In my last note, I walked you through the physical grind of getting to Everest Base Camp (EBC). The steps, the breath, the altitude. But if I stopped there, I’d be lying to you. Because the Himalayas aren’t just about the geology.

They’re alive because of the people who live there. And—this is the heavy part—they’re sacred because of the people who sleep there forever.

Two things on this trip hit me harder than the altitude. One brought tears. The other? A smile I can’t quite wipe off my face.

The Memorials at Thukla Pass

Just before you reach Lobuche, there’s a climb called Thukla Pass. It’s steep. Brutal, actually. You get to the top, lungs panting, expecting just a view. Instead, you get a graveyard.

Hundreds of stone memorials, known as chortens, rise out of the mist.

This is the final resting place for the climbers and Sherpas who died in the lap of these mountains. It’s haunting. Beautiful, yes, but haunting. You see names etched into stone. Prayer flags flutter in the wind, sounding almost like whispers. These were people who came looking for a summit and met their mortality instead.

A Meeting with Sharad Kulkarni

Among those silent stones, we ran into Mr. Sharad Kulkarni. And his story? It just breaks you.

Back in 2019, he and his wife, Anjali Kulkarni, summited Everest. Their fifth time. Together. They were on their way down, high on success, when they hit that infamous “traffic jam” in the death zone. Stuck for hours. Oxygen running low.

Anjali developed complications, possibly hypoxia, and breathed her last right there. Sharad survived. But he left his partner in adventure behind.

Every year, he goes back. Just to stand there. Seeing him pay his respects… it changed something in me. It reminded me that while the mountains are magnificent, they are indifferent. They demand respect. Life up there hangs by a thread.

The Sherpas: Or as I Call Them, Superhumans

If the memorials are about death, the Sherpas are about explosive, undeniable life.

I’ve actually developed my own theory about their name. To me, S.H.E.R.P.A. isn’t just a noun. It’s an acronym:

Their fitness doesn’t make sense. Physically, it shouldn’t be possible.

We would stumble into Gorakshep at 5,164 meters, looking like zombies. All I wanted was a blanket and a flat surface. Then I’d look out the window. What did I see? The Sherpas… those who had just carried double our weight and walked faster… were outside playing volleyball in the snow.

Volleyball. At 5,000 meters.

Here is the reality of the mountain hierarchy:

They don’t just survive here. They thrive. And they treat us like family, not clients.

“Just a Bit Zig-Zag”

Our guide, Mr. Pema Gyltsen Sherpa, was a pro. Caring, sharp, but with a very subtle, dangerous sense of humor.

When you’re exhausted, you really only have one question: “How much longer?”

Whenever we asked Pema, he’d give this little smile. “Idhar hi hai sir,” he’d say. “Bas thoda zig-zag.” (It’s right here, sir. Just a little zig-zag.)

We learned that code fast.

In Pema’s dictionary, “zig-zag” didn’t mean a winding flat road. It meant a vertical, lung-crushing ascent. If he said “zig-zag,” we tightened our shoelaces and prayed. But by the end? We loved him for it. He was our protector. Even now, back in the hospital, if I hear the word “zig-zag,” I smile. I’m back in the snow.

Taste Life Before It Melts

The memorials taught us silence. The Sherpas taught us strength. The mountains taught us balance.

But here is what I want you to take away from this.

Don’t think this is out of your league.

I know it looks intimidating on Instagram. But you don’t need to be an Olympian to do this. You need a little fitness, a check-up with your doctor, and the will to go. It doesn’t have to be Everest. Any trek in the Himalayas changes your wiring.

We get so stuck in the grind. The office, the rounds, the commute. We forget there’s a world out there that doesn’t care about our emails. You need to take that break. You need to realize you are more than your job title.

So, please. Go. Taste life before it melts away like snow.

Shashikiran Umakanth

Dr. Shashikiran Umakanth (MBBS, MD, FRCP Edin.) is the Professor & Head of Internal Medicine at Dr. TMA Pai Hospital, Udupi, under the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). While he has contributed to nearly 100 scientific publications in the academic world, he writes on MEDiscuss out of a passion to simplify complex medical science for public awareness.