Steffen it up.
Name: Carolyn Steffen
Age: 22
Hometown: Polk City, IA
Area of study: Kinesiology, Pre-Physician's Assistant track
Year in school: Senior (1 more semester)
I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because... I have been involved in research for 3 years with Wes Lefferts as a research assistant. When he sent an email out about this expedition, I knew that I had to go. I have always been a person who loves traveling. This expedition is a way to immerse into a different culture and challenge myself mentally and physically through the trek to Everest Base Camp. Also, this trip is a perfect opportunity to maximize the research skills that I have developed over the last 3 years. Finally, who can resist a trip to see Mt. Everest and all the other mountain views around it??
I'm involved with the SU collaborative research studies by... I am one of the Iowa State students on this trip. I am involved in a research team with Wes Lefferts and Abby Burkhart. On this trip we have been collecting data on 17 participants from SU and Canada to investigate high altitude effects on brain blood flow. I have also been a participant in the other 3 or 4 studies that are also investigating high altitude effects on specific aspects of the body (spleen, apnea, balance).
I'm most looking forward to... Seeing Everest Base Camp was the part of the trip that I was most looking forward to, however, since I am writing on the day that we have reached Everest Base Camp, the thing that I am most looking forward to has changed slightly. While there are still plenty of beautiful sights to see on the way back down to Lukla, I have to say the thing that I am most looking forward to is a SHOWER. I do not even care if it is hot or cold. Secretly, I have not showered in 5 days, the last shower being in Pheriche before we headed up to Base Camp. I know, I know you can say that is disgusting, and I would agree, but if you saw the shower options outside of Pheriche, you would also be in the same spot as me.
My favorite part of the trip so far has been... There are so many parts of this trip that have been nothing but amazing. From the views of all the mountains, to the food, the culture, and the helicopter ride to Lukla, every single part as been memorable. However, my favorite part of the trip so far has been meeting so many new people from different places. There are people from Canada, Sweden, Netherlands and more. It has been so cool to get to know everyone and learn about where they came from and what they are working on now.
The worst part of the trip so far... The worst part of the trip so far has been the bugs Abby and I have found in our room at almost every location. Both Abby and I have been quite confused how bugs are surviving at the altitude that we have been at, however, there never fails to be a bug of some sort in our room. This started in Namche where there was a huge fly in our room. We had the lights turned out when I felt something crawling on my wrist and I shouted at Abby to turn the light on. Turns out it was a fly, but we could not find it. So, we turned out the light again and then Abby shot out of bed 10 minutes later as it was crawling on her face. She finally found it and slammed her shoe on the ground, probably disrupting the people below us. Abby and I have routine where she gets out of bed to kill the bug and I offer moral support from bed. Abby has a 100% kill rate, in case anyone was wondering.
One thing most people don't know about me... One thing most people don’t know about me is I have a minor in Spanish. I studied abroad last summer in Spain where I was able to maximize my language skills. This was one of the best experiences of my life and is a main reason why I wanted to have another abroad experience like this one.
Daily Recap
Today we woke up at the Pyramid Lab. My other 2 roommates and I woke up around 5:30 AM to our next-door neighbors singing. Back in Pheriche, Abby and I were also right next door to the AM vocalists, but they would wait until our alarm went off to start their performance. This morning, with two additional roommates, the eager quad did not wait for our alarm and prepared their performance with “Riptide” playing off their phone. They then decided that they did not need assistance from a phone and started belching “I Want it That Way” by backstreet boys. This was our alarm for the morning. We all slowly arose to get ready for the day. I have definitely become more accustomed to the time change, which is almost a full 12 hours, as it has become increasingly more difficult to wake up in the morning. We all needed to get ready and have our duffel bags downstairs by 6:30 AM to load onto the Yaks. Breakfast was once again an option of porridge or cornflakes and toast and some form of egg. Many of us did not eat well because of the decreased appetite as a result of acute altitude sickness and because we are all getting tired of the same breakfast.
Once we were all done eating the group migrated outside to apply sunscreen and get ready to start the trek. We had to start the trek with a short climb up to a ridge, however, the altitude and hypoxia is definitely hitting hard as the “short” climb was actually quite challenging and left almost everyone out of breath by the time we reached the top. Right away, the mountain views were magical. We saw Pumori, the Nupse Wall and a peek at the peak of Everest. It was a nice walk to start with until the path became more narrow and rocky and we started running into the Base Camp marathon runners. There was a lot of stopping which I won’t complain about because a small break is always nice.
We arrived at Gorak Shep around 10:00 AM, which was too early for lunch. We stopped inside for some tea and we had a bowl of ramen soup. This was a perfect snack to get us through the rest of the day. We decided to head to Base Camp as soon as possible because the weather was so nice. So, as soon as everyone was done eating, we headed to Base Camp which was a 2 hour walk both ways. Base Camp was SO COOL!!! We took many pictures and most everyone had their Base Camp beer. Let me tell you, it is true that alcohol hits harder at altitude. Also, the beers tend to explode when they are opened since we are at altitude. The group has a certain term for this and the beers are termed “yakified”. Once everyone had taken all their pictures and finished their beers, we headed back to the lodge.
Back at the lodge, everyone hung out until dinner. After dinner, I played some cards which is a normal after dinner activity. We only stayed up until around 8:00 PM as we were getting up early for a sunrise hike the next morning.
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