This autumn another dream of mine is coming
true, I am going to Nepal, and to Himalaya. As you know I´ve been dreaming of
seeing the Himalayan mountains for a very very long time, and especially to see
the mountain of my dreams: Ama Dablam. Someday I know I will climb this
beautiful “Mother with the necklace”, but have been told by a good friend to
not take any decisions until I´ve seen it with my own eyes. Some people are
scared only by the look of it, and some fall in love. In my heart I know I will
not get scared, but… you never know, do you?
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| Packed and ready |
Friday 24th October 2014 I started
my journey to Nepal. Before this trip, I´ve had done massive preparations;
packing and repacking, buying gear, preparing mentally, focusing, reading and
much more. But somehow when the flight took off I felt like the smallest person
in the world on the way to something huge and unknown. I have been dreaming of
Nepal and Himalaya for so many years… and have not yet been brave enough to
actually book a trip. It probably sounds strange, but I just know I will fall
in love, and it will be hard, and sad to leave again. Well, now I am going, and
there are no ways back. Let´s continue on my journey.
My first stop was in Copenhagen (CPH), I landed
a few minutes (!) late and the screen displaying my next flight already said
“Boarding”, shit – I needed to run! Luckily I know the airport pretty well so I
set forth and ran the fastest I could. Of course I landed at a gate on the
opposite side of where I now was flying from so it was a long run, but I made
it, and was rewarded with not only one familiar face, but with two! Janus and
Lars from Elbrus last summer was sitting there with big smiles on their faces
In total we were 17 participants on this
trip, all excited and ready for the mountains. Our super team consisted of;
Lars and Janus which I´d already met on Elbrus, Hans Henrik and Marjun, Mogens
and Susanne, Morten and Ulla, Gitte and Anne-Sofie, Jens, Mark, Dennis, Merdad
and the “lover doctors” Erik and Ana-Marija who celebrated their honeymoon. All
were super-sweet people with big hearts and passion. This would just be a
fantastic trip!
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| Kathmandu |
Saturday 25th October we finally
landed in crazy chaosy Kathmandu. Our first meeting with Nepal was to find the
right form to get through border control… and a line longer than the Norwegian
border to get to the “stamp” people. But we all made it, and we also all had
our luggage – hip hurray! Outside waiting for us stood, guess who?! Correct; my
dear friend and yet again Tourleader; Jakob Urth. I was so happy to see him
again. He´ll play a central role in fulfilling one part of my big future dream,
and soon, very soon, we´ll come very close to what it is, and if it can be
possible.
In Kathmandu we checked into our hotel, and
went out in the busy city. Kathmandu is like a mix of everything, loads of
people, noise, horns, cars and motorcycles, strange smells, dust, hippies, mountain
climbers, kids, tons and tons of gear-shops, running water and much more. I
just loved it - narrow busy streets with happy smiley people everywhere. We
organized gear for the ones needing that, and had a yummy Indian dinner before
going to bed. Even though I was very tired after the long journey, I couldn’t
stop thinking about where I was, and what was to come. In just a few days I
would see some of the magical mountains I´ve been dreaming of for so long. And…
one more thing that made it difficult to sleep… tomorrow we should fly to
Lukla, in a tiiiiiiiny airplane…
Sunday 26th October
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| You can see the tiny landing strip |
We had an early breakfast, and drove to the
airport. This time to the domestic part… it looked nothing at all like an
airport, more like an old fashion car rental place. With small stalls
displaying the airlines, and a nice chaos. We checked in to Tara Airlines, and
before we knew it we (or 12 of us) sat in a mini airplane, excited for what to
come. I had first row, and could literally touch the pilots if I wanted to. It felt
like I was sitting in the cockpit with them. Brummmm and we took of, MY GOSH,
what a small flying object this was! I was pretty nervous in the start, but
after watching the pilots eat, laugh and what seemed to relax, I also managed
to relax and enjoy the view. We flew low, between mountains and hills, and we
got to see some snowcapped tops in the horizon – breathtaking! Then… suddenly,
out of the cockpit window I saw the landing strip, and was nervous all over
again… are we really going to land THERE? It´s UPHILL??!! I was stoked, my
heart banged and I needed to take another look at the pilots… again, smile on
their faces and calm… I was reassured once again and managed to film the entire
landing. I can only say I was very relieved when the plane stopped and we were
out on firm ground again.
Lukla, 2850m, wow, you could just feel the
excitement and tension – finally, now our adventure really starts!
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| Mani stone and prayer flags |
This first day we hiked to Phakding, it
started downhill and continued in forests, along a river, over hanging bridges
and through small cozy towns. Everywhere we met smiley people, cows and other
animals. We saw prayer flags, prayer wheels, stupas, manistones and temples.
When passing these we were instructed to always pass them on the left side, for
good karma. That became a mantra for me, and I do not think I missed a single
one, at least not with purpose. I need all the good karma I can get.
In Phakding, 2640m, we checked into our first teahouse, or lodge
as it is also called. These are small “hotels”, owned by a family who also run
it. It is just fantastic. Small rooms with a bed, shared toilet and a warm and
homely living room, often with a fireplace, or stove. We got a lovely dinner,
and went to bed, tired after our first journey with loads of expressions.
The next day (Mon. 27th Oct.) we
started early, and had a long journey upwards to Namche Bazaar, 3450m, where we´ll spent two nights. It is strange,
we go slow and steady carrying only our small backpack, and next to us goes
porters with heavy loads on their backs in sandals, walking fast and almost not
breathing at all. They are just so strong!
Today we saw more villages, lovely cute kids,
more hanging bridges and mountains with snow… wow… we are really in Himalaya! I
kept asking our Sherpas when we would be out of the forest… I mean, there are
trees everywhere! And they assured me tomorrow, from Namche Bazaar I would see
more mountains, and from then no more forest, only smaller bushes and stuff… I
cannot wait!
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| Namche Bazaar |
Namche Bazaar is a small lively city with
small shops, coffeshops, pharmacies and even bars. In the middle of nothing it
appears and looks beautiful! We checked into a super lodge, and some of us got
a shower – looooovely! Later we walked around a bit, but went to bed early
today also. I am now so excited and I almost cannot sleep, tomorrow I´ll see
the mountain of my dreams for the first time… I´ve only seen pictures and
youtube videos, thousands of them, and finally, tomorrow she´ll appear for my
own eyes… do you think I slept at all?!
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| Beautiful Ama Dablam |
Early next morning (Tue. 28th
Oct.) we slowly walked up to a vantage point… and on the way, around a corner I
could see Ama Dablam! Myyyyy gosssshhhhh – I´ve been waiting for this moment
for years, and there, far far away she stood, almost shining the morning light.
I couldn´t do anything than stand still and look… and ask myself… is it scary?
I decided not to answer that yet, as I knew we´d come closer later on our
journey ;)
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| Everest in the middle |
From the vantage point we could also see
Mount Everest, and what a view that also is. It´s breathtaking to know you are
looking at the world’s highest point, and it looked beautiful.
We went back, had breakfast and wandered on a
new hiking trip to gain some altitude for our acclimatization. And what do you
think we saw (you´ll get sick of reading about this all the time, but I just
have to….)? Yeah, you´ve guessed it; Ama Dablam, this time in full view. I
could just sit there in the sunlight forever dreaming and thinking, is it
something for me? Can I do it? How can I do it? Can I plan it? How can I plan
it? I have one million questions, and just not single answer… more about that
later.
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| Ama Dablam |
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| Edmund Hillary |
After a long time in front of Ama Dablam we
continued to Kunde, a small community with a hospital where we got to talk to a
young New Zealander doctor who told us all about it. It is funded by a foundation in New Zealand,
and receives no support from the Nepali government, very strange in my eyes…
but it works, and all Nepali are treated for free. They deliver babies, perform
small operations and fix people who are sick. They even have x-ray and
ultrasound machines! It´s just amazing how it works, even with so little
resources. I´m so happy they let us in, and that we could see this amazing
place.
We continued on our journey through a school
area funded Edmund Hillary and other climbers, and then back to Namche Bazaar.
What a rewarding day! I slept like a baby J
Wednesday 29th October we
continued upwards, and this time to Thyangboche, 3860m. When walking we could
see Ama Dablam getting closer and closer, and also mighty Mt.Everest standing
tall in front. It´s surreal, we are really walking in Nepal, and I can really
see these mountains with my own eyes… I needed to pinch myself more than once
to reassure myself it was not just a dream.
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| Tyangboche |
Tyangboche lies on the top of a hill, and the
view from here is breathtaking. In the middle of it all lays a huge temple,
which we visited during their afternoon prayers. That was a very special experience.
The monks sat around the head-monks, or Lamas, and prayed. The feeling was tense,
calm, strange and as mentioned very special. We sat there for a long while
listening, before going back to our lodge. After dinner we went outside to look
at the bright and clear stars. It´s was as always when being at a high altitude
– magnificent!
Thursday (30th) already and only a
short walk to Pangboche, 3980m, where we´d stay two nights to acclimatize
further. I´ve heard a lot about this place since it´s literally next door to
Ama Dablam. From the lodge living room window we had panorama view directly to
it. Just amazing.
The first thing I did when arriving was to
have another shower, count the days and you´ll see it´s not many of them ;) But
I must say, it´s such a privilege it´s even possible to have showers up here.
There is no electricity except for solar power, so the water is either heated
by the sun, or by gas, and all equipment has been carried all the way from
Lukla. Thank you!
In the afternoon we went to a temple in the
hope to meet a Lama who would give blessings to our, and to our Sherpas next
journey. No Sherpa will ever climb any mountain unless they´ve been given a
blessing. I felt excited, nervous and strange going towards the temple. What
would happen? Would I understand what he said? Am I suited to meet a Lama?
Loads of thoughts… We met the Lama in a temple in his house. What a place! This
particular Lama had what seemed to millions of pictures of men and women
standing on summits on his wall. I could just feel the atmosphere, the
quietness, and the belief. It was like stepping into a different world full of
happiness, joy, sorrow and deep feelings at once. I´ve never seen or felt a
place like that before, and I did not know how to react. The Lama started to
talk to our Sherpas, they sometimes laughed and sometimes were very
concentrated. A girl translated some of what he said, and let us knew what he
said. We were handed out a card with a mantra on, and were told to share this
with anyone we met, our family and our pets. Om mani padme hum… om mani padme
hum… this is also the words written on prayer wheels and mani stones.
Before we went to visit the Lama, Jakob gave
us a white delicate silk scarf that we should use to give our donations in. One
by one we walked up to the Lama, he took the scarf and gave back to us around
the neck…. Then he took a yellow string and also knotted around our neck while
saying some words in Sanskrit. This was the blessing, and the yellow string
should stay on as long as necessary, for good karma. I trembled and it felt
hard to breathe… a very tense and special feeling… afterwards when we left we
were all quiet and numb. What did just happen?
Now finally, early morning the 31st
October we headed towards Ama Dablam basecamp at 4600m. Today was the day,
today I would get as close as possible to this mountain and could take in the
feelings, thoughts and expressions…. Maybe after today I would know for sure if
this could be my next project, my next goal…
We walked for what seemed to be forever,
slowly getting closer and closer and then we suddenly was there! Just in front
of the mighty magnificent Ama Dablam… so close but still so insanely far away…
I kept asking myself; can I really come back for this?
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| Ama Dablam basecamp |
The basecamp was full of tents, some coming
some going, and some staying. You could feel the “basecamp feeling” at once.
It´s full of tension in the air, but also relaxing… some are up on the
mountain, some will go tomorrow… some in a few days, some in a few weeks… I
always wonder; who are they? Why did they choose this mountain? Do they have
the same feelings inside as myself? Are they young or older? Experienced? What
type of training did they do? What type of expedition? You all know me,
thousand of questions… I was lucky to meet a Norwegian expedition, and talked
to a few of them. They were all very excited and ready for the challenge.
Unfortunately we learned their journey was cancelled later on, and they climbed
another mountain instead.
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| Frozen sleeping bag in the morning |
When bedtime came Gitte, Jakob and myself
decided to sleep outside. That was a new experience for me, and I honestly
thought I´s freeze to death. But believe it or not, it was not cold at all! We
had a lovely time, drinking tea, eating cheese and watching the starts and
mighty Ama Dablam in the moonlight, before falling to sleep.
Saturday 1st November was the
hardest day for me this trip. First we walked forever to get to Chukhung, 4730m,
beautiful and lovely but for a very long time… and then in the afternoon, without
any significant food except snacks, to “climb high, sleep slow”, we walked
upwards on
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| Marjun and Hans Henrik |
Chukhung Ri to above 5000 + meter. I was extremely hungry, extremely
tired and extremely exhausted when we finally started descending. I do not even
know how high we were, only that we didn´t reach the summit. It was dark, windy
and freezing cold, but at least I managed to join all the way, with the mantra;
“only you set your own limits”. And of
course, after dinner when the blood sugar levels (I have self declared hypo
glycaemiaJ) were back to normal I felt energized and good again. This night
I slept in a room just above the kitchen (read: with a stove), and it was the
best night in long time – warm and cozy :)
From this point, or actually already from
when we left Pangboche, the only mountain and focus in my mind would be Island
Peak. This is what I am here for, and this is what now requires all effort,
energy and time. I´ll come back to my Ama Dablam thought process later.
