I'm sitting at my comfy couch - trying to reflect what had just happened during the past three weeks. It had been a mix of emotions; from joy to sorrow and everything between. Still I was happy to come back home and have hot showers and eat fresh veggies. But still I was missing Nepal and the freedom. And the mountains, of course. Here's what happened.
Day 1: Helsinki - Istanbul - Kathmandu
I met the other group at Helsinki - Vantaa airport on Sunday October 29th at 4:30pm. I was traveling with Anu H and Anu K (later known as Anu Small and Anu Big). The rest of our group were already in Nepal. Elina was trekking around Nepal acclimatizing, Eva came earlier to Kathmandu as well and Kaj had travelled around Asia before the meeting as well. And our guide Nora had just done Everest Base Camp trek and Island Peak climb with another group so she had already been 3 weeks in Nepal. We had met with some of the group already and I knew that everybody had been on mountains and travelled a lot before so I was thinking to myself that it will be a good trip. And it sure was.
The flights were ok - just normal Turkish Airlines flights through Istanbul. Another group going to Annapurna circuit was flying with us and their guide Suvi was hanging around with us. She had just walked over 2 000 kilometers through New Zealand (!!).
I still don't like the Istanbul airport at all but it wasn't too bad this time as the layover was short. All of that was forgotten when we landed to Kathmandu airport. It felt like coming home and all the good memories from May 2016 were just thrown back to my mind. This time I had filled the Visa application online so I didn't have to fill the papers and wait in line. Phew!
After getting my baggage I saw a familiar face - it was Ngima, our local guide from the last time in Nepal. It's funny how good his Finnish is. It's almost like you don't have to talk in English. He was our guide this time as well and was picking us up from the airport. We headed to a nice hotel called Traditional comfort a bit outside of the tourist area Thamel.
After that we got to know each other a little bit and then headed out for a dinner to a great middle eastern restaurant called or2k in Thamel. The food was a good as last time as well. Then we had to go back to our rooms and try to think of what to pack. You can take just 15kg total to the plane in Lukla. Basically that means putting on all your clothers and filling your pockets with the heaviest items. Still my baggage was a bit overweight but this time they charged no extra. Then it was time to enjoy a proper bed and warmth for the last time in couple of weeks and get some sleep as the wake up would be at 4:45 am.
Day 2: Kathmandu - Lukla
As I woke up I took the last shower and dragged my stuff downstairs. We got a breakfast box as the hotel staff were too lazy to wake up and make us breakfast. Fair enough, I don't like early wakeups either. You're always worried about the flight to Lukla because it's up to the weather if the planes will fly or not. This time the weather was cloudy in Kathmandu so we had even more reason to be worried. Fortunately the weather in Lukla was sunny so we landed to Lukla at 06:50 am. This time we were flying a bit bigger plane and with Summit air which is supposed to be the safest (aka hasn't crashed as many times as the others) of the three airlines flying to Lukla. Still the flight to Lukla is pretty awesome when you see the mountains for the first time and the landing itself is great when you can watch and feel what the pilots do.
After landing to Lukla we walked to Mera lodge, the hotel we stayed at the last time as well. This time we were supposed to have some breakfast there and start trekking to our first camp site. But the worry for the weather had been right; our cook and the tents were still in Kathmandu because the clouds had emerged as they usually do at the mountains. After a few hours of waiting it was clear that they couldn't fly that day. We decided to have lunch in Lukla and still start walking because otherwise we would miss one day. That could potentially mean one summit/spare day less. And we didn't want that. Our guides managed to book us an accommodation in a tea house so we didn't have to sleep outside without tents. Finally some action, this was what we had been waiting for. Oh and I bought a book of Rebecca Stephens - the first british woman to climb Everest. I always want to read heroic stories about mountain climbing when I'm at the mountains. Weird(o).
Lukla
The first day was pretty difficult and tough. Although I thought I was in good shape, still the walking felt hard. Obviously it was because I hadn't been walking for six hours in my training and the next day was much easier. The beginning was more of a jungle and bamboo forest than the mountain paths at the Everest side. By the way the Mt Everest Base Camp trek starts also from Lukla. This time we just went to the right instead of left and headed towards Mera peak.
