Highlights from Nepal: The Pinnacle of our Trip (written by Paul)!

Next stop on our journey was Nepal for a short 7 day visit starting and ending in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Five days of the trip would be a trek towards Mt. Everest in hopes of getting a good view of the world’s highest mountain. I had always wanted to see Everest first hand as I had read many books as a teenager of the famous mountaineers who had conquered the peak. Sir Edmund Hillary/Tenzing Norgay (first to summit), Jim Whitaker, (first American to summit), and Reinhold Messner/Peter Habler (first to summit without supplemental oxygen), were among a few who provided detailed accounts of the many challenges and dangers in summiting Mt. Everest. Daphne was initially going to stay in India a little longer and go to a yoga retreat, but changed her mind in hopes of some great trekking and incredible views.

We landed in Kathmandu’s tiny airport, reinforcing that Nepal is small country with population of 26 million, bordered by China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west. It suffers from high levels of poverty and hunger and is on the list of the world’s least developed countries in terms of poverty, adult literacy, nutrition, and economic vulnerability.

The kingdom of Nepal, established in the 18th century, has just recently (2008) transitioned from a monarchy to a secular parliamentary republic, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. One of the goals of the new government is to graduate Nepal from the list of least developed countries by 2022. Currently, the average wage per capita is about $850/year. Despite being the birthplace of Buddha, Nepal is predominantly Hindu (81%), Buddhists make up only 9% of the population, and the other 10% are mostly Muslim and Christians.

The Backdrop
When we initially signed up for this trip with an adventure travel company, we thought it would be pretty straight forward. From Kathmandu, we would take a 45 minute flight to Lukla, the gateway to the Everest region, where we then hike several hours a day for three days, stay in “tea houses” at night, and eventually reach Namche Bazaar at about 12,000 feet and experience great views of Everest. I knew the weather could change drastically within hours in the region and getting the views of Mt. Everest that I had hoped for, might not happen. As our trip to India was winding down, I started to check the weather for the upcoming week in Lukla; every time I looked the forecast was for unseasonably cold temperatures with rain every day. In the meantime, Daphne had come down with a cold that wasn’t getting any better. We also learned that Lukla’s airport was considered the most dangerous airport in the world. Sitting on the side of a mountain, with an extremely short runway on a 12% slope, only very small airplanes can land and there have been several fatal crashes in the last several years.

Change of Plans
We arrived in rainy and cloudy Kathmandu unsure whether we wanted to keep our original plan. Daphne said she was mostly out as she didn’t have the energy or desire to hike in cold, rainy weather with no likely views of Everest. I was on the fence still hoping to see the mountain I had read so much about. We spoke with a woman in line behind us at the airport and she told us that not only is the airport dangerous, that in bad weather, it is extremely likely to get stranded in Lukla for days (remember, Lukla was part of our original plan). At that point I decided it was time for plan B as we had a cycling tour in Vietnam that we didn’t want to miss. So we decided that after 6 very busy weeks of travel, we would find a nice place to stay and relax for a week. We found a holistic resort and spa in the Kathmandu Valley that offered a amenities and activities centered around ancient Himalayan culture and knowledge. It was called Dwarika’s Resort and it sounded just like what we needed!

Dwarika’s Resort in Kathmandu Valley
We high tailed it that afternoon to our new home and couldn’t get there soon enough. It was a very secluded resort 45 minutes outside of Kathmandu, so secluded that our taxi driver couldn’t find it until he asked someone. Upon arrival, we were upgraded to a very large suite and served a delicious lime, ginger, honey, and clove tea that was perfect for Daphne’s cold. I think we drank that tea three times a day for our remaining time there. We were happy with our decision, although at this point, I wasn’t even sure if we were even going to see the Himalayas, let alone Everest.

Still submerged in the clouds, we spent the next day exploring the resort, which was situated on the side of a mountain. We were told there were spectacular views from the lookout area at the top when the weather was clear, but unfortunately we couldn’t see a thing. So we spent time in the Himalayan Salt room, which was a room totally encased with large Himalayan salt crystals. Twenty minutes can help cure many respiratory and skin ailments. We also met with an Aryuvedic doctor, who took our pulses, and with surprising accuracy was able to describe our personalities and diet that would be suitable for our body type. Daphne even took a painting class and came back with this colorful creative piece.

