Now, we must negotiate the steep descent to the Khatling glacier. With 200 feet of rope and a 70 degree 200 metre snow face to descend, we’re faced with a slight supply-demand situation. This situation is managed with the help of ropes the porters use to secure their loads. Lalit, Kamal and the porters go first and as I follow behind them, an interesting scene plays out below me in slow motion, involving (again) the porter carrying the sleeping bags. He slips, lets go of his load. The sleeping bags somersault into the porter below him, who, in turn, lets go of his load. This second load, not as harmless as somersaulting sleeping bags, consists of kitchen stoves. As the stoves break free of the cords that secure them together, I notice they are headed right towards where Kamal and Lalit are perched on a ledge. I cry out in alarm, Kamal and Lalit look up in horror and duck just in time to avoid the somersaulting stoves hitting them in the face. We continue watching as they sail inches over their heads, before coming to rest on the snowfield below. A shouting match ensues between them and the guilty porters. We breathe a sigh of relief and finish the rest of the descent uneventfully. Once we reach the snowfield, the sky starts dumping loads of snow and we quickly make work of the rest of the walk to the camp on Khatling glacier.
