Everest Base Camp Adventure, In the End it Falls Apart
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It always amazes me how strong the mind can be.
Deb at Mt Everest Base Camp!
It was clear that we put all fatigue and pain out of our mind until we reached our goal of Reaching Mount Everest Base Camp. We had been feeling good most of the trek up. Sure, I was suffering from a cold that I have had since Delhi and Dave had diarrhea and loss of appetite for the past 3 days, but we never let that slow us down. We stayed focused and made it to Base Camp with big smiles and lots of energy.
It was a little while after coming back down from Base Camp to Gorepshep to rest that things fell apart.
Sickness taking it's toll on the trail!
I made a big mistake trekking before my respiratory infection cleared up. I had this cold for almost 3 months from the pollution of India and I had tried every antibiotic under the sun to fix it. It was clear that I was never going to breathe freely until we got home, so we pushed ahead. We hoped that my lungs would clear in the mountains, but the cold dry air and yak dung fires just made everything worse.
Resting at Gorepshep after Reaching Everest Base Camp
Suddenly my head started pounding as I sat by the Yak Dung Stove. Our guest house had some kind of gas leak that was awful to smell and caused an instant headache. Normally Dave calls me the “bionic nose” because I smell things that others don’t, but today…he smelled the gas too.
Our guide sitting around the infamous Yak Dung Stove.
I went to lie down and when I woke up a little while later my sinuses were completely blocked and in severe pain. It is hard enough catching your breath at 5100 metres let alone trying to breathe with a plugged nose. My right ear was also blocked and I started feeling very claustrophobic.
After I sat up and blew my nose, large clots of blood kept coming out. It was very scary especially when my nose started bleeding on its own. Dave was in the Buddha Guesthouse next door which was so much cozier than ours. He was having a great conversation with a guy about trekking around the region which I rudely interrupted. I needed some sympathy and I needed it now. He consoled me outside in the cold as I whimpered in his arms and told me everything would be O.K.
We went back inside our guest house for dinner and as our food came, I couldn’t stomach the site of it. Dave suddenly didn’t feel well either. We blamed it on the gas leak.
We both went to bed without touching our food and hoped that some sleep would make things better.
It didn’t help
Dave was up all night running to the toilet with diarrhea and I was so claustr0phobic that I had to sleep with my headlamp on. Being stuffed up, having trouble catching my breath and not hearing well made me afraid of the dark! I was on the verge of a panic attack.
Nice Tea House Toilet!!
I ruined what little sleep Dave managed to get between trips to the toilet by blowing my nose and blubbering like a baby.
Our guide, Dipendra brought us some fruit and a thermos of hot water. Both helped immensely. But I still couldn’t clear my nose and Dave still couldn’t stop running to the bathroom.
We made it through the long night and actually discussed going up to Kala Pathar to get a better view of Mount Everest. It is supposed to be a beautiful lookout point and we didn’t want to miss it. Dave was feeling much better and I could at least breath now.
To Kalapatar or not?
By the time we packed our bags and got dressed, we decided that we just didn’t have the energy to face the two hour climb. I was still stuffed up and Dave pretty fatigued from lack of sleep, food and dehydration. Neither of us were in any shape to give a pep talk and pump each other up for the climb.
We decided to go down to a lower altitude and get well.
Once the decision was made, we discussed going down as far as possible. It was going to be a long day, but it is better to be safe and at a reasonable altitude than sitting at almost 5000 meters to face another miserable night.
Our Everest Base Camp Adventure was coming to an end.
We pushed on for several hours to Pangboche at 3800 meters. I was miserable. My nose hurt, my throat hurt and I was exhausted. I was not fun to be around at all and I couldn’t speed up my walking to make the day go faster. Dave was strong and feeling better by the hour.
By the time we got to Pangboche, he was sitting in the tea house eating a big meal with our new friend Bobby from Florida. I however, wasn’t faring as well and went straight to bed. I was stuffed up again and feeling claustrophobic again and had to sleep with my headlamp on again!
The one shining moment was that we finally had our first shower in days. Our guest house had a solar shower and the hot water felt amazing for the brief moment that it lasted.
The next three days were rough. My nose kept filling up with blood clots and my symptoms just refused to get any better.
I just wanted off that mountain
Things got better when we met Monique at Phunki Thenga the day before we returned to Namche Bazaar. She is a wonderful 65 year old woman from Switzerland that has been coming to Nepal for 14 years. “Nothing to worry about” She said. “A bloody nose is not a sign of anything serious. Once you get down to warmer and more humid weather you will feel better.” I think that is all I needed to hear, because my spirits were raised. She gave me some salve for my chest and cream for my nose and I slept much better that night.
Dave slept better too without having to sleep with the light on 
We were feeling blue about not going to Kalu Patar to view the Mount Everest peak . We both hate not succeeding at our goals. But hey, at least we made it to Base Camp and until we started to descend, the trip to Everest was fun, festive and fabulous!
23 Responses to Everest Base Camp Adventure, In the End it Falls Apart
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Ugh – I couldn’t imagine having sinus issues and climbing to the basecamp! I’m glad to hear that things got better but sad to hear you couldn’t make it up to Kala Pathar.
.-= Bryan @ Tourfolio.com´s last blog ..5 Delicious Restaurants in Samara, Costa Rica =-.
Thanks Bryan. Yep the sinus infection sucked.
I’m glad to hear you are both feeling better. That must have been a scary situation but be proud of yourselves that you made it through! I think you absolutely made the right choice in taking care of yourselves rather than pushing on. Get yourselves well for the next adventure!
.-= Alison´s last blog ..Sardinia – Lago Baratz and Porto Ferro =-.
