Erich Wegscheider .:. Professional Triathlete: Nepal

I've been back stateside for a little over a week now and am back into the swing of things in regards to training. However, training greatly pales in comparison to my most recent activities. That is, my 4-week holiday in Nepal. Actually, training pales in comparison to most things. For instance, I find devouring breakfast to be much more entertaining than staring at a black line for 90-minutes.

Anyways, let's get to the topic of the trek.

So, how was Nepal? In short, it was incredible! In all honesty, I don't know where to begin my recap... maybe trying to explain the organized chaos of Kathmandu, perhaps flying into the Lukla airport, which ranks as one of the most dangerous in the world, or about my fascination with the highest peaks in the world. Hmm...

I did write in a journal and detail each day's events, but trying to decipher my handwriting is quite time consuming. In my defense, my hands, along with everything else, were cold and that directly influenced the quality of my legibility.

In all seriousness, the Everest region is the most beautiful place I have ever been. Despite being composed of rock and ice and colored several shades of gray, I'd rather stare at the likes of Cho Oyu (8,201m) than the most pristine beach you could imagine. In my opinion, beaches are marketing. The idyllic shots are taken on the best of days by someone experienced in wielding a camera. Whereas, you can gaze in any direction and be completely captivated by the grandeur of the mountains (as seen below).

It's Even More Breathtaking In Person

Even though the region is beautiful and serene, it's an extremely harsh environment. At the lower elevations, the temperature would drop to -5º C inside the tea houses at night. I don't know how much colder it got higher up, but it's safe to assume it was below -20º C the night I camped - tent and all - at the Island Peak Base Camp. To give you an example of how cold that day was, I filled a bottle with boiling water before setting out on the climb. Within 2-hours, that bottle was frozen solid. That is not an exaggeration.

Climbing Island Peak easily goes down as one of my top memories from the trek, but I was not in good shape heading into it. I caught a virus 5-days before our intended summit attempt. At first, my guide thought it was altitude sickness, being that we were at 5,196m. Therefore, we rushed down the mountain, even though my energy was nil as I couldn't keep a thing down. Other symptoms suggested a virus, so we slowly made our up, but the going was absolutely exhausting since I essentially wasn't eating. After three days of hell - seriously, prison would have been a more comfortable place for those 72-hours - I awoke feeling marginally better and fibbed to my guide about how I really felt. After all, I was so close to Island Peak and didn't want to leave Nepal without climbing a proper mountain. I understand how foolish that sounds now, but as a long-suffering individual/endurance athlete, I felt confident that I could get through it. Obviously I did and here's my proof:

Critical Equipment & The Summit

Cramponing Between Crevasses - They Were Deep!

The 700m Section With A 70% Grade

En Route To The Summit

Atop The Summit (6,250m)

Although I arrived in Nepal solo, I met several wonderful individuals along the way and eventually formed a group with 3 others, as our agendas were quite similar; except for climbing Island Peak. The last time they saw me on the trek was when I was sick. Fortunately, I was able to connect with all of them in Kathmandu and put their worries to rest. Here are few photos of our group:

Stuart & Me Above Namche Bazar


Atop Gokyo Ri (5,360m) With Iben, Elena, Stuart, & Our Guides/Porters


Snow Angel Fail At Chola Pass With Iben

While I'm at it, I want to mention hygiene. Or the lack thereof. Past a certain elevation, there's no running water. Many tea houses promise "hot showers," but those that took one said they were anything but. The showers were also located on the outside of the tea houses, so they seemed to be more of a hassle than anything. I bathed in a glacial lake and yes, it was just about as bad as it sounds. Don't believe me? Well, here's the proof:

The Water Was, Literally, Freezing Cold

As for food, the owner's of the tea houses took care of that. They also tended to the fire in the communal dining rooms. What did they burn for fuel? Yak poo, of course. So, yes, someone would place yak poo in a fire and then prepare your meal.

Eat That Grass, Yak, So...


You Can Produce This...

To Keep Us Warm Here...


And Have The Same Hands Prepare This! No Wonder Everything Is Fried.

All in all, my 4-weeks in Nepal ranks up there with my top holidays. It's kind of funny now, because I miss the mountains even though the area is so harsh. I'll never forget the second most starry night I witnessed when beginning the climb up to Island Peak; the complete and utter silence of the remote region; how villages would remain in shadows of mountains even though the sun had been up and rising for hours; the deafening roar of the glacial fed rivers in the Alpine region; and the immense loads the Sherpas carried up the mountains to villages. I'll end with a few more photos: