Sunshine English Course II – Lesson 7 The Only Way to See Mt. Everest

Our experiences are getting more and more virtual these days, but there’s no substitute for real experience. In this lesson, you are going to read about two men who 5 chose the hard way to see Mt. Everest by walking 14 days through mud, rain and snow. .

Think about the following questions before you read: Have you ever climbed a mountain? How high was it? 10 Have you ever thought about trying to climb Mt. Everest? What is the difference between watching a baseball

game on TV and seeing it in the stadium?

Ten hours after the start of the first day, I knew I was in trouble. After pulling myself over Nepal’s muddy 15 Himalayan foothills, my legs bent under the weight of my 16-kilogram backpack. It would be dark soon; it was raining and my partner Greg and I were still four hours from our destination. I was certain that the day’s walk was physically the hardest thing I’d ever done -- and we 20 had 13 similar days ahead of us.

What had I gotten myself into?

The short answer was that I was trekking to Kala Patar, a 5,545-meter “hill” that is said to give the best view of Mt. Everest without having to climb it. I’d come seeking an 25 “extreme holiday” where I’d trace the steps of Sir Edmund Hillary and bring away a sense of accomplishment.

The more difficult question was why I wanted to do this. After all, if I had paid 6,200 NPR, I could have seen Everest from a plane. Why endure the grief and sore 30 muscles just to see an 8,848-meter peak? The answer, I learned gradually, was very simple: you do it for the experience.

But on the second day, “experience” was the furthest thing from my mind. After our brutal first day, Greg and I woke 35 with sore muscles, wet clothes and zero enthusiasm. A light rain fell when we started to walk at 7 a.m., and it seemed that the path went straight up!

This forced us to shed some manliness: we decided to walk deliberately slowly. Greg even hired a porter to carry his 40 bag: a 22-year-old Sherpa named Dendi, who grew up in a village along the Everest trail and had only recently started portering to pay for college.

If Dendi carrying Greg’s bag for 300 NPR a day wasn’t enough to stop my complaining, then the sight of Dendi’s 45 colleagues was. Literally thousands of porters clogged the trail, many walking through the mud barefoot. Most carried baskets with tents, supplies and 50-kilogram bags of rice. Now, the complaining really had to stop. I kept my mouth shut ---until the eighth day. 50

On the eighth day, we arrived at Lukla, an “airport” that is little more than a gravel strip on a mountainside. At 2,800 meters, Lukla is where most people begin their treks. By contrast, Greg and I had set out from Jiri, about eight hours from Katmandu by bus. This route is known 55 as “the hard way” with its extra 9,000 meters of climbing.

I felt pity for those fresh-off-the-plane trekkers: They had missed so much. Few hikers set out from Jiri these days,

and as a result, a feeling of friendship develops on the lower trail. Up here, the trail seemed crowded and 60 impersonal. And there was something else -- nobody had sore muscles. I was beginning to understand why I’d come.

After Lukla, the days passed quickly. From 2,800 meters, we climbed to 3,200, then 3,400; 3,700; 4,200; 4,700.... At 4,900 meters, the only outpost was a small settlement 65 called Lobuje. We stayed here on the 13th day and set out early the next morning to challenge Kala Patar through a foot of snow that had fallen the night before.

From Lobuje, the trail continued across glacial rocks with 7,000- and 8,000-meter peaks on either side. After three 70 hours, we arrived at Gorak Shep, a small settlement at the foot of Kala Patar that once served as a base camp for Everest expeditions.

The climb up Kala Patar was strangely similar to my 75 experience on day one: I was sure this was physically the most difficult thing I’d ever done. Though it was only a two-hour walk, it was steep and the thin air made me feel dizzy -- and even consider turning back.

But there was one big difference on the 14th day: When I 80 reached the peak, I didn’t ask questions -- I answered them.

On top of Kala Patar, the view was stunning. Himalayan peaks surrounded me, with Everest looming 10 kilometers away. I sat there for two hours and figured out why I’d 85 come. Flying in a warm plane, close up shots in a comfortable movie theater, even a travel story in a newspaper -- these are not the same as actually doing it yourself. They’re filtered reproductions.

In a world where our experiences are getting more and 90 more virtual, climbing Kala Patar was something authentic. There’s no substitute for real experience, especially the experience of pulling an aching body for 14 days through mud, rain, snow and rock for a glimpse at the highest point on Earth. 95

But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself.