My most adventourous and difficult trek

1. Makalu Adventure by Jayant Doshi
Part I
(from 24th April 2007 till 19th May 2007)
My two trekking trips in the Himalayas had been greatly
gratifying, and I was always on the lookout for new
opportunity. I had already put down my name for a trek in
Leh and Ladakh; but then Prabhulal (known in short as PD)
told me about his plans to trek to Makalu base camp. This
trek seemed more challenging and interesting then the one to
Leh, and I immediately confirmed myself for this trek.
The Group – We were four when I confirmed myself. PD,
who will be taking his state pension later this year, has had
quadruple by-pass operation and is diabetic. However, he did
Kilimanjaro and Everest base camp in the last couple of years
so he was experienced and capable to do such treks. PD has a
resolute mind and great determination; before he did Everest trek, I often saw him sweating out in the gym. This time
he was out and about a lot, and as such there was complacency in his preparations. Paresh, the youngest and the
sportsman of the group, also did Everest trek. He went on his regular skiing trip a fortnight before Makalu trek, and
this time he injured his back. He was still hopeful that he would make this trek but he had to cancel it at the last
moment. If he had come then maybe things might have turned out differently
– but that is something we will never find out.
Nirmal, at 53, was also a youngster by our standards; and his trek to
Everest also put him in the same lot of experienced trekkers. He is a regular
golfer, and takes his regular walking seriously so he seemed well prepared.
Atul, now the youngest at 51, decided to join at the last minute, and with
only Kilimanjaro climb as his experience, this was something for the first
time for him. He took up the challenge seriously and started walking to and
back from office daily, clocking twelve miles daily. In receipt of my state
pension for several years, that made me the oldest in the group, and having
done Everest and Tapovan, I was also a bit more experienced. Before the
Everest trek, I did lot of circumstantial rather then preparatory walking, but
this time I have been complacent. However, with my golf, racket ball and
yoga I was confident that my fitness will not let me down.
The Trek - Mount Makalu is situated east of Mount Everest, and is one of
the highest peaks in the Himalayan range. There is a great difference
between the two treks. Everest trek is very popular and is well served with good tea houses, which makes trekking
much easier, while Makalu is comparatively new and less popular. Camping is the only way of trekking on this route.
Also Everest trek starts from Lukla which is 2800 metres high; Makalu trek starts from Tumlingtar, which is 450
metres high. On Everest trek, the trek starts at much higher altitude, and is cool from the beginning. Makalu trek starts
from much lower altitude; hot and humid conditions make trekking difficult until we reach high altitudes. While on
Everest trek, we start with mountains and barren landscape, on Makalu trek we go through green valleys and forests,
and pass lots of villages. On Everest trek, it is mostly going up on gentle ascent most of the time. On Makalu trek, we
go up to great heights, and then come down to very low heights, and then go up again, making it much more difficult.
We left London on 24th April, and arrived early next
morning into Kathmandu. Our trekking started on 27th
April and following is a day by day diary of the events and
our experiences. The timings given for each day’s trekking
include rest stops and lunch break.
27th April – flight to Tumlingtar.(457 mtrs.)
Today was the beginning of our trek. When I woke
up I felt very sleepy and a bit lethargic. We drove to the
local airport – a ramshackle airport with little order or
organisation. After a long wait, our small plane left at
noon. The plane was quite small, and did not allow for
much movement, and even our rucksacks had to be put on

2. our laps. The flight took us to the east of Nepal to lower
ranges of the Himalayas with lot of greenery, rivers and
farms. We came to Tumlingtar where the plane lands on
an open field with grass and no tarmac runways. The
field was surrounded by mountains, and the small village
mainly caters for the incoming trekkers. Being at 457
metres height, much lower then even Kathmandu, it was
hot and humid, and mosquitoes were in abundance.
This time my preparations lacked the intensity of
my first trek to Everest. Perhaps, we were more
experienced and as such complacency crept into our
thinking. However, at this stage we all felt ready and
confident. We were told by our guide that rest of the crew
of porters and kitchen staff was held up by some strike, and as such we would not start our trek till the next day. We
had to spend rest of the day and the night in the mosquito infested hot and humid Tumlingtar in a below standard guest
house.
