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| After spending the night in Periche, we met some people from an Indian expedition that had successfully climbed Everest. We learned from these expeditioners that Rob Hall's body is still in excellent condition on the mountain, his hair looking finely combed. The mountain is full of preserved bodies from past expeditions. This year, two people had died while trying to reach the summit, and most expeditions were successful (except for the German and Japanese expeditions which ran into bad luck). The Indian expedition itself had started out in mid-March, reaching Everest base camp by the beginning of April. They had spent two months on the mountain trying to reach the top (which they did on May 25th), acclimating their bodies to the altitude and waiting for a break in the weather. We met them at a monastery where they received a blessing from the monks for a safe return. They allowed us to attend their blessing ceremony, swathing our heads in a long white ribbon as the monks chanted. |
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Expeditioners erected these tombstones along the trail
to commemorate lost comrades rather than carry the bodies off Everest
(at those high altitudes carrying bodies isn't possible, so they wait
until they return to the bottom and then build these gravesites).
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At stupas and prayer-rocks along the trail, be sure
to add your own rocks for good luck.
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Lodges, called teahouses, along the trail look a lot
better from the outside (they're not exactly "resort-quality."
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