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| Island Peak |
Island Peak is a wonderful “small” mountain
located in the end of the Khumbu valley, and has it´s name because it appears as an
island in a sea of ice when viewed from Dingboche (we had lunch there). I say
“small” because it is surrounded by much higher mountains like Ama Dablam,
Lhotse with it´s massive south wall, Nupse and many others. Still it is a
challenge as it is high, 6189amsl, and we need to climb an approx. 70m (+/-)
wall of snow and ice to reach the summit. I´ve seen numerous videos of this,
and must admit it looks challenging and cool. I couldn´t wait to get started :)
Next stop was our basecamp, and that´s where
we headed on Sunday 2nd November. From now we would sleep in tents,
close to the nature, mountain and stars. This is almost the best thing with
trips like this; it is just so peaceful and somewhat “raw”.
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| Lhotse´s south wall |
Today felt so much better than yesterday, and
we were a happy bunch slowly walking upwards. At this altitude, walking towards
5100m, you can feel the lack of oxygen, and things just take longer. This
however gives time to enjoy the view, and boy what a scenery we´re walking in!
To the right we had Ama Dablams “backside”, in the front Island Peak and the
end wall of Khumbu walley, and to the left… Lhotse´s impressive south wall.
It´s huge! We felt so tiny walking next to this 8000m+ wall of rock, snow and
ice. We´ve heard some Koreans are, or have been trying climbing it just now.
That is amazing. I cannot believe there might be someone on that wall this
minute.
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| Base camp |
After a few hours we reached our basecamp,
and got installed in the tents. Since I am number 17 of the group, and it is an
uneven number, I was given a tent all by myself. This gave me plenty of room
for all my gear, and loads of space to roll around on.
We had lunch and then 3 of the ladies on team
left us, and went back to Chukhung. They´d decided this was it for them, and to
continue would be too hard. Their husbands would continue, so it was a goodbye
full of feelings when the ladies turned around and started descending.
Hopefully when we´d see them again, it will be with big smiles on our faces and
a summit experience richer.
Next morning Monday 3rd November
we geared up with all of our climbing stuff, and did some training. I´d looked
forward to this, and with good reason, this was fun! As you know I´ve been
climbing a lot, and fully trust my harness, ropes and carbines. This is an
advantage, as you move easier, and do not waste energy or effort in being
scared of falling. We practiced using the jumar, changing ropes, traversing and
then rappelled down. I loved it! While waiting Mark and I also learned a
“Sherpa dance” which we danced hanging in our harnesses – brilliant :D
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| Mark and I learned a Sherpa dance :) |
After lunch we climbed to high camp, 5700m,
to have a look and to get more of the climb high, sleep low. Tomorrow we´ll
take all our gear and sleep up here… tomorrow… the summit day is really just
around the corner… on the way back, and in the tent this night was the time to
do some reflection… am I ready? Do I feel OK? Energized? I used a long time organising everything, and thought about the last few days. I do feel ready, energised and fit for fight, I´ve been walking slow, in the back (as always)
and saved my energy the entire trip so far. I´ve been drinking loads of fluids,
slept well and eat well. I managed the training and felt strong doing it, the
last climb to high camp also felt fine, and I had no problems going up, nor
going down. Before I fell asleep I concluded with this being the best
acclimatization I´ve ever had, and that the next 40hours would, probably, be
the best in my life. Again, I slept like a baby :)
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| Pumping water |
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| High camp |
Now the fun, and fight really started… we
woke up, and immediately started organizing gear (which I´d did the previous
night already :)) and pack the tents. We headed towards high camp after lunch, and
you could just feel the tension and excitement in the air – this was the start
of the summit push! When reaching high camp we got installed in our tents and
climbed into our sleeping bags. We were served tea, and dinner in our tents and
as soon as the sun went down the camp was quiet. It is important to save all
energy you can before attempting a summit climb, eat, drink, sleep, pee and
repeat… That was our mantra now, and also what we did. Just before 1am our
lovely Sherpas came with tea and porridge and 2am we where organized and ready
to go. It was a brilliant weather for a summit climb, clear starry sky, no
winds, and believe it not, almost warm. Poor Jens had gone sick during the
night, so he had to stay behind… it sucks when things like that happen, but
safety must come first.