Flying to Lukla can already cause some altitude sickness symptoms for some as you fly straight to 2 700 meters. Which is why we chose the longer route to Mera peak. There is also a shorter option where you need to climb over a valley straight when you leave Lukla. That means going to an altitude of 4 660 meters which is too much for basically everyone without acclimitization. Previous groups hadn't even made it over these valleys and had to be evacuated. So that's why I highly recommend to take the longer route. It's hard and frustrating as you stay at the same altitude for 4 - 5 days but it pays off in the end.
The first day was supposed to be 4 - 5 hours of walking but in the end it was almost seven hours and it got dark before we reached tea house at Paiyu at 2 730 meters. It was pretty frustrating at first but then it became a joke. If our sherpa told us it would be a 6 hour walk, everybody said "Ok so 8 hours of walking". I had some problems already with my stomach as did some other people as well. I guess it was just getting used to the different kind of bacteria. Luckily Imodium worked its miracles again. It was pretty heavenly still to get some food and sleep after the walk. Though it was only the first day I began to remember why I like this. I hadn't thought of work or stressed at all.
First day of trekking in the jungle with some donkies
Day 3: Payiu - Panggom
This night was a night we would remember the rest of the trip. A member of our group got a food poisoning and as a consequence threw up every 40 minutes the whole night. Because the tea houses are made only of thin plywood - everybody can hear everything. So no sleep that night haha. The fact that it continued also during the trek made the second day pretty challenging. That's pretty obvious when you have no fluid or energy and you have to walk for 8 hours. It was a real mental win to get through that day - for her and for all of us. Because you never leave your mate there. We all were really happy when we made it to Panggom. It was now time for our first night in a tent. Don't know why but I really wanted to take a shower - and I did. They had a gas shower inside the tea house for 500 rupees (4 euros). It was refreshing but now that I think about it there was no point in taking a shower that early on the trip. Oh well at least I didn't smell that night. The shower itself was pretty funny too. When you turned the gas on the water temperature was 20 degrees and it started rising. However you couldn't control how hot the water is. When the water was about 40 degrees you had to turn the gas off again. And then start again from 20 degrees. Still it was luxury and I slept really well that night.
Day 4: Panggom - Ningsow
It was a pretty cold night so my trekking stuff didn't dry up in the tent. Luckily the sun was shining in the morning so there was little time to put the gear outside in the sunshine during breakfast. We also got to enjoy of a little dance show performed by a little Nepalese boy. It looked more like pole dancing though. Wonder where the kid got his dance moves hmm.. I saw many Justin Bieber and Britney Spears T-shirts at the mountains worn by the local teenagers so I guess it's big there. Then it was time to pack like every morning. In your daypack you need:
- a down jacket
- a shell jacket (Gore-tex)
- climbing/shell pants
- 2 merino layers
- 3 liters of water (a liter of water per 1000 meters of altitude per day)
- All medicines including Diamox, paracetamol, Imodium etc
- Toilet paper (bring some from Finland because the local toilet paper sucks)
- Cameras etc
- Sunscreen
- Extra sun glasses
The daypack should be about 7 - 8 kilos and everything else should be packed to the bigger bag carried by the porters.
The term Nepalese flat was something that everybody hated after couple of days. It means that the first half of the day is uphill. Usually we climbed around 500 - 1 000 meters vertically before lunch. Then the latter part of the day was downhill the same 500 - 1 000 meters and in the end the altitude was the same 2 800 - 3 000 meters. And this continued for 6 - 7 days. It was really frustrating knowing that we still had 3 500 meters to climb to the top of Mera peak.
All in all the day was pretty perfect. The sun was shining and our lunch place had really spectacular views. Just before we reached the camp site we saw a little waterfall and it formed a perfect pool to swim in. So we decided to go skinny dipping. It was really fun and refreshing.
Also the camp site was magical. Before dinner we decided to play some games like hide and seek. Too bad a dog revealed me. It was a really light night and there were no clouds. As the sun set you could see millions of stars and full moon. I stayed up just watching the stars when the others went to sleep. You can't get these experiences sitting on your couch.
Day 5: Ningsow - Chhatra Khola
At this point it's good to tell about the daily routine. It's weird how well you sleep and how many crazy dreams you'll have in the mountains.
