Miracle Dispatch (if it works)

< Newer | Older > Tue, 04/08/2008 - 08:15 — skress

Monday, April 7. 5000m Loboche Eco Lodge.
Today we walked from Dingboche to Loboche in just under four hours. The trail out of Dingboche was fairly steep to start and then up and down to Duglha. Just outside Duglha the trail went up steeply for just over an hour. At the top of the ridge are many many stone memorials for climbers who have died on Everest. From this point it was pretty flat to Loboche.
Loboche is not a pretty place. It is a way point on the way to base camp. It is quite dirty and not somewhere one would want to spend much time. The lodge we are in however, is quite nice. The rooms are big and clean and there is a very nice dining room. I'm not sure of the room charges, but the food is quite expensive. Yak steak and chicken kiev is $10 which is a lot by lodge standards.
My walk was a little tough today as I am once again dealing with stomach issues. It seems my digestive system is not designed to handle food and drink in third world countries. Even the Dukoral is not preventing my stomach issues (Dukoral is a drug I took prior to departing for Nepal that is intended to eliminate or reduce travelers diarrhea). Perhaps, however, it would be a lot worse without the Dukoral.
Tomorrow we will have a two hour walk to Gorak Shep and we will find out what will happen to our communication equipment. There are many rumors from a complete ban and confiscation, to no problem for personal use. We'll see.
That's all for now.
Big hugs to Susan, Amy and Colin.
Scott. (SS)
P.S. Susan, if this goes through it means we have got the dispatch system working. From now on only email to my myeverest email address.

Tuesday, April 8. Gorak Shep 5200m. Yeti Resort.
This morning we left Lobuche at 9am. The walk was pretty easy with only two short steep sections. Most of the trail was relatively flat sand or moss. It took us less than two hours.
Along the was we stopped at the pyramid research station. This is a high altitude research station run by Italy. It is a glass pyramid with three floors and a lodge for eating and sleeping connected to one side. I poked my head in the lodge and I saw a group of researchers relaxing. Their accommodations seemed a step above the standard trekking lodge. The room was quite warm with comfortable furniture and there was a beer tap on the wall with two selections of draught. They were watching WWF wrestling on the TV.
I stepped into the pyramid to see what was going on and spoke with an Australian researcher. He said that he was studying the affect of various drugs on sleep patterns at altitude. He said he had applied to do this research two years ago and was now here for three weeks. The Italian government covers all living expenses once at the station. There were also researchers examining geology, climatology, and global warming.
After visiting the pyramid we continued on to Gorak Shep. We are now at the Yeti Resort which is nice but far from a resort. The rest of the team has gone to climb Kala Pathar, but I have elected to stay behind a I as still feeling the effects of my stomach bug. It is getting better but I have a ways to go yet. If it is not better By tomorrow morning I will get serious and start a course of antibiotics.
Update: after a mad dash to the bathroom I have decided to start a round of Cipro. I have found this drug to be quite effective in the past and hope for similar results this time.
We have not heard much about communication restrictions which I think is good news. If expeditions were having their communication equipment confiscated I think word would have filtered down the trail. There is no police post here at Gorak Shep and we have not heard of one at base camp either. So perhaps we will be allowed to keep our gear. Now I only need to hope that it will work.
If this dispatch goes out it will be a small miracle. I have tried several times every day with no luck. I have not even been able to make a voice call. I'm not sure if the problem is with my system or with the satellite system. Regardless, it has been immensely frustrating. It would be easier to have no system at all than to have one that will not work.
Tomorrow we head to base camp. The weather has improved greatly. Today is warm in the sun with a clear blue sky.
Our team of Ryan, Angus, Alan and Al are all doing well.
Big hugs to Susan, Amy and Colin.
Scott. (SS)

Messages

Nepal Belly

Visitor — Tue, 04/08/2008 - 09:50

Scott
I went to Base Camp with World Expeditions in October. 14 trekkers in the group and about 25 support staff.
They were very particular about hygeine and would not let anyone eat at any bakeries or lodges - cooked everything themselves. We also used non aqueous hand cleaner whenever we put anything near our face.
Not one person got sick so there is no doubt that it can be avoided.
Good luck mate. I hope the antibiodic kills it but watch for the Giardia as well.
Regards
Peter

My experiences with Nepal belly

Paul Adler — Tue, 04/08/2008 - 11:09

Hi Peter,

These are all good points that you make here and excellent advice for someone traveling in Nepal.
But this hasn't worked for me. When I went with IMG in 2006 and only ate their food on the trek into BC, I also got sick within a couple of days, so it's not always guaranteed. This time last year I was in Nepal and only ate at the tea houses and didn't get sick - I put it down to being more used to it. Later last year in November I was back with a group of 4 other people, 3 whom hadn't been to Nepal before and no one got sick, despite only eating at the tea houses. As long a you take basic precautions like washing your hands, not biting nails and only staying at good lodges you should be right. If the dining room that everyone sees doesn't look clean, then the kitchen is unlikely to be any cleaner. Take your business elsewhere.

