The hike was more of the same. We made a steady pace, and had our plan set if we heard falling rocks, or if another aftershock hit. For the most part the path was solid and without any incident. Occasionally we would see a giant dent in the path, only to look below and see one of those boulders the size of houses we had heard so much about. It kept us alert, as a reminder we could be crushed into mush at any moment. Our only main obstacle was a section completely wiped out by a landslide. We had a look around, and it was clearly not safe to walk along the main area. After some snooping around, we saw some foot prints hiking straight up, over and around the section. It tested our nerves, as the entire area still looked as though it could give way. We hurried along, and soon rejoined the main path in a safer area. A mere 5 hours or so later we were passing through the main gate marking Lukla, our goal.
The town was in great shape. Minimal damage to buildings, and the 3 story hotels looked solid. Reassuring, as we anticipated needing all the space possible for tired trekkers seeking refuge. Our first goal was information. Now as westerners, you might expect some level or organization, or authority tracking people coming in, and offering some information. Nope. Nothing. This is not the western world. There was nobody in charge, nobody we could see anywhere that was monitoring the capacity or the town. Just a few trekkers mulling about.
The first stop was the airport. We had seen one plane fly out while we hiked, and had pipe dreams of the possibility of just strolling into a flight to Kathmandu. The airport was a busy cluster f$%#. I headed to the check in counters to solicit some information, but after chatting with some folks getting ready to fly, managed to deduce the following. I was never going to fly anywhere. Barely any fights were moving. Most of the pilots had not reported to work as they were possibly dead in Kathmandu, or dealing with a destroyed home. They were trying to just service tickets that had been purchased for the current day, and well my ticket was for May 9th, 12 days later….
Andres had a bit better news, relatively speaking. We could just outright buy new tickets for 4 days later, and hope we get out then. Not exactly flowing in cash, I held off on this option hoping things would start becoming more flexible as the emergency situation became more apparent. So with the wind taken out of our sails we left the airport, and looked for accommodation. The town was still not that busy, so we needed to snatch up something that could hold us for at least a week or more. Some other trekkers had suggested joining their tent camp in a safe open area near where the helicopters land. Tents were expensive however, so we landed a room in the hotel directly over looking the run way. The building looked great, they had food, wifi and showers ( if the sun shines ).
Now that shelter was acquired, we did some exploring. Settling in at a quaint coffee house above the airport, we saw our first glimpse at TV coverage. CNN showing off the horrible state of Kathmandu. It didn’t calm our nerves much to say the least. I emailed Venn to try and pin down his location, and was relieved to hear he was nearby already settled into a hotel. I went to find him, and we hugged in celebration of our safety. He also informed me, he got our flight changed, and if a full day of planes go out the next day we should be able to be on the end of day flights. Great news, maybe this would all just go smoothly ( snicker…).
We were in relative comfort, and also were making friends, and seeing familiar faces from the trail come into town. It was a strange vibe, as nobody knew when we’d get out, and if more danger was looming. However, our immediate threat level seemed to be appeased, and that alone was a huge relief. Also a relief, was a somewhat steady internet source. It was very comforting to be able to message friends and catch up on the crazy social media traffic I had created. Quite surreal. Along with catching up, my sister informed me to make contact with the company she had hired to get me out, Global Rescue. She thought I may be able to get helicoptered out. We had heard at $5000 a ride people were getting lifted out. I didn’t pursue this, as there was a limited supply of choppers, and people in need of help were still being lifted off the trail. It felt very wrong to try and sneak my way in front of somebody in worse shape. But this would set forth a interesting saga with Global Rescue.
That first night we slept in the common area of our hotel on the floor, in fear of more rumbles, but things went fine. Also, we all slept well, and had showered. We awoke at sunrise to what appeared to be a clear morning. The Lukla bell went off signaling the first incoming flight, so we sat back and waited to see our fate.
However, it was not going to be that easy to get out. Stay tuned to hear how I finally managed…