Nghe An girl and her 15-day journey to conquer Everest Base Camp
(Baonghean.vn) - 15 days of perseverance reaching an altitude of 5,365m in extremely harsh living conditions, Mai Dieu Thuy always told herself: Never give up, I am Vietnamese!
Surpass yourself
Mai Dieu Thuy (1983), born and raised in Vinh City, is the owner of two famous Miao's Pizza shops and is a famous backpacker in the community of people who love "backpacking".
In early March 2016, on Dieu Thuy's Facebook page, the first few images of the journey to conquer Everest Base Camp began to appear, attracting great attention from the online community.
| Nepal is famous for many trekking routes such as Annapura Circuit, Gokyo Lake, upper and lower Mustrang... Among them, Everest Base Camp is a perfect choice if you are not strong enough to climb Everest but still want to reach Base Camp, the camping site at an altitude of about 5,000 m. This is the closest stop to admire the world-famous Mount Everest. |
For trekking enthusiasts like Thuy, Mount Everest and the mountain ranges always present a desire to conquer. Therefore, she decided to join the group to Everest Base Camp very quickly, just a few months before departure.
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| Thuy's group took souvenir photos before officially starting the journey to conquer Everest Base Camp. |
The group consisted of 12 people, all close friends who had traveled together on many previous trips and explorations. The itinerary for the mountain climbing trip was detailed, with high determination from all members of the group.
On March 3, the group arrived in the capital Kathmandu (Nepal) and from here, Dieu Thuy and her friends took a plane to Lukla (altitude 2,850m) - one of the most dangerous airports in the world with a runway only 800m long and very steep. From Luckla, the journey to conquer Everest Base Camp officially began with long days of persistent mountain climbing, through Phakding, Namche Bazzar, Dingboche, Lobuche ...
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| Mai Dieu Thuy recorded a commemorative photo when she just started the first stages. |
Dieu Thuy said that each person carried on their back a backpack weighing 3-5kg, and each day, the mountain climbing journey became more and more difficult because the altitude increased, along with that, the amount of oxygen gradually decreased and the low air pressure caused the members of the group to suffer from high altitude syndrome, with symptoms of difficulty breathing, headaches, rapid heartbeat...
Although Dieu Thuy was in good health, her health could not be prevented. Headaches and dizziness became more frequent as the group gradually approached the altitude of Everest Base Camp.
Cold weather down to -20oC makes the body feel like it's freezing. The days seem endless with the average daily distance traveled being more than 15km of rugged, rugged mountain roads.
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| Thick snow and ice, heavy footsteps towards Everest Base Camp. |
Thuy could not remember how many precarious mountain slopes only about 2 meters wide she had passed, and the narrow bends with abyss on one side and steep mountains on the other, covered in thick white snow. Not to mention the afternoons when fog suddenly came from somewhere and it seemed like the whole sky was collapsing before her eyes.
There were times when people walking together could not see each other, the group gradually separated into many separate groups. In the howling wind, their faces burned by the cold snow, they used all their strength to call each other's names and gasped with happiness seeing the members of the group safely pass the "road of death".
There were days when she woke up from the rest stop, preparing to start a new "battle", Dieu Thuy felt as if her legs no longer belonged to her body, and even breathing in and out was extremely difficult.
Life and death are just a step away. “On the way to Everest Base Camp, we saw countless tombstones bearing the names of those who will forever remain here. Were we afraid? Yes, but did not intend to stop!
At those times, the mind only told itself one thing: must go to the destination, do not give up. The 3 Nepalese tour guides who led the group kept saying that they had led many Vietnamese groups to Everest but had never met any Vietnamese who gave up halfway, even though the physical strength of Vietnamese people could not be compared to Westerners. In such harsh and challenging conditions, I think it was the strong will of the Vietnamese people that helped me and my friends overcome it" - Mai Dieu Thuy confided.
“Richer” after every trip
The group reached Everest Base Camp on March 13. The happiness of Dieu Thuy and her companions at that time was immeasurable.
Although her hands were numb from the ice and her breathing was ragged, Thuy immediately tried to find small stones around her and arranged two words: Vietnam. The sacred love for her roots seemed to burst out at that moment, floating in all the members of the group.
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| Mai Dieu Thuy arranged small stones to form the word Vietnam at Everest Base Camp. |
During 15 days of tireless effort on the journey to conquer Everest Base Camp, Dieu Thuy's group went through temperate forests, deserts, rocky mountains, ice holes... and encountered many different weather conditions, sometimes foggy, sometimes heavy snow... But the resilient girl still affirmed that the feeling of overcoming difficulties and challenging her own limits was the happiest feeling of all.
The tears that fell on that journey of youth, for Thuy, were the most memorable tears of her life.
Thuy cried when she found her group again after the fog that she thought she had lost them. Thuy cried before the breathtaking beauty of Mother Nature. Thuy cried because of the valuable experiences of her youth, of the warm human love...
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| Dieu Thuy writes a note on the Vietnamese flag at Namche Bazzar rest stop. |
After the trip, many people asked Mai Dieu Thuy, traveling is so hard, what do you do?
“Because behind every challenge is the joy of discovering the wonderful wonders of nature, seeing through the fierce survival instinct of humans and understanding yourself better.
After moments when I thought I was risking my life, I felt at peace and relaxed, feeling a miraculous source of energy running through my body, urging me to live a better life, less selfishly.
And because each person only has one youth and the world out there is so vast. Just go and contemplate. I feel “richer” after each trip!” – Thuy affirmed.
| Mai Dieu Thuy shared that the book that had the biggest impact on her outlook on life was “Life changes when we change”. She read the book when she was 13 years old. |
Clip recorded by Mai Dieu Thuy on the journey to conquer Everest Base Camp:
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Phuong Chi
