Our tents were two metres long and wide enough to accommodate two mats and two 120 l hiking bags. The tent also had a small porch where you could place dirty shoes and the dirtiest clothes. The tent was made of a double-layer synthetic material, which was supposed to be waterproof, but during heavy rainfall both the roof and the lower layer were getting soaked and the floor became wet at the corners and edges. We only experienced having water drip from the ceiling once and it was particularly unpleasant. The height of the tent was such that it was possible to sit comfortably but it was impossible to stand up. As a result, all activities mainly called for the use of abdominal muscles so I happily recalled my daily morning exercise routine – 100 abs exercises.
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| You can only sit or lie down in the tent. And yes, Viesturs is holding heaters, not toys. |
Usually, relatively flat plots of land are already marked for setting up tents in the camps. Ditches have been dug around them to drain most of the rainwater. Our climb took place at the very end of the tourist season, practically at the start of the rain season, so the camps were sparsely occupied (usually only one or two other groups) and our guides could choose good spots – the plots were horizontal, the tents were fairly close together and near the toilet.
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| The only stationary building in the camp – the toilet. |
Frankly, whether the tent location in the camp could be considered advantageous was judged mainly based on how far it was from the only stationary building in the camp – the toilet. To demonstrate why this is important, I will explain in detail the process of going to the toilet at night. Since the sun sets as early as seven o’clock and within two hours after that you have dinner and get ready for bed, there is nothing more sensible than hitting the hay at around nine o’clock. The exhaustion at the end of the day and the surrounding silence will have you falling asleep before long, but soon after eleven there is an insurmountable need to take care of business. To a large extent this was due to the medicine for high altitude sickness whose side effect was frequent elimination of bodily fluids.
Realizing that I will not be able to fall asleep now, I look at the clock first, then sit up and light a headlamp attached to the ceiling of the tent. I open the sleeping bag and find that the air is quite cold, so I retrieve a jacket and put it on. I carefully unhook the lamp, place it on my forehead, and pull the inner zipper of the tent as quietly as possible. Everything should be done slowly and smoothly as shortness of breath occurs after only a few rapid movements. I move to the porch and put on my shoes. Now I have to move a little further to open the tent’s outer door. Done! Now I have to turn backwards and half-crawl feet-first to slide out of the tent completely. I close the outer zipper from the outside because the night is really cold. After the small climb to the toilet I am completely out of breath. Yes, done! Now all the steps in reverse order. I am finally in the sleeping bag and can turn off the lamp that is once again secured to the ceiling. After two hours of sleep I glance at my watch and everything starts all over again. Usually this cycle repeats three to four times a night, my record was six times.
From the second night onward it became difficult to warm up the sleeping bag with body heat alone. This is due to both, objectively chilly nights and the fact that in high-altitude conditions the body functions differently than in everyday life. It seems that the body does not produce as much heat as under normal conditions, I, for example, dressed very warmly for dinner, not even forgoing a hat. The guides also warned us many times about the chill. We were given thermophores shaped like very cute toy bunnies. This heat source indeed helped us warm up and fall asleep quickly, but in the higher camps I would wear thermal underwear and put on a woollen hat when going to sleep.
Not only sleeping takes place in the tent but also changing, choosing clothes, and consequently packing and unpacking. Instead of cabinets and drawers, each occupant has a large sports bag and several thick plastic bags. As I already mentioned, it is best to avoid putting anything on the tent floor because during a sudden rain the clothes can get wet. Therefore, all packing consists of pulling the clothes out of one bag and putting them in another. From the second day of the hike clothes start circulating – there are those that are already sweaty or soaked in the rain, those that will no longer be needed (thin clothes) and those that are not yet needed (for the summit day). Then you have to separate the clothes that are dirty but still quite wearable, those that are damp (they should be placed in a separate bag so that the rest of the belongings would not get wet), and those that you’ve managed to dry in the sun. It is quite understandable that the tent never smells fresh, due to both the clothes worn and the residents themselves.
Clothes and damp sleeping bags could be dried very effectively if spread under the hot sun – after half an hour everything is dry. Unfortunately, we had to head out at around nine when the sun just started to get warm but all our belongings had to be packed up and handed over to the porters.
In high-altitude conditions thinking slows down a bit and perception becomes foggy so it is very important to incorporate routine into the tent life. For example, a flashlight always hangs from the ceiling, dental hygiene items are always in this specific organiser and in this specific tent pocket, mobile phone and its accessories are always in another organiser inside another tent or bag pocket, sunscreen and sunglasses are in another place, etc. Glasses present an additional difficulty for those who require them. I was using sports glasses that were always hanging around my neck on a string – this approach worked out quite well.
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| There is also a shower tent in the mountains, but only for those who had the foresight to pre-order it. |
The standard offer does not include bathing for the entire seven days. Tourists usually use wet wipes or try to wash up a little with a cup inside the toilets that aren’t very comfortable (a hut with a hole in the floor and two footrests). The members of our group had the remarkable foresight to order an additional service – a shower tent, 1 x 1 m wide and 2.5 m high, with a rubber bag with warm water attached to the ceiling. So we too managed to take a shower several times. It was incredibly pleasant even though in the evenings the air was quite cool – around +10oC. It goes without saying that men do not shave all week and there is no mirror in the camp at all, moreover, worries about appearance are eclipsed by worries about well-being.