After good lunch, I felt I had lost my appetite, while Nirmal got scared by rumbling noises in his stomach. We
spent the afternoon walking in the village, while we
played bridge at night before retiring. We were staying
at Makalu Hotel, very aptly named for our purpose, but
the hotel would fail every safety standard. The steep
steps leading to our rooms on the second floor were
scary, and the wooden planks gave the impression that
they would give in any moment. Our bedrooms had
windows overlooking mountains and green farms, but
other then that everything was lacking in comfort. The
bed consisted of a wooden plank covered with a bed
sheet; and to add to our woes, the fan in the room was
not working either. The hard bed, hot and humid
atmosphere and the mosquitoes made it a bad night for
us all. We spent the night tossing and turning in our so
called beds.
28th April – to Khadbari (1040mtrs.) – 4 hours.
Everyone was awake quite early, and moaning about the sleepless night. Today was the first day of our
trekking. It was quite warm and the sun was out in full strength. We walked for just four hours going over some gentle
and some steep slopes. We climbed from 457 metres to 1040 metres. We walked through farms with variety of fruit
trees. Humidity and lot of sweating made walking conditions difficult, and passing vehicles created clouds of dust
which made breathing difficult. Mountains, valleys, greenery all around, colourful flowers and clear skies made the
walk pleasant. We reached Khadbari at noon.
Our crew and equipment had still not arrived and we were put up in a hotel which was much better compared
to the previous night. We got a chance to bathe and wash our sweat drenched clothes. We had a walk in the local
weekly market, and got a glimpse of the life in this mountain town. We played bridge and had good night’s sleep.
29th April – to Gogune – 8 hours
We were woken up early by the crowing of cocks, barking of the dogs, revving of trucks and people going
about their daily routines. The height had not dampened
the temperatures, and the morning was still hot and
humid. By mid- day, the temperatures had crossed 26
deg. C. We started our trek at 7.20 in the morning. The
spectacular mountain scenery compensated for the hot
weather. Today we kept going uphill most of the time,
and bypassing the main road and using short cuts made
the walk more difficult. Our crew and equipment had
arrived and we were treated to a freshly prepared hot
lunch. Our entourage included 17 porters, 5 kitchen
staff, 2 guides and 4 of us, making a grand total of 28.
As days passed by the number of porters was reduced
and finally on our return we had total of 16 left.
We reached our camp site at 3.30, and had our

3. first experience of the tents which would become our
homes for the duration of our trek. There was one tent
for cooking, a dining tent with chairs and table for us, a
toilet tent, two tents for four of us and one tent for the
guides. Our tents were reasonably comfortable, though
when two are sharing there is not much space left to
move around. We had to keep our larger bags in the
dining tent. After unpacking our sleeping bags, and
changing our clothes, we sat down to some games of
bridge. However, temperatures dropped suddenly and
everyone got their warm clothes on. Whilst I was
comfortable in the tent, I did not sleep well. Rain and
breathing noises disturbed my sleep, though I woke up
feeling fresh.
30th April - Gogune to Num (1490 mtrs.) – 9 hours
We were up by 5.00 and ready by 6.30. With sun rising early, porters and others woke up early to do their
chores, and it was but natural that we would wake up so early because of the noise. The sky was cloudy and dark and
rain and thunderstorms were lurking in the background. The guide assured us that everything will be fine and we left
at 7.40. The clouds had drifted into the valleys and our visibility was affected by thick mist. The path had puddles of
water, the ground was muddy and slippery, heavy rains had caused land slides or eaten away parts of the road. It
started raining and we just about managed to put our rain
clothes after we got ourselves wet. Rains became heavy,
and the temperatures dropped. Soon rains slowed down
and the cloud thunder became louder. As per the saying,
thundering clouds never bring rain, and we prayed that
this was true. After some bursts of rain, it became dry,
mist slowly lifted, the clouds moved and sun came out
with its warmth, and brought relief to our water drenched
clothes. By 10.00 a.m. or so, it started getting warm, our
clothes had dried and we were sweating in the heat. We
saw snow covered mountain ranges on the way.