That evening, Daphne took a yoga class where she met a mother/daughter couple from New York. They were going hiking the next morning and we decided to join them.

Hiking Kathmandu Valley
The next morning at breakfast before our hike, we got a few glimpses of the magnificent peaks that stood behind all of the clouds that we were getting accustomed to seeing. It was beautiful, but it was still hard to decipher the clouds from the Himalayas.

We left promptly after breakfast with our guide and the mother daughter/couple from New York, Liza and Amy. It was a four hour walk through the Kathmandu Valley that ended at a Buddhist temple perched on top of a small mountain. Our guide was very proud to tell us about all of the plants, berries, insects, and herbs available for medicinal purposes right in their back yards. He proclaimed that the locals didn’t need to go to doctors or the pharmacy for common ailments such as colds, flu, asthma,infections, skin issues, etc. We were amazed at the beauty of the lush landscape and farming fields.

We meandered our way through many villages where we were greeted with genuine smiles and “Namaste” as we passed through. The children were adorable even though many of their homes were partially or totally destroyed in the 2015 earthquake.

The people in these villages are extremely poor and fetching clean water can take many hours of a day. He pointed out one village where all the men were gone working overseas in Qatar and Dubai (on cool projects such as the World Cup stadiums, massive skyscrapers, and Trump branded properties). Ok, not really so cool. They are not paid what they are promised, their passports are taken away, the living quarters are awful, and the working conditions are very dangerous with many deaths.

Our walk ended with a nice tour of the temple. And then, of course, it started to thunderstorm.

The Resort Grounds
We were loving this resort, the staff was amazing and so friendly, the chef was very talented and used ingredients from the organic farm on the property.

The weather was starting to cooperate. We enjoyed their gorgeous pool.

And we would take the 10 minute walk up to the lookout point, for sunrise and sunset, where we would have amazing views of the valley and catch an occasional glimpse of the Himalayas in the background. I noticed there was a helicopter pad up there as well.

Planning An Adventure
On Thursday morning, we took our daily 6:30 am walk up to lookout point for tea and the sunrise over the Himalayas. This morning the weather cooperated and we had spectacular views of the Himalayas in the distance. Our friends from the hike were up there that morning and we chatted and they mentioned something about being able to hire a helicopter to go see Mt. Everest, but it was pricey. Apparently they had mentioned it to Daphne, but it never made it back to me. We all looked at each other and I said enthusiastically, “I’m in!”.

Eventually we agreed that if we could go today, we would give it a try. None of us had ever been in a helicopter, so why not? It was later in the morning, but the weather was still good. I spoke to the tour operator on the phone ( I didn’t even know the name of the company at the time); he assured me that there safety record was good, “no accidents”, and they did Everest climbing rescue missions. He told me he would call us back to confirm. After all that excitement, he called back and told us  we could not go that day because the weather in Lukla was turning. He said, however, we could go the next day, weather permitting. Even though we were leaving for Vietnam later the next day, we decided that we would go.

He told us they would pick us up at the hotel in the helicopter At 7am (now I know why there was a helicopter pad up there), fly to Lukla (9000 ft), refuel, then if the weather was good, fly over Everest base camp (20,000 ft) and then stop at the Everest hotel (12,500 ft) for tea on the way back, stop in Lukla to refuel, and then return to our hotel. It sounded complicated, but we were in. We checked the weather Thursday night — it looked good for both the resort area and Lukla. The strategy would be not to do any Google searches on “Helicopter crashes in the Everest region”. It’s better not to know!

A Real “White-knuckler”
I opened the drapes at 6 am on Friday morning. It was a complete whiteout; we were in the clouds. I proclaimed to Daphne “we’re not going anywhere, it’s awful out there.” We went to breakfast anyway, expecting to get the call that we weren’t going. Quite to the contrary, we got a call at 6:45 am and we were on. The weather in Dhulikhel, at the resort, had cleared a bit but not much. Supposedly, the weather in Lukla was good. The helicopter would be landing at 7:17 am for our pick-up. Okay dokey, we hurried and got up the mountain. At exactly, 7:17 the helicopter landed.

We met our pilot, he spoke English very well, and more importantly he had a demeanor about him that made us all feel very comfortable. As we took off, I got the sense that he could do this in his sleep. Probably because he would need to. The weather worsened immediately and the visibility was down to almost nothing. I was thinking prior to leaving maybe he will take the helicopter above the clouds and it would be clear sailing. Not so much. I got to sit in front next to the pilot and I quickly took notice of all the instruments, there weren’t that many, there was a Garmin though. He started off at 120 knots and within a few minutes, as the weather worsened, he headed towards the Dudh Kosi River below, nestled between steep and narrow cliffs on both sides. It started to rain and the wind shield wipers came on at full strength, we slowed down to 40 knots.

As we slowly progressed, the lush green walls of the canyon were narrowing and the twists and turns of the river seemed to be coming much more quickly. We followed the contours of the canyon, staying what seemed to be dangerously close to the canyon walls. I thought to myself, maybe this is like skiing in a whiteout, you have to stay near the trees to see. Later, I found out this was the case.

I monitored our pilot’s expressions closely and he seemed very relaxed, all in a day’s work. I continued to take pictures of our adventure. I looked back to see how everyone was doing. There seemed to be a little tension, but everyone nervously smiled at each other. No problem, it’s just the first helicopter ride jitters I thought. At one point, we rounded a corner and it was hard to differentiate between the cliffs and open space. The helicopter started to circle up towards the sky, he was looking for places to land because the clouds in front of us were too thick. Fortunately, the clouds were moving fast and visibility got a little better, if only temporarily. We kept going and went through this circling exercise a couple of more times. The trip on a good day takes 35 minutes. We were an hour into our ride, and after the initial contact with air traffic control as we started, no further contactuntil now. The pilot announced “Seven miles south of Lukla”…. We were getting close to Lukla and the weather was worse than ever.

The Parting of the Skies!
After 20 more minutes of what seemingly was an endless trip, the pilot radioed, “One mile south of Lukla”, and guess what, we started to rise out of the valley and the clouds magically disappeared. Blue skies were abound!!! We couldn’t believe it. Both Amy and Daphne had tears in their eyes. A few minutes later we landed at Lukla airport surrounded by amazing views of the Himalayas. I might get to see Mt. Everest after all.

We touched down at the Lukla airport right next to the runway and our pilot warned us jokingly not to wander on to the runway.

I could tell now that we were in the Himalayas. The features of the young men that poured the plastic canisters of fuel into the helicopter looked like the pictures of the Sherpas I had seen in the books I had read as a teenager. It was quite beautiful here, the peaks were around us were striking; it felt remote. I looked down the runway, a small plane came out of nowhere it seemed, and touched down. I chatted with a European trekker that had been stuck there for a day and was trying to get back to Kathmandu, he was inquiring about getting a helicopter, he had an international flight that night. Turns out the flight that had just landed would be the last one in or out that day.

After ten minutes, we quickly boarded and we were off “to fly around Everest for 45 minutes”. We were all ecstatic. Our pilot fastened himself in. Behind him was an oxygen canister; he quietly inserted the attached hose under his nose. It’s a good thing one of us was going to be alert in our unpressurized bird! The skies were completely clear and the strikingly blue — a stunning day for a flight. Our pilot was much more talkative now. The altimeter quickly moved higher as we headed towards the massive peaks in front of us. He started naming a few of these peaks; Amadablam is quite striking and one I remember seeing pictures of. We were taking it all in. We flew over trekkers who waved at the helicopter. We rounded the corner and there it was, magnificent as ever, Everest!! It was more impressive than the pictures.

The Ride of a Lifetime
We quickly moved closer, the views were amazing. Before we knew it we were right above base camp at 19,000 ft. The Khumbu ice fall, which all climbers that attempt to summit Everest on this route must go through, was right below us. This is statistically the most dangerous part of the route, as the ice fall is always moving. More climbers die on this part of the climb than on any other part of the mountain.

Unfortunately, many Sherpas, who carry supplies and equipment back and forth between the camps, die, as they spend a lot of time in this ice fall. A wealthy westerner can hire a guide for anywhere between $25,000 to $75,000 to attempt to summit Everest, whereas the Sherpas get paid a few dollars a day, and take on a much higher risk of injury and death. This is a subject of much controversy and debate as rich people with little mountaineering experience are not only doing this on the backs of the Sherpas, but are clogging up the high altitude routes and when things go bad, they go terribly bad wreaking havoc for many.

