So on Day 8 of the trek (November 3 to be exact), Vik and I set off in an easterly direction towards our target - Mera Peak. With us was our crew: Nima (our sherpa), Chirring (our cook), Prem (one of our guides), Kaji (another guide), Passang (kitchen helper and porter) and 3 porters who were carrying our gear, the tents and various other supplies. Our first stop was Chitanga (3200m) where we enjoyed a nice night's sleep and then we made our way to Khar-ke-Tang (4000m) where we were met with our only foul weather of the trip. From Khar-ke-Tang, our intention was to attempt the Zetra La pass (4600m) that afternoon but there was way too much fog and the mountain was very icy so we decided to have a rest afternoon in Khar-ke-Tang and let the bad weather pass. To kill the time, Vik and I managed to learn and play a Nepali card game called Dhumal with a bunch of our staff (that we have now become addicted to playing). We also made up a game of horizontal darts with rocks and a hand drawn dartboard in the dirt. Then, we decided to make a snowman as well. Overall, it was a fun afternoon and actually I think we were both happy not to walk in that fog and slipperiness. That would have been chaotic. That night however was VERY cold - minus 8 actually in the tent and that's with our bodyheat too.

 

We successfully crossed the pass the next day but the annoying part was after going up and over 4600m, we had to come all the way back down to 3200 for our next night's camp. These constant up and downs are what really kill you while trekking because they take a toll both mentally and physically. The downhills really started to affect my knees and I then we both started getting some more severe headaches. Almost every day actually - especially whenever we would stop activity for a prolonged period of time (lunch, end of day, etc).

 

The next few nights, we slept in Tachtor, Kote (3800m), Tangnag (4600m) mixing with locals and primarily staying in guest houses. Our guide Nima was arranging for us to sleep indoors rather than in the tents. We weren't complaining at all b/c it's much warmer in the guesthouses and you just have more space for your bag, to pack up, etc.

 

We had a rest day in Tangnag and we made a couple of acclimatization walks as a result. Rest days interspersed throughout our itinerary were good because they gave our bodies time to breath but they also helped us to get acclimatized because we were making some pretty quick ascents from day to day. During our walk in the afternoon, we were sitting peacefully enjoying the view of a glacial lake when all of a sudden, we started hearing this heavy rumbling. We still couldn't see anything but within a few more seconds, started to see tonnes of snow rolling down the side of one of the mountains into the lake (luckily this was opposite where we were sitting). We were witnessing an avalanche and it was absolutely crazy just to see how loud and powerful it was.

 

On these days as we started rising more, we started encountering more groups of people who were on their down from Mera Peak. Most were actually in quite negative moods because they had horrible weather, minimal visibility, lots of snow and cold, windy nights. Our fingers were crossed that the weather would change and if every day until now was any indication, our prayers were going to be answered.

 

The next morning we made our way to Khare (4900m) which took about 3 hours. Once there, we met an English group trekking with another company. They seemed to be on the same schedule as us and they were some really good guys so Vik and I hung out with Damian, Rich and Mark quite a bit. We had a rest day in Khare where we did another acclimatization walk but this time in our plastic boots and crampons. We rented this gear in Khare and had to try it out to make sure it all fit, worked, etc. Overall, I wasn't very satisfied at all with my gear or with the safety it was going to provide me but I didn't have much of a choice b/c that's all they had. Initially, I don't think Vik or I had any clue we would be attempting the summit so we didn't even consider hiring crampons for climbing etc but I definitely would have preferred to have my own gear or at least better rental gear than the crap that I got stuck with.

 

On November 11, we made our way to Base Camp and passed the Mera La pass (5300m). Now we were in territory that was almost entirely covered in snow and ice. Everything was looking beautiful and we were experiencing perfect sunny bright blue skies so you couldn't complain at all. There was no longer any fresh water available in lakes and streams so we had to find ice to melt and then boil for our drinking/cooking water. We arrived at Mera High Camp (5800m) on the afternoon of November 12 and unfortunately, Vik and I didn't get the prime location behind the big rock. Our tent was kind of out in the open in the howling wind and it made for a very scary evening and night. Both of us had bad headaches when we arrived at camp and neither of us really had an appetite at all but we both had to force ourselves to eat because we needed the energy as we would be attempting the summit EARLY the next morning.