The day started early. At about 7am, we were ready with backpacks after breakfast. We were asked to walk till a bridge across the river, where the horses waited for their riders for the toughest day of the trek.
As I walked without breath, slowly and mechanically without the benefit of fresh air, the man in front of me prostrated himself completely to the ground with hands outstretched, then stood up and walked to the line drawn by his fingers, and did the same all over again.
These are the Buddhists of Tibet who add a degree of challenge to the
parikrama - the clockwise circumambulation of Mount Kailash. The Bon - people who follow the original faith of Tibet, do the same in the counter-clockwise direction.
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| the east face of Kailash is rarely visible during this day of the parikrama |
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| the people on the parikrama walk on their own, with their porters, each on his own yatra around the Divine |
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| prayer flags start showing up near Dolma La pass |
The Dolma La pass has expanded over the years. There used to be a small circle of flags, now the flags are strewn for over a mile around the center. There is a large cubic rock called the Phawang Mebar that holds the central flagpole, while many strings of flags are spread around with the many remnants of memorabilia people have left behind. People leave behind clothes, jewelry, animal skulls, human nail clippings and hair clippings. This pass at a height of 18,600-19000 feet is a a place of prayer and chanting. This is where I would have met the old woman or the man in the blue jacket, but I do not have any memory of seeing them.
After the Dolma La pass that separates the northern valley from the eastern valley, there appeared to be no reason to continue without air. I asked Hiraji if I can get some oxygen, and he obliged - a Sherpa with an oxygen cylinder walked with me, so I could get some oxygen. Though I was connected to the cylinder, I could not feel any air enter my lungs - it is a strange sensation to exist without the sensation of breath, without the chest expanding to an inflow of air, without the feel of a fullness of lungs, but I was walking and I was not breathing. A few times, I told the Sherpa to shut off the oxygen, because I was not taking it in. He tried to increase the pressure, but apparently there was no correction to be made, so we continued down the path with many pauses and without air.
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| prayer flags at Dolma La(5636 m, 18,600 feet) |
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| Gauri Kund below, 5608 meters or 18,400 feet |
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| the last view of Kailash behind the cliffs |
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| Hyagreeva, past Dolma La |
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| crossing the glacier |
After many pauses and leaning on rock, and Hiraji sharing his roasted chana and roasted corn with me along the way, we were finally crossing the glacier.
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| horses, freed of their riders an hour ago, graze on the scant grass |
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| the long walk ahead beckons, we have descended and will not see Kailash again |
At the base of the mountain, as the last few people come down the mountain, I am still aware of the lack of airflow to the lungs, but the heart beats to the panchakshari as always. There is a conviction that I will reach Zutulphuk. I know from experience that only five people remain, so this is going to be a long 3-4 hours trek at my speed, so be it.
I caught the rain and the sleet, and at every turn of the mountain range, I would ask if this was Zutulphuk, and I was told - no, further ahead. At long last, the curiosity had died. I was on the pony, it was raining at some point, then there was sleet, I could barely feel with my gloved hands but I was on a pony and the pony knew where to go, guided by my father. At long last, the mudhouse at Zutulphuk showed up - I did not recognize it, these are new mudhouse rooms with fresh paint on them.
There was a general cheer as I showed up - I was the last to enter the premises, the day with the longest trek activity was over, from the north face to the south east. Only the last eight miles of the parikrama remained for tomorrow. Annapurna and Hema brought me lukewarm Maggi soup. Drinking Maggi water after maybe eight or ten years, was not appetizing, but it appeared to give succor to the body. Temporarily nourished, I took the exhausted body to prostrate to Swamiji, it is Shiva's grace through him that I have reached this far. Neither this frail body nor this fickle mind has the strength on its own - the combined universe of Sherpas, ponies, ponymen, porters, their families, dogs and all, led by Swamijis with the grace of the Divine, take us on the physical journey across the mountains.
As I tried getting more Parle-G biscuits and tea, I found out that Anish in the next room was not doing well. I visited his room, at least three of the five people appeared sick. This is a high percentage of ill health than I have seen in earlier Kailash trips. Also, it is the month of September, when it is no longer so cold or raining, it is curious that so many of us are sick. A part of the reason is that there is only one doctor in the group who is herself very exhausted and sick, and the other reason is that with the constant oxygen checks by Karnali, people have stopped thinking for themselves. Lesson learned for future trips is to continue the daily check in each room and remind people to take their Advil and their paracetamol and their Dayquil.
AUM Namaha Shivaaya
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