Townsman, 1991-07, Page 15glacier, the trail follows a trough
beside the Khumbu Glacier and then
winds up through the terminal
moraine of another tributary glacier. It
leads to an arca known as Kala Pattar,
where there arc a couple of rounded
hills and a higher, cairn -topped peak.
From the peak, at 18,450 feet (5,624
metres) the view of the Khumbu ice -
fall, Everest's south col and her west
and south faces is unrivalled. Indeed,
the view in every direction is sheer
wonderment. It is considered one of
the most majcstic mountain view-
points in the world.
For their assent the Khumbu five
left Lobuche in darkness at 5:10 a.m.
About 8 a.m., not far from the frozen
lake near Gorak Shep, they heard an
avalanche but didn't see it. As Kala
Pattar got close their pace got slower
and by the time the peak was reached,
What the air
lacked in oxygen
it made up for
in panorama
shortly after 10 a.m., this had become
the most physically -demanding day of
their lives. But what the air lacked in
oxygen it made up for in panorama, a
scene that overpowers most photogra-
phers and wordsmiths. By 11 a.m. the
wind was picking up and the tempera-
ture falling. The hike back to Lobuche
was in chilling winds under mostly
overcast skies.
Four days later the group had
walked back to Lukla, dirty and, after
three weeks on foot, ready to fly back
to Kathmandu. But not before meeting
Peter Hillary at Tengboche and his
father Edmund at Lukla. Both chance
encounters, it was like running into
Gordie and Mark Howe at a sporting
goods store. The senior Hillary (now
Sir Ed and now 73 years old) made
mountaineering history when he and
Tenzing Norgay became the first to
reach the summit of Everest on May
29, 1953. He has since devoted much
of his life to improving the standard
of living for the impoverished
Nepalese by building schools and hos-
pitals and by starting reforestation
programs. He was back in the country
to help open a school. Peter Hillary,
also a mountaineer, has climbed Ever-
est as well. On this occasion he was in
Nepal as a celebrity trekking guide
with a group out of Australia.
From the mountainside gravel strip
at Lukla, it is about a 45 -minute plane
ride back to Kathmandu. Plenty of
time for yet another view of some
peaks and valleys in the Nepal
Himalaya. And somewhere below, a
lurching, wheezing bus, loaded with
gear and great expectations, is grind-
ing its way to Jiri.
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