11/20/2024
Posted • DAY 8: EVEREST BASE CAMP - The storm clears overnight, and suddenly you feel very, very small. The terminus of the Khumbu is a maelstrom of rock, snow, ice, wind, and sun. Throw in hundreds of thousands of pounds of food, cookware, tents, mattresses, furniture, oxygen bottles, clothes, climbing gear, and enough medical supplies to support a fully functioning emergency room at 17,000 feet, and you have the setup for the world’s biggest commercial mountain operation on the world’s biggest mountain. Nearly every ounce is carried in on the backs of yaks, donkeys, and porters, many of whom make the year’s living carrying loads of up to 270lbs up and down the valley.
I stopped for a moment to switch lenses on my camera and fell behind the group. When I finished and looked up, I saw I was alone, and there before me was Everest. With nothing but the gentle bells of distant yaks and the sound of the wind, I enjoyed a moment of unique presence. The rest of my life was 8,000 miles away, and here I was, standing in the wind beneath The Mother of the World.
I trailed behind the rest of the way. At base camp, I found Dad staring up at Everest. He turned to see me behind him, took me in an embrace, and said “thank you.”
Find somewhere your parents have always wanted to go, and take them there.
