Learning lessons from life at the top of the world
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THE Christmas holiday is always a special one for our families and staff at BISS Puxi. This year, my wife Emma and I resisted the draw of a family get-together, unlimited calories in the seasonal food, the need to find some relaxing winter sun and the offer of daily pampering in a hotel somewhere. Instead, we opted to ignite all five of our senses with something that challenged us physically, socially and emotionally. We chose the Himalayas and a winter hike to Everest Base Camp.
Being well read and having watched plenty of documentaries that detail the majesty of the mountains and the people who live in them, I remained slightly sceptical about how much I would learn about the area or learn about myself on this journey. I was wrong! The whole trip had a profound effect on me as a person, as a school leader and most importantly, as someone who is privileged enough to have great influence over the lives of many wonderful children.
Fresh air, exercise and cold
My journey started with taking what I can only describe as a bus with wings from Kathmandu to Lukla Airport. Often described as the world’s scariest airport, the runway at Lukla sits at nearly 3,000 meters, is at an angle of 11 percent and is only accessible by helicopters and fixed-wing, short-take-off-and-landing aircraft such as our Twin Otter. Once in the Everest region of the Himalayas, there are no roads. It means that all cars, busses, trucks and their pollution are replaced by Mule, Yak and human porters carrying super human loads. The opportunity to inhale pure air immediately hits your senses and your lungs.
For our 193-kilometer expedition, I used nothing more than my feet to carry me. As expected, the first few days were hard on the muscles and the feet, but by day four, my body began to adjust to the terrain, the constant exercise and of course, the lack of oxygen. Perhaps the greatest challenge was the cold. At this time of the year the wind is biting with the daytime temperature on Christmas Day as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius and night time temperatures inside our bedroom of the tea house not getting above minus 10. This often meant no running water, frozen water bottles, and having to defrost your wet wipes around a “Yak Dung” fire before being able to wash.
Culture and people
The daily lives of the people in this region is driven by their Buddhist beliefs. This is not just evident in the prayer flags and “mani stones” all along the route, but also in the way in which they treat each other and their environment. I have never come across such welcoming, happy and attentive people; made even more amazing by the challenging circumstances in which they live.
Of course, being a school leader, it was the children we met on the journey that spoke loudest to me. From the 4-year-old girl who had set up her own mud kitchen to make a Nepali curry, to playing football with local village children at 4,000 meters, there was a simple joy to be found. This joy and gratitude was even evident in the 13-year-old boy who lost his father in the earthquake and in order to survive was carrying incredibly heavy loads for miles between villages, at altitudes that make it difficult for most of us to carry ourselves.
I returned from Nepal changed. The time to walk and think, the majesty of the mountains, the hardiness and friendliness of the people and of course, the joy in the children have all encouraged me to consider my own life and values with a little more clarity. The trip gave me some of the best memories of my life and a personal sense of achievement. It also gave me the chance to take a little bit of the job I love and the people I work with along, by proudly flying the Nord Anglia BISS Puxi flag in one of the most extreme and spectacular settings on the planet.
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