PRIOR EXPEDITION FALL 2009 KANGEL-BASA-KHUMJUNG TREK
It was an almost perfect trekking experience. Our 16
members were the first group of trekkers to fly to the 2-year old Kangel
airstrip. The pilot took a pass on the first attempt, but circled and made an
excellent but thrilling landing on the hump of graded dirt his second try.
Near the end of our first day of hiking we were surprised to
be invited to the Dipwali celebration in the market village of Neli. We were
entertained by local musicians and dancers, and then members of our group were
invited to join in the dancing, which we did with gusto if not finesse.
The next day we were greeted outside of Basa village by a
group of local musicians. We were led to the center of the village by the
musicians thumping, blaring and tooting. There we were overwhelmed by the
reception of the villagers. Every child, woman and man in the village had lined
up to place garlands of flowers around our necks. Local luminaries gave speeches
of welcome, while we were served copious amounts of rakshi (distilled spirits)
and chang (beer). Chris Rubesch, Ursula Scriven and I delivered school supplies
and letters from American school children to the children of Basa. Max Rubesch
created the Basa air force by distributing paper airplanes and plastic flying
saucers to the village kids. Mike Rubesch joined in the kids' favorite sport --
net-less volleyball. And Chris and Max free-styled with school kids using a tied
bundle of flowers for a hackey sack.
We spent 2 & 1/2 days in Basa being entertained by a dance
program put on by the school children and teachers and visits to homes around
the village. The pastor of the Christian church proudly invited us into the
little dirt-floor church supported by the 9 Christian families of Basa. We also
visited the two traditional Rai sanctuaries outside the village. Rakshi, chang,
and food was pressed on us by gracious villagers throughout our stay. When it
was time to leave, we were piped and drummed out of the village by the town band
and the villagers again lined up to place flower garlands around our necks. We
were amazed that so many flower garlands could be created by the villagers, but
growing flowers and creating beautiful garlands is the local art form.
Basa is almost untouched by the outside world. We were only
the 4th group of "white people" to visit the village. The first tourist
commercial transaction in the history of the village took place, according to
our local informants, when one of our members purchased a knife from a local
family. Instead of causing concern, this excited members of our crew who live in
Basa, and they began speculating what villagers could sell to tourists, if Basa
could become a regular trekking destination.
We discovered that our cook, Purna Rai, is a "purket" or shaman in the Rai
tradition. He invited us into his home, which was outside of Adheri, our next
campsite after Basa. We were granted the rare privilege of witnessing Purna
perform a healing ritual in his home, which involved him entering a trance
state, chanting, dancing, and performing rituals with various sacred objects
around an open fire, while 3 other Rais pounded and beat on drums and shields.
The next day we parted with Joel the Elder and John the Yeti,
who would be faced with a hike up the 11,000 foot Ratnaga Danda, as they circled
back to hike to Paphlu and fly back to Katmandu.
The rest of the group hiked on up through the middle-Himalaya
region of Solu to enter the high-Himalaya of Khumbu. Because the area around
Basa valley is not visited by trekkers, our hikes through Solu were delightfully
peaceful and allowed for noncommercial engagement with locals. As we entered the
Khumbu and crossed onto the Everest Base Camp Trail and then entered Sagarmatha
National Park at Jorsale, the trails became jammed with trekkers and yak trains.
The daytime temperatures in the lower altitudes of Solu got
up to the high 80s to make for sweaty hiking. The higher altitudes of the Khumbu
brought the temperatures down for more comfortable hiking, and the beautiful
great valleys and huge flora-covered hills of the Solu gave way to the great
white peaks and rushing glacier-fed rivers of the Khumbu. But the number of
trekkers and yaks on the Base Camp trail caused traffic jams at bridges and
enough dust that a handkerchief over the nose & mouth was sometimes necessary.
We didn't have any rain and the sky was clear everyday, so,
once the tough hike up Namche Hill was behind us, we had spectacular views of
the Everest Massif and all the great peaks of the Khumbu Himalayas, including my
favorite mountain, the beautiful Ama Dablam. Our high point was about 13,000
feet at Shyangboche and the Everest View Hotel, where we had morning tea and
gazed out at the amazing views of Everest, Thamserku, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nupste,
Pumori, and other white-capped peaks.
