Base of the Cliff

They had started to descend the path next to the cliff which was hidden by rocks. This was not a regular route for trekkers as very few people knew about it.

This descending path went around in a semi-circle and would take them to the base of the cliff as well as the base of the mountain which had its top covered in snow, which they had seen from their camp. Thereafter, they would trek to the village which was available through another ascending path. They would reach the village in 3 hours' time. The base of the cliff and the mountains on the opposite side formed a tiny valley below that they would need to walk through.

Luke had used this route a number of times. Though it was slightly dangerous, there was no chance of them encountering any bears or other dangerous wild animals on the way. But they first had to cross the shallow but wide stream to throw off their scent just to be on the safe side from the bears they had encountered early morning.

Before descending, he made everyone remove their socks and shoes and cross the shallow but wide stream with the shoes hanging around their neck tied with the shoe strings. The socks were placed in each pair of shoes. After crossing the stream, they all dried their feet in the air and then put on their socks and shoes.

Thereafter, they made their way to the rocks which hid the descending path. Here he made all of them walk in a single file with ropes tied. He led followed by the 5 girls and then Zia after she followed the 5 boys and then last was Sherpa.

"Why do we need to tie the rope while descending, is it not tied when you ascend a mountain?" Chris asked.

"Good observation Chris," Luke replied and added, "Chris, just see the sheer drop. If the ropes are not tied then if anyone falls he will fall too far down, the fall can be fatal too. If the person is tied, he will not fall far and can be easily hauled up."

Luke further suggested that descend be done slowly; there was no need to rush. They all should keep their mind and body to the task of descending. Hands should be in touch with the cliff side like they were touching a wall looking for handholds (not footholds as their feet were on the ground), their hands were to be touching the side of the cliff. The minute they felt a huge tug on the rope, they were to shout, as probably the tug would mean someone had slipped or sat down. They were not to walk as if they were walking at a fashion parade.

Slow and study like a tortoise they walked going to the left then to the right and were almost halfway down when they saw someone walking on the side of the mountain just below the snowline. It looked like a tall man about three times in height but covered in hair.

They all started whispering "Yeti, Yeti!"

Yes, it was a Yeti and it was huge, had a slight humped body. The arms were really long coming right up to his knees. The hands were curved it seems. The creature turned his head towards them as if sensing that he was being observed. They all could see his face, it was a mixture of human and ape. But it was a shy type of a creature and as soon as it sensed that it was being observed by so many people, he ran away.

They had been walking for an hour now. So a halt was made for a few minutes to rest, to drink water or just to talk. After 15 minutes of rest, they started to descend again and within another hour, they had touched the base of the cliff. What a relief it was for everyone.

Luke told Sherpa to help remove the tied ropes. Now they all could walk at ease.

The base area of the cliff and the start of the mountains on the other side comprise a good stretch and it went on and on both ways. This was a tiny valley but it seemed more like a dried up river bed. It was full of pebbles and rocks but quite walkable. Perhaps the boulders had been removed by some people as it seemed that people had been using this 'smooth pebbled road'.

A small stream was flowing on the cliff side. Probably the water from the stream from their stream at the camp had filtered through the hill comprising rocks and sand to reach this pebbled area.

Sherpa came over to Luke in order to ask something but he raised his eyebrows and gestured with his hands indirectly asking him if he had talked to Zia or not. Sherpa would laugh at him and tease him definitely tonight when they reached the village and camped there. Luke pretended he had not understood.

Luke could not tell her that he wanted to get to know her, talk to her, and get to know her likes and dislikes? He could not ask her if she had a boyfriend or was going steady. He also wanted to know whether her parents were looking for a match for her through various matrimonial sites. Actually, he wanted to talk a lot but when she was in front of him, his courage left him, he had become tongue-tied.

Since it was better to talk, he started asking all the students to tell about themselves. After the children had completed their introduction, Zia gave her introduction. Sherpa did likewise. Finally Luke gave his introduction. This introduction business took another hour and by now the students were hungry. They made a campfire near the tiny stream and then cooked/ warmed up their food like they had warmed up stuff at the camp. But this time they used a minimum of utensils.

Then they started talking about the Yeti they had seen on the side of the mountain just below the snowline. They could see it as it had white hair and it was on the lower side of the mountain, not the snow-covered top side. The lower side was devoid of snow, so the background was brown. Its figure had acted as a contrast. Hence it could be seen. If it had been near the top of the mountain where the snow was, they could not have seen it as it would have blended with the snow.

Where do you think it lives? What does it eat? Does it have a family? Why is its family not with him?

Danny said, "I think it lives in caves with families. The Yeti must be surviving on fruits and berries maybe even animals that it can hunt."

"Its hands looked curved so probably it can make and use rudimentary tools of stones."

As regards why its family is not with him then I can probably say that even humans do not take their families everywhere, so maybe it was going somewhere or coming from somewhere."

"Luke Sir, Do you think they have a language to communicate or would they be using sign language or short bursts of sounds to communicate with each other?" Nanu asked.

Zia ma'am, Infrared camera had been set up by Luke Sir and Sherpa, could that camera have captured the yeti?" Tina added.

"Yes Luke, What did the Infrared camera facing the cliff reveal?" Zia inquired.

Luke replied, "I did not have a proper look as we were planning to leave the Camp. But I did see a figure near where it was seen today. Maybe it has a cave nearby."

Luke had seen the footage from his infrared camera. There was nothing throughout, except for a minute when he saw a similar vision as all had seen today. At night though, the vision was not so clear, but he had seen a huge figure exactly at the same spot.

Anyway, everyone, we need to start walking now for about 1 km and then we need to start climbing the side of the adjacent hill." Luke explained smiling at everyone and added, "It is not far now. This route is known to the villagers but it is not one of the regular trekking routes."

They walked for a few meters and saw that the cliff side had disappeared. They were now passing the ending of one hill on their left and another hill had started from where the first one had almost ended. The second hill was covered with carpet grass, the type rich people would plant in their lawns. The grass was parrot green in color. The blades of the grass were so tiny that they were almost absent. They turned on their mobiles and took some pictures.

The children found this type of grass fascinating. After walking a little further, they spied a short pass hidden by some hedges and it was going upwards. They knew this path would lead them to the village.

However, they had taken the wrong path; their path was slightly a few meters away.