Van Yandell: The Khumbu Cough

John 6: 38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

The Khumbu region of the Himalaya in Nepal is one of the harshest environments on this planet. The cold is so penetrating it seems to freeze the bones. The winds generated off the mountains drive the cold deep within the body.

By the fifth or sixth day one becomes somewhat accustomed or acclimatized to the cold. There are tea houses along the trek where there are stoves that burn yak (Himalayan bovine) chips affording a little heat. We found it best to stay out of those. It was better not to warm up, because then we had to re-acclimatize. The cold did not feel as intense if we simply stayed out in it.

The oxygen level of the air is so low that red blood cells increase to compensate for the lower levels. A hormone, erythropoietin, triggers the production of these red cells. The low number of oxygen molecules in the air can decrease as much as twenty five percent less at 8,000 feet, than at sea level.

Dehydration, asphyxia or hypoxia, loss of energy, increased heart rate can result in death to weaker climbers.

Above 14,000, feet breathing became very difficult. My respiration rate was tripled from home (450 feet above sea level).

One of the Sherpas told me to check my respiration rate. I was breathing thirty-six breaths per minute. When returning to America, I checked my rate and it was eleven to twelve breaths per minute.

For some, the mental capacity is decreased. Reaction time seems to slow at higher elevations. This can be hazardous since many of the trails along mountain sides are hundreds of feet above the valley or river below. The trails are narrow in places and loose rock can cause a trekker to slide and fall.

Above the tree line, conditions become more hazardous. Tree line elevations vary. In Alaska, tree lines are as low as 3,000 feet in places, in Colorado, about 11,000 feet and in Nepal, 12,000 feet. Above the tree lines trails become steeper, looser and rockier.

In the Khumbu I developed a cough. Never in my life had I coughed so hard.

The cold dry air with its low oxygen level resulted in the drying of my throat and lungs. My respiration rate of 36 breaths per minutes (at rest) forced more air into my system to receive a less than equal amount of oxygen. The intense coughing also resulted in pain in my abdomen. It hurt so bad I had to bend over and hold my sides to cough.

People that have suffered broken ribs, had abdominal surgery or given birth by caesarian could likely relate to the discomfort. I was thankful for the clean air in that I never had to sneeze.

After nineteen days in the Everest region of the Khumbu we descended below 13,000 feet.

The oxygen level increased and the temperature eased a little. My cough went away.

Can we even begin to imagine what it was like for Jesus to leave His home in Heaven?

Especially when we consider what a hostile environment the earth was and is like to our kind and gentle Savior.

I had it brought to my attention several years ago what birth must be like for a new born baby. To leave the warmth and comfort of his mother’s uterus and flung into a cold, cruel and loud world must be horrifying at best. What an abrupt change that must be! Jesus came into the world like any other baby.

He was born in a stable; His baby bed was a feed trough (manger) for livestock and His blanket was old rags (swaddling clothes). He was born in Bethlehem in December. It would likely have been cold there.

Soon after He was born, King Herod sought to kill Him. Mary and Joseph took Him to Egypt for two years to protect Him. Traveling across the Saini Peninsula from Israel to Cairo would have been another very hostile environment to deal with.

We really do not have much information of Jesus’ life as a carpenter and the twenty-eight years spent in Nazareth. We do know he began His earthly ministry at age thirty. He was judged, ridiculed and called a false prophet and a liar by the religious leaders during the three years before He was crucified.

They rejected Him for several reasons but the number one quarrel they had with Him was His teaching salvation by grace and mercy. The religious leaders believed one must live completely by the Old Testament laws of Moses. John 1: 17, “the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came through Christ Jesus.” Because of this teaching, they plotted to kill Him which of they eventually did. What they hadn’t bargained for was our Lord being resurrected. And wouldn’t they turn over in their graves if they knew that today He has over two and a half billion believer-followers?

Jesus was the fulfillment of the scriptures. Isaiah (chapters 9 and 53) told the people about Him six hundred years before His birth. He came into this harsh, cruel world as a little baby, born in the humblest of circumstances. He lived His life as a servant then died as the Savior of all mankind.

A trek in the Khumbu of the Himalaya has been referred to as glorious misery. The mountain views are a display of God’s handiwork. I stood on the summit of Kala Patthar (18, 514 feet) across the Khumbu Valley from Mt. Everest.

The mountain range before me was magnificent desolation. On that crystal clear day, I could see “The Death Zone” on Everest. Fourteen percent of those that attempt Everest do not survive.

A Mt. Everest climb to the summit (29,035 feet) can range in cost from $50,000 to $200,000, depending on the outfitters.

Many that are physically fit to make the climb cannot afford the costs and rely on sponsors (manufacturers of climbing gear and other products). Nepal requires an $11,000 climbing fee.

Jesus left His home in Heaven to come to this earth where He would suffer and die for the sin of all mankind. Would I go back to the Khumbu? If you want to test me with the price of a trek and a plane ticket, please do. Do you believe Jesus will come back to take you home?

Christ Jesus was crucified for the remission of our sin and resurrected. Hundreds witnessed His presence after His resurrection.

The Holy Bible offers irrefutable proof of its authorship by our Creator. So much of the science and prophetic information could not have been known two to three thousands ago by mere mortals.

I’m reminded of an old hymn, “This World is Not My Home,” written by J. R. Baxter and sung by Jim Reeves.

“This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door. And I can’t feel at home in this world any more.”

The scripture promises His return (Acts 1: 11) and the taking up of His believer followers (1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-18).

Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary, from Fredonia, Kentucky.

A part of the Bible Connection series.