On Monday, 12th June, we heard from Milson Rotary Club member Susie Elms, who had recently travelled to Nepal. She spoke on "Everest Base Camp, the prep and trekking at altitude."Susie introduced us to her travel buddies, Kathy (whose idea it was) and Leigh. The three travelled to Kathmandu to join the tour group in April 2023.
But before that, there was a good amount of preparation and training, which started 12 months prior. Susie talked us through the recommended training schedule, activity level 5 (the highest). The 7-day programme looked daunting, and Susie shared how she broke it down and worked up to doing this gruelling schedule of steps, hikes and gym workouts into her busy week. As part of this, she covered a bit of New Zealand, including the following walks and hikes; Abel Tasman, some 10km walking races in Hawkes Bay, Wellington and Queenstown, Tongariro crossing, Wharite, Kapakapuni, Mount Taranaki, and lastly, Queen Charlotte Sound walk with some fellow Milson Rotarians.
Susie arrived in Kathmandu on 23rd April and talked about the busyness and chaos of the streets and the excitement of meeting the tour group, including two guides and a trainee guide. They would meet their porters and head porter once they arrived in Lukla.
It's in the process of self-discovery and personal growth that we genuinely thrive.
They spent the next 24 hours on a couple of city tours, having gear checks and buying any additional gear they were short of. Very early on 26th April, they drove through the narrow city streets, seeing many stragglers leaving night clubs of Kathmandu to the airport. The night before, they learnt that they were flying direct from Kathmandu airport into Lukla, a 30min ride rather than the newer route, which was a 4-hour van ride over rough terrain, then a flight, which had been introduced this year to ease the congestion at Kathmandu airport.
Lukla is the world's most dangerous airport, and there was plenty of excitement in the group. Arriving at the airport at 5 am for check-in and settling in for an anticipated long wait for boarding – which happened on time, meant many left their coffee orders behind. A short van ride to the smallest planes at the terminal loaded into a twenty-seater twin prop for the gentlest ride, with amazing mountains just to the aircraft's left.
The landing was uneventful, and the temperature was decidedly lower in Lukla. They would spend the day here at 2860 metres and start their trek tomorrow. On the 27th, they departed Lukla for Jorsalle, gaining a total of 250m, walking 16km, crossing 4 swing bridges, and taking in amazing scenery.
Susie talked about the hazards on the trail, donkeys and Yaks, who are the mack trucks of the state highway and are always given right of way. They don't know their width, and as a trekker, you would always stand hillside of the moving beasts, which wore bells to warn people of their presence. Susie talked about porters and what they would carry, how they were paid by the kilo and would strive to carry more to increase their wages. The porters for their group would carry 40kg each plus their own belongings, each trekker had a limit of 10 kg, plus what they would carry own their packs of approximately 7 kg.
Items of high value on the mountain included toilet paper, water and wifi. Susie spoke of keeping wads of toilet paper in your pocket so you were always prepared, and the one time when she thought she was prepared to find it was a face mask, which turned out to be surprisingly absorbent.
She also talked about the aim of drinking 4 litres of water each day, which meant carrying at least 2, and treating water as you required it; further up the mountain, water needed a double dose of treatment.
Susie described each day of the walk, the theory of avoiding altitude sickness by walking high and sleeping low, which meant ascents and descents each day. And spending 2 nights in some villages to acclimatise. The ways to avoid altitude sickness include avoiding alcohol, hydrating with 4 litres per day, eating well, avoiding meat, and taking a preventative – Dimox. Susie followed all the rules but found herself getting weaker. She put this down to the diarrhoea that had plagued her since Kathmandu. The anti-diarrhoea medication taken on an empty stomach due to the lack of appetite from altitude sickness (in hindsight) was a bad combination.
Susie kept walking from village to village with the group, taking in the amazing scenery, enjoying the people and crossing the famed Hillary Swing Bridge. Seeing Everest for the first time was a highlight, as the clouds had prevented this for many days. The weather was unseasonably wintery, and the group we treated to walking in the falling snow, which was very picturesque. After spending an acclimatisation day in bed (the attitude was 4440m), Susie got up the next day to walk with the group to the next village. The first 500m was a climb of about 150m, and Susie really struggled; she was breathless and had no energy. She was told she was going too slow and at her pace, she wouldn't make the next destination by darkness. However, determined, she carried on to see if she could improve and, within another kilometre, decided it was best to admit defeat, withdrew from the group and took refuge in the village across the way, where the group would be returning to in 2 days where they would collect her, as she would be recovered and they would all walk down the hill together. By the following day, Susie's health had deteriorated, and she requested her Inn Keeper contact the Helicopter company for evacuation. Susie had already been in touch with her Insurance broker, who had also put some wheels in motion.
Unfortunately, the weather was terrible, and no flights were happening that day. Still, finally, at 4pm Susie had a knock at her door, a helicopter was coming for her in 10mins, she rushed to pack, and with the help of the Inn Keeper who almost carried her to the helipad, she was at the helipad waiting for the arrival of the helicopter. The flight what amazing, and it was a shame to be sick to have this privilege.
Susie was wondering what next, a taxi to the hospital? However, she needn't of; at the airport, she was greeted by an ambulance, with lights and sirens on all the 30min journey. Susie was taken immediately into ER and treated by 3 nurses, taking blood, ECG and chest x-ray. They advised Susie that she had water on her lungs and her pulse oxygen readings were too low. They diagnosed her with High altitude Pulmonary Edema and acute gastroenteritis, with moderate dehydration. By 8pm that night was in her own room, on oxygen, IV fluids and antibiotics, where she would stay 4 nights. Susie talked about the excellent medical treatment and how the return of her appetite helped her recovery.
Susie was discharged and stayed in the hotel, popping out and doing some solo tourist sights while awaiting the group's arrival two days later. Susie showed us her positive attitude and talked about the support she received while away; that was truly amazing – even before she got sick.
Life is a tapestry woven with the threads of countless experiences, and it's not always about reaching the destination but the remarkable journey that unfolds along the way. Each step we take, each obstacle we overcome, and each setback we face contribute to the richness of our lives. In these moments, we discover our true essence, the lessons that shape our character, and the friendships that become our lifelong companions. As we navigate the winding paths and uncharted territories, we uncover hidden strengths, learn to embrace vulnerability and find solace in our resilience. It's in the process of self-discovery and personal growth that we genuinely thrive.