Engleski A - 2020. ljeto, reading 2.

Climbing Everest

Karen and I have been climbing mountains for the past 10 years. We’ve conquered Aconcagua, Matterhorn and Kilimanjaro. Last year we were climbing Khan Tengri in Asia when an avalanche hit on the other side of the mountain killing eleven. It didn’t scare us because climbing is all about preparation and tactics.

For example, on Khan Tengri there are always more people climbing from the south, although we can’t understand why since the southern side is very avalanche-prone. This is why we chose to climb north. It’s more technical, but the last day of the climb, called summit day, is the same for both routes, reasonably steep and difficult. However, there are factors beyond anyone’s control in mountaineering, but that’s true of everything in life.

After years of climbing, we finally had the time and funds to attempt Mt Everest, every mountaineer’s dream. Friends told us it would be a hard test for our relationship because climbing can put you in some pretty intense situations. However, unlike some of the people we’d climbed with who fought all the time, we considered ourselves quite experienced when it came to making tough decisions. And we never fought unless we were extremely tired. We might have had lengthy debates, but we talked them out and resolved the problems. And each time we learned a little more about ourselves and each other.

After deciding to climb the big E, we started to prepare seriously. We went to the gym every day and were advised yoga was a must for building up our self-confidence. Having prior experience at high altitudes was key, though. Both of us had gone up just over 7000 metres twice without any unusual effects and we believed we knew how our bodies reacted to the lack of oxygen and the acclimatisation process. Special training for altitude, however, would have been very useful, providing its effects didn’t last for only a short time.

We arrived in Kathmandu in April and flew into the mountains to Lukla a few days later than planned due to strong winds. From there it took us 10 days to trek to base camp, carrying all our equipment in very low temperatures of minus 40 degrees, not uncommon even in May. A base camp is where you spend your time adjusting to the high altitudes and preparing for the last climbing phase. There we experienced another delay due to a leaking oxygen tank, which we needed for going above 8000 meters.

While we were waiting for it to be replaced, our expedition, consisting of 4 people, us and two guides, spent time planning, talking and playing cards together. We knew people from several other expeditions there. However, because moving around base camp, which can have up to 200 people in it and is quite spread out, is difficult at high altitudes, communication between teams is difficult even with each team’s immediate neighbours. As a result, we used the internet to get updates about their plans.

On May 20th we set off from base camp on our final climb to the top. After 3 days of climbing in difficult weather, we were ready for summit day. We started early and moved fast. We had discussed our goals for the last day before hitting the slopes. Karen usually led and set the pace, but after weeks of climbing, we agreed we’d swap roles at regular intervals. If things went badly, and she started to lose enthusiasm, I’d be the motivator. But they didn’t. On May 24th we finally made it to the summit.