October 18th, day eight of our trek, found us on our way to Lobuche at 16,108 feet above sea level. Lunch that day was at a little rest stop called Thukla. It wasn’t much more than a tea lodge at the base of a 30-minute climb straight up. It reminded us of climbing out of Grand Canyon.
The top of the climb rewarded us with a plateau full of memorials, sad stories, tears and inspiration. There are a lot of climbers, sherpas and trekkers represented here. They were killed either going to or coming from the upper reaches of the trail in climbing accidents, avalanches, earthquakes, and altitude sickness to name a few.
We stopped here to place two sets of prayer flags. One for my 24-year-old niece who died shortly after childbirth in May of 2018 and for a friend’s brother-in-law who had recently passed after a short battle with cancer. We thought it fitting to hang flags among others who were lost too young and too early in life.
The setting is a small pass on the way to Everest, and once you cross the ridge, the many memorials are overwhelming. The mountain demands respect and the gravity of that is reflected in the many lives that were lost on the trek upwards. It’s not hard to see why this spot was chosen to honor those who died climbing Everest and other nearby mountains, the location is stunning, on a ridge with amazing views of the Himalaya range. The sheer number of memorials is stunning.
It was interesting to walk among the monuments, much like wandering around a cemetery and wondering about each person’s story and how they came to be memorialized in such a way.
It was a lovely and peaceful place to stop and rest before heading off toward Lobuche for the night.
This is the memorial to Scott Fischer, one of ten climbers lost in 1996 in one storm. The movie
“Everest” was later made telling their story.
This is the valley of the monuments. Just LOOK at the surrounding mountains. This pass is at 15,846 feet with mountain peaks jutting into the sky another 10,000 feet or so.
Next week you can look forward to more about prayer flags and prayer wheels.
Happy shooting!!
It is so cool how you create and tell stories of the many elements and sights along the way, it’ll be a shame when this journey plays out…
So moving and strangely beautiful.
I like this Jef Insel guy and his comments. I too will miss your story telling and incredible images when the Base Camp Trek plays out. I especially liked the video clip of the flags flapping, blue sky and mountains in the background. Monument Valley with the mountains was also spectacular. The details of some of the monuments also lovely. I thought a lot about you two as I listened to last weeks reports on the CO climber that died. Thanks for preparing yourselves! Love, Mamae