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| Photo by Mark Brahms |
Slowly, slowly we started ascending… this is
it, this is what all the training, walking, eating, drinking and preparation
has been for. It happens now, in the dark, in a country long away from home,
days walking from civilization. This is our fight, our mission and where to
prove our strength. I love it, every step is lovely, it is hard, dark and you
feel the high altitude. But you know you can do it, and you do. Step by step,
first the goal is the sunrise. From then everything is just easier as the mood automatically
lightens with the sun. Approximately the same time as the sun came up; we
reached what is called crampon point. From here we put on
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| Photo by Mark Brahms |
harness and crampons,
and where split into three teams and connected to ropes. Now we walked on snow
and ice and could clearly see why ropes were needed. The glacier had crevasses
so deep we couldn’t see the end of it, shiny blue ice just lurking underneath
us. It took some time to get past the glacier area, and then… suddenly the
“wall” appeared in front
of us. Wow!! It looked huge! Big, white and massive –
at this point your energy is low and the brain starts to play tricks with your
mind; “it´s too hard… look at it, you cannot do it, you need to turn around…
why are you doing this? It hurts… it would be better to lay in your sleeping
bag, warm and cozy…. turn around, turn around”. But… these feelings are exactly
why climbing mountains are such a big part of my life. To be able to push
through, continue and conquer these feelings. It is hard, and yes it hurts, but
I know I am strong enough, I know I am able to and I know I can do it, I just
need to do it.
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| The wall... the tiny black dots you see are people... |
We hooked onto the rope and slowly started
the steep climb upwards the wall. The key is to find a rhythm, a pace working
for you and continue with this again and again. For me it was, jumar up, then
iceaxe, one step with each foot and over again. The wall looked like going on
forever, hard and challenging… “come on Katrin” I told myself, “you can do 10 steps before
taking a break”… breathing like crazy I pushed through. There where stops along
the way were we clipped of the current rope, and onto the next. At one of these
points I used some time to remove some clothes… this was warm! So, finally, like
a poooff, there was the end and there was Jakob and Kaji waiting – I did it!!
What happened next was like being in a dream, they hooked me to the safety
line, and Jakob took my hand and we walked… it felt like a long walk but was
only a few meters… on the ridge towards the flowing flags, and then I was on
the summit! Wow, summit, I MADE IT!!!!!! What a wonderful feeling, I was
standing there in the middle of Himalaya with millions of mountains around me,
on the top of a super hard climb smiling from ear to ear with tears in my eyes.
It´s indescribable… This is just the best feeling in the world :)
One by one the rest of the team came up, and
they were all so happy and proud. One of them made me cry all over
again. I will never ever forget the look at his face, the relief, happiness and
energy shining from him. He had had the fight of his life, and he made it, he
conquered and he was so proud… and I knew so well how he was feeling.
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| Amazing photo of a happy Hans Henrik taken by Mark Brahms |
I can only imagine how Jakob must feel when
his plan succeeds and we reach the summit. It must be the best felling in the
world for him as well :)
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| Photo by Ana-Marija Hristovska |
The whole team spent a long time on the
summit, cheering hugging and enjoying the victory, before starting on
descending. Now our rappelling practice would be taken into use, and even
though the lack of energy was a fact we all came down feeling super happy,
super proud and with new knowledge about of we cope with this type of
challenges. I dare to say we all came down as new and better human beings.
Now back in Norway I´ve had time to reflect
and think. This trip has by far been the best I´ve ever been to. The team
worked well together, we supported each other all the way and had tons of fun.
It was a sad moment when leaving them all in Copenhagen, and I´ll miss every
one of them… hopefully we´ll meet again
on other mountains, or on other trips. We´ve just experienced so much together…
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| Kaji and Jakob |
Thank you so much to Topas Travel for making
this trip possible for us. Thank you to Exodus and the Sherpas, Yakman, chef´s
and all others with Kaji Sherpa as the leader for being there for us all the
way, and for sharing all your knowledge about mountains and Nepal culture. It
has been a privilege spending so much time with you. One thing I´ll never
forget is how you corrected me when I said Makalu looked like a scary mountain…
“Never tell yourself that anything is scary, then it will be scary. Never tell
yourself that anything is impossible; then it will be impossible. Believe you
can do it. Your mind is powerful, stay positive and happy and you can do
anything you want”
Thank you to the amazing team making this an
amazing trip – I´ll miss every one of you!
And of course, to Jakob Urth; you are just
the most amazing and experienced tourleader anyone can ever have… your
knowledge, passion and respect for what you´re doing is almost indescribable.
You believe in and see each an every one of us, and share so much of yourself
and your knowledge that you makes us believe everything is possible. This trip
would not have been the same without you. From the bottom of my heart; thank
you for the best trip of my life :)
To close this chapter and to start a new…
I´ve been in my head discussing and thinking, reflecting and pondering… and
I´ve finally decided… Ama Dablam will be my next goal. It´ll require hard
training, focus, blood and tears, but this time next year, together with Jakob
Urth as my mentor and leader, I´ll be in Nepal once again living one of my
biggest dreams…
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| My dream... |
