Sagarmatha National Park Project, 1980-81

Margaret, Ben and I had been at Nelson Lakes National Park just 2 years after the move in May 1978 from Mount Cook National Park to take up the Senior Ranger position working alongside Chief Ranger George Lyon. Accepting a promotion is easy but as we’d lived and worked in a mountain environment and a community where social norms were often pushed to the edge, it wasn’t easy transition to living and working in a conservative, rural NZ scene, a situation that we were quite unfamiliar with. A number of earlier rangers working at NLNP had found some difficulties and had moved or been pushed on but I was determined to make it work and Chief Ranger George Lyon was prepared to allow some leeway to allow me to find a meaningful place between him and the NLNP team, but that is another story.....

It was in late April 1980 that we got a phone call from Supervising Ranger John Mazey asking if we would be interested in being considered for Project
Management role at the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park in Nepal. The position had become available as the current manager Peter Croft had developed a medical problem that necessitated a move to lower altitude and consequently a resignation from the role. 

My immediate reaction was ‘thanks but no thanks’ as we’d only been in NLNP for 2 years and had now fully familiarised myself in the area and there were things to be done. Around me the reaction was, ‘say yes’ as these opportunities don’t come very often especially to the less senior staff, so under some pressure from family and friends I changed my mind and expressed our interest.

Surprisingly, the role came our way and we were keen to accept the new challenge.

We only had a couple of weeks to prepare for departure. John Mazey arranged a trip to Tongariro National Park to meet Bruce and Margaret Jefferies where we were briefed on what lay before us. Bruce and family had 3 years living in the Khumbu following the initial 2 years of project management by Gordon and Esther Nicholls. We had a further briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a visit to the doctor for a variety of immunisations and medical supplies, (where he interestingly included a gross of condoms). We also shopped for sleeping bags, packs and suitcases that we liberally packed to the corners with bags of muesli and other tasty items that we may dream of when not available.

We departed Christchurch in May 1980 the proud possessors of Official passports that allowed us a few short cuts through border formalities. We were met in Kathmandu by Peter and Thelma Croft who introduced us to the tourist attractions of the ancient town and the Nepalese government agencies that I was to be working with. NZ didn’t have any formal office in Nepal and our liaison person was to be Liz Hawley who ran the Nepal desk for Reuters. She was the local manager for the Himalayan Trust and a highly respected historian of all mountaineering happenings in Nepal.

Quite early in the piece it was emphasised that it was the month of May and the annual monsoon was about to break. This would mean the end of all flights into Lukla, the airstrip which serviced the Khumbu. It’s about 6 hour slow walk (to allow for acclimatising to the higher altitude) south of our ultimate destination the village of Namche Bazaar. The advice was to get Margaret and Ben onto the next flight along with all of our belongings and supplies just in case further flights were abandoned and I would have to undertake a 10 day walk-in to the Khumbu. We had a few early morning trips to the airport hoping it would be declared fine enough to fly. It was not only the weather that had to be considered but the mood of the pilots after a possible late night in the local hospitality centres. Finally one morning it was all go with Margaret, Ben and baggage was loaded and the plane taxiing onto the airstrip. Peter indicated that we should go as we had a meeting scheduled to introduce me to the National Park section of the Forestry Department. I was reluctant to move until I was sure that the plane had finally departed and then, amazingly, it stopped mid-runway, a rear door opened and our boxes and luggage were dumped on the tarmac strip before the plane put on full revs and took off. All that we could do was collecting the baggage and load them into a taxi before the meeting at the Forestry Dept with the Head of National Parks, Mr Upreti. It was a friendly welcome followed by a list of capital inputs that were still required to complete NZ’s contractual obligations. After the meeting I had to ensure that I had a booking on the next flight and was prepared to miss any further official meetings. 

