Yakety-yak, don't talk back

With my apologies to the Coasters:
The yak wandering was solved by tying the lead yak up for the night. They searched and searched until they found a big rock (that’s a yoke) and tied him/her to it. I didn’t get up close and personal with it to find out gender, and everybody can read into it their own personal prejudices, excuse me, I mean points of view and decide on the correct gender of the lead yak. i.e. A male is more likely to wander? A female, which is actually called a nak, will stay if her mate is tied up/down, etc. At any rate, it seems like a parable of life, if you tie the lead yak down, all the others in the team will stay put. I might add that it helps considerably if the lead yak has a big nose ring with which to control him/her and someone on the other end willing to jerk the rope.
When controlling the yaks the nose ring certainly qualifies as a behavior modifier. 2nd parable, if you get them by the nose, their hearts and minds will follow, and where they go, the body goes as well.
The yaks are really pretty docile. You can walk around them and they care not. They suffer endless picture taking, cameras and video units snapping and whirring all around them. They just sit there with their red ribbons dangling from their horns and from the rings in their ears. They also have ribbons attached somehow to their shoulders and we don‚t know how that works.
In the morning when it’s time to load them the yak pas will round them up, they do some wandering, but stay in the general area. They’ll take them by their nose ring rope and just pull until they cooperate. Their nose will elongate by six inches or so before they decide that it’s to their advantage to follow. Sometimes, they really kick up a storm, literally. I can‚t imagine why.
But once they’re on the trail, they are pretty straight forward. Carrying at least a couple of hundred pounds each they are very sure of themselves on all rough surfaces. The yak pas have to make sure the load is balanced, but they are really good at knowing their animals and understanding the silent communication between themselves and these animals, which are their lifeblood. We slipped and slid on the rock slides, but the yaks just seem to know exactly where to put their cloven hoofs and they are very stable. We didn’t see any of them have any problems, and it was often very rough terrain. We were told that they actually do better on rough terrain than smooth.
The one thing they don’t like is high snow drifts. If they get into deep snow their feet and legs just break through, and when they get snow up to their belly they are very unhappy. They have a hard time lifting their legs out of the snow and seem to get very confused. A confused and unhappy yak is not something I want to see.
By the third day the yaks were far enough from home that they didn’t have to be tied up. They would just graze during the night. Often we’d have our tent ropes rattled and the entire tent shake and heave as a yak found that perfect spot of grass just to the outside of your tent. It became an event to which we became accustomed.
Trek Day 4
Carol woke up much better today, both mentally and physically. Must have been the anniversary which put her in such a foul mood She had her best night sleep and was full of enthusiasm to start the day. Her plan “B” was to sleep in her sweater for extra warmth and not letting the cold night temperatures settle upon her chest.
I too had a good night’s sleep and continue to improve, but still suffer under the effects of my taxi cab cough: hack, hack, hack. I’m on plan “D” and this seems to work. I’ve opened up my sleeping bag totally and use it as a blanket. This allows a freedom of movement with my legs and I don’t feel trapped inside this claustrophobic bag. I can tuck the bag around me as needed for warmth and it seems to work.
We had breakfast al fresco this morning, it was cold but beautiful with the air so clear and all the mountains so beautiful. We’re surrounded by the mountains now. We’ve trekked closer, ever closer to Everest, and as we approach other big peaks encompass our views. Magic.
Naturally we had to regain all the elevation we lost yesterday, so we had a tough two-hour climb straight up the mountainside. It was steep, naturally, and rocky, of course, but the thing which made it unique was the fact that it was through a juniper forest. What with giving all the elevation away yesterday, we were down below the tree line and it made for quite a different day as the desolation of the area with nothing but rocks gave way to the greenery. Tough life for plant life, as well has human life, here. The trees grow a total of 10 inches in 25 years. At the end of our climb through the thick shrubs, we were rewarded with our first real view of Everest. It had been cloudy and just as we crested the summit of our climb, the clouds dissipated and there it was. Not off in the distance or peeking out from behind another mountain or ridge, but right there in front of us with the sunlight glistening off the snow and dazzling in its brightness.
This Kangshung face is indeed marvelous. Kangshung means white mountain because this is the snowy side. The other views of Everest can be snowless, showing the rock face, but here from this side, it is one big field of snow and ice. We can hardly wait to get closer each day. As I understand, it will be in our view each day from here until we reach base camp. The Kangshung face is a massive 6,000 foot high cliff of ice which is what makes it so difficult a climb from this side. We could see the south col from which most of the successful ascents are made. We made note of the date and time to see if anyone was summiting at this hour. It looked so peaceful and calm up on top. We passed the binoculars around for closer views.
As a further treat, today we saw three of the 6 highest mountains in the world,
Everest, naturally, but also Lhotse, and Makalu. Previously we’ve seen
Cho Oyu
From this side Everest doesn’t seem to be that imposing a mountain. The summit looks like a gentle slope to the top more linear than vertical. Lhotse, on the other hand, looks like a far more technical climb. It has steep pinnacles which need to be scaled and no part of it appears to be “walkable” as Everest does.
We then walked down the ridge and sat for a while at an emerald lake flanked on each side by white capped “Hills.”
We had lunch in a secluded spot where Everest and the other peaks were just there for us to take in and try to find words to describe.
We reached camp after 4 and1/2 hours walking and set up in this protected little glade where if luck continues, when we open our tent door in the morning, Everest will be clear of clouds, and we will be able to view it almost from base to top. We should see Everest every day now, we’re very close to reaching our goal, Kangshung base camp on day six. None of it will be easy, nothing is at these elevations, but we’re in good spirits and generally good health.
Weather remains good, clear and bright for our walking time, then clouding
up in the afternoon, and as I write it is sunny and snowy at the same time, and, of course, cold.
We are camped in a small, level glade on one side of a very steep gorge, and just slightly more than a snowball’s throw is the other side of the gorge. It is black rock with white snow clinging to it’s shear face. Manoj says that we will probably hear avalanches during the night. Dave who walked fast this morning and had to wait for us to catch up said that he saw several just while sitting and watching.
The sheer vertical nature of these young mountains is so impressive. Nothing has eroded them to where the slopes are gradual. Everything just goes straight up here in the Himalayas, and it makes for the most stunning views. We’re looking forward to tomorrow to see what new vistas are in store for us. So far, each day has been a wonderful adventure. We go to bed each night knowing that whatever the dawn brings, it will be wonderful.
More tomorrow,
Carol and Jim