When asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, mountaineer George Mallory said simply, “because it’s there.” It’s a response that has gone down in mountaineering legend, and inspires thousands of climbers every year, despite fees upwards of USD$45,000. At 8,848 meters above sea level between Tibet and Nepal, Everest’s summit is the highest point on earth. We weren’t crazy (or wealthy) enough to attempt a climb, but no trip to Tibet would be complete without at least trying to get up close.
Along the "Friendship Highway," passes are strewn with prayer flags
Our journey to Everest Base Camp took us from Lhasa along the “friendship highway” connecting Nepal with China. From the get go, it was apparent there was nothing friendly about it. Police checkpoints regularly blocked our way (we would pass over 30 on our trip). At each stop, our guide presented a thick wedge of paperwork, permits and registration documents for everybody in the car. These stops seemed just as annoying for the police; we were regularly waved through with just a cursory glance.
The crystal clear waters of Yamtrok Tso Lake
Despite the bureaucracy — which we’ve gotten quite used to in China — the scenery was utterly spectacular. We marveled at the turquoise waters of Yamtrok Tso lake, the snowcapped Nyenchen Kamsung mountains and the frigid beauty of the Karola Glacier. Whenever our car climbed above 5,000 meters, our little group would start to feel the effects of altitude, ranging from breathlessness to headaches to something that felt like a nasty hangover, making even the shortest walks difficult. The trick is to ascend gradually, allowing your body time to adjust to the altitude. We were certainly glad of the few days we had spent in Lhasa acclimatizing.
Yamtrok Tso Lake, with the Nyenchen Kamsung mountains in the distance
At the town of Gyantse, we stopped to explore the Pelcho Monastery, home to Tibet’s tallest stupa. The monastery’s main hall was decorated with ornate statues draped in multicolored silks and thousands of delicate frescos. Many of the paintings inside had been damaged by British soldiers, who used the monastery as a barracks during their 1904 invasion.
The Kubum Monastery Stupa in Gyantse
The invasion was prompted by fear of Russia’s growing influence in Asia, which the British viewed as a threat to the Raj. This led English adventurer Francis Younghusband to march into Tibet, quickly defeat the army and impose an unequal treaty on the government in Lhasa before heading back to India. Back in Britain, Younghusband was seen as the worst kind of imperial aggressor, while the destruction of the Tibetan army later opened the door to Chinese pressure.
First views of the Himalaya range
Devastating as the British invasion was, it opened the way for the first attempts to climb the world’s highest mountain. Everest (aka Qomolangma, as Tibetans call it) had been identified as the world’s highest point in an 1850’s survey. Perhaps finding the local name to hard to pronounce, the mountain was named after the then-head of the survey, Sir George Everest.In a comic twist pointed out by author Wade Davis in his fantastic book, Into the Silence, Sir George pronounced his family name Eave-rest, meaning the mountain has been mispronounced for decades.
Everest, known locally as Qomolangma, is a sacred mountain to Tibetans
By the ’20s, the British were launching climbing expeditions led by George Mallory, who was considered the finest mountaineer of his age. Dressed in little more than wool and tweed, Mallory and 22-year-old fellow climber Sandy Irvine set off for the top with only rudimentary oxygen equipment in tow. No one knows for sure whether Mallory and Irvine made the summit, because both tragically died trying in 1924. Credit for the first successful ascent went to Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who reached the peak from the Nepal side in 1953.
Mount Everest: the North Face at sunset
From our vantage point at the base camp used by Mallory, it was hard to imagine the conditions they faced during that fateful climb. We were only 30km from the summit, but already feeling lightheaded and very, very cold. Our guide said the temperature at the peak gets as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius with hurricane-force winds. Regardless, the mountain was beautiful, particularly as the sheer expanse of the North Face turns a delicate pink at sunset.
The Himalaya Range from Pang-La Pass
After a freezing night spent at the nearby Rongbuk monastery guesthouse, we headed back to Lhasa. Along the way, we stopped at Pang-La Pass to admire panoramic views of the entire Himalaya range. Five of the peaks — collectively know as the "Five Sisters of Longevity" — stand over 8,000 meters above sea level, with Everest in the center. From here, it’s easy to see the timeless draw of this snowcapped range, whose peaks have drawn generations of adventurers, climbers and, increasingly, tourists clambering for that perfect shot.
Tom Mountford