Black Rock Anniversary

We Celebrate A Tall Milestone

At 18,519 feet, Kala Patthar is the rocky ridge in the foreground, positioned beautifully against 23,494 foot Pumori along the border of Nepal and China.

Fourteen years ago today, I stood with my wife at the highest point of ground that I’ve ever stood upon. And, if I’m going to be perfectly honest, the highest point I likely will ever stand upon.

At the end of a bruising, nearly 10 day trek into the Himalayas - unguided, carrying our own gear, newly married - we took the final steps to the summit of Kala Patthar (Black Rock), a 18,519 mountain near Everest Base Camp.

I stood there with my new bride, breath short, back sore, hungry and thirsty, face to the wind, and maybe felt as happy as I’d ever been to that point in my life.

And so today, I thought I’d reshare an excerpt from my book, The Nepal Chronicles, that recounted the beginning of that climb. I hope you enjoy, and always keep your face to the sun.

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The view of Mount Everest’s south face (center) from the summit of Kala Patthar

KALA PATTHAR

There is no sound. There is no snow. There is no wind. Gorek Shep is deathly still. It is like a cloak of cold has pressed down upon the Khumbu, muffling the senses.

We have been in cold so furious and angry that we had to stay constantly vigilant against the insatiable wind to keep it from sneaking under a glove or over a face mask to protect against near instant frostbite. We've fought our way up Mount Washington and Mount Jefferson is sideways rain that chilled the spine and slid upwards under the hood and threatened hypothermia. We've attempted to outrun lightning on slicked summits, with flashes at our backs and sheets of icy water in our faces.

But this cold... this is new. It was a cold night. It was a colder morning, preparing for Kala. But stepping outside the relative warmth of the lodge into THIS cold is shocking.

It is 5:45 a.m. The sun has to work extra hard to rise above these mountains, though a morning glow makes headlamps unnecessary. But our hands and feet are immediately, unrelentingly cold. It is like dipping your fingertips into a bucket of ice water. It's that sudden.

By the time we move the 50 yards across the dry lake plateau to the base of Kala, I am balling my fingers into fists under my gloves to keep them warm – my Hestra mountaineering, -20 gloves.

It is co cold, I don't even remember seeing my breath, or shivering.

We stand at the base of Kala Patthar next to a signed trailhead. The trail appears to shoot straight up the slope of our mountain. It is steep. We are small, and tired, and very, very cold. The walk from the lodge to the trailhead has left me breathless. On the plus side, the early bed and light food appear to have settled our stomachs somewhat. After being in Gorek Shep for nearly 24 hours, it seems we are acclimating. No headaches either. Good news.

So, at nearly 6 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 22, nearly one year since we began our journey to this mountain, we take our first steps and begin to climb.

“Here we go,” I say. And as my boot settles on the black, frozen earth that is Kala Patthar, I am once again reminded of how amazing it is to be here at all.

We start slow, working on a 25/10 pace – 25 steps, 10 breathes. This works for a while as we scale the mountain's first of three tiers. I manage to keep my heart from exploding, and the headaches away from creeping up my spine. The pace does little to warm our hands and feet though and we're constantly flexing our fingers and toes to maintain circulation.

We reach the first tier and take a long break. A small group of trekkers stumble around, trying to keep warm, but at the same time trying to drink in the views. Even here, at about 17,300 feet the views are wonderful. The sun is creeping up from the east and is directly behind Everest creating a golden halo behind the tip of the peak. The top of Pumori shines blinding white.

Kala Patthar is actually a long jagged ridge of Pumori. Try to imagine a two dimensional triangle. Now tip that triangle to a 45 degree angle. The left and right side of Kala are cliffs, while the summit point also falls off the end down to the ridge which eventually works its way up to Pumori.

We hike across the flat section of the first tier, circle around a slight bulge in the ridge and the remaining two tiers come into view. From here, we can see the prayer flags at the summit, tiny blue and red pinpricks against the white background of Pumori.

It is a mile and 1,000 feet away.

From the summit of Kala Patthar with Everest at our backs!

Housekeeping: I hope you enjoyed this look back. I know many of you dear readers may be new to Dan’s work, so if you’d like to have a look at The Nepal Chronicles or other books Dan or Little Bean have written, just click here: Dan and Little Bean’s Bookstore