Pumo Ri Climb

At dinner on Sunday evening, our lead guide, Vern Tejas, announced he was going to climb up to Camp 1 on Pumo Ri, which flanks Everest Base Camp to the northwest, on Monday after breakfast. He invited anyone interest to join him, and I assumed a number of my teammates would. At the appointed hour, only Vern, Joey Luberton (assistant base camp manager) and I showed up.

 

We set out on the half hour trek through EBC. Along the way, we picked up “Andrea,” a beautiful young Guatemalan trekking guide who will be climbing Everest for the first time this year. She met up with some Alpine Ascents guides/climbers over the past week and has joined us along the trail on several occasions and for dinner one evening.

 

Upon exiting EBC, we began a long trek towards Pumo Ri and then started ascending fairly steep and very rocky terrain, which made the climb quite strenuous. After three hours, we had to turn around after ascending about 1,000 feet in order to make it back to camp for lunch. We were just 200-300 feet shy of the orange tented Pumo Ri Camp 1. The views of EBC, Lola, Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse were spectacular.

After lunch, we had to pack up gear to send up to Camps 1 and 2 in preparation for our second rotation on Wednesday (4/28). Another movie night followed — this time we watched Panic Room.

//Don

Rest Day

Following our four days at high altitude, we’re taking four rest days at Base Camp. A few of us went on a morning stroll though Base Camp to the small Everest heliport. The heliport is simply a large mound of rocks near the entrance to EBC. This site provided the best vantage point to take in the scope of Base Camp, which has continued to expand over the two weeks since my arrival as more and more expedition groups from around the world settle in.

 

In the afternoon, we were treated to violin music by one of my climbing teammates, Vanessa Folkerts. Vanessa is a 21-year-old Princeton senior from London. She has taken a year off from her studies to climb mountains and has achieved an amazing number of summits in the past 12 months. I had the pleasure of climbing Denali with Vanessa last June and know first-hand how proficient she is at climbing — and now, at the violin as well. She’s been playing since she was four years old.

 

How she came upon a violin at Base Camp is a touching story. When our lead guide, Vern Tejas, heard she played the instrument, he mentioned it to several others who agreed to chip in to procure one in Kathmandu and have it trekked in by porter. It was presented to her on Friday evening, and she was in tears. Her playing is a wonderful antidote to the monotony of camp life.

//Don