Fortunately Margaret and Ben were met at Lukla by Nyima Wangchu Sherpa who had recently returned to the Khumbu after completing the Parks and Recreation Diploma at Lincoln College. Margaret’s version of their arrival at Lukla & Namche Bazaar is the reality of living in Asia. In her words:

"Nyima and a few porters were at the Lukla airport to meet met us and we were more than surprised to find that there was no luggage or boxes on the plane. Before we left Kathmandu Peter Croft had said that it was highly likely that  Mal would have to walk the 10 days into Namche Bazaar to join us as this flight was probably the last for the season so we were not expecting to see him or our clothing and possessions for a week or two.

Nine year old Ben and I had never been out of Australasia and we now found ourselves in remote Himalayan airstrip, with nothing apart from the clothes we wore, a day pack and 2 sleeping bags. We had carried these as cabin baggage because within a sleeping bag was stashed a shoe box containing the equivalent of US$7,000 in Nepali rupees enough to keep us and the project going over the monsoon. Within an hour we three set off up the valley, along with a couple of porters carrying our sleeping bags (they had been adamantly instructed to stay with us at all times which must have been a little puzzling for Nyima who was unaware of the money.) Some hours later we arrived for dinner and a bed at a “tea house” run by old Japanese gentleman, a Mr Hakiyuki.

It was late in trekking season so Ben, with the money at his feet inside the sleeping-bag and I, took a mattressless bunk. We shared the night in the dormitory with the only other tourist, a German, who chose to sleep in the bunk directly beneath us. During the night we were suddenly awoken by him leaping out of his bunk, hitting his head and swearing & cursing followed by a really foul smell. The poor man had diarrhea and had ‘fouled’ inside his sleeping-bag but managed to just get out to the front step before throwing up. To make matters worse it was pitch black, and there was no lighting or torches with which to start cleaning up the mess. This was a pure culture shock situation. Had I been more travelled I probably would have questioned what had made him so ill. After breakfast next day we set off for the climb to what is called the Khumbu region of Nepal which holds Mount Everest/Sagarmatha/Chomolungma and many of the highest mountains. We were at the base of the Namche Hill, with the 2 hour or so zigzag climb to the village of Namche Bazaar and our new home when I started to feel ill. I violently vomited and diarrhoead my way up the hill constantly and desperately trying to find bushes or tree trunks to hide behind (while the obedient porters stayed with  us and hopefully turned away). A good part of the time I wondered if I had the strength to make it.  Over five hours later with an upset son and feeling very weak we reached Namche Bazaar to the welcoming greetings of the Halketts, the Kiwi VSA workers. They took us under their wings and so began a very good friendship that has lasted ever since. 

Next day, much to our relief Mal, the luggage and the boxes arrived, the Lukla plane had flown! And so what began as one of the worst days of my life was, within 24 hours, the beginning of what was probably the best year of my life."

I was away on a morning flight next day with all our boxes plus a few more that had additional supplies for project and pantry. The flight was reminiscent of flying in ski-planes around the NZ Alps with some turbulence as we crossed the massive river valleys that carve southwards from some of the world’s highest summits. At Lukla, I was met by Pasang Norbu Sherpa, the Project Sirdar  (foreman) and was amazed as crazy trekkers jostled for the first opportunity to get aboard the next flights out to civilisation whilst porters meeting the incoming flights elbowed each other in the attempt to get the best loads to be carried up-valley.

Lukla is at about 7,000ft asl and for first-time visitors it requires a steady walk up valley to ensure a gradual acclimatisation to the altitude as Namche Bazaar is close to 12,000ft asl. It was really nice to be back in the real mountains and crossing torrents of white water on, what appeared to be, flimsy wooden bridges that were in reality strong enough to carry fully laden yaks. After a night with no side effects at Hakiyuki’s small guest house at Phakding. It was a slow and steady climb up to Namche Bazaar, I was overjoyed to be met by Margaret and Ben at the market-place looking somewhat different in borrowed warm clothing. Alongside them were Lawrie and Kaye Halkett who had taken care of them. The Halketts were housed in a small stone cottage immediately below ours on Mendelphu Hill up above Namche Bazaar where we would live for the next 12 months.

