Nepal 2019 - Day 7 - Acclimatisation at Namche Bazaar

 Acclimatisation at Namche

Key to enjoying high altitude treks is acclimatisation to the surroundings. Though hiking from Jiri instead of the majority from Lukla gave me the opportunity to push on, however, I didn't want to risk it. Plus, I had a couple of rest days already planned in my itinerary. Besides, the countryside around Namche is beautiful so decided to soak it up. The lodge I stayed at had an excellent breakfast spread, however, a little out of my budget. I stuck to my oatmeal with Tibetan bread which became my breakfast of champions. The high carb feast gave you all the energy you needed and also kept your bowels in check. I was joined at breakfast by a Nepali guide who was guiding a large group from UK towards EBC. He approved of starting from Jiri, stating that it made acclimatisation much easier. Some from his group were already feeling the effect of AMS which he said, subsides in 24 hours. I asked him about the best peak that a beginner can try. He answered Mera peak. I had heard that before during the trail and definitely became a bucket list item.

I didn't get started until 08.30, I guess laziness crept in as I didn't have a target destination to get to. The idea was to go a little higher, reach Everest View Hotel (probably the 10th one with that name), hike the surrounding villages and just return around late afternoon and plan the second half of the trip. I took my daypack for the hike and it felt so relaxing moving on those steps without a backpack and that weight. I was literally flying through the trail. 

After ascending the well built stair trail, I reached an airstrip built in the 80s to ferry people to and from the Everest View Hotel. I got to know from a local that idea quickly died as a rich guest had a heart attack in the lobby of the hotel while climbing the steps. Now, it was just used to carry supplies for expeditions. He also mentioned that during the summer season, it's all very dusty and windy there with constant inflow of helicopters for those expeditions and was very chaotic.

I moved on through the pastures and the trail weaved to the edge of the hill where the first real prominent view of the big mountains was right before me. The Peakfinder app informed me that the first one was Themserku. It was a beautiful sight but paled in comparison to the gorgeous Ama Dablam. Ama Dablam is easily the most recognisable big mountain in the world. Just an incomparable structure and a shape like no other in the world. I was totally mesmerized and was even more excited for the days ahead as I had planned to get even closer to this majestic marvel of nature.

A few minutes later, there it was..Sagarmatha/Everest right in front and center. I cannot describe the sheer emotions of witnessing it other than in videos or pictures. It was spectacular along with the rest of the range around it. One tourist told me that the view from the Everest view Hotel was even better so I marched on. Reached the hotel after s short hike and it was unlike any other structure I had come across before, even in namche. It was built in a very strong continental style and completely made from steel, concrete and wood. It would rival any big hotel in Kathmandu. They had an eating area, a separate restaurant, a hotel and a balcony which overlooked Everest. Obviously, almost everyone was in that balcony enjoying their F&B with zero space to move. I glanced at the menu to get some tea to kill time and wait for people to disperse. $20!! 

I quickly left that area and was wondering what to do next as I didn't want to return to Namche as it was barely noon. I was really enjoying this no-backpack hiking. i roamed around the area which pointed to Khunde & Khumjum. After checking with the locals, they informed me that those were just small hamlets with nothing to see. Sounded perfect to me for exploring the local culture. In about 45 mins of losing my way, I eventually reached Khumjun which felt like another world compared to the chaos at EVH.

A small village with people tending to their yaks, kids playing football, ladies weaving items to see and barely 4-5 tourists. It was the perfect place to relax, have some local food and just chill with the locals. Went into a teashop where I ordered the butter tea which came with complimentary biscuits she baked that morning. She spoke some Hindi so we chatted about her life in Khumjun. Her husband as many many others before her informed me that he climbed in the Khumbhu region and was away for the last 40 days. Her children were in school, however, they could only study till Class 6 as that's the highest education the local school could provide. For higher studies, they would need to go to the plains which meant giving up on the village life. Her husband, she informed me, had been trying to make big money through guiding but there were physical challenges every year. Both of them didn't want their kids to follow this lifestyle and wanted them to study. I felt the desperation in her voice which got exasperated with the broken Hindi. It was really tough to hear it and there wasn't much you could respond with. The life they lead in these harsh environments is ironically minutes away from people sipping on $50 beverages. One quickly realises how huge the gap is between different strata of people, whether in India or Nepal. I gave her whatever extra tip I could afford which she reluctantly accepted. She gave me some Churpi (yak cheese) for my journey ahead so it wasn't even a tip. You had to admire the integrity of these people. Her two sons came running back from school, grabbed their football, picked up a few biscuits, greeted their mother and ran outside. I followed them to their makeshift ''maidaan'' and asked if I could join. They just nodded in affirmation. In all this excitement, i only realised till very late that it was blazing hot and over 12000 ft. It was a very different ball-game  where the amount of air I needed to breathe was extraordinary and nothing like what I have felt before. Those kids were almost at sea-level energy and it was no wonder that they made such good climbers. Minutes after embarrassing myself, I took directions to Khunde and exited Khumjum. Khunde was even smaller and hardly saw anyone there so i decided to walk through it towards Namche.

Reached Namche around 15.00. got into the lodge where most of the trekkers were out exploring. I decided to rest a bit, repacked my bag for the next day. It was quite funny how irritating it gets to do that. Settled in to bed post a heavy portion of Dal Bhat and was set for the real journey now.