Mt Everest Q&A

I’ve yet to decide if I shall write a book about the expedition. It seems like such a book would be a time consuming proposition. On the other hand there is plenty to say. If any book does exist in the future, my loyal reader(s) will be the fifth to know.

Did you make it to the top?
You will have to read the book should it ever exist. If I eventually give up on the book idea then I will likely write a blog post or two.

What is the food like?
In our case it was absolutely dreadful. Every expedition is responsible for its own food so it is possible to have pleasant meals. But nobody goes up Mt Everest for the dining experience.

The point of eating is to make up for all of those calories lost whilst climbing and to keep you from starving to death. Snacks and sweets are easy to carry and very useful. Meals are very utilitarian. We ate a lot of rice.

Did you get altitude sickness?
Yes. Almost everybody in our party had at least some symptoms. None were fatal and we all got over it quickly enough. Water, oxygen and analgesics are wonderful things.

How do you go to the bathroom?
Very carefully. At base camp it is just like any outdoor wilderness endeavour. Higher up but below the Death Zone it is a simple case of whipping it out and letting it go. There is a simple device for women to urinate man style. Beyond the Death Zone you are better off holding it in. Some people even use incontinence products or simply wet themselves.

How do you bathe?
That is best done at base camp. Beyond that it is difficult and not entirely necessary. When you spend days in a very clean mountain environment you don’t get as dirty as you do in a city environment.

Why does a trip to Everest take so long?
Mt Everest is very high up and nowhere close to where anybody lives. It takes time to get into Nepal and get all of the paperwork approved. It takes time just to get from Kathmandu to your base camp. Those of us who live at lower elevations have to adjust in Kathmandu and then slowly head up to base camp. A fast trip can actually kill people. You are really not supposed to go any higher than 1000 feet per day.

A climb like Everest is also not a simple process of going up and coming down. It requires several ascents and descents at different rates and altitudes to acclimatise. Most of us can do it in two or three months. Very few people can make the trip in one month.

There is also an issue of weather which cannot be ignored. There was a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal which obviously never reached Nepal but it did briefly affect our weather and internet access, which we needed to check the weather.

Some climbs seem like you are at the top but you are really not. Are there any false summits on Mt Everest?
You definitely know when you are not at the top.