The village of Namche Bazaar is nestled in cirque on a ridge that divides the rivers, the Bhote Khosi and the Imja Khola and was important as a trading post
between Tibet and Nepal via the Bhote Khosi and the Nangpa La mountain pass.

Even in 1980 most of the houses were still built with traditional materials and style. Solid stone walls up to a metre thick, roof beams and rafters of hefty tree trunks overlain with hefty slabs of slate. The entry to a typical Sherpa house would be through a dark basement that often sheltered a yak or zopchok kept for either transport or milking. A wooden ladder would lead up to a single, open plan living area where the family lived, slept and cooked. Meals were prepared on an open, chimneyless stove chulo surrounded by a vast array of smoke blackened pots and containers. The only way the smoke escaped the room was through the rafters or windows that were traditionally without glass panes.

Our house (see Image 1) was on the highest point of the hill and was the first facility built during the Nicholls time. The main room was a combination of kitchen and dining room, and this was also our living area. The adjacent small bedroom included a desk and so it doubled as an office, a hallway led to the tiny 2 bunk bedroom and an even smaller and seldom used bathroom/shower. The buildings walls were 2 ft thick, the windows double glazed and heated by an Aga charcoal burning stove. The view was tremendous; the up-valley panorama included the stunning peaks of Kantega, Thamserku and Ama Dablam, beyond that reared the massive Lohtse Nupse face with the summit of Sagarmatha peeking over the ridge, and in the mid foreground sat the monastery of Tengboche. We never tired of the ever changing moods of the view.

Our immediate neighbour was the Head of Sagarmatha National Park, Shyam Bajimaya and his wife. Shyam was a young, lowland Nepali who was the person I would coordinate with for all Project activities that related to the Park.

Lawrie and Kaye (we always called her Kaytie as the word ‘kay’ in Nepali meant ‘what’) were great in showing us around, introducing us to the local chang shops and the unfinished project business. (see image 2). They were on the VSA forestry project and working with the local people (mainly Sherpanis) to collect seeds from the forest species, germinating these seed and potting seedlings in a number of nurseries before planting out onto the denuded valley slopes.

The other Kiwis living in the area were John and Sue Reekie. John was the doctor at the Himalayan Trust Hospital in the village of Khunde, which was about 45 minutes climb above Namche and the only other westerner was Gerry Ringle, an American Peace Corps worker, involved in a drinking water scheme for Namche Bazaar. 

Mendelphu Hill was not only home base to the Park and Project but also the Nepalese Army that were stationed here to monitor the border crossings between Nepal and Tibet (China).

What was the Project expected to achieve before the withdrawal date in 12 months time? We were to complete the construction of the Visitor Centre, also on the summit of Mendelphu Hill, and fill the spacious public area with information and interpretation displays. We also had to design and build 2 trekking lodges with adjoining accommodation for park staff or lodge managers on the trail to Everest base camp. Finally, there was the preparation for the hand-over of all Project assets and a withdrawal of personnel during May 1981.

Our permanent team of Project staff was limited to sirdar Pasang Norbu, a carpenter Karma Lama and a stonemason Ghirmi. Many others were employed on a casual basis mainly as porters when materials and equipment needed to be carried up from down valley or from the airstrip at Lukla to construction sites way further up valley.

Our first priority was to make work plans for the next 3 months of monsoon rains during which time there could be no flights in and out of the Khumbu. This meant that all supplies had to be obtained locally and we could only use the materials that were already in stock. Anything that could not be obtained locally we requested via mail or through the daily radio sched with the National Park office in Kathmandu and forwarded to Liz Hawley. Her assistant Kumar was quick to assemble them and would try and have them on an off-chance flight to Lukla. When the rains came all messages were carried by the Himalayan Trust runner who took 8 days to Kathmandu; had a day or so to rest then a further 8 days to return with bundles of mail for everyone. He would also pick up a few rounds of smelly cheese that had been collected from the Thodung cheese factory or as we called it ‘toe- dung’. During this time all our mail went out stamped ‘carried by runner’ something different to standard mail. 

