Alaina'ing it all on the line.
Name: Aliana Hauber
Age: 21
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Area of study: Health & Exercise Science, Nutrition Minor
Year in school: Incoming senior
I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because... it is the perfect combination of my interests, travel/exploration and human physiology. I have dreamed of visiting Nepal for as long as I can remember, so this opportunity has been a chance of a lifetime.
I'm involved with the SU collaborative research studies by... participating in the countless studies that the researchers have in the works. I’ve already learned so much about how our bodies adapt and react to changes in altitude from being a participant in these studies.
I'm most looking forward to... the sunrise hike to Kalapathar! After a solid 5 days of acclimatization in Pheriche we’re only a few days from reaching our highest point at sunrise. The view is allegedly one of the best ways to view Everest.
My favorite part of the trip so far has been... the views that I’ve seen. I can’t necessarily describe all the sights in words, so hopefully the pictures will do this country justice. In Namche, I woke up after our first night, opened up our curtains, and was absolutely shocked when I saw 2 mountains that weren’t there on the cloudy afternoon that we had arrived on. Definitely a top tier experience for me.
The worst part of the trip so far... I can’t say there has been much that has made me re-evaluate much besides the end portion of our hike yesterday. We had a solid 1.5-hour portion of brutal uphill that definitely hit me hard. Even with that, I was always greeted with insanely beautiful views, so I can’t complain too much.
One thing most people don't know about me... I have been a vegetarian for about 11 years now. Being in Nepal has been a vegetarians dream since a majority of the food we’ve been served doesn’t include meat!
Daily Recap
After a lovely breakfast in Debouche, it was time to start our trek to Pheriche. Right before our hike I was speaking with a few people about what was to come and I was hit with explanations of steep hills, and thin air. After yesterday’s hike this definitely made me nervous. I was pleasantly surprised when the start of the hike more of a subtle incline instead of a climb like yesterday. As we walked, we had beautiful views of Ana Dablam, one of the more iconic mountains we have seen (reminds me of the Matterhorn), as we made our way around it from far below. Since our trek has a smaller, and less aggressive incline I was able to take in all the views and chat with my peers and other members of the group. We crossed one of the many suspension bridges scattered on the trail then made our way by Pangbouche. I spoke with Nima, our amazing, miracle worker of a guide, about the town we were passing by. He said it was the last permanent settlement on the trail at 3895 meters. Even Pheriche, where we were headed, does not necessarily have permanent residents but flourishes during the 2-3 month trekking season.
As we made our way up towards Pheriche, lines of yaks passed us, so at one point we were right behind them going what I call ‘yak pace’. I appreciate going at yak pace because it is slow and steady. I’ve learned that going nice and slow at somewhat of a shuffle is the way to go especially with the increasing altitude. At one of our stops, Nima mentioned that we had 20 minutes of hiking left, and I was hesitant to believe him, as yesterday I was told we were ‘close’ way too many times for it to be true every time. But this time, I wasn’t fooled luckily. We quickly came over a ridge to see Pheriche settled in a valley surrounded by mountains that were peeking out of the clouds. I’m hoping to get a clear view of them tomorrow morning because the clouds tend to clear up. Pheriche is at about 4,200 meters, so having time to acclimatize here will change the game when we go up even further. So far, I’ve only had a few headaches here and there, so I’d consider myself lucky, but don’t want to jinx it! After the 3.5 hour hike we all settled in a bakery that is owned by Nima’s wife, Aang. We all decompressed, played some card games, had some delicious lunch of vegetable soup, potatoes, pasta, and vegetables. While waiting for our rooms I passed out on the benches in the bakery and took a seemingly much needed nap.
After settling in, we all headed over to the Himalayan Rescue Association to learn more about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). The Himalayan Rescue Association stays open for the whole trekking season and treats porters, Sherpa, trekkers, or anyone that walks into the clinic. We learned about the progression of AMS and ways to treat them. We spoke about HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) and HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) which are progressions of AMS and require immediate treatment. If we don’t acknowledge our symptoms early one they can turn more severe quite quickly. This session was very informative and keeps me aware of how to take care of my body in the changing environment.
Later in the afternoon, we watched a documentary called ‘Porter’ which follows an American attempting to work as a porter for an 11-day trek to Everest Base Camp. We were able to see the behind the scenes of the life of a porter, where they stay, what they eat, what they are able to carry, and other background. Porters earn their wages from trekker’s tips which aren’t typically enough to feed them during the trek or even their family. Each porter carries about 100 kg worth of weight, which is usually more than the porter’s body weight. The film was extremely eye opening and makes me have even more appreciation all the work that porter’s and all of those around me are doing to make my experience seamless on my end.
The film was followed by dinner. I was pleasantly surprised with a bowl of ramen as our appetizer. Earlier today while hiking I could have sworn that I smelled ramen as we were walking on the paths, so I guess my mind was read! We had fried rice and spaghetti for dinner. It definitely satisfied me after the day we’ve had. I can feel my last battery charge draining as I’m writing this, so I’m going to sign off for the night!
a note to all research participants: please swipe the camera from Wes every now & then & take some pics of him for us! Thanks in advance—from his mom & dad!!