events transpired later that night that made this whole discussion moot.

We were again all 3 in the same room – at an altitude of 5200m, Ganesh did not want any of us to be sleeping alone that night. It was cold, so very cold – we were all in bed with multiple layers, winter coats, winter hats, gloves – and there was just no getting warm. Very uncomfortable, tossing and turning, I didn’t think too much of it when I threw up the first time I went to use the toilet – it was the garlic soup at lunch, I thought. Besides, the toilets here were absolutely nasty – would have made me throw up in the best of circumstances. Second time, I was a little more alarmed, and I woke up Ajey to go with me. And thus began an absolutely nightmarish night for us – it was just nonstop. The restrooms were down a corridor and then a flight of rough-hewn stone steps – which added to the misery. After a couple of times, a Belgian neighbor heard me retching and raced back to his room for a pulse oximeter. I sat on the steps, with the oximeter on my finger, thinking this is it. This is how my EBC adventure ends! Surprisingly, my oxygen levels were good – in the low 70s – so no emergency evacuation needed!

Come morning, neither Ajey nor I had had a shred of sleep. I was completely wrung out and depleted – and it was with great reluctance I agreed I was in no shape to make it to Kala Patthar. It was still cloudy in the early morning, so no sunrise views – but Ajey and Manasi set off with Ganesh after breakfast. They did get a up-close view of Mount Everest – and came back with such great pictures! Ganesh’s diagnosis for me was altitude sickness – but I was still convinced that I had come down with a bad case of food poisoning, my oxygen was almost 80% – but he wanted me to get down to a lower altitude as soon as possible. So no Chola Pass and Gokyo-Ri – we were to head back the same way, and at double speed. Which was really, really difficult for me. Walking at snail’s pace, I managed to hobble down to Lobuche – with Ganesh carrying my backpack most of the way – and I would have been happy to stay the night at Lobuche, but at 5000m, this was still too high to linger.

We had to make it down to Pheriche, to 4200m – so I finally gave in and agreed to make this leg of the journey on horseback. At $100, a guide would escort me to our teahouse on Pheriche, Ganesh would walk with me to make sure I didn’t fall off (!) the horse – and Ajey and Manasi would walk with Purna. Retracing our steps to Thukla, and then down the Thukla Pass. Now you would think that horseback would be better than walking – however, it is quite the strain on the back and thighs – and I don’t think I could have endured more than an afternoon of getting bumped around! After Thukla Pass, the road turned away from Dingboche to Pheriche – and although it was a flat trail, it was a very desolate landscape. Clouds had come in again – and I felt like Frodo traveling through the Mists of Mordor – the marshy grounds criss-crossed with streams, the ominous cloud cover, and not a soul in sight! Almost wish that like Frodo and Sam, we had taken the eagles back once our mission was complete!

Our teahouse in Pheriche was like a little Alpine lodge, and just as Ganesh had predicted – I was already feeling much better, ready to take on the next day. Pheriche to Tengboche, and then down the Rhododendron Pass back to Fungithanka, right beside the river – same place we had stopped for lunch only a few days earlier. This teahouse was absolutely barebones – we had to actually go outdoors to use the restrooms which were on the other side of a courtyard – but nestled in a valley, it was absolutely the warmest place ever! Now this part of the journey we were ‘descending’ – and we were technically losing overall altitude every day – but there was still plenty of uphill walks – and it’s kind of hard to stay motivated once the goal had been reached. Still, we kept going – back to Namche, and our friend, Hillary Bridge, before reaching Toktok again!

Our changed plans meant that we we a couple of days ahead of schedule – so once we reached Lukla, we would have to see if there was any way we could make it back to Kathmandu on an earlier flight. From Toktok, we almost raced back to Lukla – we had to make it before 10am for any chance of getting a flight! Remember all that lovely downhill walk on our very first day – well, this was the absolute last sting in the tall for me – huffing and puffing, scrambling to keep up with Manasi and Ajey all the way to Lukla – no time for pictures or breaks to take in the views!! At Lukla, we waited at a teahouse- hoping against hope for a flight back – finally at 1pm, gave up and checked in, ready to try again the next day. We said goodbye to our porter, Purna, here – he had been such a tremendous help to us! We had quite a pleasant day in Lukla, a short nap, then a walk through the town, stopping at a coffeehouse that would have held its own anywhere in the world!! Quite lucky to get a flight out next day – and just in the nick of time – it started raining almost as soon as we landed in Kathmandu, which meant no more flights to Lukla for the day!

Back in Kathmandu, same hotel we had started off with – it now felt like a luxury resort of 12 days of rough living! First order of the day – hot showers!! Long, hot showers – oh how good it felt to be clean again!! Next on the list, a laundry – pretty good service for 100 Nepali rupees, about $3 – a kilo of clothes to be washed and dried and returned the next day! Best $20 we had spent!! We were absolutely and completely relaxed in Kathmandu – we had successfully completed our mission – and we literally had been to the the top of the world!! Braved the evening traffic for another visit to Pashupatinath Temple where we saw the evening Ganga arati. And then we ate at at the very fine restaurants in Thamel, lots of souvenir shopping, and yes, we got matching tattoos!! It was 2 days of nothingness and it was so very welcome!!

Looking back, it almost feels like a fever dream – EBC, all of us, no way! It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience – and I always jokingly say, with an emphasis on the ‘once’! Would I do it again? I keep getting asked that – and the answer is not a simple yes or no. While I absolutely have no regrets – I know I would have missed something spectacular if I had passed on it – I’m a little ambivalent about the ‘doing-it-again’ part. If there was a way to get to the mountains and their ethereal charm without the physical discomfort – maybe? But then again, it is the physical discomfort, the letting go of the ego, the hardship that brings the greater appreciation of the physical beauty – see what I mean about the ambivalence? Anyway, if there’s one thing that life has taught me is to never say never – so we’ll see! For now, I’m still basking in the glow of our achievement – so, so grateful that we were able to experience this together as a family!! And join me in raising a toast to Ajey – holding on to a dream for 13 years and then making it real so spectacularly!! Cheers – and next adventure, please!!