6 - 7 am: Wake up
6:30 - 7:30 am: Breakfast
7 - 8 am: Start walking, all gear packed
11 - 12 am: Lunch
4 - 6 pm: Arriving to the next camp site/teahouse
7 pm: Dinner
8 pm: Bedtime
I don't remember the last time I've gone to bed at 8 pm but here it was normal every night. All the sleep was much needed today as it was the longest day so far. We ascended over 1 100 meters during the day although we stayed the next night only 300 meters higher than the day before (3 122m). The path was sometimes really sketchy and narrow with a 50 meter drop on the other side and and a rock face on the other side. It was the scariest moment of this trip to go through this section. There was also a thick bamboo forest but we didn't see any red pandas there - after all it's their home.
Today Anu H got a flu and was really struggling to get through the day. It was tough even without a flu so I can imagine how tough it was for her. The camp site at least was amazing - about a 100 meters above a raging river in the middle of a jungle. Also the dinner was amazing as our chef had made pizza. It was kind of a miracle in these conditions. It was of course veggie pizza as nobody ate meat during the trip. Well you can eat meat too if you want a food poisoning. Trust me it's not worth it. Our sherpas had some local miracle medicines for fighting the flu. Actually they had two; a pill and then some menthol liquid that was mixed in water and the water was boiled and then you had to inhale the mist. It seemed to work really effectively - I want that with me!
After dinner we got to enjoy the light of the stars and full moon (again) when brushing the teeth. I didn't even need my headlamp - it was that light.
Day 6: Chhatra Khola - Kothe
Today was supposed to be short so the wake up call was at 7:30 am. We would head to Kothe which would be the first proper village after Lukla. And it gets even better, we would sleep inside in a teahouse and the next day would be the first rest day. Yay! Well we would ascend over 500 meters to 3 620 meters so maybe we would encounter the first headaches. Well that's the name of the game here so no worries.
First part of the trek was pretty steep and narrow path just like it was before. At lunch we had already climbed up to 3 650m. At lunch we met a group from Iran. They had just summitted Mera peak two days earlier. The weather was good and sunny but they said it was really, really cold. But it was all worth it when the sun rose and you could get a good glimpse of Mt. Everest. Ok, sold!
After lunch it started snowing. It's still fascinating how quickly the weather changes at the mountains. I was hiking in shorts and t-shirt before lunch and now I had a soft-shell and hiking pants on. Fortunately it didn't last long but the weather got much colder and also the nature changed drastically. No more jungle - just rocks, moraine and moss. Personally I liked this much more. It meant we were closer to the target, the summit of Mera peak.
We had a really great view of Mera peak from Kothe. I heard some people saying "are we really going there? It seems so high" Well yeah that's the plan guys.
So we stayed in a tea house which meant that we had to buy our meals. I think it's good to warn now that the tea houses are really expensive. For example if you want a liter of boiled water it's 200 rupees (1,5 euros). So I just asked for cold water which was free and used my Micropur tablets. We were joking if one could do the dishes in order to get some free boiled water.
The daily budget for me was about 3 000 rupees. I had some steamed veggie momos and a local delicacy fried Mars bar which gives you much needed calories. Those were already 1 000 rupees and then I bought a 200MB wifi card which cost 500 rupees as well. I had already spent half of my day money. That gives you some idea of the prices. But it's of course fair as you can't get the items from anywhere else. And everything is carried all the way from Lukla by porters or donkeys. At dinner we met a Canadian couple that was also going to summit Mera peak the day before us. They were really nice and we exchanged some travel stories in front of the fire place which is the place to be at the tea house. It's the only warm place. By the way they usually burn dried yak shit which smells a bit funny but you get used to it.
After dinner it was bed time again. I had a nice feeling going to bed although my room was the smallest I've ever been to. It felt like weekend because tomorrow would be a rest day.
Day 7: Rest day
We could wake up at whatever time we wanted. I think I was the last one to show up at breakfast at because everyone else had already eaten. It was still only 8 am. I never get up that early on the weekends but maybe 12 hours of sleep was enough. I had my favorite breakfast; porridge with boiled eggs/omelet. Sometimes I also had chapati with peanut butter.
