On April 12, at 5:30am Nepali time the Sherpas, Bart and I and all our equipment left Kathmandu in a big bus in direction Tibetan border. We arrived in Kodari, the last town on the Nepal side about four hours later. The road is not the best in this part of Nepal so traveling takes quite some time. Once we had arrived at the border checkpoint, our equipment was moved across the border mostly by women porters. I remembered this picture from last year, but once again, it was for me an unbelievable and shocking fact to see these women carrying such heavy packs on their head. However, I had to learn again, that this is part of the culture here. After a short lunch on the Nepali side we finally crossed the “Friendship Bridge” by foot and had to go through the strict Chinese customs check. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the group visa of our Sherpas and it turned out that they were not able to enter Tibet that day. This had nothing to do with the papers of our two Sherpas, they were in order, but since most expeditions are using group visas for climbers and Sherpas, things can get complicated. If one person is missing or has been replaced by another person, the visa has to be reissued.
Bart and I were already in Tibet and we did not know how long it would take before the two Sherpas would be able to cross the border. From last year’s experience I knew that it can take several days or even a week or two. The original visa has to be shipped by jeep from Lhasa overland to the Nepali border, and we are talking about an over 1’000km/625mile drive!!!! Well, at that point there was no other option for Bart and I then to start our journey to the Chinese Everest base camp without our two Sherpas, Ang Pasang and Pasang Karma. This is a long trip, about 700km/440miles in a jeep, but not really a problem since everything is organized by the Tibetan Mountaineering Association. Also we were sure, that we would see them latest again in Base Camp. Finally, a jeep picked us up after the customs and brought us to center of Zangmu, the Tibetan border town. We spend the night in the Gyen Hotel, with no hot water… welcome to Tibet!
Ready and excited for the long journey!!!
Short snack stop on the way to the Himalayas – Fresh Naan made in a simple oven, what a great tast!!!
Nepali mountain road – You have to get used to it…
There are playgrounds anywhere – Just look around you…
All you need is a TATA truck and some basic driving skills… and you are fine…
…and when is our turn to move up the mountain???
Waiting to carry the heavy expedition equipment and food across the border.
I still have a hard time to accept this picture… and I know how heavy these bags are…
Pasang Karma Sherpa and Ang Pasang Sherpa enjoying their last Nepali food for a while.
Zangmu, first Tibetan town after the border is build right into the mountain…
On April 13 we switched our watches to Chinese time and things seemed to start early now, at least for our inner clock. A jeep picked us up in front of the hotel that morning and drove us to Nylam, our next stop in Tibet. Nylam is at 3’700m/12,200ft the last stop before we will enter the Tibetan High Plateau which is higher than 4’000m/13,200ft. The plan was to stay here for two days and do some acclimatization hikes. It was much colder here and the surrounding peaks were snow covered. It is not exactly the most exciting town to spend two nights, but we were here for another purpose.
We had Chinese food for lunch and spent the afternoon walking around in town. The weather changed and we had some rain that day and it snowed al little higher up. Dinner was served at the same place as last year, a Chinese restaurant in the first floor, accessible only by very bad stairs. After dinner I walked down these slippery and wet stairs… and it happened!!! I slipped, fell first on a sharp edge of the stairs and landed finally on my back on the wet and dirty street. It was a terrible fall and I was not able to move my back for a while. Here I was, on my way up to the Chinese Mount Everest base camp, lying in a dirty Tibetan street on my back, unable to move by myself, and feeling the cold water and dirt underneath me. What will be next???
Luckily, some other mountaineers saw me falling and tried to help me. After a while I realized that I cannot stay in this street and two colleagues on each side brought me to the hotel. They asked for a doctor and he arrived later that night and informed me that I had not broken rip. For me, it did not feel like that!!! I spent an extreme painful night and was not able to sleep at all. My pain was so bad, that I was not able to the most simple things, like going to the bathroom or just getting up or sitting down on the bed. Without Bart’s unconditional help, I don’t know how much more pain I would have felt that night!!! I really like to thank him for his extraordinary care he took for me. I also received some interesting medicine from the local doctor which I started to take. Later on that night, Bart mentioned, it is “Friday the 13th”! Well, the fact is that this accident happened that evening, but it could have happened any other day as well. It was entirely my fault since I knew this stairs from before and just didn’t pay enough attention while I was walking down that night.
Moving up into the Tibetan Himalayas – It’s a great feeling.
Nylam, our next stop in Tibet has still some nice Tibetan houses.
Tibetan prayer flags – They shall protect us and provide us with a long life.
Still in a good mood in a cold Tibetan hotel room…
Are these the stairs which will end my 2012 Everest Journey???
Chinese Medicine – “Chocolate” pills and powder and the question was: How to divide the powder into nine equal parts
The next morning, on April 14, I was able to get up and we drove back to Zangmu for an X-ray. Once again, Bart came with me and gave me some moral and physical support. The hospital in Zangmu was definitely an interesting place to see, however, I was not sure if I would like to stay there for too long. The X-ray was till dropping wet when I saw it and the doctor informed me that there is not broken rip or bone. This was good news and I decided to stay in Tibet and see how the pain would feel in the coming days.
he next night was extremely painful again and I decided in the morning of April 15 to go back to Kathmandu for an additional check in a medical clinic there. Kathmandu has a few good hospitals and they have a lot of experience with accidents in the Himalayas. Bart helped me to pack my bags and the jeep brought me back to the border. Once passed the border another jeep was waiting for me. I know that once I will leave Tibet on a expedition group visa, it will not be easy to go back. But at that point, my health was at stake and the pain was so bad that I was not able to carry my own bags. I also needed to know if there is really nothing broken, which means another X-ray or maybe even an Ultrasound to check the tissues.
The three hour ride in a jeep on a bumpy road in Nepal was not the best therapy for my back injury… and once I arrived in the hotel I felt even worse than before. Geljen Sherpa already waited for me and helped me as much as he could. He is such a good person and really showed that he cares for his mountaineering clients more than he really had to! I took a shower and we went to the CIWEC Clinic, a very good hospital in Kathmandu. Unfortunately, there was no power for the X-ray machine in that part of Kathmandu, so I got a first physical check and some medicine and Ibuprofen for the pain. Not something I really like to take, but the pain was so bad that I started that night. Tomorrow morning I will have an appointment at 9:00am at the clinic for the X-ray. Let’s see how it goes from here. At least, I am at lower altitude and in a safe environment. I am sure that things will work out, even if I am not able to meet Chomolungma this year, she will always be there, and a good recovery from the bad fall and the back injury is now a priority!!! Yes, it is the journey, not the destination… and we always experience and learn something new, it does not matter how good or bad it seems to feel at the moment!!!
Hospital in Zangmu – Yes, the X-ray machine did work…
A long way back to Kathmandu…
Goodbye Tibet… I hope to be here again soon…
Back on the bumpy mountain road in Nepal – Not the best therapy for my injured back…