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a yak for the trip to ABC
Kelly Raymond
and Ed Hommer — from Jets to Yaks: our thanks to UPS for getting
it all here.
Journal
7: Saddle Up, We’re Moving Out
by
Brian McCullough
August
25, 2001
Everest Basecamp
Yesterday we were told that the Tibetans would start loading our gear onto the yaks at 6.30 AM this morning, but it took until 10:00 AM for these folks to show up with just a few yaks. For several hours they went through our gear, picking it up, testing the weight and moving it into piles, only to shake their heads and make new piles.
Finally, after we pulled out a few boxes and offered more money, they were ready to bring up the main herd and start loading. But first some kind of gambling game had to take place to see who got what load for what yak.
Meanwhile, Ed sat down on a rock to work on his feet. When he pulled one off, he got all of the Tibetans’ attention. We pulled out some UPS and Touchtone Energy hats, and Ed played and goofed around with several of the younger Tibetans who held up his artificial legs in wonder and amazement.
We used sign language to get this crazy show on the road. Each yak had two small blanket pads and a tiny wooden saddle on its back, which was tied on with three handmade yak hair ropes. One rope went across its chest, one went under its belly and one went straight back and under its tail. After the yaks were saddled, our loads were tied on with even more rope.
I departed a couple of hours ahead of the main herd, followed by Karl, to be in place at the 18,900 ft. level, about six miles from base camp.
Yesterday while scouting we had discovered a large crevasse that blocked the way across the glacier. Today at dusk the first yaks arrived at the crevasse and were stalled by this 100 ft. deep crack. The Tibetans stopped and walked back and forth, trying to figure out a way across. Finally they decided to just camp for the night and deal with the problem in the morning.
As the other yaks gradually arrived, their loads were dropped where they stood. The Tibetans had their tarp-like tents up in no time. Soon they were cooking on dried dung fires, using small bellows to keep the fires going. The glacier at this spot was covered in rocks and made for some uncomfortable camping. My dinner was a boiled potato with hot pepper that I crushed between two stones.
--Brian
