The Everest Marathon

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Back on the Course

19.11.2003

Sarnasa to Deboche

From Sarnasa onwards the trek is on the race route, following the ‘main trail’ towards Everest Base Camp.

From here everyone walks up the course and it will take 6 days to reach start line, as there are rest days and altitude must be gained slowly. Its not appropriate or practical to mark the course during the race (cloth markers were tried in the first race but the yaks ate them), so the race route has to be learnt during the trek. Wherever there is a fork in the path the advice to is to turn and look back, to see how it will look when coming the other way. Generally its very easy to follow the route and the few points where people are known to have gone wrong in the past are pointed out by group leaders.

Along the way the marshals are shown the lodges used as aid stations and mountain stretchers, oxygen sets and supplies are left ready for the race. A Sherpa is also assigned to each post.

The Trek

Sarnasa (3597m/11,800 feet) is one of the race aid posts, and there are rows of heavily jewelled Sherpanis here, selling ‘Tibetan’ souvenirs from trailside tables. In the woods nearby there is a good chance of catching a glimpse of a Danphe, the national bird of Nepal. These brilliantly coloured pheasants are common hereabouts.

From here the trail starts its steep descent to the river at Phunki Tenga (3247m/10,650 feet), the lowest point of the course. Coming back the other way it’s a low point on the race for many too. Having covered nearly 15 miles at high altitude the runners are suddenly faced with the long, steady climb back up to Sarnasa. It’s often the point the race is decided among the leading contenders.

On a side stream near the river at the foot of the hill there are a series of small, water driven prayer wheels, then the climb up to Tengboche Monastery (3867m/12,887 feet) begins, and its brutal. The trail is deeply cut and very dusty, and there are many short cuts taking a vertically direct route through the forest, which can be used to avoid the slow moving yak trains. (Coming down this during the race fell runners and the Nepali’s will gain a big advantage here with a fearless descent, but its dangerous if icy.) Now the saddle shaped peak of Kangtega rears up nearby, and the view at the top is worth any amount of climbing.

The monastery sits on top of the ridge and there is a wide open, grassy slope before it which is used by trekking groups. However, the marathon groups prefer to descend into the forest the other side to the village of Deboche (3757m/12,325 feet), where there is a large nunnery. The big marathon group is less disruptive here and sleeping at a slightly lower altitude is beneficial. Before going down to camp there is time to look inside the monastery, which was rebuilt in 1988 after it burnt to the ground.

Don’t Rush it

Above Sarnasa is The Everest View Hotel, which was built with the idea of flying in wealthy tourists to an airstrip above Namche, at a high price of course. Oxygen was provided in every room to counteract the effects of altitude, but as customers collapsed and felt ill the whole project failed.

On the day of the first marathon in 1987 a helicopter landed at Tengboche and out jumped a Disney film crew. The promptly felt very ill, turned a greenish colour, jumped back in, and flew off again. Talk about a Mickey Mouse operation!

Acclimatisation to high altitude is essential and cannot be rushed, even you are rich or work for Disney. This is one reason the Everest Marathon is a month long trip, and progress up the course is slow and carefully controlled. See All Event Posts