27 March

Singapore - Kathmandu
We had a grand sendoff by the 30 strong student contingent at the airport. We were honoured to be interviewed by the New Paper reporter, Shi’an. The girls were privileged to have good classmates. The girls received heart warming gifts like : Long letter, daily notes with M and M chocolates, loving tender care breakfast, etc..
We reached Nepal at about 1400 h. Singapore was 2 h 15 minutes ahead of Nepal time. We checked into Manang Hotel and had lunch then. We had a surprise guest that day. Lim Kim Boon, also my old time friend greeted us when we reached the hotel. He was also the Singapore Women Everest Team [SWET] Base Camp Manager. The SWET team was scheduled to reach EBC at about 6 April after summitting Lobuche East. We had a trek briefing by Deepak, Divine International director before we set off for our last minute shopping. We had a good time catching up with Kim Boon, had Diamox ceremony before we went to sleep. ‘DIAAAAAAAAAAMOXXXXX!!!!! ”

28 March

Kathmandu
[~ 1500 m]
We woke up at about 0500 h. Diamox really took effect! I woke up four times just to relieve myself. Diamox was meant to help our body system adjust to high altitude by peeing often, drinking a lot of water.
We reached Lukla airport at about 0645 h as scheduled. Flight was delayed as expected. When we finally got to board the plane, we realized to our dismay that the plane could not land. The plane hovered around the Lukla area for half hour before turning back to Kathmandu. There was no sign of good weather. The girls and teachers were disappointed but there was nothing we could do. Deepak and Alice personally came to receive us. We went for lunch visited their cosy home before heading back to the hotel at about 1600h.

The girls’ sharing : We should not expect things will always go on as planned. We should never take things for granted. We need to have patience when things cropped up. Adopting a positive attitude will help us to tide the matter through.

29 March

Lukla [2886 m] to Phakding
[2640 m]
We finally got to board the plane at about 0950 h. We reached Lukla at 1200 h. Set off for Phakding after lunch. It rained along the way. Many of the girls were caught off - guarded because they thought that it was only a three hours trek and did not put their outer shell in their bag. I had to remind the girls to take my instructions seriously and made sure they take care of themselves because of the long journey ahead. Started to control what they eat and drink. I am a tyrant.

30 March

Phakding to Namche Bazaar [3446 m]
A long journey. It was tiring for the girls but the group’s spirit was high. The girls shared about the simplicity of the Nepali’s lifestyle. “The best choice to complete the journey was to take small steps at a time.” quote by Cheryl.
“ Garlic soup every dinner, drink a lot of water, no fried food till after summit climb. “ Ms Puah’s chant.
Started to take the blood pressure, pulse of every student and teacher today. Generally, all have higher pulse rate, with Prisilla’s exceptionally high. Cherry has low blood pressure which I realized later from the doctor that it was not a concern at all.

31 March
Acclimatization day
We made our way up to Everest View Hotel, as part of our acclimatization climb. It was a panaromic view of the Himalayan mountains, with Everest standing tall and proud.
We visited the museum that depicts the culture and lifestyle of the climbing sherpas.
I assigned each girl to interview a foreigner of different nationality. The objective of the interview aimed to understand their purpose of coming to Nepal and to understand the culture of a foreign land.
Yuki was losing appetite. She was showing symptoms of Altitude Mountain Sickness. [AMS]

Sharing from the girls : Many of the foreigners came to Nepal for a common purpose : That is to see Mt Everest.
Wen Ting respected the sherpas because they were great people who helped many mountaineers to summit Everest while receiving minimum recognition from the world. The carving on the rock, prayer flags, turning prayer wheel, stupa, Buddha eye all showed the piousness of the Nepali people.
Yvonne : Mountains made us feel small.
Li Hoon : Tin [our guide] adopted a very professional and positive attitude to taking care of the group needs despite having been to EBC many times.