The monsoon turned out to be quite a special time in the Khumbu as the trekking and mountaineering season was over for all the most popular treks and mountains in Nepal which meant that those Sherpas earning a living as guides and porters were back in their home villages.

The monsoon was also time for many of the many Sherpa festivals, the first being Dumji which was held at each village. Beneath a special rock the local lama and monks gathered to recite prayers and to bless the location and seek a bountiful growing season (see image 3). Only the men were at the site and it was used as an opportunity to bring out their finest brew of chang (Chang is brewed from rice and yeast in wooden tubs sealed with yak dung) and rakshi. Rakshi is a potent drink commonly distilled from millet. 

Lawrie and I were able to partake whilst Kaye and Margaret looked on from afar. The drinks flowed freely both prior, during and after the religious rites. Some had imbibed even earlier in the day as a few sturdy Sherpas staggered on the steep hillside and a couple took a few tumbles. I think we got home OK and so passed the local initiation without too much embarrassment.

Living on a hill top has its problems, ours was water. The Project had installed a Rife Ram on a small stream that emanated from a spring just below the track into Namche Bazaar. The height lift was huge probably around 500 vertical feet up to a water tank on a cairn of rocks then a gravity fed lines to all the park houses and army barracks. The system had been out of action for some time and now pressure was on the Project to provide reticulated water again, probably much to the dismay of those who’d been employed to carry water up the Hill. I’d never seen a ram before but whilst Lawrie had been with the Project he’d developed some idea of how the thing worked. Early on it was obvious that the lift had generated too much pressure for the small ram and the bolts holding it together were shearing. Initially the solution was to order high tensile bolts. These worked for a while but eventually these bolts also broke. A second solution was to order heavier gauge high tensile bolts and while awaiting delivery open up the bolt holes to take the bigger bolts. There was no electricity or drills so all the dozen or so holes were enlarged with a round file. Once again the ram worked well for a while until the welds around the head began to crack. As it was the monsoon the final solution was to put the metal part onto a porter’s back and send it off to Kathmandu for repair and a wait of three weeks. After reinstalling the offending part we had a reasonably reliable supply until towards the end of the Project when the ram finally ruptured in numerous places and became inoperable. We then employed local porters to carry water up the hill each day and used water very sparingly, as opposed to just sparingly.

Onto Project work, and the immediate priority was to complete the Visitor Centre. This was a large building with 3 office rooms leading off the main entrance, which led to a split level display room, and beyond that a slightly elevated viewing room that gave a panoramic view up the Khumbu Valley and the surrounding mountain ranges. To adequately fill the area with displays would take a lot of topics and display panels. Four of us worked on the panels and exhibits, along with additional help from local Sherpas, Nepali park staff. Even the head warden’s wife offered her time, along with park visitors who volunteered assistance. It was decided that the upper mezzanine level would be dedicated to Sherpa history and culture and the larger lower area to the natural history of Sagarmatha NP along with and the re-forestation programme. We worked on the wide variety of flora, ranging from the rhododendron, conifer and birch forest through the sub alpine to the amazing flowers of the alpine zone. As most of plants bloomed in the monsoon when few visitors came to the Khumbu, photos of the blue poppy and edelweiss were possibly the visitors only opportunity to see images of these flowers. Further assistance was on hand when Martin Heine and Jane Pearson came for a semi- official visit during Martin’s long service leave. I say semi-official as a part purpose of Martin’s visit was to help with the display preparations for the Visitor Centre and Jane having been Ben’s teacher at Mount  Cook was able to help with his correspondence schooling. 

