Khumjung'a dogru (7 Nisan) / On way to Khumjung (April7)

Thame’de gunesli bir gune uyandik bu sabah. Buradan ayrilmadan once Lakpa Rita ile dogup buyudugu ve hala anne-babasinin yasadigi evi ziyaret ettik. 8 kardesler ve sadece bir goz mutfak+yasama alani bir evde buyumusler, anne ve babasi sonradan bir goz daha eklemisler cocuklari icin. Evin girisi cok alcak ve ilk gorulen sey de kurutulmus yak tezekleri. Kucukken hergun tek yon 4 saat yuruyerek Khumjung koyundeki Hillary Okulu’na gidip gelirmis (Everest’e 1953’te ilk cikan dagci olan Edmund Hillary - Tenzing Norgay ile birlikte - tarafindan yaptirilmis bir okul). Cok zor gelirmis tabi cocuk oldugu icin ama anne ve babasi biraktirmamis okulu. Hergun 4 saat tek yone kar kis demeden yuruyerek cocuk haliyle gidip gelmis olmasi bugunku Lakpa Rita’yi Lakpa Rita yapan en onemli seylerden biri, ama daha oyle cok hikayeleri var ki, firsat buldukca paylasacagim. Bu koy bana bizim koyumuzu ve buyukanne ve buyukbabalarimin evlerini de hatirlatti. Pencere kenarindaki hali kapli sedirler, ortada soba, duvarlarda fotograflar… Thame ayni zamanda Tenzing Norgay’in gencliginde yasadigi bir koy. Lakpa’nin babasi zamaninda Tenzing’le beraber tirmanislarda calismis. Tenzing Norgay, Apa Sherpa, Lakpa Rita - kisaca cok ozel bir yer.

Thame’den yine yavas 4 saatlik bir yuruyusle Khumjung koyune dogru yola ciktik. Yolda sadece rahibelerin yasadigi bir manastiri ziyaret ettik. Sans eseri tam dua ederlerken yakaladik onlari. Oturduk, mumkun mertebe huzurlarina dahil olmaya calistik. 

Khumjung’da da Amadablam manzarali biryerde kaliyoruz (su an hava kapali malesef). Amadablam 10 yil once gozume carpan, cok ama cok guzel ve sivri bir dag. Belki tirmanmak bana da kismet olur. Ilk (ve hala tek) Turk tirmanisi sevgili arkadasim yetenekli dagci Tunc Findik’a aittir.

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We woke up to sun this morning in Thame. Before leaving this place, we visited the house that Lakpa Rita grew up in. His parents still live here. They were 8 siblings and were living in one-room house. Later on his mother and father added a second room for their kids. The house has a very low entrance and the first things you see are dried yak dung all stacked up. When he was a little boy, Lakpa used to walk 4 hour one way to Hillary School (established by Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Everest in 1953 along with Tenzing Norgay) in Khumjung and back. It was a very hard thing for him to do as a small kid but his parents didn’t let him quit. The fact that he went to school in rain and shine for 4 hours each way as a kid is one of the things that made him the Lakpa Rita he is today. There are so many more about him and I’ll try to share as much as possible. His village reminded me of our village and my grandparents’ homes. Seats along the windows covered with carpets, the stove in the middle, the photographs on the walls… Thame is also the place Tenzing Norgay spent some of his youth. Lakpa’s father worked with Tenzing in some expeditions back in the day. Tenzing Norgay, Apa Sherpa, Lakpa Rita - a very special place indeed.

After Thame, we walked about 4 hours towards Khumjung. On the way, we visited a nunnery (a monastery just with nuns). We were fortunate to witness a praying ceremony they were holding. We sat next to them and tried to be part of the peace as much as possible.

We are staying at a place with the views of Amadablam (it is foggy at the time though). Amadablam got my attention 10 years ago - it is a beautiful and steep mountain. I hope to climb it one day. My dear friend and a talented mountaineer Tunc Findik still holds the first (and still the only) Turkish climb of this peak.

Thame

Rahibeler dua ederken / Nuns chanting

Rahibelerden biri / One of the nuns