So here we are at the end of the expedition. Yesterday, the last of our members left Nepal and headed back home to rejoin family and friends. I hope that all those on the expedition had an experience that they will look back upon fondly. As for me, I am back behind my desk, finding it difficult to get accustomed to it again. I just wanted to take this opportunity to reflect upon the expedition.
We spent a total of 53 days in the Khumbu. On the way up, the team stayed at Apa’s Lodge in Thame where Apa and Yangjin, his wife, took good care of us. On our way to base camp, we stopped in Khumjung, Tengboche, Dingboche and Lobuche. The weather was always sunny and warm, the air was crisp and the views were always spectacularly clear. It’s difficult to comprehend that this was two months ago.
The expedition was also filled with trials and tribulation and I am so grateful to Pertemba and Naga Dorji who were always by my side.
We lost one of our climbing Sherpas, Lhakpa Nuru, in an avalanche and despite searching for four days in the ice fall we couldn’t find him to return his body to his family.
Also, Henry had an accident on the way up, as he was going to the summit and Jesse was seriously ill due to medication that was wrongly prescribed to him. They were both in serious condition and I wish them a speedy recovery.
On the other hand, we also had some great moment. When Bill Burke summited on the 23rd, we were all down in base camp hugging each other with joy and I rang the summit bell until the strap broke out of my hand. Unknown to us at the time, Bill became the oldest American to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, at 67 years old. We also had Krushnaa Patil, first girl from the Indian state of Maharashtra to summit Mt. Everest. And our little princess is only 19 years old. Also, Nicholas Cunningham summited on the 21st of may, completing his seven summits. Yury Pritzker also summited on the 21st shooting up the mountain to reach the top in 7 hours from south col. Walter Laserer and Bernice Notenboom summited on the 23rd in the very windy conditions.
Altogether, 11 Sherpas from the Eco Everest Expedition 2009 team Summited, including of course Apa Sherpa, climbing leader for us and breaking his own world record to stand on top for the 19th time. On the top he unfurled the WWF banner which said “Stop Climate Change, Let the Himalayas Live.” He also installed a Bhumpa (holy urn) blessed by the Tengboche Rinpoche, on the top to rejuvenate the sanctity of our mountains so the mountain gods would protect mankind again.
Cash for Trash was also a whopping success this year. We had more than a 150 Sherpas and one foreign climber, Nic, helping to clean the Garbage up.. Though my target was to try to collect 2 tons of garbage, we reached that goal within the first few days of starting the inititiative.
In the end we collected 4646.5 Kilograms of garbage and over a ton of helicopter debris from Mt. Everest. I just received a letter of thanks from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC). I would also like to thank Asian Trekking and The North Face for covering the majority of the costs for the program and to bring the trash down. Cash for Trash would not have been possible without their financial aid. I would also like to thank the WWF for all their encouragement and support.
We also ran the Base Camp Bakery for the third year in a row. It has now sort of become an institution in itself. I heard that people had been dreaming of having an apple pie since they came on the trek. All sales from the bakery was donated to Cash for Trash. The high visibility and opportunities for contact with trekkers and porters made the bakery a very important platform to distribute information and flyers to educate people about the impact of climate change on the Himalayas. I look forward to running the Base Camp bakery again in 2010.
This year was a great success because of the hardwork of so many people. A special mention needs to be made of the Eco Everest Sherpas and especially our Sirdar Naga Dorji. Also, I would like to thank Pertemba, who was the back bone of the entire expedition. Of course, Birbal and his kitchen team did a great job keeping us well fed and strong. Behind the scenes, we had the Asian Trekking staff in the Kathmandu office who were diligently working to make all necessary arrangement for the expedition and keeping us well supplied. A big thanks goes to my father, Ang Tshering, for all his support and for keeping in contact with us regularly.
And finally, a special mention goes to all the members of the expedition. Each person is a fantastic personality and they made this the best expedition I have been on.
May Guru Rinpoche keep you safe in all your future endeavors. I look forward to my next adventure with you guys!
Best Wishes,
Dawa Steven Sherpa