 

As we flew above the ice fall, our guide pointed out Camp 1 and Camp 2. There were no climbing expeditions at this time of year, the mountain was bare. May is the time of year to summit. There are about 5 camps at ascending points up the mountain that mountaineers need to advance to, and stay at, to acclimate, before attempting the summit. Our pilot said he has done many rescues from camp 1 and camp 2. He usually goes alone because he can only take so much weight at those altitudes. A lot of times he couldn’t land and he would use rope ladders to get the climbers on to the helicopter. He proclaimed that those rescues were “a little tricky”.

After drinking in Everest for more than 30 minutes, we turned around and headed towards the The Everest Hotel. At around 12,000 ft, this hotel is the highest perched hotel in the world. Our 30-minute ride now seemed like a single second — the views were spectacular and we were having so much fun! Once we landed at the hotel, we saw many trekkers who were staying there or were stopping by. Had we done our trek, this would have been one of our stopping points. We had some Masala Chai, took a few pictures, digested the fact that we had just had the ride of a lifetime.

And then, the clouds started moving in, quite quickly. Our pilot walked over to the edge of the landing area at the hotel, which was more like a cliff that was now engulfed in the clouds. He sheepishly announced, “things are changing”. Ok, it was time to go!

Our next stop was Lukla to again refuel. We took off into what seemed to be another complete whiteout. It was like déjà vu, just like the ride out there was limited visibility. I could hear the pilot talking to air traffic control; the weather was now not good in Lukla. Our pilot landed us a few minutes outside of Lukla. We landed on a very green grassy area on the edge of a steep wall that descended down to the river. Our pilot told us if he could get some fuel here, we would go back to the hotel, otherwise, it might be a while. Again, oh no. We had a flight to catch later that night.

We disembarked, walked around, took some pictures, and talked with other stranded helicopter passengers. It turns out, the five or so other helicopters on this little strip of land on the side of a cliff were all trying to get to Lukla, with the passengers all eager to start their treks into the Himalayas. One Australian woman told me they had landed quickly just a few minutes prior to this spot due to bad weather, next to a helicopter that had “crashed”. It seemed getting to Lukla now was now going to be a challenge. Our pilot was hanging out with other pilots, smoking cigarettes, laughing, seemingly not worried about much at all. I remarked that they were probably all laughing at the scared westerners.

Then, out of nowhere, several young men came out with plastic canisters of fuel and, jug by jug, we refueled. Our pilot said he was able to “borrow” some fuel — that works for me, even if the sight was quite amusing.

Soon enough we were off. The skies were not perfectly clear, but we were on a high so it didn’t matter. We cruised along at 120 knots, still seemingly close to the side of the hills; but now, it was no big deal. We were used to this. As the skies slowly cleared and we were back at to the hotel in 35 minutes.

 

The staff at the hotel was very excited to hear that our trip was a success; they had been monitoring the weather all morning long. We had lunch and a few beers with our friends from New York and replayed our exciting day over and over.

So, the morale of this story is, (for the few of you that might have made it this far)…ok, maybe there is no morale. Or, perhaps karma is real?! My favorite place in India was Varanasi as I felt the Hindu holy city had a special energy. One of my favorite memories was our early morning boat ride to watch the spiritual process of Hindus, mostly pilgrims, bathe and purify themselves in the Ganges. The belief is that one can purify their body and mind from sins by bathing as well as spreading the ashes of the deceased into the holy river. As we finished our boat ride, we spent some time on the banks of the river witnessing the process. I was feeling generous at this point in our day and gave seemingly small amounts of money to people along the river offering various goods and services (particularly memorable was the man who walked up to me and started to massage my forehead). I relaxed and didn’t try to resist. I was having fun and my guide told me I would have “good karma” for giving money to the less fortunate.

Our impeccable timing of receiving 45 minutes of blue skies in the midst of as week of clouds and rain, where we were fortunate enough to get pristine views of Mt. Everest, were, perhaps, due to a little bit of “good karma”!!!

And with that, we were off to Vietnam to begin our cycling trip full of optimism that our good karma would follow us.