Then I scraped the wifi card and connected to the internet after a week of absence. I had over a 1 000 unread Whats app messages, a lot of emails and other messages. Then I took a picture and posted it on Instagram and Facebook so mom and others would know we're alright. Nothing special had happened. You then realize that it's possible to live without a cell phone or internet and actually I had slept much better and been happier in every way. Maybe it was also due to the fact that we had had 5 - 8 hours of exercise every day in the fresh air with great like-minded people. What else does a human being need to be happy?
I did laundry in the morning and then just read the whole day outside in the sun. It was really relaxing just to be there without any worries. I finished the book already that night - it seems Mt Everest still tempts me the most. At lunch Ngima offered some Sherpa chili which is a chili sauce they make in every tea house. It was really, really strong stuff. Well at least my sinuses were clean and open after that. Later on we went through the plan for tomorrow. We would ascend 700 meters to 4 300 meters which is much for one day. I was hoping that I wouldn't get altitude sickness symptoms yet as last time I had the first headache at 4 500 meters. However the weird thing about altitude sickness is that you still don't know how well you have acclimatized this time. Your body adapts differently every time so you really need to listen to your body. It's still amazing how your body can adapt to different conditions. Your heart rate goes up to move more oxygen in the body, it starts to produce more red blood cells etc. It's just mind blowing and exciting to experience. Hope my body is made for these altitudes. This is also kind of a test for my body. If I fail then there's no point of dreaming to climb other mountains either.
The most asked questions about the trip have been "what's it like to breathe over 6 000 meters?" and "what do you eat there?". Basically the answer is that you're out of breath all the time. Getting up from the tent gets you winded as well as pretty much everything. The best way is just to take it easy and try not to get your heart beat up because it won't get down that easily anymore.
Eating is a different matter. Basically you can eat as much as you can. Well, you HAVE to eat as much as you can. You use so much energy in the cold and that high that you need to get much energy. As you can't eat meat there the only sources of protein are eggs and lens soup. I usually had Dal Bhat which is rice, curry and lens soup. The trick is that you always get as much Dal Bhat as you can eat. I usually had 3 - 4 plates full of Dal Bhat at lunch. Then on summit day there's no lunch and you don't want to carry much food with you so I had a can of Pringles, 2 cans of energy candy, 2 liters of water, 2 bars of Snickers and some nuts. Summit day is always a compromise of getting enough energy and saving weight. Still I lost about 5 kilos on the trip.
My summit "food" + a Pringles can
Day 8: Khote - Thagnak
The morning was really cold for the first time on this trip. The sun started warming us up after half an hour trekking and then it got really warm. That's why it's good to have layers you can put on and take off when needed.
It was really fun to walk. No more Nepalese flat, just beautiful views of snow capped, over 6 000 meter mountains and rough but still pretty terrain. And most importantly we were steadily going up all the time. I had 3 plates of Dal Bhat with some really spicy sherpa chili for lunch. At this point you would really need some protein as well. " Dal Bhat power 24 hours " like the Sherpa's say. We also visited a small monastery on the way. Too bad there were no monks nor a service going on. The last time we got to witness a morning service and it was really calming and peaceful.
When we got to Thagnak I felt the altitude for the first time. I noticed I was a bit out of breath when I climbed to small rock to take pictures. On the other hand it was a good feeling knowing that we're pretty high up already and my body is adapting to the altitude now. There's not much to do at the tea houses so we started playing card games here. It's a fun way to get the group together. We also discussed about some disgusting things that usually happen at ski treks and at the mountains. Let's just say it was related to human feces. Weird how poop, pee and fart -related things are considered funny universally. And we also met the cutest little girl. She was craving for our attention and did all kinds of circus tricks for us. Well it was cute and entertaining, she was the star of that night.
We met the Canadian couple again at the tea house. They recommended to do an acclimatization trek to a nearby ridge. It's at 5 000 meters so we would get a good 700 meters of ascent. There's also a weather station and really nice views of the valley and glacier. The acclimatization walk would really help because we would anyway head to Khare at over 5 000 meters after the rest day. Acclimatization is the thing it takes so long to get up. The best way acclimatize is to go high, spend maybe a few hours there and then get back to a lower altitude for the night. That way the body starts to adapt to the higher altitude.
