A Night on Everest
I don’t want to tell you the color of my
urine, but I can tell you that clearly I didn’t
drink enough during the previous
36 hours.
The mood was fantastic with everyone
talking about what they saw and how
they managed. Each climber had a
story. I began to realize that we would
all return home and tell it a little differently.
Partly because we were not always
together, but more likely because the
lack of oxygen affected us in ways that
made us each see events differently.
While each of us will swear that our
version is the correct version, I will tell
everyone, maybe this is how it happened,
maybe not!
As I was eating, Avo made it to camp
and looking at him was a glimpse of
what I must look like. As he collapsed
into a chair, Tashi brought him a hot
towel. I realized that I had not gone to
the bathroom in 24 hours. I excused
myself and stepped outside the dining
tent. I could see the sun going down
and noticed it was getting quiet cold.
30
I went to the tent that I had occupied
on the way up to the summit. I had left
my belongings in a rice bag. When I
unzipped the front fly, I noticed that
someone else had moved in. I was not
happy. I wanted to get out of my damp
clothes and crawl into my sleeping bag.
I asked Harry which tent I could use as
I was starting to shiver. He told me to
use Justin and L.C.’s for the night.
They were still at Camp 4 with Chris.
I gathered my stuff and threw it all in
the other tent. I was really getting cold
from being damp. I was trying to get
out my sleeping bag and take off my
boots and clothes. Charlotte came by
and helped me get my boots off.
I peeled off my down suit and all the
layers underneath. Even my shorts were
damp, so they came off as well. I was
buck-naked in my sleeping bag. I was
too exhausted to find any dry clothing.
I blew up my mattress pad and rolled
onto it. The next thing I remember was
waking up to the sound of the others
getting ready to leave for base camp.
I must be around 5:00 a.m., I thought.
I was warm in my bag all zipped up.
It was still dark. I rolled over and fell
asleep. It was a few hours later when
I awoke, and this time I peeked my head
out of my sleeping bag and it was light.
I unzipped my bag so that I could find
some dry clothes. The climbing layers
that were inside my sleeping bag had
dried enough to put on. My down suit
was next to my sleeping bag and was
cold and partly frozen from the remaining
dampness. While I was putting on my
clothes, I noticed that my watch was
halfway up my left arm. It was 6:30 a.m.
I had been asleep for 11 hours. I was
adding layers when I thought to myself
that I had just found my watch.
JA NUA RY/F E B R UA RY 2020 | P EN N S YLVA N IA D EN TA L J O U R N A L
It was on my arm the entire time and
I never knew it.
Altitude does make me
stupid. That’s my excuse!
I rested for the remainder of the day
while others returned from Camp 4. We
would share pictures and stories before
going to sleep. We would be up at 5
a.m. to leave for basecamp. This was our
last time leaving Camp 2. As we had
breakfast the Sherpa were taking down
tents. They were anxious to leave as
well. It would take 5 hours to get back
to basecamp. When we arrived at base
camp we were greeted by Greg with a
giant hug and some tears of joy. He said
that he knew I could do this ever since
our first phone conversation almost
three years earlier. He offered me a beer
and I went for the Coke instead. Kaji
prepared some Ramen noodles and
then some chicken and rice. I was told
that I could catch a helicopter in two
hours if I could pack everything up.
With Pega’s help, I loaded both of my
duffels. I gave him a large tip, and now
he teared up and gave me a big hug.
He said that I was very generous and
a great climbing partner. I was really
touched by his sincerity. We carried the
duffels to the helicopter pad we had
rebuilt one month earlier. Funuru told
us that he needed a larger pad, but
I think he just wanted us to work off
some excess energy.
As we waited for the helicopter to
arrive, we laughed and joked. The
Sherpa, Funuru, Greg, Harry and others.
Sixty days, 29,032 ft., multiple trips up
and back the mountain, card games,
movie nights, a wedding, heartbreak for
some, vomiting, diarrhea, pink eye (oh
yeah, I forgot to mention I got pink eye),
snow, wind, excitement and fear. It was
so much more. It was the adventure of
a lifetime! BRT