A Different Way To Everest
I found out recently that the classic route isn’t the only way to reach Everest Base Camp in Nepal. I’ve just been the hard way!
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When I took the picture above… I was the other end of a long flight, too far away to go home. I was sharing this room with a stranger who became a good friend. Anticipating a trek which I hoped would become an adventure and that I would be up to the challenge of completing it. It did and I was.
Kathmandu, reputed to be one of the oldest cities in the world is the start and end point of any trek to Everest. The ancient city sprawls over the floor of the Kathmandu Valley with a population of close to a million people. It is littered with shopping malls and ancient Buddhist Temples. An offshoot of the Ganges River, sacred in the Hindu faith, passes through the city and bodies are cremated on its banks.
The Varja (Pictured above) symbolises peace, wisdom, and light. Prayer flags coloured to represent the five pure lights: space, air, water, fire and earth, flutter in the wind sending mantras to heaven.
Soon, I was aboard a small turbo prop plane heading to the most dangerous airport in the world. We’d be landing in a place called Lukla. On a ledge on a cliff halfway up a mountain.
(Above) Not the best shot but what a subject. The summit of Everest through the window of the plane on the short flight to Lukla.
Nam-che-baz-zar wooo-oo-oo-oo! (Those who’ve heard me sing it will know.)
Namche Bazaar sits high in the mountains at an altitude of around 3,440m (11,286ft). It’s one of the main Sherpa Settlements in the area and has lots of shopping and several bars.
