Bacchal at Everest Base Camp. Express Bacchal at Everest Base Camp. Express Diljinder Singh Bacchal, Assistant Sub-Inspector posted in Mohali, is the first Punjab policeman to go on an expedition to Mount Everest. He has agreed to write a diary for Chandigarh Newsline about his progress, as and when he finds the time and a communication link. This is the third part of the series April 23: Apologies for not writing in for a few days. I am at Everest Base Camp, commonly known as EBC. It is at a height of 17,600 feet. The connections from here are patchy. The night temperature is -5 Celsius. Around 700 people are at EBC right now, including the staff of 7 Summit Treks, the company which is making all the arrangements at the camp. It’s all tent accommodation. The tents are specially designed to keep out the cold. EBC also has an air evacuation facility as it has two helicopters which are stationed at Lukla, the nearest airport from the base camp. I reached EBC on April 16. After waking up at 6 am, the first thing I do is yoga. It is the right exercise for this place because oxygen levels are low. At 8 am sharp we have to gather at the mess for our breakfast which includes breads, omelette and some milk and tea. The company has hired cooks who prepare the food for the mountaineers. As part of our acclimatisation routine for the big climb, we have to climb some nearby peaks. I climbed the Kala Pathar peak the other day. A Pakistani mountaineer and doctor, Abdul Jabbar Bhatti, is helping me with the acclimatisation. When I go on these climbs, I carry my ice axe, bottles of hot water, some packed food like sandwich. Other than that, I have a first aid kit. It is practice before climbing the Mount Everest. Bhatti and I go on these climbs together. He was telling me that he is the only specialist doctor in Pakistan who treats mountaineers. The climb usually lasts till about 2 pm. By the time we return, lunch is on. Up at such a height, you don’t feel like eating heavy or oily food. Usually, it’s some curd and some chapatis. Milk is served three times a day. Some people are down with nausea due to the rare air, and they are being treated for altitude sickness. There are several doctors at EBC just for this. The big day is on April 26, when we are scheduled to set out on our climb. But as I said in an earlier dispatch, it all depends on the weather. The winds are chilly and there is snow all over. The yellow tents of the mountaineers look good against the white. For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now First Published on: April 25, 2017 7:33 am

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