Himalayan Expedition

At 14,767 feet (4,500 meters) you've reached the elevation where the high-altitude porters take over. While this exchange is taking place, you mention to one of the guides that you are amazed at how many useful plants there are in the mountains. He tells you that this is nothing compared to the way it used to be. Most of the people you've seen collecting plants are herdsmen who travel up and down the mountainside checking on their livestock. Local collectors either use the plants themselves or sell them in the local market. Sometimes, locals sell their crafts or medicinal herbs to local middlemen who sell them to a village trader and so on until the products reach distant marketplaces, like Kathmandu. In this scenario, the mountain people receive only a small fraction of the market price.

When the demand was local, traditional healers, called amchis, were able to manage Makalu's resources in a sustainable way. In recent years, though, there has been increased global demand for natural products like medicinal herbs. This has brought outside collectors to the mountain. The guide explains that these outsiders don't always know how to properly collect the plants. In order to compete with outsiders, local mountain people have had to collect plants too early or collect more at one time. As a result, many plant populations in Makalu-Barun are declining, and some have already become extinct. In an attempt to preserve these natural resources, the Nepalese government has banned the export of some plants and the collection of others.

Once again, as the sun begins to set the temperature drops. Even after spending two nights on the mountain you still can't believe how quickly this happens or how quickly your body begins to cool down! You and your teammates head back to Camp 3 and begin preparing for your final day on the mountain.