As part of the Project, there were three Sherpa students at Lincoln College, Mingma Norbu Sherpa from Khunde; Nyima Wangchu Sherpa from Khumjung; and Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa from Thame. Mingma was the first Sherpa Head Warden in Sagarmatha NP, later was WWF Asia Representative and in 2006 was tragically killed with 23 others in a helicopter crash near Mount Kanchenjunga. Initially Mingma did a year of Forestry at Canterbury before joining the others on the Park and Recreation Diploma Course. Lhakpa’s return to Kathmandu coincided with the advertising of 5 new positions in Nepal’s National Park. With both Nyima and Mingma already in the Khumbu I suggested they both go out to Kathmandu and make sure that they have their applications in, as NZ had an agreement that when the Sherpas returned there would be meaningful roles for them in the National Park system. Word was brought back that the department staff didn’t consider a diploma a sufficiently high enough qualification for a government job. They had spent years gaining the diploma along with a wide range of practical park management experiences during the summer placements into various NZ National Parks. As this was an important commitment, I went to Kathmandu to discuss the matter and impress upon Mr Upreti that there was an agreement and that the year diploma was of much higher standard than any degree that could be obtained in Nepal or India. It took some time and it was good news when all three were appointed and became the first Sherpas in Nepal’s national park system. Within a few years all three were appointed as Head Wardens of National Parks, firstly Lhakpa followed by Mingma and Nyima and at later dates, in charge of Sagarmatha National Park. Two went on to further their studies overseas and gained higher qualifications and senior positions in international Conservation Organisations.

The second priority for the Project was to build two trekking lodges, the first at Lobuche alongside the true right lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier and the other at Pheriche, but first we needed to check out the sites and ensure that it was feasible both from a building perspective and the land tenure.

Time to prepare for our own field trip up valley and as we’re going such a distance we’d push on to Everest Base Camp. The two Halketts, three Clarbroughs, Sirdar Pasang Norbu, wife Chinzum and porters along with our dog Kunchi made up the contingent. The first stopping place was Tashinga tea shop overlooking the nursery where Lawrie and Kaye’s team carefully tended the seedlings of the forest (pine, fir, birch & juniper) species before these were planted back into areas of the reforestation programme. (see image 4). Then a long descent down to the Phunke Tenga and the rickety footbridge over the Imja Khola, the snow and glacier fed river from the catchment between the massive peaks of Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. To be surrounded by this magnificent scenery was awe-inspiring but better was to come but not before the long dusty climb through the rhododendrons o reach the renowned monastery of Tengboche where we spent the night in the first lodge build by the NZ Project. 

The following day we met with the High Lama, the Rimpoche of Tengboche, a very welcoming man who must have met many foreigners passing through the area as many expeditions used the grassy ridge to as a preliminary camp and acclimatisation stop before pushing on to higher altitudes. We talked over the aspirations of the Monastery, Park and Project and the possibility that we could work together. Clearly there were matters that would have common benefits so we agreed to talk again, and did so at a later date. We pushed on past the Deboche nunnery to the Project built swing-bridge that spanned the gorge that we needed to cross to reach the other side of the valley. This was a valuable contribution to both the Park and the people as it provided a much safer crossing than the traditional cantilevered bridges that would have been used in the past. The trek up valley brought us so much closer to the towering peaks and the gradually diminishing levels of oxygen in the atmosphere causing more frequent stops at tea shops. We arrived at Lobuche in the evening, a collection of crude huts that were used for shelters when stock was driven up to the summer pasture and where grass was cut for winter feed. The Sherpas were really at home as the shelters had been cleaned out, tents erected, fires lit and an evening meal quickly underway. The next day the site was selected, a source of rock for the building identified before our group pushed on up the lateral moraine valley to Gorak Shep, an expanse of sand that had once been a lake-bed formed from the glacial meltwater. From here the route travels up the glacier, clambering over moraine before entering an avenue of ice pinnacles.  It was interesting to see the evidence that the glacier acts as a massive icy conveyor belt as we passed the rusty remnants of past expedition camps that had gradually been transported down the glacier. We looked more like a group of Victorian travelers, the women dressed in ingis the long wrap around dresses that all Sherpanis wore and carrying umbrellas to hold off the sun or the last of the monsoon showers (see image 5). Also with us was10 year-old Ben and our short legged Tibetan terrier Kunchi as we eventually trundled into the Everest Base Camp of a Nepali-Italian Everest Expedition led by well known mountaineer Kurt Diemberger. We were made very welcome, accommodated, wined and dined on a multi-course menu accompanied by copious rounds of wine and spirits, whilst our dog cleaned up the meat bones that had been cast onto the icy floor of the large mess tent.

A few weeks later Pasang, Kama Lama and I returned to Lobuche where the stone-breaking contractors had made rows of stacked rocks, each measuring exactly 1 meter wide and high which made calculating their payment quite easy as it was based on cubic meters. Our carpenter Kama Lama undertook a puja a blessing of the site that involved Buddhist prayers, the burning of fragrant juniper leaves and the scattering of rice. Now that the Gods had been acknowledged the ground could be turned for the foundation stones to be laid. The site and construction was left to the stonemasons while we returned to Namche Bazaar to arrange for the purchase of the timber with which to construct the roof, windows, doors, bunks, tables and benches. Yes, everything had to be hand-made and carried up valley to the site at around 5,000 masl. The majority of the timber, 10” x 1” x 8 ft lengths, was brought up valley from beyond the Park boundary at Jorsale by the contractor’s porters and stored in a secure building in Namche. From here our porters were employed to deliver loads of planks to Lobuche. One memorable character by the name of Suki Dan was very keen to get underway and after carefully sorting his chosen planks was quickly off with his first load. He was back the following day for his pay and a second load that once again he carefully selected. When he was back on the third day I began to smell something fishy and gave him a note that had to be countersigned by the stonemason at Lobuche. Suki Dan didn’t return for a further week as he’d stashed his previous loads at a tea-shop only a couple of hours up valley then to return to make a selection of the driest and lightest planks before they were taken by other porters. After closing that loop-hole we got on really well until he tested my patience once again. A few months later as the cooler months heralded that start of autumn, we needed a supply of charcoal to fuel the Aga stove and again Suki Dan delivered a dhoko a large wicker basket carried on the back slung under a namblo with a headband that took the full weight of the load. On delivery the load was weighed and emptied into our shed however he hadn’t anticipated that I’d be there to empty the basket as an early item to tumble out was a good sized rock that had obviously been recently added to the load to increase the weight and his payment. After deducting the weight of the rock from his pay and giving him a stern ‘don’t come back’ he wandered off only to turn up smiling again a few days later and once again asking for a job and clothing. Eventually revenge was taken, as a farewell gift he got my gaudy, pin-stripe, flared bottomed trousers from our wedding day which he accepted with dismay. 

At Lobuche the Sherpa team worked remarkably well with incredibly limited tools. , The favourites were a small hand adze, saw, rock chisel and hammer, plum line and a garden hose filled with water for a spirit-level (see image 6). By early autumn the walls were complete for the lodge bunkroom and separate warden’s room. This was intended as Park Staff quarters whilst managing the lodge so that there was a Park presence in this crucial area as tourists and expeditions travel towards Base Camp. It was such a glorious place and in the warmth of the high altitude sun made it a pleasure to work. The roof went on quickly without any problems and the concrete floor was  poured. Spells of activity were punctuated by tea breaks. In the morning we had Tibetan tea, more like a soup as it was flavoured with rancid butter, whilst in the afternoon it was Nepali tea, sweet and milky. After a few days in such a cold and dry atmosphere the sahibs developed a preference for the Sherpa tea. As the sun disappeared over the ridge tops the temperature would immediately plummet to well below zero degrees and everyone donning extra clothing, hats and gloves.

In the spring work progressed well with numerous carries of corrugated iron roofing, doors, bunks and a solid fuel stove (see image 7). The stove, fabricated from steel plate in Kathmandu was a heavy load and I expected it to be a 2 person carry but a porter turned up who made it his sole commitment to transport it on his back from the airstrip to Lobuche, a climb of approximately 3,000 metres.