After lunch we started again. This time we were
walking down the slope of the mountain through thick
growth of trees. Some of this down slope walking was
treacherous. We walked at a fast pace for three hours. We
came to a small town in the valley and our camp was made on the side of one of the local tea houses. There was one
Tibetan and one Sherpa wedding in the town, and we got an oversight of the celebrations.
PD showed signs of exhaustion and had lost his appetite. As soon as we camped he went to sleep, and after
rest he still showed signs of exhaustion. He could not eat anything and only had a bottle of soft drink. We got worried.
Would he be able to continue? But he surprised us all by his resolute determination. He walked every day without ever
even mentioning that he could not carry on any more.
1st May – Num to Seduwa (1460 mtrs.) – 8 hours.
Dogs barking in a rhythmic systematic style woke us up by 5.15 and we were on our trek by 7.15. Num is
situated at a height of 1500 metres on top of a mountain.
Seduwa was across the valley on another mountain at a
similar height. But to reach there we had to go down the
slope of the mountain into the valley up to Arun river, and
then climb the mountain to reach Seduwa. We had to walk
down almost a thousand metres, and some of the walk
down the slope was very steep and difficult. Most of the
time we were shaded by trees, but we sweated a lot due to
the humid heat. It became one of the most difficult days of
trekking we had encountered so far. Coming down the
slope was difficult, walking through rocks and tackling
difficult patches, but then climbing on the opposite
mountain proved even more difficult. Climbing up
normally makes one breathless, and that leads to frequent
rest stops. Everyone found this a very difficult day, and

4. the thought that we will have to do it again on our
return brought shivers to some of us.
Our camp site was beautiful. Our tents were set
on a flat ground facing a range of mountains with a
valley in between, all covered with trees and bushes. It
was full moon night and the atmosphere was wonderful.
We soon forgot the difficult walking we had done and
did some breathing exercises to relax ourselves.
2nd May - Seduwa to Tashigaon (2200 mtrs) – 6 ½
hours.
As was to be expected, the dogs and the cocks
performed their duties faithfully on time, and we were
up early as usual. While the mind was awake the body
refused to move. I lay there half asleep till 5.30. The fresh mountain air, and the lovely atmosphere, inspired me to do
some yoga exercises. It felt great.
After breakfast we left just before 7.30. The guide told us that it was going to be an easy day. The
temperatures were in the late 20’s and it felt very hot and muggy. We walked through some forests and passed lots of
streams. We had an early lunch on a lovely spot on the banks of a stream with lots of greenery around it. From our
lunch spot we could see the village where our camps
were to be set for the night. It looked like a fairly
straight walk on a flat path, but we were in for a
shock. We had to descend and ascend a few times
before we reached our camp site. The descent was
very steep and the ascent that followed was even
steeper.
Nirmal, one of our younger colleagues, was
coping well. He used to walk steady and at good speed
and we both normally were in front while the other
two came behind with the guide. Unlike me, Nirmal
did not sweat much. Also I tended to get breathless
while going up an ascent, but Nirmal was breathing
normally all the way. He did complain about some
stomach upset, but otherwise he seemed to be doing
well. For Atul, this was his first trek and he seemed to
be coping well. He seemed to have a good appetite. Later he did say that his thighs and legs were being taxed to the
maximum.
PD, in spite of his health problems, seemed to be doing fine. He showed signs of exhaustion, but still kept
walking steadily every day. He lost his appetite, and complained of nausea as soon as he smelt any food. While his
complaints and problems started right from the beginning, surprisingly he seemed to carry on quite well every day.
For the past few months I kept getting a twinge and pain in my right knee and ankle. Golf and racket ball did
not aggravate the pain, nor did it get worse with time, but the fear of it happening while trekking was upper most in
my mind. However, so far my legs are perfectly fine. I am having no pains or tiredness. I eat well and sleep well,
though sometimes calf muscles pain me in my sleep, which is natural after a long day’s walk. But in the morning
when I wake up, and during the day’s trekking, I feel perfectly fine. My problem has been breathlessness when going
uphill, and lot of sweating. I needed to wipe the sweat
every other minute.
