Thame (6 Nisan/April 6)

Namche’den sonra yaklasik 5-6 saat suren “yavas” bir yuruyusten sonra Thame’ye geldik. Thame klasik Everest ana kampi trekking rotasinda olmayan bir koy. Ve biraz yukarisindaki Thame Manastiri ile biliniyor. Artik sadece o da degil, Lakpa Rita burada dogup buyumus. Ayni zamanda Apa Sherpa da oyle. Apa Sherpa 22 Everest zirvesine sahip cok saygi duyulan baska bir Sherpa. Lakpa Rita’nin akrabalarinin islettigi kucuk konaklama yerinde biraz atistirdiktan sonra, manastira dogru tirmandik. Inanilmaz guzel bir yerde kaya duvarlarinin altina insa edilmis ve 25-30 arasinda ogrencinin Budizm ogrendigi ve yasadigi biryer burasi. Ici kimbilir kac yuzyillik dua kagitlari dolu (eminim bunun daha duzgun bir adi vardir), resimler, islemelerle dolu. Insanin geri inesi gelmiyor, huzur dolu.

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We climbed up slowly for another 5-6 hours after Namche to Thame. Thame is not on the classic Everest base camp route. And it is known with its monastery right above the village. Not just that though anymore. Lakpa Rita is from here, so is Apa Sherpa who hold 22 Everest summits and another very respected Sherpa. After eating some food at Lakpa Rita’s relatives place, we hike out to the monastery. It is at an incredible location under huge rock faces. There are about 25-30 students studying and living here. It is full of prayer stacks, pictures, embroideries: probably all several hundred years old. It was hard to leave this place and walk down, so peaceful.

Manastir / Monastery

Eski ve yeni / Old and new

Kisa bir yuksege uyum yuruyusu / A short acclimatization hike

Namche'de biraz rahatsiz bir gece gecirdim, ekibin cogu da dahil buna. Yukseklige uyum cok acaip birsey. Zaman aliyor, sabir gerekiyor, basagrisi, uyuyamamak gibi semptomlari var en basta - tabi ki bunlar en hafif semptomlar. Kahvaltidan sonra birkac saatlik kisa bir aklimatizasyon (yukseklige uyum) yuruyusu yaptik Namche'nin yukarilarina dogru. Gunes butun gun yuzunu gostermedi ve pek fazla guzel fotograf cekemedim. Ogleden sonra da aradiginiz herseyi bulabileceginiz Namche'nin kucuk ama sahane dukkanlarinda dolandim. Yaklasik 2 ay anakampta yasayacagim cadirimin icine koymak icin ucuz bir Tibet halisi aldim. Boyle detaylar onemli. O cadir benim evim, siginagim olacak cok uzun bir sure. Hem de kayalar ve buz kutleleri ile aramda ekstra bir katman olacak. Bir de kucuk bir firca aldim, halimi temizlemek icin  - Turk kadiniyim nerede olursam olayim :) 

Yarin sabah Namche'den ayriliyoruz. Buranin cok daha buyumus ve degismis olacagini saniyordum, O'nu neredeyse ayni bulmus olmak cok hostu gercekten.

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I spent a rather uncomfortable night in Namche last night - turns out it wasn't just me. Acclimatization is a weird process. It requires time and patience and have symptoms like headache and insomnia at the beginning - and these are only the very mild ones. Right after breakfast we went up above Namche for a short acclimatization hike. The sun never shoed itself so I don't have many nice photos. And in the afternoon, I strolled through Namche's small stores but you can find the world in them. I bought a nice cheap Tibetan rug to put in my tent at the base camp. Such details are important since that tent will be my home and shelter for almost 2 months. It will be an extra layer on rocks and ice as well. I also got a small brush to clean it - I am a Turkish woman wherever I go, can't help it :)

We are leaving Namche tomorrow morning. I thought it was going to be much bigger and different. But finding it almost the same gave me a great joy.

Namche

Lakpa Rita

Katmandu'da bir binanin duvari / On the side of a building in Kathmandu

Lakpa Rita - 17 Everest zirve tirmanisi yapmis ve hala devam ediyor. Everest ve dagcilik ortamlarinda taninan ve inanilmaz saygi duyulan bir kisilik. Cok guclu, cok sakin, ve cok huzur veren birisi. 2004’te kendisiyle tanisma serefine ermistim, cok sansliyim bu sene benim katildigim tirmanisi organize edecegi icin. Oyle ki her sene Khumbu buzuluna sabit hat doseyen Sherpalarin basina gecmesi isteniyor. Inanilmaz tecrube sahibi, inanilmaz hikayeleri var. Kendisinden cok sey ogrenecegim kesin.  Nepal markasi Sherpa Gear’in de tum dunyadaki yuzu.

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Lakpa Rita - 17 Everest summits and counting. Very well known and very respected Sherpa mountaineer in Everest and mountaineering circles. Super strong, super calm, and very peaceful person. I got the honor of meeting him in 2004 and I am so lucky that he will be organizing the climb I’ll be part of this year. Every year, he is asked to lead and organize the Sherpas fixing the lines on the Khumbu glacier. Incredibly experienced climber, with incredible stories. I will for sure learn from him a ton. He is also the face of the Nepalese Sherpa Gear to the world.