My solitary trips up and down the valley were always a quiet opportunity to really enjoy the solitude and the mountains of the high Himalaya often punctuated by a stop at a tea-shop or a chat with another traveler. On a couple of occasions I was stopped by a fine old Sherpa gentleman who demanded that we sit on the track and not only chat, but drink the highly alcoholic raksi that he had stored in his down jacket. He spoke of how he had been on some of the earliest mountaineering expeditions. In 1924 with General Bruce, with the Lord Hunt expedition in 1953 and more recently with Ed Hillary on the lead up to the Makalu climb. He said he had letters from many of the well known names associated with the climbs of Everest. At the time Dawa Tenzing was just another Sherpa name, but as a character he was special. After a few draughts of the demon brew the casual chat became jokey broken by ribald laughter. Later I found that Dawa was accurately described as “a patriarchal figure of indeterminate age who exuded personality and alcoholic fumes”.

Another casual meeting was in Devoche, a tea shop run by a lovely Sherpani, Ang Kunchi. During the trekking off seasons there were few visitors, however at the door were distinctly NZ backpacks and as I’d been primed to expect visitors it was fairly obvious to me who had arrived. Inside Graeme Dingle and Peter Hillary were sipping the last dregs of tea while on their East to West traverse of the Himalaya. Their resupply and support party was awaiting them in Khunde where they would have a few days R&R.

During January we combined business with a few weeks leave and so we decided to have a break in Kathmandu and the lowlands. Our holiday took us rafting down the Kali Gandaki to Chitwan National Park and Tigertops Lodge where visitors cruised the park on elephants looking for rhinos, tigers and leopards amongst the huge range of wildlife, again that’s another story. We returned to the Khumbu via a flight to Lukla and found Namche under a covering of winter snow.

Fortunately it didn’t last long and we were able to return to the job of completing the lodge at Lobuche and the display panels for the visitor centre.

The walls and roof of the lodge (see image 8) had been finished prior to the winter and so it was time to install the carpentry, doors, windows, bunks and a stove.

Everything had to be transported up valley and for the bulky items it was best carried by porters on a two day trip. Considering the lodge had been designed on the back of the proverbial cigarette packet, all the components, doors and windows fitted snugly, if not at first then a gentle adzing solved any problems (see image 9).

It was our intention that the lodge would be accommodation for the National Park staff and be an observation post to monitor trekkers and climbing expeditions on their way to Base Camp. That was not the way it turned out, as the National Park staff were poorly equipped and the Park budget did not extend to paying allowances. The Forestry Department decided that the lodge should be leased to the highest bidder to manage it as a trekker’s lodge.

After returning from our mid-term break in the lowlands and the Lobuche lodge project well under way our major focus fell on the Visitor Centre displays and with the help of Martin, Mingma, the Halketts, the Park staff along with lots of donated photographs from visiting botanists and mountaineers the work progressed quite quickly. It was welcome help that came at a rather pressured time as so much had yet to be done.

Caption text was prepared and sent to Kathmandu by air mail for block-printing, and with Liz Hawley’s influence the return time was only a few days. Lots of letters for the display heading had been cut by fretsaw from sheets of plywood then painted, before gluing into place on the panels (see image 10).

Also visiting at this time was ex NP Ranger, Doug Wilson along with Ann Louise Mitcalfe and Corrina Gage who were part of the support team for the Trans-Himalayan traverse and were due into the Khumbu region for R&R. An opportunity was taken for a bit of time out with a trek to the Gokyo Lakes and a climb of Gokyo Ri, a trekking peak of around 5,483 masl. Doug, Ann-Louise, Martin and I made the summit for a photo and realised that we were each wearing only one item each of NZ Ranger uniform, and thought at the time that our Head Office would not have been amused as a memo had
been sent to all Rangers that the uniform was not worn casually or incomplete (see image 11).

