Mountain-loving friend's final wish reunites his buddies on bittersweet Himalayan expedition
Our story began four years ago.
In 2018, my good friend Shu introduced me to rock-climbing pals Song and Long. Together, we trekked to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro - Africa's tallest peak.
Shu was a former instructor with Outward Bound Singapore who now works in the education sector, while Song manages a water sports centre and goes for rock-climbing jaunts around the region when he can.
Long, the centre of this story, was born in Brunei, but his family migrated to Singapore in 1983. He graduated here, did his post-graduate studies in nursing in Los Angeles, California, and moved to Portland, Oregon, in 2010 to pursue his career. At the same time, he took advantage of the state's alpine wilderness to chase a deep love of mountain climbing.
Then, there was pale, geeky me - a chronic daydreamer with a lofty ambition to see the world by myself, one country at a time.
Why I had the good fortune to join this outdoorsy trio remains a mystery, but it was a blessing. Through our singular shared experience of exhaustion and triumph in Africa, I bonded with this motley crew, and gained a personal respect for mountains and the people who climb them.
We kept in touch via irreverent WhatsApp chats, even as Long lived far away in America.
Days after that trip, we each received a message from Long. Mine read: "Hey Ryandall, just to let you know - I went for a medical check-up and the doctor confirmed that I have cancer."
Confronting mountains
Long underwent rounds of chemotherapy until the cancer went into remission and his doctor gave him the all-clear. Not one to let anything - not even nasty cells - dictate his life, he redirected his energy towards his passion for scaling mountains.
He earned certification as a mountaineering leader and, almost every weekend, sought higher ground to leave his boot-prints behind - especially since he lived in a mountainous part of America.
The following year, he would go on to conquer many stellar summits in Oregon and the surrounding states almost every weekend, taking along fellow climbers with him to share those euphoric highs.
At the end of 2019, he and Shu successfully tackled South America's tallest mountain, Argentina's extremely challenging 6,961m Mount Aconcagua.
I read his regular Facebook updates with slight envy and total admiration, smiling each time. I marvelled that my friend was really living his life to the fullest, as if there was no tomorrow, and sending cancer one clear message: You are not bringing me down.
But his cancer came back with a vengeance. Long fought a good fight for five months. He died in September 2021, four months short of his 50th birthday.
He probably foresaw his early mortality and legally willed that his ashes be left on a mountaintop. That wish was entrusted to Shu to fulfil.
Long had long dreamt of climbing an 8,000m peak. He was also a Buddhist. So we thought the Himalayas, with eight 8,000ers - as these tallest mountains are nicknamed - and crowned with colourful prayer flags, seemed fitting as his final resting place.
Shu asked if Song and myself would like to join her on this quest. There was no hesitation. We would all do this, not just for old time's sake, but to honour our dear friend. Significantly, it would also be meaningful closure for the four of us.
Mountain cabin or lake house?
We settled on Gokyo-Ri as Long's final home. To get to this moderately low mountain, trekkers follow the Everest Base Camp (EBC) route, but detour midway to the small village of Gokyo, which is surrounded by six stunning turquoise lakes.
As if this does not make the place magical enough, Gokyo-Ri offers one priceless panorama. On a clear day, four of the world's tallest mountains - Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu - can be seen from its 5,357m summit.
Together with a string of shorter mountains, they put on a magnificent show - stretching into the distance, beyond the mighty Ngozumpa glacier - from one end of the horizon to the other.
With beautiful Gokyo Lake 3 in the foreground and a series of rugged snowy ridges all around, this gift from above will soften the hardest heart. Certainly, the vistas here are regarded as among the best in the Himalayan region.
Long would have been more than pleased with this prime spot for a mountain cabin, we joked, or six dazzling lagoons to choose for his lake house.
Our mission begins
We flew in from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, to the scenic mountain village of Lukla rather spectacularly - as if bumped from a cloudy sky into the world's most dangerous airport.
With a notoriously short runway wedged between a steep hill and a vertical cliff, Lukla's infamous Tenzing-Hillary Airport is an opportunity for only the most skilled pilots to showcase their landing and take-off skills. They have just a little more than 10 seconds each time to achieve that - much to the apprehensive awe of their passengers.
With our dramatic arrival checked, it was time for our legs, hearts and lungs to work, and work very hard they did.
For 16 intense days this recent May, we took to the rough, remote and rocky trails 40km deep into Nepal's Sagarmatha National Park, carrying Long's ashes in two bamboo canisters.
Flats, yaks and breathless treks
Every day, we trekked a minimum of five hours across Nepali flats (the local misnomer refers to slight, undulating terrain).