Compared to Everest trek, this trek has been
quite difficult and varied so far. We are still at much
lower level, and our walking is affected a lot by a
strong sun and high temperatures. Steep descent into
the valley, and steep climb to the top of the mountain
were exacting and not comparable to anything on the
Everest trek. Camping, on the other hand, has been
pleasant. The sites for the last two nights have been
exceptionally scenic and beautiful.
3rd May – Tashigaon to Kauma (3500 mtrs) - 9 hours
There were no dogs or cocks to wake us up,
but by now it had become a habit to be awake at first

5. light, and some of us were awake by 5.30. The sun
was rising from behind the mountains, and was trying
to show itself through the cloud cover. Streaks of
cloud crossing the sun made it look unusual but very
beautiful. In the mist, the far away mountains were
hardly visible, but their boundaries appeared as
outlines in the misty sky and gave a good view.
We started our trek just before 7.30. We knew
that today we would be climbing quite high, and that
most of our walk would be uphill. We were actually
going from 2000 metre altitude to 3500 metres, which
would be quite a lot for one day’s walking. We had an
early lunch break. We were sheltered from the hot sun
by a huge rock protruding from the mountain. We
started our walk to cross the two passes after 11.00.
We kept walking uphill for over two hours, and came across patches of snow which we had to cross. The sight of
snow excited every one and we took photos. Even in the snow, it was still hot and humid. We were in our normal hot
weather clothes.
But then we kept getting more and more snow. We had not been prepared or advised about this sort of walk.
Sun had disappeared and the threat of rain loomed on our heads. Walking on soft snow is not that bad, but here one
need to know if the snow is solid or there is a cavity
underneath. Snow melts from below and makes a cavity.
Our porters had gone before us and we just had to
follow their tracks. Nirmal and I were together, and we
were checking the ground well before putting our feet
down. At one point, I was checking the ground for my
next step, when the snow under my right leg collapsed,
and my leg went right inside the hole. I was inside the
snow almost up to my waist level. My hands were
resting on snow and feeling the cold. My leg had gone
at an angle and I could not pull my leg out. The guide
came and helped me out. Because it was hot I was
wearing only tee shirt, and my mittens left my fingers
frozen in the snow. I was cold, but I had no choice but
to bear it.
Snow seemed endless, and we seemed to be walking on it for hours. I got my feet inside a few more times.
Nirmal had his share, and one time he fell with his leg bent, but nothing happened to harm us. Others had their share
of mishaps. During our nine hours of trekking for the day, most of it going uphill, and then walking in the snow, made
it the most difficult day so far for us.
Atul, the youngest and probably the fittest, one who trained a lot before the trek, summed it up. This was the
most difficult day for him that strained his thighs more than he could take. He never imagined that trekking would be
so difficult. Climbing uphill for most part of the day had taken toll on his thighs. Surprisingly, PD, who still was not
eating much, fared quite well and I did not hear any complaint from him, though he did admit this was a very difficult
day of trekking. PD had been surviving on a bar of chocolate and a soft drink for the last few days.
It was quite cold so we wrapped up in warm clothes, and later got into our sleeping bags. PD did not wish to
eat and called it an early day and went to sleep.
4th May – Kauma to Dobate – 9 hours 45 minutes.
It rained lightly during the night, and lightening
and thunderstorms were persistent. We woke up early as
usual. It was cold. Today we were crossing two mountain
passes (Keke Pass and Shipton Pass) and had a long day
ahead. Shipton pass is at 4126 metres height. When we
were about to leave, it started raining and we all put on
our wet suits and gaiters. We waited till 8.00 to let the
rain slow down. Rain did not last for long. Our first two
hours of trekking was a steep ascent. We all found it
difficult. Then we started getting small patches of snow
and found walking on it as exciting. Walking on snow
became longer and longer. At one point we had almost

6. five miles of snow to cross. Walking uphill in the snow
was difficult, but walking downhill was even worse.
