Everest: The West Ridge Phakding March by Jon Krakauer

Introduction to the writer:

1.     Jon Krakauer is an Americal writer and mountaineer primarily known for his writings about the outdoors, especially mountain climbing.

2.     He is the author of best-selling non-fiction boosk “Into the Wild”, “Into Thin Air”, “Under the Banner of Heaven” and “Where Men With Glory” as well as numerous magazine articles.

3.     He was a member of an ill-fated expedition to summit Mount Everest in 1996, is known as the 1996 Mount Everest Disaster, one of the deadliest disasters in the history of climbing Everest.

Summary of the text:

1.     Krakauer has covered the first days and nights of the trek in this chapter.

2.     They spent their first night at Phakding, a place close enough to the ground to sustain some homes and lodges.

3.     As they keep walking, they encountered Namche Bazaar, which is described as “Sherpa Society” by the writer.

4.     The chapter explains and deconstructs the stereotypes associated with Sherpas.

5.     Krakauer explains that not all Nepalese are Sherpas.

6.     In fact, only 20,000 Sherpas inhabit Nepal.

7.     They are a Buddhist mountain society who migrated from Tibet hundreds of years ago.

8.     Their villages are rugged and tough, and for the most part, they don’t use cars, bikes or any wheeled transportation.

 

 

9.     Yaks are used for transportation, food, milk and other staples.

10.  Sherpas were first used as climbing guides in 1921, and ever since the economy of the villages is directly related to the Everest’s climbing season.

11.  The culture has also been affected by the fact that about one third of the people who have died on Everest were Sherpas.

12.  Sherpas compete for spots on expeditions, and tea houses and lodges compete for the travelers’ business.

13.  The influx of money has improved schools, medical facilities, bridges, energy supplies and other aspects of life.

 

 

14.  As the climbers make their way to base camp, they begin the process of acclimatization because they have just arrived from sea level, it takes longer and there ar some days when the climbers don’t go anywhere at all.

15.  They arrive at Tengboche, the most important Buddhist monastery in the village.

16.  Krakauer meets the head lama of Nepal there.

17.  The lama speaks  to them, blesses them and offers a token intended to please god and ward of  harm.

18.  The lama shows krakauer a photo album of a recent trip to America.

19.  There were pictures in Washington, at the Lincoln Memorial and Space Museum, and in California.

20.  The lama shows his two favorite pictures: one of him with Richard Gere and another of him with Steven Seagal.

21.  Krakauer finds himself spending most of his time with Doug Hansen and Andy Harris. Harris and his significant other, Fiona McPherson, had just begun building a house together, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to climb the mountain.

22.  Harris and his girlfriend had both climbed in the Himalayas and even helped run a medical clinic to treat the altitude related sickness.

23.  Hall’s girlfriend, Jan Arnold, had worked alongside McPherson during Hall’s first climb up Everest.

24.  Arnold and Hall both summated Everest together in 1933 and during the Krakauer’s trek Arnold was seven months pregnant with their first child.

25.  That night during dinner, Hall and Harris have a conversation about the inevitability of a disaster on Everest, especially given the lack of experience of some of the climbers that hire guides.

26.  No one realizes just how prophetic conversation is.

 

 

27.  They spend the next night at Lobuje, a village with a filthy climber’s lodge.

28.  Base camp is only one day away, but a heavy snowfall is keeping many travelers at Lobuje.

29.  The lodge is disgusting – people defecate outside, fleas and live inhabit the bunks and the heat is supplied by burning the yak dung.

30.  While there, Hall learns of a Sherpa, Tenzing who has fallen into a crevasse higher up on the mountain.

31.  Although he has been pulled out, he has a broken femur.

32.  Hall leaves the group at Lobuje and goes to help the rescue of fort.

33.  They later find out that Tenzing fell because he was climbing without a rope.

34.  Krakauer describes a number of events that befell young Sherpas whose guides did not impress upon them the importance of adhering to the safety rules.

35.  The most gruesome of these stories had actually been witnessed by one of Krakauer’s teammate, Frank,

36.  A young Sherpa who neglected to clip his rope fell from a distance of nearly 2000 feet.

Source: Tapan Karki from Sunsari, Itahari