A wide range of display panels were researched and drafted but the necessary materials were hard to come by. The 6 x 3 framed panels were made locally from plywood but the text for the panels had to be produced in Kathmandu. We had a good collection of photos supplied by a botanist from Kew Garden and letters to high profile mountaineers generated some excellent photos but the large title lettering for the panels presented a problem. It was overcome by obtaining an upper and lower case alphabet in a range of sizes from 6 inch down to 2 inch. These were used as stencils to transcribe onto plywood and then cut out by hand with a small fretsaw. This could have been a long tedious process but the Nepali staff of the Park enthusiastically took the opportunity to get involved. It was important that the Sherpas would identify with and have a connection to the Visitor Centre and with this in mind we visited the High Lama/Rimpoche at Tengboche Monastery a few hours walk up valley. He listened intently to our thoughts and subtle request for assistance to which there was little response other than he wondered if we could assist him in adding a wall, window and door to a meditation cave at the village of Phortse directly across the valley from Tengboche. My response was somewhat guarded as we could be venturing into additional work, but the High Lama cast my doubts aside with a “follow me and we’ll go and have a look”. The only suspension bridges across the Imja Khola were either further up valley or back the way we had come but we were led immediately down the valley side, across the river over a traditionally built, wooden cantilevered bridge and up to Phortse. The High Lama dressed in orange robes just floated over the roughest and steepest of ground leaving us with the distinct feeling that there was truth in the belief that Lamas could fly. The work would take only a few days and our Sherpa staff were enthusiastic to do something for the High Lama and their faith so we agreed to the request. On the return to Tengboche Monastery the High Lama (see image 12) presented us with an old prayer book, a set of slippers and a large mani wheel. This was like a barrel faced in religious inscriptions containing numerous prayer books and when mounted on a vertical spindle each revolution would be equivalent to hundreds or even thousands of prayers offered to the Buddhist gods by whoever was turning the Mani wheel. These items were donated to the Sherpa room display and the mani took several porters a day to carry it the few hours down from the monastery to Namche. To complement the gifts, the Project also had 3 large Buddhist paintings that had come from a private Namche Bazaar Gompa (shrine). These wooden panels were caked in years of darkening wood smoke and were eventually restored after letters to museums in Europe provided us with the chemical formula and instructions for the restoration.

Mingma had scoured the villages for various implements that would interpret the Sherpa way of life in their households. Many of the traditional cooking and storage vessels were fast disappearing as the shinier and modern implements were beginning to arrive in the market.

By early spring most of our work had been completed and it was time to show the locals what the NZ Project had achieved in the Visitor Centre that had a prominent position on the top of Mendelphu Hill. It was time to ‘officially’ (locally anyway) to open the Centre with invitations sent out to the representatives of the immediate surrounding villages. For the occasion we were able to obtain a film of the 1953 expedition to Mount Everest and this was a major draw-card as a few of the local were in the film, especially Mingma Tsering who was the local Sirdar of the Himalayan Trust. It was a memorable evening with lots of laughs and shrieks of glee as individuals recognised themselves on screen, all loosened up by copious quantities of the rice wine chang. The only concern of the evening came late on with the arrival of the military. They were suspicious of large gatherings and had come to inspect. A welcome, a handshake and a glass of chang and all was settled then all that was left was to gently encourage everyone that the party was over and time to head home. Some were puzzled as many Sherpa parties are known to last quite a few days.

By May 1981 and after 7 years the time had come to wind up the NZ Project and after such a period of time the NZ Park presence, along with the Himalayan Trust doctors had become almost a part of the Sherpa society and it was a sad time for all concerned to have to bid farewell. The Tibetan community organised an outdoor party on Mendelphu Hill that eerily began in the monsoon mist with the presence of a local Lama, music, chang and Sherpa dancing. During the months of the winter monsoon the mountain had remained obscured in mist but as the celebrations progressed the mists cleared to reveal the glistening summits of the surrounding peaks of Tamserku, Kangtega and Ama Dablam.

In retrospect it was an amazing year.