The sunset was around 5:30 pm and after the sunset there was (again) an amazing sky full of stars. Of course I had to spend a few moments watching them before going to bed aka tent at 7:45 pm. This time the view was even more spectacular with the beautiful mountains. Too bad I didn't have a proper camera with me to capture the night sky.
Day 9: Acclimatization hike
This was the first night I didn't get proper sleep and my throath was a bit sore. It was really cold and maybe the altitude affected a bit. Even both my water bottles had frozen. Everything got better with a proper breakfast made by our chef. Two plates of porridge, two pancakes with honey and a boiled egg. After the much needed breakfast we started climbing to the ridge. I tried my borrowed La Sportiva mountaineering boots on for the first time to get used to them. There were only three of us doing the walk as some people stayed at the camp trying to get better as they were feeling a bit tired and sick. The climb wasn't easy but it was fun because of the view. And what wouldn't you do for a great view, huh? First we stayed at the weather station but then we noticed it was only 4 800 meters so we had to climb a bit higher to reach 5 000 meters.
The way down was much harder because we decided to go straight down from the steepest part of the hill. Well it wasn't that wise decision and the route was pretty sketchy and steep. But we made it down for a well-deserved lunch. We were supposed to have a momo cooking lesson but they told us we climbed too high so it was too late for a lesson. Still it was better to do a proper hike than learn how to do momos.
After lunch I had a two hour nap and then we decided to stretch properly to get all the tension out of the muscles. Oh and I had to buy more toilet paper and hand sanitizer. It was really a struggle to try to tell I need a hand sanitizer when the local shop keeper had no idea what I was saying. Nor I had what she was saying. Well it turned out sign language is truly international and I got my sanitizer. I needed to get them now because after the next village we would be on our own. Especially the hand sanitizer is a life-saver if you don't want to get a diarrhea or worse.
The next village would be Khare at 5 068 meters. There I would need to charge my camera and all batteries I'll need at the glacier. Fortunately some of our group had solar chargers. I really need to get one myself. We also met the little four year old girl again. Suddenly she started talking in english and showed us her phone. She was watching Spiderman videos on Youtube. We were all asking ourselves "what the hell is going on here"? I guess digitalization is everywhere.
We had Dal Bhat again for dinner but everyone was still so full that nobody could eat more than one plate. So we had to apologize to our chef. Especially I because he was used to me eating the most. The evening was pretty much the same as every night; we played cards for about an hour and then went to sleep at 8 pm.
I've gotten a lot of comments about why would anybody want to be cold, dirty and miserable voluntarily. At first I also doubted why I came here and didn't go somewhere warm to relax - today I remembered why. Walking felt easier all the time and the views just got better. I didn't miss the work emails, phone calls or social media at all and just enjoyed the nature and the company of other people. I had no stress and the only thing you really had to think at this point was what to wear and when to put the purification tablet so that you would have pure water on time.
Sometimes here you just find yourself staring at the mountains or the stars. They are so beautiful and mountains have always been the thing for me. When I was in kindergarten I used to draw pictures of mountains. Maybe because we don't have them. And now I'm here. Don't get me wrong Lapland is beautiful as well but mountains are mountains. I'm also keen in seeing how my body adapts to extreme conditions. It's also a motivation to work out for months before the trip and to get you in shape. So there are many positive sides in what may seem like a crazy, irrational thing to do.
Day 10: Thagnak - Khare
It was another restless night. I woke up twice hearing an avalance coming down somewhere nearby. It is a pretty spectacular sound. However I knew we would be safe at the village. It was also cold and at this altitude you need to drink 4 - 5 liters of water in day. The natural cause is that you need to pee often. I was just too lazy to get out of the warm sleeping bag so that kept me awake as well. The breakfast was again delicious - chapati and omelet.
We left Thagnak at 8 am and reached Khare at 1 pm. So it was only a 5 hour day but we ascended over 700 meters. We saw a pretty glacier lake, experienced another avalance on the other side of the valley and saw people going to high camp on the glacier. They looked real tiny from where we stood. Soon we would be there as well!
