Nepal: days 11-15

After a grueling trek, mainly due to a recent stomach bug, I made it to Gorak Shep, the last village located at more than 16,800 feet. To put things in perspective, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S. sits at only 14,500 feet high. So, it didn't amaze me that when I arrived to the lodge I could barely talk to my Canadian friends and almost fainted because of a lack of vital nutrients. I quickly gulped a salt and sugar supplement drink to get me back on track.

Following a short nap I decided to hike Kala Patthar, a scenic point that afforded views of Mount Everest and other goliaths. Since I was still a little dizzy and lightheaded I took baby steps up the hill that stood at more than 18,100 feet. I walked so slowly that I was even passed by an old German man who advised me to breath in with one step and out with the other. At high altitudes like this trek many people fall victim to Acute Mountain Sickness, which is caused by going up high too fast and can be fatal. It is said that there is less than half the amount of oxygen at these heights compared to sea level. In other words, you have to breath in more often to obtain a suitable amount of oxygen. I wisely pushed my ego aside, took the German's advice and made it to the top.

The summit had a 360-degree view of some of the tallest peaks in the world. The south side of Mount Everest peeked from behind another mountain and the clear blue sky made it easy to capture great photos.

The next morning I headed up to Everest Base Camp along a rocky trail that followed and eventually crossed a glacier. While on the glacier, every step had to be calculated since a wrong step could land you a freezing pond. Once at the camp a small avalanche came rushing down the entry point to Everest's south summit, leaving a plume of snowy dust in the air. Luckily no one was on the icy passage at that time. I ventured into one of the camps preparing to climb Everest when I recognized a New Zealand couple staying at the same lodge talking to one of the climbers.

To my surprise they were chatting with an American climber planning to summit Everest in the coming days. His name is Eric Larsen and he is currently on the famed mountain. He told me that he was conquering Everest as part of his environmental awareness campaign to highlight climate change. If he reaches the summit, he will be the first person to mount major expeditions to the bottom, the top and the roof of the world in one year. Earlier this year he carried out expeditions to the North and South poles. You can follow him on his Web site: www.savethepoles.com.

I thought it was an honor to meet such an experienced climber, especially at base camp. However, Larsen downplayed the Everest feat, saying that specialized sherpas, called Ice Doctors, do all the work along the passage beforehand. He made it sound like almost anybody could climb Everest. He forgot to mention that the going price for an Everest expedition nowadays is roughly $70,000 per person to pay for the manpower, supplies and permits. And since I couldn't find an ATM up there, I chose to skip the Everest summit this time around.