Snow melts first at ground level and form cavities which
cannot be seen from the ground. A foot on such a hollow
cavity would mean the leg going deep into the snow
crevice. Walking down hill was prone to slipping and
falling, and one had to be more careful. Had we been
advised and guided well on this stretch of our trek, then
we would not have faced the problems we did, and we
would not have created the fear in our minds. A little bit
of advice, and splitting us in two’s with one guide taking
each group, would have made the trek much easier. But
the harm was done. Everyone found the trek most
dangerous, and this led to the decision to quit the trek.
It was 5.45 when we reached our camp site. We were supposed to walk further but we were too shattered. We
shared our camp site with another Korean group. Walking uphill taxed our thighs and walking down hill taxed our
knees. We could all feel the effects of the days trekking. Atul and I had little bit to eat and others went to sleep straight
away. We did not take much longer either to follow them.
Atul declared that he was not going to walk back the way we came. He based his decision on two points.
Firstly, he talked about the probability of the danger and
risks on this trek, and that if the probability of even
slightest risk existed, he did not wish to take that risk. He
also stated that he had seen what was to be seen, and did
not wish to walk back the same path again. He said that
he will be going back by helicopter. Nirmal joined in
agreement. I was tired also, and believed in keeping with
the rest, so I also agreed on that. In the morning PD also
agreed to go back by helicopter. However, very soon I
had second thoughts.
5th May – Dobate to Yangley – 8 hours.
As we were tired we had asked the guide that we
be allowed to rest and not to be woken up. We got up at
6.30 and we were on our way by 8.30. This was a
mistake that could have proven costly, and the guide can be blamed for not advising us about the same. At first we
walked down a very steep slope, covered with huge rocks and reached the valley of River Barun.
We had our lunch on the banks of the river. I lay on a big rock, and enjoyed the sunshine and the atmosphere.
Later I walked down the bank to go and dip my feet in the river waters.
After lunch, we had a few close escapades. PD, while walking slipped and fell down, but did not injure
himself. Later, while walking along the slope of the mountain, and crossing a patch of snow, a rock came hurtling
down the slope, a guide shouted at PD, PD panicked not knowing which way to turn, and another guide just pulled
him in time to be saved from the falling rock. It was close, and would ruffle any one. It shook PD badly; but it also
affected others who watched this incident.
The mountain has lots of streams flowing down its slopes. Mostly these streams are not that forceful. But
today we came across at least three such streams where
the water was flowing with lots of speed and force.
One of the guides took his shoes off, rolled his
trousers, and stood in the middle of the streams to help
us cross them, while the other guide helped from the
other end. In spite of that, we all got our shoes wet and
filled with water. At times it appeared that an accident
or injury was just about avoided. We made three such
crossings, and each one was difficult and frightening.
Today’s walk was even more difficult and
dangerous then yesterday’s. This only strengthened the
decision and the resolve made by Atul and others to fly
back to Kathmandu by helicopter. PD specifically
asked me to note down in my diary that today was the
most dangerous day of trekking. On my return on my
own, when I had nightmares of this particular stretch of trek, I did not even notice or realise when I crossed this so

7. called “most dangerous” stretch of our trek. Why?
Thinking about it, I realised that there was no danger at
all provided the guide knew, and followed the simple
logic of such mountain areas. As day rises and gets
warmer, snow melts, and the streams get lot more water.
Also melting snow dislodges rocks and causes rock
slides. Another guide told me that a sensible guide
would never take his clients on that section after mid-
day. When I crossed that section at about 10, there was
little water in the streams. Even the Austrian trekkers,
whom I met, were there by 10.30. They must have
camped where we did but must have left quite early in
the morning.
When we told Kitap day before, that we were
tired and did not wish to be woken up early, he should
have warned us of the dangers of going late on this stretch. It was totally unprofessional, and very careless of Kitap
not to have given us this basic warning. It was Kitap who explained to me the logic of melting snow and increased
risks if we went late. How then he did not bother to tell us that we had to start early on that day? Not only did he risk
our lives by his careless attitude, but he also caused the rest of the team to decide to fly back.