After reaching Khare we had lunch and met some people coming back from Mera summit. Most of them had reached the summit but some had had to turn back because of frozen toes and fingers. Everybody said it was really cold. Most groups come straight back to Khare from the summit and don't stay at high camp or base camp. It's always good to get down as soon as possible. The rest of the day was just getting used to the altitude. To my surprise I didn't have any altitude sickness symptoms at all. At his stage one person from our group had had to take Diamox (A medicin to prevent/treat altitude sickness). I had to charge my phone and camera here which was another 900 rupees. But what can you do - I want some good pictures from the summit!
Tomorrow would be kind of a rest day. We would stay in Khare to practice climbing and rope techniques such as how to use a jumar. We would also pack only really necessary stuff tomorrow and leave everything absolutely not necessary o Khare in order to save weight.
Sleepy time was again at 8 pm. By the way the dreams here are the weirdest I've ever seen. They don't make sense at all. We've been laughing at each other dreams almost every day.
Day 11: Khare
The day started of course with the same ritual of waking up at 8 and having breakfast. Straight after breakfast we got our harnesses, axes and ropes. Nora, our Finnish guide then showed how they are tied and different nodes so we could act independently as well in emergencies. Most of the stuff was familiar but it's always good to repeat the basic things. Repetition is the key to learning.
Of course no one learns anything without putting the taught things to practice. Thus our sherpas had made a training course to climb the next ridge half way and then we had to come down hanging on to a rope and with the help of an ice-axe. It was actually good that we practiced it. Using the jumar and going up was pretty easy but I had totally forgotten the figure eight when coming down. Well it came back quickly and I felt pretty confident to get to the glacier.
All in all it was another good, sunny day. It was exciting to go to bed knowing that tomorrow we would finally reach the base camp. It should be a pretty spectacular camping spot too.
Khare village 5 068m
Day 12: Khare - Base camp
The wake up call was again at 8 am. This time I slept pretty well. Before leaving Khare we decided to check the weather forecast for High camp and Mera peak summit. It should be sunny but -20 degrees at night + 80 km/h winds. That should make it feel like -35 degrees. Our summit day would be the coldest day in couple of weeks. Just my luck!
We didn't leave before lunch time because it was just a short walk to Base camp. I decided to buy some Pringles which I crunched so that they wouldn't waste that much room in my day pack and it would be easy just to pour the crunched chips in to my mouth and get energy.
As I said the walk was only 2 hours but the terrain was really rocky and sketchy. I didn't like that part at all, especially with my stiff mountaineering boots it was just plain struggle. The Base camp itself was at 5 350 meters so there were now two people having to take Diamox in our group. They had some symptoms of oedema and knew from experience that it would only get worse. So it was the only choice to start the medication.
The camp site was really nice as advertised. It was just on the edge of a huge rock and just below the glacier. We also got to experience the few moments just before the sun set and the light was really good for pictures. Hope the pictures explain better than I ever can with words.
Now it was time to start filling myself up with energy for the summit bid. So for dinner I had two plates of spagetti and two plates of mushroom soup. There's no water at the Base camp so all water had to be melted from ice. That's why we had to decide where the toilet would be so we didn't have to drink our own pee. Of course because the water was melted from the ice, the bottoms of our water bottles were full of sand. So you couldn't look at the bottle, you just had to drink. Also the melted water doesn't absorb as well as normal water, you have to add something, such as honey to the water for it to absorb better.
We were alone at the Base camp but apparently there was another group higher up the cliff. The sun set at 5:10 pm and it got really cold immediately after that. We went to bed already at 6 pm because there was nothing to do here. And it was cold outside.
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Day 13: Base camp - High camp
The morning was really beautiful and I enjoyed the breakfast sitting on a rock just in front of my tent. It was chapati and porridge as usual. Couple of people hadn't had proper sleep and didn't feel too good so they started taking Diamox as well. Now we had some time to dry up our stuff in the sunshine as again we would leave only after lunch.
Then it was time for the real deal. Harnesses, helmets and mountaineering boots on. Finally! The first part was just rocks until the cramp on point where we (surprisingly) put the crampons on.
It was really hot at the glacier so I had to get rid of some clothes on the way. We were walking all attached to each other with a rope to practice before the summit bid. And of course there were crevasses as well so it wasn't just about practice. At some point three of us felt we could go faster so we were separated from the rest of the group and had our own rope. It was a really nice day with some views I've only seen in pictures before.