In November last year we came over the Cho La pass from Gokyo lakes heading towards Everest Base Camp - it's a long day. When we got to Zongla where we had planned to stay the night, the only place that was available didn't look very clean too me. So after some dhal (the safest option), we trekked on for another 3 hours to Lukla to the comfort and better food of Eco Lodge. When we next met up with the trekkers from another group who had stayed at that lodge, some of them got sick the next morning.

That said, getting sick is nothing to be afraid of as long as you act very quickly by taking Ciprofloxacin ("Cipro"). It's available cheaply over the counter in Kathmandu (about US$1 per course) or you can get it at home. I have seen people really struggle with altitude sickness which I believe was brought on or certainly exacerbated by dehydration from diarrhea. Cipro works so fast - take it in the morning and you will be fine by the afternoon. Many people take a short course of it, but I always recommend that people take the full ten tablets - 2 a day for 5 days. If the symptoms persist beyond a day then you need to consider if you might have giardia - a much more difficult bug to treat.

I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on avoiding getting sick in Nepal and any good tips on dealing with it.

Cheers, Paul Adler.

I was in Nepal with Paul in

Cas — Wed, 04/09/2008 - 13:46

I was in Nepal with Paul in November and earlier in the year in May. Both times I was ok. I'm sure there is always a bit of good fortune involved , but here is what I concentrated on . I washed my hands everytime before I ate or after using the bathroom with anticeptic gel...this became a ritual and I carried a small bottle in my pocket at all time s. Paul has a good point about not biting your nails ( mine grew a lot longer than they would at home as I was so aware of not biting them )..Another point was that I ate very simple and hardly any meat , unless it was a well known lodge. Mostly Rice, Vegetables and garlic soup. But mostly I had Dal Bhat ....nearly once a day. With that I ate Atzak ( a kind of hot local pickle made of root vegetables ). Most sherpas used to eat it. My theory behind it was..if they eat it it must be good , and something so hot must kill all other bacteria. I must say that I have no actual proof to support my theory , but it worked for me. I also made sure that my water was not only boiled, but also sterilized..Either with iodine or using my magic wand. : -) ( an utraviolet light stick..that disarms most bacteria ) Again this might be overkill

Hope this is of some help

Cas

We're following your progress with great interest

Visitor — Tue, 04/08/2008 - 13:56

Scott, I just put a brief message together and think I lost it in the "Submit" stage. All is well in Oakville. Spring has arrived. Snow gone, sun getting warmer and bulbs showing through the ground. The Olympic Torch relay is creating quite a buzz. Today they are in San Fran. All the best. We hope you've got the cure for your stomach issues. We're following your journey every day. Take care of yourself. Love, Mops and Pops

hope you're on the mend

pennyl — Tue, 04/08/2008 - 14:06

Scott:

We hope you're feeling better after your course of Cipro - we can't imagine how nasty it must be to trek with a stomach bug! Yuck!!

We have been following the communication equipment ban story with some interest, so we were really happy to see that your posts got through today. Hopefully your equipment will not be confiscated when you get to Base Camp. We would like to keep following your climb!

Best wishes from all your friends at QECVI!

Nepal Belly

Pumori — Wed, 04/09/2008 - 03:16

We stayed at that funky lodge in Dzonglha, Paul, but none of our group ever got sick during three weeks on the trek to Base Camp and over to Gokyo. We ate at lodges the whole way, a few of which were of questionable cleanliness.

One thing I would remind people to do is be sure you use purified water to brush your teeth! If you're using the local water, it can make you sick even if you don't swallow any. (Be sure to close your mouth when showering, also.) I used a Katadyn water bottle/filter during the trek and I swear by it. I also used hand sanitizer and personal wipes to wash my hands before meals.

Good luck to you Scott, and I hope your tummy troubles are history.

Shanda

Which lodge?

Paul Adler — Wed, 04/09/2008 - 03:46

Did you stay at the main large lodge or the smaller, old one? The one I was referring is the smaller one and has dirt floors with shared sleeping areas. Cheers, Paul.