在中国西藏定日嘎玛沟遥望世界第一高峰--珠穆朗玛峰 Viewing Mount Everest from the base camp at Tingri, Tibet, China

WS 114： 在中国西藏定日嘎玛沟遥望世界第一高峰--珠穆朗玛峰 Viewing Mount Everest from the base camp at Tingri, Tibet, China

珠穆朗玛峰(俗称珠峰)是喜马拉雅山脉的主峰，也是世界海拔最高的山峰，高8,848米。位于中国与尼泊尔边境线上，北部在中国西藏自治区的定日县境内。我2010年跟团游西藏时，曾到定日县的曲当乡珠峰大本营，一睹珠峰凤采。从定日县中心到珠峰大本营，路程约一百公里，两成是柏油路，八成是沙石路，用了至少四个小时。(后记：五年后，即是2015年七月，新的珠峰景观大道建成通车，全是柏油路，从定日县中心到珠峰大本营， 只需两个多小时)

第一张照片所示是路边景色，多是寸草不生之地。途中也有小小村落，几户人家，第二张照片。中部有一个观景地点，名为加吾拉山口，海拔5,290米。第三张照片就是这里拍的，前景是摆卖的藏族纪念品，后景就是喜马拉雅山脉，从这里可看到五座超过八千米高的山峰， 当然包括珠峰。接下来的一段路是蛇形天梯公路，有一百零八个急转弯，第四张照片。第五张照片所示的是道上的一个鬼门关。不久就到珠峰大本营。

所谓珠峰大本营，其实是在一个名为嘎玛沟的平地上，筑有几十个帐篷式建筑，提供游客简单的饮食和住宿服务。这里的海拔是5,200米。看珠峰还要爬上一个约15米高的小石子山玻，第六张照片。小小山玻，大家可都爬得气喘吁吁，心脏狂跳，这就是高原反应。在海拔5,200米，空气非常稀薄，空气中的氧气只有海拔零米的55%。下来的三张照片所示的就是珠峰的雄姿，珠峰和大本营的直线距离约十九公里。第七张照片里的帐篷是真正珠峰爬山客的帐篷，不是游客的大本营。这里还是经幡飞扬，显示藏人对宗教的热枕，珠穆朗玛峰，藏语是“大地之母”的意思，当然是个神山。 

按照坊间的说法，珠峰的尊荣并不是每个游客可观赏到。当地人说，珠峰一般是四、五天才从云雾中露一个全貌。我们实在太幸运了，一来到，峰前无云无雾，珠峰就这么赤裸裸的等着给我们看。

不过还是有团友没福气观赏。我们是一个约二十人的团，来到大本营，一个五十多岁的男团友下了小巴就昏倒在地，严重的高原反应。司机和他的姐妹赶快扶他回到车上，给他氧气。高原反应最有效的治疗就是尽快降低高度。既然珠峰全貌我们都看到了，领队就只给我们十五、二十分钟拍照时间。人命关天，大家也无异议，午餐也不吃，还有一个寺庙(绒布寺)也没去参观，赶着下山去。大约三个小时后下到名为扎西宗的小镇，此地海拔4,145米。我们才停下来吃午餐，那时已接近四点，我胃病也爆发！最后那张照片所示的就是扎西宗的街景。那位团友第二天也复原了。

Mount Everest is the main peak of the Himalayas and the highest in the world, with a height of 8,848 m. It is located on the border between China and Nepal. The Chinese side is in the Tingri county in the Tibet Autonomous Region. While on a group tour to Tibet in 2010 we went from Tingri to the Mount Everest Base Camp in Qudang town to admire the peak. The distance was only 100 km but the journey took some 4 hours as 80% of the road were unpaved earth road, and some parts very winding. 

The first 5 photos show scenery on the journey. The 3rd photo was taken at a pass at 5,290 m elevation. The base camp in Qudang consists of simple tent accommodations for tourists. It is at 5,200 m height. The best point to see Mount Everest is atop a small hill may be 15 m in height. And a lot of effort was needed to climb this 15 m due to the low oxygen level at this height. Everybody was panting. The tents shown a distance away in the 7th photo are the true base camps for climbers. 

We were extremely lucky that the full view of the peak of Mount Everest was available to us. The peak was about 19 km away in straight-line distance. According to the locals, such clear vista was possible only once in 4 or 5 days. At other times it was either obstructed by clouds or unclear due to mist. We had to thank our lucky star. 

But not all of us were that lucky. One male member in our group, in his 50s, collapsed after stepping out of the bus at the base camp. A severe case of High Altitude Sickness. He was helped back to the bus and given oxygen. It could be fatal. The best cure is to go down to a lower level immediately. So the tour leader gave us only 15 to 20 minutes of photo time and after that we immediately went down, foregoing our lunch and the visit to the highest Tibetan temple in the World. We had our lunch stop some 3 hours later at a town called Tashi Zong, 4,145 m in elevation, the last photo.