Local Couple Treks to Everest, See Pres. Feb. 23 at Cambridge Library
Paul & Gayle Poorman of Cambridge recently returned from a trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal. This is the embarkation point for most expeditions that climb Mount Everest. While the trek didn’t include an attempt on the summit, it still involved almost 80 miles of hiking and 40,000 feet of elevation gain. Late fall is an excellent time of year to hike in Nepal as the monsoon season is over and cool, sunny days can be counted on for optimal enjoyment. Indeed, for the 18 days that the Poormans were hiking, not one drop of rain dampened the adventure. The trip started with a heart-stopping landing at the Lukla airport on a runway that is only 1800 feet long with an uphill slope of 11% grade to shorten the landing distance. To help acclimatize to the base camp elevation of 17,350 feet, every other day was a “rest” day, where the group would stay two nights at a given lodge, climbing to a higher elevation during the day and then returning to the lodge for the second night.
Among the sights were views of many of the highest peaks in the world, including Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Pumo-ri, and Cho Oyo. Gayle remarks that the Nepalese people are among the nicest and most humble that she has ever met. Whether building roads, hauling loads, working their fields, leading treks, or manning their businesses, they all work extremely hard with no complaints. The trip was organized by “Hike with Sherpa”, a company founded by Nawang Sera Sherpa of Boise and her two brothers. Paul & Gayle will be showing pictures from their expedition on Friday, February 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the Cambridge library. Come and vicariously enjoy a beautiful foreign country; its scenery and its people.