We arrived to High camp after three hours of walking at the glacier. The altitude was 5 750 meters at the High camp but I still felt good. Actually it felt pretty easy. The actual high camp is pretty insane. It's in a slope just behind a big rock. There's a 100 meter drop just a few meters away from the tents so you shouldn't get out of the tent at night. Or if you do, at least inform your tent partner so somebody knows that you have fallen if nobody finds you in the morning. Oh and nobody was allowed to sleep alone, so I got Kaj as my tent mate. We had to switch to another tent because the initial tent we were supposed to sleep in, was half in the air at the slope. You could see the sun light under you.
There was only one place to go to the "toilet" but still the whole camp smelled like pee and shit. You don't really want to spend much time here despite the view. I saw some Russian guys' tent here. You need 3 people to carry it and it's gas heated. They actually arrived to Khote with a helicopter and didn't even have a day pack. Well I guess that's one way of doing it.
I already put my summit clothing on before dinner, which consisted of:
La Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX mountaineering boots
2 layers of merino wool hiking socks
3 layers of merino wool underwear
1 fleece layer
Salomon 3-layer goretex windstopper pants
North face 700gr down jacket with a hood
Marmott thin gloves
Marmott thick mittens on top (with a leash so you won't lose them)
I also had:
Julbo mountain sunglasses
Oakley goggles
Then I prepared 2 liters of water for the summit bid and added some hydration powder I had bought from a pharmacy in Finland. I put the water bottles inside my sleeping bag for the night so they wouldn't freeze and during the summit bid I intended to keep one inside my down jacket and the other inside my day pack. For dinner we had some soup and popcorn. I wasn't really hungry but forced myself to eat two plates of soup. Then I went to sleep with all the gear on. The wake up would be at 2 am.
Day 14: High camp - Mera peak central 6 461m - Khare
I didn't get much sleep and wasn't feeling too good when waking up. I realize I hadn't drank any water last night so I had to down at least a liter of water before we headed towards the summit. Not that wise decision. It didn't absorb properly so the next hours it felt like the water was just going around in my stomach. The wake up call didn't go according to plan either because our sherpas had slept late so they served the porridge and tea fifteen minutes late. But that was fine as we didn't want to leave too early before the sunrise. It wasn't too cold as I had enough clothes but as soon as we got out to the glacier it was clear that the cold was going to be the biggest issue. Small pieces of ice was just flying around and of course we had headwind most of the way. It felt like someone was peeling your skin off. Then I realized to put the goggles hood on which helped a bit.
We had agreed that we would stay in one group and we, as the fastest climbers were put to the back of the rope. However after half an hour we were really frustrated because the pace was too slow. So we had the permission again to go first and separate the ropes. I was feeling a bit weak this time and thought if we would go a bit faster, my body would warm up and get the "engine" going like it usually does. But this time it didn't and I was struggling the whole way. There were some funny incidents on the way as well. Our sherpa dropped his satellite phone once and it started sliding down the slope. Luckily I've been a goalie before and caught the phone. It happened again - this time with his day pack. We were just watching the pack sliding down and disappearing to the distance Chongba running after it.
At some point we found a good rhythm between the pace and breaks. I was trying to drink and eat all the time so I'd have enough energy for the summit wall. Just before the summit wall I told the guys I need a break. So we had maybe a 10 minute break and I chugged a can of Pringles at once and ate all my energy candy. That should be enough, I thought. Actually we were at the summit 5 minutes after that. The wall was pretty steep but you could just walk up with a little help from the ropes. You didn't even need to jumar.
So there we were at the summit of Mera peak. The sight and moment I had been dreaming for over a year. And it was exactly how I had imagined it - maybe just a bit easier this time. The weather was amazing and you could see Mt Everest and Lhotse just behind your back and Makalu on the other way. The view was simply breathtaking. I would've wanted just to stay there and enjoy the moment. But then we had to go down. On the way back we ran into the rest of the group. They seemed to be in good shape so we took a group picture there. It was an amazing feeling! After that they also summitted. We had all summitted Mera peak!