Yesterday I had told others that I will join them. Yesterday I was tired when I concurred with others; but today
I was feeling fresh and invigorated. Whole day I kept thinking about this. I had been sponsored by many well wishers.
They would not say anything if I did not complete the
trek, but my conscience would not accept that I did not
do what I had promised I will do. Will I be able to live
with this? Also, so far I had no problems. My ankle and
knee were fine. I had no headaches and my stomach was
fine. I was not feeling any after effects of these long days
of difficult walking. Friday tired me, but that was to be
expected after a long and difficult day of trekking. But
next day I was fine and back to normal. I found walking
on snow and crossing difficult streams as challenging but
not dangerous. I felt that the risk factor was very small,
and that trekking would be dull if there were not some
such challenges. To fly back by helicopter was an easy
option. But I had come here to do a specific trek, and
there was no reason why I should not complete the trek
for which I had come here.
6th May – Yangley to Jakkharka (2646 mtrs.) – 6 hours.
Last night I told Nirmal about my decision. Others had gone to sleep. He did not make any comment. In the
morning I told others about my decision. No discussion took place. They understood that I seemed firm on my
decision. Whether they felt that I was being brave doing this difficult return trek on my own, or that I was being
foolish to contemplate doing this trek on my own – that I will never know. But one thing I know, and appreciate a lot
was the fact that they did not try to persuade me to change my mind. I guess I must be grateful for their understanding
and accepting my decision. Had they tried to persuade me to change my mind, it is quite possible that I might have
wavered and got confused. The guide, more implicitly
rather than explicitly, expressed his disapproval at my
decision.
One guide left today to arrange for the
helicopter. We started our trek to our next camp site.
Today it was easy going walk along the river with some
gentle ascents that did not bother us much. My mind was
full of thoughts. In two days, I would be alone with
guides and porters, but none of my friends would be with
me. I am not at all regretting my decision. On the
contrary, more I thought about it I was glad that I had
made the decision to continue.
We camped before 3.00. It was sunny day, and I
lay on the grass in the sun for a long time. It was my
birthday today and the cook made a cake for me.

8. However at the time of the cake cutting only the guides, cook and Nirmal were
present. Others had gone to sleep early. But it was nice to have this simple
celebration on top of the Himalayan range.
7th May – Jakkharka to Sherson (4614 mtrs) – 6 hours.
We left at 8.00. Today the trek was easy going on a flat terrain. It was
sunny at first but became cloudy and windy as day progressed. On the way we
lost the track for a while and we had to walk down a slope scattered with loose
rocks. That was a difficult walk, and I used my hands to walk down the slope. I
was scared of slipping or falling down the slope on those small rocks.
We were early to our camp site and spent the evening playing cards.
While we were playing cards, suddenly the temperatures started falling and we
were shivering. We took a quick dinner and got into our sleeping bags by 7.30. It
snowed all night.
8th May – Shersong to Makalu Base Camp.(4800 mtrs) – 2 ¾ hours.
We woke up at 6.30. There was no rush today as we had almost reached
our destination. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, very thick mist
with a thick cloud cover, and temperatures were quite low giving a chill in the
air.
We started walking just after 8.00. It felt quite cold, but the walk was easy on a flat terrain. We did not have to
go far, and as such we took lots of rest breaks. We made
to Makalu base camp by 10.45. It was cloudy and misty,
and all the mountains surrounding the base camp were
not to be seen.
We had reached our destination. This was the
target of our trek. Completion of our mission brought an
air of jubilation. Atul confessed that he was not sure if
he would make it. He thanked everyone for bringing him
here. We had reached our destination but because of the
weather conditions we could not even see the Mount
Makalu, which we had been eagerly waiting to see for
many days. Weather conditions did not permit us to do
anything, and we had the whole day in front of us. We
spent our time playing cards, and hoping that the
weather will clear either today or tomorrow to give us a
glimpse of the Mount Makalu. After lunch, we walked up the small hill in front of our camp. From the top of the hill
we could see some lakes on the other side. …(continued….Part II
)