How Sonia got to Mount Everest base camp

Watching a live rock gig on the streets of Thamel (Kathmandu) amidst complete strangers ���devoid of any known company,��� wouldn���t be everyone���s idea of an ideal New Year���s eve celebration. But Telugu actress Sonia did just that and swears, ���it was the best New Year��� of her life. ���My friends returned home on the 30th and I was excited and apprehensive about the prospect.The band performed on the street across the hotel I was staying in and the atmosphere was overwhelming. I walked barefoot on the streets for a kilometre as my footwear gave way. I will never forget it,��� says Sonia. But the highlight of her Nepal trip was the 18-day trek to Mount Everest Base Camp.
Sonia was accompanied by four friends on the grueling trek that stretched the limits of endurance. December is the toughest time for the trek because the mountains are covered with snow. Trekking in sub-zero temperatures was a breathtaking experience literally. I had no training and was not mentally prepared for it as I just tagged along with my friends,��� recalls Sonia. But on the second day of the trek she figured what she���d gotten herself into.
���I���m an adventure freak and have tried paragliding and skydiving and was thinking how difficult can climbing up a mountain get? But 12.5 hours of steep trek in near darkness was more difficult that anything I���d imagined. I was short of breath, and was breathing through my mouth and had a bad chestache and severe cold! Navigating a 5-ft wide crevasse in the snow was a nerve wracking experience to say the least. Forget insight, I had nothing on my mind but to try not to drown in the fatigue. ��� says Sonia.
The team had initially planned to trek along Kaala Patthar and ���Three High Passes��� enroute the Everest Base Camp. ���We abandoned the Three High passes because of excessive snowfall. We trekked from 7 am in the morning to five in the evening every day. I was wearing five layers of clothing on top and four layers down, and yet, I could feel the bite of the cold. I���d sleep wearing two head scarfs to cover my hair and wrap a couple of blankets in my sleeping bag,��� shares Sonia adding, ���I showered just twice in 18 days and washed my hair just once. Because of the altitude, I looked like a joker and my face became sunburnt by the end of the trek.���
The scariest part of the climb was surviving an earthquake one night. ���I could feel the tremors for 30 seconds and haven���t been more scared in my entire life,��� says Sonia adding ���It was sheer madness.��� Sonia also caught glimpses of the Himalayan wildlife. ���I saw musk deer and wild Himalayan goats in close quarters,��� she beams. Playing with the snow at minus 15 degree was the most enjoyable part of her Himalayan sojourn. ���If you go to Nepal you must try the traditional dal bhaat it���s just out of the world,��� she says signing off.