It took us 4 hours and 15 minutes to get up to the summit. We were back at high camp already at noon. So it took us less than 1,5 hours to get down. When we arrived to high camp I just then realized how tired I was - it took me 10 minutes to get the crampons off. Then we had some soup which I struggled to eat. That is quite a common reaction after summiting to turn down food. But I managed to eat and then took a nap before the rest of the group arrived to high camp.
After the nap I felt much better and then we headed down to Base camp. The plan was to get all the way back to Khare before the sunset. It was not an easy day and the final few kilometers were like I was walking in a dream but the feet just kept going. I don't think any of us had much energy left when we got back. Ginger tea hadn't ever tasted so good.
Dinner was great as well. I ordered a beer to celebrate and our sherpas had made us a cake to celebrate the fact that we all got to the summit. It's really rare that everyone can make it to the top. But like I said we had a super group.
Days 15 - 18: Khare - Khote - Chetra La - Lukla
The next morning we left all the way back to the familiar Khote. We stopped on the way to Thagnak where we met the little girl again. She was a bit shy this time but got going again after a little while. It was a pretty long but nice walk. I already thought that the worst was over but the walk from Khote to Chetra La was really long and tough one. As well as the last day coming back to Lukla with snowy slopes and ice. We even had to use ropes to get back to Lukla. And the walk felt like forever. Everytime you thought you saw Lukla, it disappeared and there was more walking to do. However we made it to Lukla. Now we were back to where it all started couple weeks ago. I had a much needed cold shower (the first one in a week) and then we had a nice dinner with our porters. It's a tradition that everyone introduces themselves and we'll provide the dinner for them. The porters are always smiling and really nice, humble guys. Hope they realized how much we appreciated their help.
Day 19: Lukla
We had the whole day to ourselves. Weird that there was nothing to do. I tried to find some Nepalese honey and of course we had to have some delicious cake and coffee to gain the lost weight back. The rest of the night we played pool at the Irish pub and met some fellow trekkers and climbers. It was a fun, relaxing day. The next morning we would have an early flight back to Lukla.
Day 20: Lukla - Kathmandu
Well you never know if the flights will even depart from Lukla and for a while I thought we couldn't fly that day. But then our plane turned up and we were on the way back to Kathmandu. I must admit that the take-off is even more exciting than the landing. The plane literally takes off just before the cliff.
Being back to Kathmandu felt like coming a whole other country. I had forgotten about the traffic and how warm it was. Maybe it was because of the fact that we had our down jackets and hiking boots on in order to save weight. It really felt like heaven getting back to a hotel and to have a hot shower, clean clothes and to shave for the first time in three weeks. Then we visited a mall and had a nice dinner again at the hotel. Though the food wasn't quite what we ordered but I wasn't going to complain about anything. Ever.
Day 21: Kathmandu
The next day I had lunch separately from the group with a friend I met in Lukla and we were trying to find some souvenirs from Tamel.
This day was actually a day that everyone had been waiting for. We would visit Dwarika's, a legendary luxury hotel where we would have some drinks and a 7 course dinner. It is a really cool place in Kathmandu where a lot of celebrities have visited. It's a really relaxing place with a nice garden and soothing athmosphere. We continued the night at the hotel until 4 am and it was a really good night.
Days 22 - 23 : Leaving Kathmandu
It was kind of a sad day to say bye to everyone. But then again it was nice to go back home as well. I've been saying that I don't care where I sleep as long as I'll have a roof over my head. Well now for the first time I missed my own bed. I guess I'm getting old then.
The first flight was with Nepalese airlines to Delhi where we would spend the night at the airport hotel so we wouldn't have to check in again. Oh well little did we know at that point. When we got out of the plane, we needed to change the carrier to Turkish airlines. However there was no one from Turkish airlines at the transit desk so we had to wait for 6 hours for them to print our tickets and so that we could get through to our hotel. In the end we stayed at the hotel about 4 hours.
The last flight was just a formality. I think the best way to describe the feeling would be the old saying tired but happy when we were hugging each other the last time at the Helsinki airport. It was an awesome trip and now I finally got the confirmation that my body can adapt to high altitude and I can pursue even higher summits. That was kind of the whole point of the trip for me - to see what I'm made of.
To anyone thinking of a similar trip - I'll be happy to help out. Nepal has really stolen my heart and I think this wasn't the last time there. But now, until the next time.
