When we had already settled in, camp basewe were joined by those from the “flash” group, who were those who had done their acclimatization outside the mountainin special tents to simulate height. It was then that two Austrians joined the group: father and son. The boy was 19 years old and at first he was very shy. However, he ended up being friend of all. Those two Austrians, weeks later, would be at the top of the Everest playing a game of chess. We were also joined by an American who was very energetic. I, a Caribbean girl, always talked a lot with everyone, making friends with everyone. Everyone had their own personality and that made the group special. As a team, we faced everything together, even the cold.
He camp base It is located 5,300 meters from altitudeThe temperature is between minus five and minus ten degrees. It was a long time cold. At first, it was harder for me to sleep. It’s not easy to fall asleep at such a high temperature. altitudebecause it can give you a headache. To counteract this, I hydrated myself very well. The first few days were more difficult, but as the nights went by I ended up getting used to it. The sunny days were more pleasant. However, when it started to snow or it was cloudy, the temperature dropped considerably. The body noticed all this, so the impatience to climb was growing.
My hygiene in it camp base
To go to the bathroom, the camp base had some latrines that consisted of beautiful blue buckets that were then evacuated from the mountain. It smelled awful… You put on a bandana, say a few prayers to God and do your business. At night, the situation changed. Getting out of the tent was more complicated, because the temperature dropped. For this reason, I had a bottle in the tent that I used when the temperature was unforgiving.
We used water heated with gas to bathe, so it was not possible to do it every day. On other days, when I did not have the time or strength to do this task, I would clean myself with a damp cloth.
In it camp base You want to take great care of yourself because you know that at any moment you can be given the go-ahead to climb. However, the conditions were difficult. On one occasion, I had a bad cough, like a cold. The doctor at the camp He checked me, gave me medicine and I finally got better. A few days later, I got sick with a different kind of cough, like a dry one. I was lucky that I kept in touch with Dr. Julio de Peña, doctor of the first Dominican expedition to the Everest. He had experience in the camp base and gave me very valuable advice. Getting sick in the mountain It was a problem I didn’t want to face. It could make me lose the expedition.
On another occasion, while we were training on those snowy slopes, I had the period. During that day I had to do a hike and it was terrible. I was fighting with myself because I felt like I wasn’t moving forward and it wasn’t comfortable at all. Despite that, I knew that one day this would happen to me, and there are ways to avoid it, but I decided that it was better for it to come to me in the future. camp base that in the middle of the ascent.
I needed many things
In it camp baseshortly after heading towards the summit, I missed many things. I really missed my familymy house, my bed, my bathroom, my shower… At that moment I really missed the meal Dominican, the warmth and the beach. Every day I thought of a different beach. All those things that I took for granted in the comfort of my home, were presented to me like a lure.
To cope with this homesickness, I had my friend Paul who was with me. He was doing very well, he is a very strong person. We call him the “Grinch”, affectionately, because he is not a man who expresses many feelings of joy. He understood that we were doing the right job. When we needed to push harder, he did it. On days off he would take me to do some exercises extra. It helped me make up for what I lacked in technique through practice.
So during those 13 days in the camp baseThey were telling us: “We’re leaving tomorrow”, “tomorrow yes”, “tomorrow we’re on the road”… That was playing with our mind and patience. However, as with everything in life, the final announcement eventually arrived. We had landed on the camp May 3rd. It was on the 15th when they announced to us that we would be leaving the next day.
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A story of Thais Herrera as told to journalist Miguel Caireta Serra.