We also trekked up steep hills and down valleys, all via uneven rock paths we shared with fellow trekkers and porters carrying anything from plastic chairs and oxygen tanks to metal racks and mattress stacks. There were also lines of mules, yaks or horses transporting goods.
Early in the trek, we crossed pretty suspension bridges and rolling green hills. Then, as we made our way higher through each pit-stop village, and the Himalayan alpine landscape came into full glory, signs of altitude sickness appeared.
By Day 4, as we approached 4,000m, we began wheezing and had to stop every few dozen steps to catch our breath in the thin air. We were also freezing most nights in the teahouses that were not equipped with heaters.
Headache, nausea and a loss of appetite and sleep crept in, and to make things worse for me, I was struck by traveller's diarrhoea.
On one occasion, in between Namche Bazaar - a major village on the EBC route where trekkers acclimatise and climbers helicopter in to rest and await their summit attempts - and our next pit stop of Machhermo, I was so starved of energy and oxygen while still nursing an angry, growling tummy that I seriously thought of throwing in the towel.
I stopped and rested my head on my trekking pole like a helpless weakling. Then I noticed Song, who had recovered from Covid-19 the day we arrived, and Shu, who was so busy with work she had no time to train, trudging just a few paces ahead of me.
They, too, were breathlessly slow and looked like senior citizens with walking sticks, but were still trekking on. For a moment, I wondered where the vigour from our glorious Kilimanjaro days had gone, then put one heavy foot forward, followed by the next.
Above the clouds
It was numbingly frigid and cloudy on the morning of our final push.
After more than three hours of continuous panting, coughing and silent cursing, we reached the top of Gokyo-Ri.
Long, who had been the fastest, fittest and most attuned to the mountains, would surely have laughed at our dismal pace, but applauded our show of grit.
After laying out prayer flags and simple offerings - a piece of chocolate, some raisins, a muesli bar and a can of San Miguel beer - our guide-and-lama performed a simple puja ceremony for our friend.
He then put the bamboo canisters that contained Long's ashes into a cavity at the summit marker, which was guarded by a small Buddha statue and wrapped by layers of prayer flags.
As this was going on, a mountain raven appeared and hovered around us until the ringing bells and chants ended, then flew off into the clouds, just as mysteriously as it appeared.
I looked around at my friends, our guide and porters, then at the snow-capped mountains, and the rest of nature's masterpiece in front of me.
This was not a sad goodbye, but a celebration of the serendipitous connections, opportunities and moments that make up our best memories.
I whispered a prayer to the Himalayas, with a message to my departed friend: "Dear Long, we heard you and brought you here.
"I hope you're happy. May your spirit of adventure, and love for life live on way above the clouds, where the highest mountains peep."Then I turned to descend, as Gokyo-Ri's prayer flags continued to joyously flap.
Getting there
I flew direct to Kathmandu on Singapore Airlines, then took a flight to Lukla, where our trek began.
Tips
- It may cost more, but consider flights that allow for cancellations or rescheduling in case of contingencies, especially Covid-19-related ones.
- There are many companies that offer treks to the Himalayas. Do research and compare itineraries. Our trip was organised by local adventure company Incredible Journeys, co-run by a former Everester, and its partner Ever Quest Expeditions.
- Make sure your travel insurance covers Covid-19-related emergencies as well as specific adventure activities or treks up to the elevation you will reach. Read the fine print.
- Prepare and train by doing cardio and conditioning exercises, and stair-climb several months before your trek. This is no walk in an ordinary park.
- Pack only necessities but do not compromise on winter gear. While every gram matters when trekking at altitude, it will get very cold and windy. Also, sleeping bags are advisable. Teahouses are unheated and the thick blankets they provide are not sufficient at sub-zero temperatures.
- Take along a personal first-aid kit and sufficient medicine.
- Pack snacks such as energy bars, nuts or dried fruit for each daily trek. Your body will appreciate that extra supplement boost, especially on bad days.
- Do not compare your trekking pace with others, and rest if you need to. Only you know your body best, but at the same time, you are stronger than you think. In the end, it really is mind over matter.
- Hot water, Wi-Fi (though limited) and electrical charging will cost a lot more as you trek higher. Take along sufficient cash and power banks. Better yet, pack a solar charger.
- Lastly, some trek days may seem much tougher than others, but remind yourself why you are there. It is cliched, but it is the journey that will ultimately make memories, so enjoy the trek while you are on it.
- Ryandall Lim is a solo backpacker who now believes that everyone who has the means should attempt to climb a real mountain with friends at least once in his or her lifetime.
- Bucket List is a new series on epic journeys.
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