1 April

Namche
[3446 m] to Tengboche
[3870 m]
A gradual climb at first, walked along the ridge and a bit of up and down slope. Yuki was beginning to show fatigue and headache. The headache ranged from a scale of 5 to 8 to 5 out of the scale of 10. After dinner, she began to feel nausea and vomited twice. We monitored her closely. We reached Tengboche at about 1500 h. Yuki still didn’t feel good. Had a meeting with guide, teachers and Melissa. If she still didn’t feel well at night, we may need to get her down the mountain. I asked Yvonne to stand by.

Sharing from the girls : The trail was very dusty. It was heartening to see the bonding of the whole team. When the team completed the trail earlier, they formed the welcome party for the group who reached the tea house later. Nice.

2 April

Tengboche
[3870 m] to Pangboche [3985m]
Set off for Pangbache after breakfast. A bit of up and down but the trail was generally ok. We took lunch at Pangboche. To our surprise, Cheryl suddenly slumped on the seat and told us that she was too weak to continue. She was near to tears. Her headache increased from 4 to 6. Had a meeting with the teachers and Melissa, decided to stop at Pangboche for the night. Tin had to go to Periche [3 hours away] to cancel the accommodation for us and called the porters back since they were already at Somari which was 1.5 hour away from Pangboche. We were so apologetic.

Sharing from the girls : No one complained. Everyone accepted the fact that Cheryl needed rest and we will move on as a team. Others were sad because we need to cancel the CIP program at Nagarkot.

Assignment to the girls : Every girl has to choose one mentor from the SWET team and write to their mentor about the progress of their climb. Cherry wrote to Joanne [her mentor] that she was actually very angry with Cheryl, because she delayed their progress of the climb, but later she didn’t feel angry anymore because Joanne is a selfless person. She must learn from Joanne.

The one that was most inconvenienced were the porters and guide. We should take the extra day of rest positively. This extra day helped us to acclimatize even better.

We had a good time singing the Singapore Community Song : All were high spirited. Suddenly the dining hall was filled with life.

3 April

Pangboche [3985m] to Periche [4400 m]
We progressed very slowly. Yuki’s headache worsened. Cheryl was well rested and ready to go. We reached Periche at 1300 h. We attended the AMS talk conducted by the Himalayan Rescue Association. Realised that the treatment for AMS was 250 mg of Diamox,2 xs a day. Had reservation of prescribing drug to the girls unless necessary. Doctor asked Tin why we brought her up to Periche when she already had problem at Namche. Yuki vomited 2xs at night. Panicked. Brought her to see the doctor immediately. Cherry cried because she thought Yuki would be evacuated immediately. Yuki’s blood pressure, oxygen level, pulse was good. Doctor commented that headache due to migraine and AMS was hard to distinguish at high altitude. It was better to presume AMS at high altitude. She got an injection instead when she vomited the anti-nausea pill.

4 April

Acclimatisation day
Brought Yuki to see the doctor again. Doctor checked on Yuki thoroughly and told us that Yuki was ok. If there’s no headache, she can continue her climb. But if her headache continues, she should descend. We did our acclimatization climb from Periche to Dingboche. A slow and steady climb. None of us got the headache, a good sign. The teachers, Tin and Melissa decided that Yuki should stay at Periche even if she was well enough to proceed to Lobuche.

Sharing from the girls : Cherry witnessed a helicopter rescue in the early morning. That guy looked dizzy and drunk as he boarded the helicoptor. Cheryl updated us on the terrain of tommorrow’s climb. The team was sad that Yuki and Ms Tay could not continue the climb with us.

5 April

Periche [4400 m]
to Lobuche [4880 m]
A teary sendoff by Yvonne and Yuki. 5 girls, 2 teachers and Melissa set off from Periche at 0800 h. A tiring walk. The spirit of the girls was still high. Melissa’s energy level was very low today. She was not eating well. Worried for her. I advised her to eat instead of just liquid intake. She started taking garlic soup. We reached Lobuche at 1420 h. Earlier than I expected. Thank God for the good weather.