Aww, so glad that this is past and I know you are all better now. Def better choice that you took care of yourself – it’s an amazing feat that you made it to base camp!
.-= Shannon OD´s last blog ..A Little Tour…Coffee’s Amazingness Knows No Bounds =-.
Thanks Shannon. Yep, we are all better and comfy and cozy now:)
Sorry you guys didn’t complete all your goals. But, I think you made the right choice. If you don’t feel well, there’s no point in slogging it through. Congrats on making it to Base Camp!
.-= Akila´s last blog ..the color of resiliency =-.
Thanks Akila, now that we are down we aren’t so bummed about not going to Kala Patthar. We said, who even knows what that is at home. Everyone knows base camp though:)
You absolutely made the right decision – it’s so important to listen to your body and hear what it’s telling you….those that don’t are the ones who are often don’t survive, and leave the rest of us wondering why they weren’t smarter…..besides, who knows what your future holds? You may yet make it back to Kala Pathar, which will always be there waiting. A goal postponed is still a goal, and sometimes feels even better when “someday” comes and you finally do make it.
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..Travel Contest: The Blog Hop is On! =-.
Thanks Trisha. It is very true. When you hear the stats or read the stories, it is the stubborn people that end up dying. Not that anything was that serious for us, but just saying that yes, you have to listen to your body. I read in the guide book that most deaths occur in large groups because people are too proud to admit that they are not feeling well to the others in the party. They don’t want to appear weak. But health and safety should be the number one concern. We could have easily not written about Kala Patthar and not admitted that we had even planned on going there. Many people go with just the goal of going to Base Camp, but it is important to let people know that it is not the end of the world and it is O.K. to turn back.
You are right, we are planning on going back one day. We want to do the 3 passes and that will take us to Kala Pathar again in the future.
Sorry to hear that things took a turn at the end, but you made it to Base Camp. And when you are at altitude like that and in a remote place it’s better to take care of your health first. Hope you’re feeling better by now!
.-= Audrey´s last blog ..Antarctica, Part 4: An Audio Slideshow =-.
Thanks Audrey. All better now. It was just scarier at altitude I think. I literally couldn’t breathe out of my nose, so half of my breathing was gone and you know how hard it is to catch your breath at 5000 meters let alone when you are congested. In retrospect, I am glad that we came down. You never know what can happen up there.
Base camp of Everest is still more than most people will ever see. Being sick means you won’t enjoy the experience as much.
Sounds like you just had a dry nose that easily bleed in the high altitude. Glad it was nothing serious.
.-= brian´s last blog ..Thailand Protests 2010 – When Violence Breaks Out, Can/Should You Still Travel There? =-.
You are right Brian, it was just a sore way up in my nose. It just kept plugging and making it difficult to breathe at altitude. Once we got off the mountain, it healed in a few days.
Base camp at Mt. Everest! Now that’s an adventure I would like to go to.
- John
John, you should do it. We highly recommend the Base Camp trek.
I’m a little behind in my blog rounds but wanted to say congrats to making it to base camp!
.-= Gourmantic´s last blog ..Useful Tahitian Words and Phrases =-.
Oddly enough, this happened to us as well. We coined it the “Mumbai cough” as every city after left us feeling raspy. Jonathan actually went to the hospital in Pokhara just before our trek (Khopra in the Annapurnas) for a chest x-ray. He was loaded up with drugs the entire trek. And just when he was getting better, I got it! Still, you just can’t beat trekking in Nepal … illness and all!
@Britt and Jonathan Very true. Once we got the cough we could never get rid of it. Anytime we were in even the slightest pollution we hacked our lungs out. I should have gone to a doctor in Nepal before the trek. I heard one guy talking at our guest house about cortizone shots to clear up his cough from pollution. So true though, trekking in Nepal is awesome.
Your adventure sounds amazing. Be proud that you made it to base camp
.-= Nancie (Ladyexpat)´s last blog ..Wanderfood Wednesday &8212 Delicious Ramen in Fukuoka =-.
I am traveler based in Nepal.You might be surprised to hear that I am Nepali and am traveler as I am pretty sure that you have encountered Nepali people travelling just for profession on the Everest trail and other trekking region and all.But its different story with me.I am beginner with travel blogging and when looked more about it,I discovered your site and mostly as I prefer adventure travel,I clicked adventure section of your site and found this article.Article is really good mentioning facts about trekking in higher altitude.Early last year I just crossed across 2000km long Great Himalaya Trail-Nepal (www.suniltamang.com)section alone and is wonderful and challenging.I recommend to try once.
Thanks Thru-Hiker and good luck with your new blog. Make sure to keep in touch and let us know how the new blogging goes. Hopefully we will run into somewhere in the world during our travels.
Wow! I hear altitude sickness is serious business and this sounds like quite the unpleasant experience! Had you guys spent much time at high altitudes before? I spent years of my childhood living in the Andes at around 3,048 meters and then in 2010 spent some time in the Tibetan regions of western Sichuan province in China where the elevation topped 4,000 meters. I’m not sure if it was because of all that time spent at high altitudes as a child, but I didn’t find that the altitude had much effect on me at all, other than some shortness of breath due to the thinner air.
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That is awesome that you have little side effects. We had been at altitude a few times before but it was the prolonged time above 4500 meters. The EBC trek is at high altitude for several days on end. It didn’t help that we had been in India for a few months before, so I had developed a chronic cough. The dry cold air didn’t help it and it was tough on my lungs. We probably should have waited in Kathmandu a while longer to recover from our travels through India and Nepal…but then again, Kathmandu is severely polluted as well