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Everest Adventure: I did it! |
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It was very cold at negative degrees when we reached the Nepal side of the Everest Base Camp (EBC) last April 2007. Although we were cold, my three other girl friends still had fun posing before the camera, blowing colourful balloons and the torotots just to celebrate the experience. It was our gimmick other than waving the Philippine flag. (It has been a tradition by some mountaineers all over the world to commemorate the event by doing something funny and joyous). I never thought I could reach the high level of the EBC at 5,364 meters above sea level (17,598 feet). And this was funny because we only had pastry and a chocolate drink for lunch. Going up and down from the Bayanihan Paseo to the second floor was already an agony for me during my schooldays (from Junior Middle Division to my Conrado Benitez Institute of Business Education-CBIBE years) just to buy snacks at the canteen. The thinning of air and strong winds as we trekked up to EBC burned my face. I also had difficulty breathing. Every second, I made it a point to remove the muffler that served as my protective gear. The zigzag trail made the view more deceiving. We always thought we were already at EBC yet, every turn became another milestone. “Are we hallucinating?” we asked ourselves. True enough, the AMS (altitude mountain sickness) was already affecting us. Yet, we were strong. We completed the whole adventure without taking any AMS pills. We followed religiously the ruling on trekking up at 300 meters only each day. The annoying foot of the Khumbu icefall (River of Ice) and the crevasse around the area was nothing compared to the infuriating questions of the mountaineers from other parts of the world that we saw along the trail and lodges. They kept on asking us, “What on earth are the four women of you doing here in Nepal? Were you trained on cold climates like that of Alps?” Of course, we had to tell them that the Philippines is a tropical climate and that we had trainings prior to coming to Nepal. We also told them that there were Filipinos who climbed the peak last year. Moreover, there were 4 other Filipino women climbing up to the peak that very moment. As soon as we reached EBC and saw the tents of other mountaineering expedition from all over the world, I felt proud to be a Filipino, a woman, and a Philwomenian. No other country could belittle us anymore. Of course, the other side of my mind was saying, “Don’t get too high, girl. We still need to trek down to Lukla (2840 above sea level), the village where one could find the only airport within the Solu Khumbu region. So, save your energy and good thoughts”. We had to take the opportunity to choose from a choice of Himalaya Mountains which one to trek since we were already there. So my girl friends and I decided to trek up to the nearby Kala Patthar (Mountain of Black Rock) with the height of 5,550 meters above sea level. This was the highest peak I have ever been. Not to mention the fact that this whole experience was the longest multiple day trek I have ever done. From the top of Kala Patthar, I could see the neighbouring mountains like Pumo Ri and Ama Dablam. It was a very clear 180 degrees view of the Himalayan ranges. In this same peak, I saw an avalanche happening right in front of me. Out of joy and because it was too far to even affect us as we sat on top of Kala Patthar, I said “More JC! More!” (JC is my pet name for our Jesus Christ.) Then, after a minute of realization I said out loud, “No JC that’s enough, there might be some trekkers down there! Sorry!” JC probably heard me. Then, the avalanche stopped. We let the view instead mesmerize us by its beauty and solemnity. Words are not enough to express how I felt during the day. I had to say that the Kala Patthar experience made the whole 16-day trek worth it. Yes, Filipinos and Philwomenians can do it! Heia is presently the Public Relations officer of the PWU Alumni Association. She is connected with Societe Generalle de Surveillance (SGS) performing Quality Assurance functions including testing, plan development, measurement and reporting of quality issues, developing, implementing and maintaining Quality Management System according to ISO 9001:2000. |
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