Mera Peak: Mountain Life

One of the things that I didn't really "get" until I saw it for myself, was just how tough life in the mountains can be. I knew it must be hard in theory, but it's totally different to see and experience the conditions for myself. It's not just poverty (although there is that too), it's that it’s so remote. Every little thing is so difficult, even things that we don’t think twice about, like getting water or going to school.

In Khare, the closest stream was about 200-300m from the village. Every drop of water that we drank or used for cooking and washing had to be hauled up by somebody. When you're at 5400m elevation, 200+ metres with 20L of water on your back is no laughing matter. And yet, the men and women who were carrying more than half my body weight on their backs were laughing. And smiling. And sometimes, singing. It was both humbling and inspiring.

Bird's eye view of Khare

Accessing services like schools and clinics isn't easy either. We saw one little boy, about 8 years old, who had tears in his eyes as he was walking along the path with his mother. He had broken his arm and they had to walk (for who knows how long) to get to the clinic. The terrain they had to go over is pretty challenging too. Nothing is really flat. There is only “Nepali Flat”.

"Nepali Flat" = "a little up, a little down"

Doesn't sound too bad, until you learn that a "little" can be more than a thousand metres!

For most of the trek, we were so far from civilization that we didn't even see pack animals. It was foot traffic only. Some communities did have access via helicopter, so basics like rice could be flown in. But it's expensive, and they could only do it when the helicopter had already been called in to rescue a trekker with serious altitude sickness.

A porter lashing together our gear to carry. It weighed between 25 and 30kg!

It's interesting to see how this mountainous terrain acts as a great equalizer. It doesn't matter how rich or poor you are. Everyone has to walk. You want to visit your daughter? You go on foot. You want to fly to Kathmandu or somewhere outside the country? Walk to Lukla airport.

It was also sobering to learn that every single thing that we saw that couldn't be grown in the mountains had to carried in or out. Want windows for your house, you need to carry them in. You want a gas heater for your home? Carry it in. You want to stock your tea house with coca cola? Carry it in. We met a man who brewed his own moonshine. To sell it, he had no choice but to haul it over high mountain passes to get to the next community.

People also work extremely hard. I was constantly in awe of our trekking team. They were, to a man (and woman! We had one female porter), smaller and thinner than me. Yet they were each carrying at least 25 to 30kgs! And not only that, but they were just smoking us on the trail. We would set off after breakfast, and the trekking team would clean up and pack up after us, pass us on the trail, setup at the next stop and have a hot meal ready and waiting by the time we trudged in. And many of them did this without any sort of special gear or equipment.

We had crampons and ice axes, but despite being provided with crampons by our trekking company, our porters chose to travel over the snow and ice with regular boots or sneakers wrapped with rope around the instep for traction! I was equal parts awed and alarmed that they could manage like that!

The glacier between Khare and Mera-La. This is one of the two sections that our porters managed with just sneakers and jute ropes!

So nothing is easy. And yet, people seem pretty happy and jovial overall. Most nights, after the exhausted trekkers had crawled into bed, the Nepali team would be up singing and dancing. I don’t know if it was just because we were traveling around Diwali, or if this is just what it's always like, but either way, it was nice to see.

I came away from this trek with deep respect and admiration for the people who live and work in such remote and tough conditions. They are truly one of a kind and we would not have been able to experience the Himalayas without them.