Climbing Mount Everest

Recently I embarked on a journey of a lifetime when I set out to climb the highest mountain in the world – Mount Everest. It was a great experience with many unforgettable memories. There were moments during the trek, such as the pain of the low altitude and the difficulty in breathing, when I wondered why I was doing this. However, in retrospect, I would do anything to go back.

The journey came about as Islamic Relief, one of the biggest Islamic charities in the world, was undertaking different challenges worldwide by taking groups of people to different areas to raise money for various humanitarian causes. Being an active part of the organization, I always wanted to embark on a journey like this, so when the opportunity to climb Everest came about I felt it was one I could not miss. For me, helping the poor and needy in Africa have access to the basic essential need of clean water was the main motivating factor. I felt there was a greater purpose to the challenge, although at the same time I was fulfilling a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The journey itself will forever live in my memory. Often in our lives we become so bogged down with the trivialities of life itself that we neglect to look at the greater meaning and to reflect. Whether we are at school, our workplaces, with our families or at our social outings – there is very little time to focus on ourselves as an individual. I, for one, was looking for an opportunity like this – to get out of my comfort zone, go out, see the creations of God and be close to them in order to be thankful for the countless blessings He has bestowed upon us. The freezing cold temperatures at night in the mountains, the cold beds we were in, turning on the tap but having no hot water, adjusting to a new food diet without meat for two weeks – after being without these basics luxuries that I often took for granted, it really made me appreciate what I have.

As soon as our delegation arrived in the Himalayas I was in awe of everything that we were surrounded by – the tall, snow-capped mountains, clear blue skies, waterfalls, beautiful trees in shapes I’ve never seen before, stunning views. We set off from Delhi to Kathmandu and I saw what appeared to be pointed clouds in the distance. As we got closer, I realized that this was the start of the huge stretch of the Himalayan Mountains. The view of the mountains from the plane looked amazing and just to think that we were going to be climbing 18,000 feet high and be right amongst them gave me goose bumps.

In total we were out for 16 days, with 12 days of trekking in total. It took around seven days to get to Everest base camp and about five days coming back down. There were thirteen of us in a group, with two women coming along for the first time. The beginning part of the trek was really fun. In the lower part of the base of the mountain, we didn’t have the altitude problems so we enjoyed the lovely views everywhere. Wherever we looked, we were surrounded by huge mountains, with various peaks – some with weird shapes! We stayed at lodges on the entire journey, but as we got further up the mountain the lodges became really basic. Some of us went without showers for over a week because of the lack of warm water. Our whole food diet had to change. We were having porridge in the morning, rice at lunch and a basic lentil dish called "Dhal Bhat" for the evening. We couldn’t complain though because we were always conscious of the reason why we were there, and that the money that was to be raised was to allow for the poor to have access clean water. The whole experience made us humble to the point where we would accept any type of food.

To be continued...