a beautiful day to live... − 12 October, 1995
our destination was everest base camp, we had been trekking through the solo khumbu region for a couple of weeks. after a much needed respite at our guest house at gokyo lake, we continued our journey over cho la pass (5422m/17783ft) and headed towards everest base camp. for much of our adventure which began in a small village called jiri outside of kathmandu, i was sick. at first i developed a fever, than my flu-like symptoms turned into a respiratory infection. ever since i got pneumonia in high school my lungs had become susceptible to even the slightest cold. however, i knew if we were to stay on schedule i needed to trek over cho la pass today. carrying almost half my weight in my dana backpack, my friends and i headed up the rocky talused trail over enormous boulders.
as i looked up at the majestic snow covered 8000m peaks surrounding me, i was awed at the beauty. oftentimes i felt as if i was on another planet, it was hard to believe that such an incredible place actually existed. at the base of cho la pass were blue glaciers several stories high, i felt like a lilliputian. so insignificant. my lungs burned with each breath i took of the icy fresh mountain air. i developed what was known as the *khumbu cough*.
three quarters of the way up the mountain we had to traverse across a very exposed section of the trail. the path was rocky and narrowed down to about one foot in width. my body was pressed against the side of the mountain. then there was a three foot gap in the section of the trail where it had broken away. the only way to get across was to grab a hand-hold on the other side of this gap and jump across this break in the trail. by now i was 15,000 ft high. my acrophobia kicked-in full force. my body began shaking. i felt vertigo. my nepali friend kept reassuring me that i could make it across. all i could think of was missing the hand-hold and plummeting thousands of feet down the side of the mountain like a rag doll.
i wanted to cry. then i remembered seeing all the beauty of the himalayas, the warmth of the sun against my face and the endless miles of clear blue skies and i realized how lucky i was to be able to have this experience. to be in this wondrous place. then i thought to myself, *well, if i don't make it across. what a beautiful day to die and i will die an amazing death.* so with that final thought in mind i closed my eyes and took a leap of faith hoping that somehow i'll grab the rocky handhold on the otherside of the trail and make it across. amazingly, when i opened my eyes i had safely made it across. i had a sudden surge of adrenaline and rush of euphoria. i was just happy to be alive. the remaining trek to the top was much less harrowing. the views from cho la pass were absolutely fantastic. standing above the clouds, i felt like i was on top of the world and embraced the moment with all my heart.
as i looked up at the majestic snow covered 8000m peaks surrounding me, i was awed at the beauty. oftentimes i felt as if i was on another planet, it was hard to believe that such an incredible place actually existed. at the base of cho la pass were blue glaciers several stories high, i felt like a lilliputian. so insignificant. my lungs burned with each breath i took of the icy fresh mountain air. i developed what was known as the *khumbu cough*.
three quarters of the way up the mountain we had to traverse across a very exposed section of the trail. the path was rocky and narrowed down to about one foot in width. my body was pressed against the side of the mountain. then there was a three foot gap in the section of the trail where it had broken away. the only way to get across was to grab a hand-hold on the other side of this gap and jump across this break in the trail. by now i was 15,000 ft high. my acrophobia kicked-in full force. my body began shaking. i felt vertigo. my nepali friend kept reassuring me that i could make it across. all i could think of was missing the hand-hold and plummeting thousands of feet down the side of the mountain like a rag doll.
i wanted to cry. then i remembered seeing all the beauty of the himalayas, the warmth of the sun against my face and the endless miles of clear blue skies and i realized how lucky i was to be able to have this experience. to be in this wondrous place. then i thought to myself, *well, if i don't make it across. what a beautiful day to die and i will die an amazing death.* so with that final thought in mind i closed my eyes and took a leap of faith hoping that somehow i'll grab the rocky handhold on the otherside of the trail and make it across. amazingly, when i opened my eyes i had safely made it across. i had a sudden surge of adrenaline and rush of euphoria. i was just happy to be alive. the remaining trek to the top was much less harrowing. the views from cho la pass were absolutely fantastic. standing above the clouds, i felt like i was on top of the world and embraced the moment with all my heart.
