Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Thorung La - we make it.
yes, after 9 days of walking, we finally made it over the top. all 5,416m of it - the highest pass in the world.
below, in several stages, is the full story. the yellow t-shirt was left behind but no doubt the reappearance of the head scarf will provide ample amusement...
below, in several stages, is the full story. the yellow t-shirt was left behind but no doubt the reappearance of the head scarf will provide ample amusement...
2. ..... the cold bit in the middle
so after the early days, we found ourselves at an altitude of over 3,000m. this meant that out of direct sunlight, it was cold, very cold. undressing for bed in the evening involved taking off one coat but leaving at least 6 layers on. Showers became improbable, if not impossible - and Courtney decided to simply leave her hat on at all times. We didn't change clothing or even take off our socks for 6 days solid.
the onset of higher altitude brought with it a number of problems and challenges. 4 days of relentless up and down had taken its toll on courtney and the first solution - transferring nearly the entire contents of her backpack to mine - only served to further exhaust me. in a new breach of my socialist principles we decided to hire a porter for the toughest 4 days. karma, the porter, carried most of the stuff, i, some of the remainder and courtney managed her water bottle. he soon grew tired of our slow pace and walked on ahead with his other porter mates.
acclimatising to the altitude would have been difficult under most circumstances but it wasn't helped but the onset of a heavy cough and cold. waking up at altitude you are supposed to feel like you have a hangover - if you have been coughing violently all night then you feel like death warmed up. thankfully we didn't have to walk as far on these days as you are only supposed to sleep 400m higher than the previous night.
being so late in the season meant there were precious few other trekkers. by the final stages we were joined by 2 australian art students (woefully ill prepared for the cold, we felt like proper adults telling them to be sure to buy more clothes), 2 self titled 'old farts' (in reality 69 year old English guys), a Canadian couple from Vancouver and a very annoying and tall Dutch guy.
the onset of higher altitude brought with it a number of problems and challenges. 4 days of relentless up and down had taken its toll on courtney and the first solution - transferring nearly the entire contents of her backpack to mine - only served to further exhaust me. in a new breach of my socialist principles we decided to hire a porter for the toughest 4 days. karma, the porter, carried most of the stuff, i, some of the remainder and courtney managed her water bottle. he soon grew tired of our slow pace and walked on ahead with his other porter mates.
acclimatising to the altitude would have been difficult under most circumstances but it wasn't helped but the onset of a heavy cough and cold. waking up at altitude you are supposed to feel like you have a hangover - if you have been coughing violently all night then you feel like death warmed up. thankfully we didn't have to walk as far on these days as you are only supposed to sleep 400m higher than the previous night.
being so late in the season meant there were precious few other trekkers. by the final stages we were joined by 2 australian art students (woefully ill prepared for the cold, we felt like proper adults telling them to be sure to buy more clothes), 2 self titled 'old farts' (in reality 69 year old English guys), a Canadian couple from Vancouver and a very annoying and tall Dutch guy.