Sharing from the girls : Cheryl was very tired, due to low oxygen level. Wen Ting missed the company of Yvonne and Yuki. Priscilla and Cherry was feeling very tired and mild headache. Li Hoon admired the high spirit of the porter as they walked passed us.

6 April

Lobuche [4880 m]
to Gorak Shep [5150m]
The girls didn’t have a good sleep during the night. The nepali made a lot of noise. Most of them did not eat well. The progress of the trek was very slow. I had to “coax / force” them to eat their own comfort food. Without food, they will have no energy to move. Xin Fang and Wen Ting were not in good form. Xin Fang’s cough worsened and even told me her cough include bloody phlegm.

Wen Ting was crying due to extreme tiredness.

We reached Gorak Shep at 1215 h. All the girls were not in good form. I decided that they were not ready for the planned 7 hours trek to EBC. Decided to call off the trek and let the girls rest. It snowed at about 1700 h. It was a blessing in disguise that we didn’t go to EBC, else we might be caught in a snow storm.

Sharing from the girls : Most had headache of scale from 3 to 7. Hard to breathe and very tired. Cherry vomited when she woke up.

Alarmed by the fluctuating temperature of Wen Ting. Her temperature fluctuates by 0.5 to 0.7 degree Celsius every 5 minutes. I stayed vigil by Wen Ting’s side for 2 hours. Tin was so worried that he knelt beside her bed to pray for her recovery. It was snowing heavily outside the tea house. There was no way Tin can bring her down from Gorak Shep. Checked on her medical history but could not trace the reason of her fluctuating temperature. Later heard from the tea house owner that it might be due to her menstrual problem or teenager’s prolonged tiredness. Could only hope for the best.

7 April

Gorak Shep [5150 m] to EBC back to Lobuche [4880m ]
Wen Ting’s temperature

0000 h : 37.4 degree celsius
0500 h : 37. 6 degree celsius
0530 h : 37.7 degree celsius
0630 h : 37.9 degree celsius
Told Wen Ting it was a “no – go “ for her. She burst into tears. She wrote to her mentor “ Yi Hui” [one of the SWET team] that she could not go EBC to meet her anymore. Melissa volunteered to stay back to take care of Wen Ting because she was also having headache since last night and she felt she might not feel well enough to continue the EBC trek.

Wen Ting and Melissa stayed back at Gorak Shep and we continued our journey to EBC at about 0730 h. We followed the yak trail since the trail was completely covered with snow during the night. The progress was slow. Energy level of the group was very low. We trudged very slowly along the route, praying very hard for good weather. Finally reached EBC, only to our dismay, it was not the campsite of the SWET team. We need to move another 2 to 3 km before we finally located the SWET team campsite. EBC was a mini- city during this period. There was a total of 35 international teams at EBC. Much to our relief, our guide led us to the SWET campsite. We shouted for Joanne, Yi Hui. The SWET team was so happy to see us. We briefly caught up with each other, they showed us around the campsite. After taking some photos together, we made our way back to Gorak Shep. We got caught in the snow storm. We gritted our teeth and continued. Worried for the group, especially Cherry. She had been having diarrhoea during these 2 days. And she had not been eating much. Met the porter with the warm lemon tea. A welcome move especially when we were so cold in the snow storm. We reached Gorak Shep at 1500 h. Set off for Lobuche after lunch. Continued to walk in the snow storm. We reached Lobuche at 1830 h. Cherry slumped at the seat and started to shiver uncontrollably. I got her to change into dry clothing, and tug her warmly into the sleeping bag. Got another shock. Melissa was shivering internally as well. She has very low energy level. Got her to take some chocolate bars and warm water before getting her to sleep. Monitored her throughout the night. Good thing she recovered the next day. The night was cold.

8 April

Lobuche to Periche
Woke up early to cook porridge for Melissa and Cherry. They recovered fast. Cherry has no more diarrhoea. It took me 1 hour to cook the 3 minute instant porridge I bought from Singapore. Not easy to cook porridge at high altitude. We set off at 0900 h. An easy walk down to Periche. Reached Periche at about 1230 h. Yvonne and Yuki were so happy to see us. Hug and kisses, then lunch. They had a great time teaching the assistant guide, Krishna and the porter, Sonam, how to play the bridge game. Krishna turned out to outshine the teachers, Yvonne and Yuki.
A relaxing day, we had a celebration lunch since we were united. Bridge card game brought both Singaporean and Nepali together that night.

Sharing from the girls : Wen Ting shared that EBC was so near and yet so far, disappointed but have to accept the decision of staying behind. Cherry thought of given up because of the diarrhoea. Girls were warmed by the hospitality of the SWET team, encouraged by their presence.

Told them girls : we have to be realistic at times. Even for the SWET team, not all may summit because the window for summitting is always very small. What is more important is the process of climbing, the support provided for the team.

9 April

Periche to Khumjung
Set off at 0800 h. Morning was cold. Descent direct. Everyone was in high spirit. Long journey. Encountered hailstorm along the way, between the stretch of Phunki Tenga to Sanasa. A long hour of 8 hours trek. But the girls were ok. Reached Kumjung at 16000 h.
Reported safety to school.
10 April

Khumjung to Phakding
Beautiful sight in the morning. Snow everywhere, like Hokkaido in Japan. Set off at about 0800 h. A gentle down slope most of the time. Warned the girls of the frozen icy path. Trudged slowly and steadily. Nothing surprised us anymore since we have been through hail and snow. Reached Monjo at about 1315 h. Lunch waiting time was very really long. Reached Phakding at about 1700 h.
Realised we were on Channel News Asia and New Paper.

Priscilla ran a high temperature of 39.1 degree celsius in the evening. Temperature again fluctuated. Not too alarmed by the temperature after the encountered with Wen Ting. Sponged her to bring her body temperature down. Began to understand the teenager’s body temperature generally will fluctuate more especially in the mountain or inability to adapt to cold or altitude. Temperature finally stabilized to 37.7 degrees. Rested for the night. Took 2 more readings at 0000 h and 0200 h.

11 April

Phakding to Lukla
Priscilla’s temperature dropped from 34.5 degree to a dangerous 33.0 degree. Alarmed. Got Krishna to piggy her down to Lukla as quickly as possible. Her headache increased from 3 to 5. Internal shivering intensified. Gave her warm fluid at every stop. Got her to eat some snacks to burn off some energy. Checked her temperature constantly. Finally her temperature stabilized to 36.5 degree. Reached Lukla at about 1215 h. After lunch, we had free time. The girls and teachers went to Star Buck to chill off. We had celebration with the porters and guides after dinner. We had the Ramsam Phree Ree song and danced. The girls and teachers were shy and the porters were abit touchy. Warned one porter and reported to Tin.
Yvonne got diarrhoea in the evening. Suspected she got the bug from Priscilla as she shared the same Campbell soup. She rested for the night early. She did not have internal shivering. Ruled out the possibility of similar bug.

12 April

Lukla to Kathmandu
Woke up at 0430 h. Need to catch the first flight to Kathmandu. Weather was good, but to our dismay, the plane engine was down. Delayed the flight by 2 hours. Finally got to go back to Kathmandu. Saw Deepak, relieved. Checked in Hotel Moonlight. The girls shopped in the afternoon. Deepak welcomed us back.
Yvonne was still not feeling well. Rested for the day.

13 April
Kathmandu
Breakfast at 0800 h. Yvonne, Li Hooon and Melissa caught up with the last minute shopping. Set off for airport at about 1030. Cherry and Wen Ting started to have diarrhoea. Wen Tin felt nausea. Gave them anti- nausea pill and anti- diarrhoea pill from the air stewardess. Reached Singapore at about 2015 h. Updated the parents on the students’ well being. Home Sweet Home.