“Come here! We drink finest Russian Vodka!”
Shivering from the midday cold, I join Neeltje who has already given in to the charms of the old man sitting across the drafty dining room in Dokla. He gestures to me to join them and hands me a shot glass. Sniffing its contents the elixir’s fumes fill my nostrils and sting my eyes much to Neeltje’s amusement. We both settle down alongside the old man to learn more about his journey up the mountain.
We’re almost a week into our ascent up to Everest Base Camp and after a short 2 hour trek from Dingboche we’ve decided to acclimatize at 4900m above sea level at a small settlement with views of Ama Dablam, a 7800m peak. Dokla looked like a small village on the map however we’re surprised to find only one lodge clinging to a rocky ravine. Still we’re tired from 5 days of trekking and our packs don’t seem to be getting any lighter.
“Na sdarovie!” The shot of Vodka quickly warms my throat and face and I look across to Neeltje who’s face is also beaming. “Now – vaat else? Ah!” The Russian dips into his rather small pack and pulls out a plastic bag. From it he removes a block of yak cheese, one chopped red onion, several cloves of garlic, a large tomato, cured pork fat and a bag of savory biscuits and places them neatly on the table. He waves over to one of the lodge staff and asks him for 2 litres boiled water. It duly arrives in a large thermos flask.
Neeltje and I are still bemused as to what he is preparing but we watch intently as the old man adorns the table with more ingredients and then begins making filtered coffee and oolong tea. I take a moment to observe him while he busies himself with our coffee – adding more vodka to it.
He’s dressed in simple track pants, wool hat and rain jacket. On his feet he has wool socks and a pair of rubber sandals which he treks in. He carries an umbrella as a walking stick and judging from the size of his back pack, he doesn’t have a change of clothes. His hands are enormous, yet delicate when preparing the coffee and pouring our vodka. He moves slowly which suggests to me he’s in his late 60s or early 70’s and he has a spark in his eyes which immediately endears Neeltje and I to him.
Tearing off chunks of yak cheese and nibbling at the biscuits, tomato and garlic we learn more about him, despite his inability to speak much English.
Valentcin is a concert pianist based in Kathmandu and runs a music school with his wife Victoria teaching Nepali locals piano and singing. He is originally from Moscow but moved to Nepal several years ago after touring Asia with several orchestras. He is 77 years old and is traveling alone in the mountains. He mentions he once attempted to climb Everest and reached over 8000m without any oxygen. Noticing Neeltje’s choice of literature, ‘In To Thin Air’ by Jon Krakauer, he also alludes to knowing the Russian, Anatoli Boukreev who summit’ed Everest but later died attempting Annapurna in 1997. From his general preparedness he has climbed these mountains on several occasions and enjoys traveling light.
Neeltje and I both enjoy our time with Valentcin and agree to meet with him once returning to Kathmandu. He asks if we can provide him with some photos of our trek and also offers to assist Neeltje obtaining a Russian Visa for the next stage of her trip. Of course we agree and exchange numbers.
The following morning, we both wake to find Valentcin has already made a start up the mountain, slowly but purposefully walking with his umbrella and rubber sandals. We quickly pass him, negotiating our way around giant boulders with speed. The air is thinner and we gasp for oxygen with every step reaching Leboche within 3 hours but I’m conscious of how a 77 year old man might feel doing exactly the same route. Valentcin appears a 30 mins or so behind us and continues to walks straight past Leboche, onward to Gorak Shep (5300m) – the last stop before Base Camp. I figure it’s the Vodka which powers him.
As I watch him disappear into the distance I hope when I reach his age, I too continue to live as healthily as he does and can find the spirit to challenge myself each day – just as he does.
We reach Base Camp the following day (day 7) and more importantly, get a glimpse of the top of the world, Mt. Everest flanked by her two smaller sisters, Lotse and Ama Dablam, realizing a dream.
finding | neel 