Our northern terminus was the Sherpa capitol of Khumjung,
where we visited an ancient Buddhist monastery, the Hillary School and Kunde
Hospital. While we were in Khumjung, our three fastest hikers, Chris, Max (the
20 somethings) and Greg (our old fart fast guy) hiked on to Tengboche Monastery
for a visit to the Monastery and to enjoy the magnificent view of the Everest
Massif on the Monastery grounds, completing the 2-day hike in less than a day.
Dr. Bill parted company from the group when we left Khumjung.
He and Himprasad hiked off to complete the hike up to Everest Base Camp and to
climb 19,000 foot Kala Patar for the classic view of the Himalayan range and
views into Tibet. The remainder of the group hiked back to Lukla airport via
Namche Bazaar and Monjo. We befriended a Tibetan shopkeeper in Namche, who
offered quite good deals on Tibetan & Sherpa handmade goods, clothes and gems.
Our group probably made her budget for the year with our many purchases.
At our last night in Lukla we had the traditional banquet
with our porters, kitchen crew and guides. It was a rollicking affair with
dancing and rakshi drinking. Purna outdid himself with a multi-course feast and
chocolate cake for dessert. Our 28-member crew was delighted with the cash tips
we gave them and the many items of clothing and gear our group donated to the
crew members and their families.
It was also an emotional and inspiring event. Our sirdar,
Ganesh Rai, who is one of the finest human beings I know, gave a speech in which
he thanked our group for what we have done for the Basa School, and the whole
village. By using Adventure GeoTreks, we employ many of the men from Basa.
Because the villagers are subsistence farmers with small plots of land, Ganesh
explained that most of the village farms cannot support a family for an entire
year. So, outside employment is required in order to make enough money to buy
food during the months when local food has been exhausted. Adventure GeoTreks is
the only outside employer that purposefully hires from Basa, because the owner
of the company, Niru Rai, is from Basa and has remained loyal to his home
village.
The one great disappointment and upsetting event of the trek
was that friend Bruce was infected by a parasite in Katmandu the night before
the trek started. He became dehydrated and very weak the first two days of
hiking. His condition continued to deteriorate in Basa. Given that there are no
medical facilities in Basa, Dr. Bill and Ganesh recommended that Bruce be
evacuated by helicopter. The chopper evac was another first for Basa. But it was
bitterly disappointing for Bruce and his wife, Donna, who were wonderful
companions and had been so looking forward to the trek.
Back in Katmandu, we reunited with Cousins David & Mel, who
toured Nepal with the intrepid octogenarian, my friend Joan. They reported that
they had a great time touring by plane, car, foot and elephant with their guide,
Raj. But, like those of us who did the temple tours around the Katmandu Valley,
they experienced info overload about the many incarnations and manifestations of
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and Buddha.
Our trekking group was a wonderful and eclectic melange of
personalities, which created an interesting and harmonious community in the meal
tent and at tea time. We were plagued with some stomach and charpi (toilet)
issues. But the group was blessed with Jude's great spirit and perseverance,
Ursula's gentle thoughtfulness, Leslie's happy-go-lucky attitude, Karen's wise
and helpful advice, Susan's grit and willingness to share about dropping her
sunglasses down a charpi hole, Mike's inquisitiveness and note taking, Joel the
Younger's video-cam work and adventure experiences, Bill's care and concern for
Bruce and his travel experiences, Gregg's toughness and love of a good beer and
cigar, Max and Chris's youthful energy and generosity to Nepalese children, John
and Joel the Elder's self-deprecating good humor, and Bruce and Donna's warmth
and lack of self-pity despite Bruce's severe illness.
To view most of my photos from the trek, go to
web album.
____
During 2010 I hope to conduct a fundraising campaign to raise funds to improve
the health and quality of life of Basa village. Niru Rai has requested on behalf
of the village that funds be raised to bring hydroelectricity to the village, so
that villagers may cease cooking over open fires and use hot plates or simple
electric ovens. That would significantly reduce many health problems caused by
constant exposure to smoke from open fires. Another significant problem is lack
of family planning. The farms are having to support more people as the village
population grows. But the farms are unable to support all members of the
community now. So, regular availability of birth control is essential to
alleviate the burden of more mouths to feed.
I hope you will consider donating to this cause after I am able to provide
details of the plans and funding mechanism.
Namaste,
Jeff Rasley
"...there is something in man which responds
to the challenge of this mountain...
the struggle is the struggle of life itself
upward and forever upward..." George Mallory