I am up around 0430 for a movement. Meditate for 30 minutes while snuggled under a blanket. During the night it wasn't as cold as we thought it might become. Earlier in the morning a horse wandering nearby was neighing! When we open our window curtains we see a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. Around 6 am now and a dog is barking. Hmmm, no surprise there...
People in the Everest area go to bed early and get up early. Met for breakfast at 0700. Scrambled eggs and toast with fruit jam. I re-apply the magic tensor bandage to my right calf.
Hoping you can see the names of the mountains and that Everest is framed by two other mountains so you can never see more than the top of Everest from the ground. During our trek we will be able to see all these mountains, but much closer. Mount Everest (8848 m) is framed by its sisters; Mount Lhotse (8516 m) and Mount Nuptse (7861 m).
Never get on the suspension bridge if yaks or asses are already there. ;-)
Our start (Namche Bazaar) to day 3 of our trek at 0745. We are in for some fantastic scenery today! Our destination today is Tangboche at 3800 metres.
Only part of the trek up to Everest View Hotel. Only scrub brush to be seen. It is a real grind of an uphill climb. After you finally get to the Everest View Hotel, you enter through the front door and then escorted to the patio in the rear of the hotel for unbelievable views!
Mount Ama Dablam is behind me. I love the shape of the top of the mountain.
Jim and Randy enjoying the warm sunshine.
The four of us posing on the patio of Everest View Hotel.
Spectacular!
King of the Mountains!
Dorjee checking out the scenery and getting a much needed rest.
This is the background as entering through an open courtyard door!
The three trekkers with the might Himalayas in the background.
No, we are not climbing any Himalayan mountains!
On the trek to our next destination as we descend from Everest View Hotel.
Scene outside our lodge in Tangboche.
View from our lodge down towards the valley where we will be trekking on Day 5. Tomorrow, March 22nd is a rest and acclimatization day for Jim and I.
We trek to a scenic viewpoint above Namche Bazaar at the Everest Sherpa Resort for a bunch of photo ops. See above photo. Check the snow blowing off the top of Mt. Everest (2nd peak from your left). The views from this viewpoint are excellent and its another warm, blue sky and sunny day.
The next destination is a long ascension to the Japanese-run Everest View Hotel http://www.hoteleverestview.com at 3880 metres. It is advertised as the world's highest hotel, but Wolfgang reminds us of a few hotels in the South American Andes that are located much higher than this hotel.
We leave the view hotel around 10:30 am. As you can see, in some parts we are walking through snow. It is very warm. When we pass through these small villages, many of the locals are washing their clothes at a communal area. There are no washing machines or dryers in this region. The clothes will dry in the open air. More yaks seen in the fields. "Namaste" means hello in Nepalese. I am always trekking right behind Dorjee. The main reason is safety and I believe he makes the most minimal efforts given his decades of experience with this trek.
After about 90 minutes of mostly downhill and fast trekking we come to the river and Phunki Thaga village. We arrive around 12 Noon. We sit in the hot sun at Zambala Lodge and Restaurant patio next to a suspension bridge. We believe it is around 25 degrees Celsius. Food comes quickly and is tasty. This is lower in elevation so we are surrounded by a pine forest. Huge towering snow capped peaks beyond the shorter mountains.
One of the cool things about the Everest View Hotel was the fact we could see across the valley and where our final destination of the day (Tangboche) was located. We can even see parts of the trail up the mountain to Tangboche located at the top of the mountain.
We leave around 1 pm from Phunki Thaga go across the suspension bridge and then stop at another Tourist Checkpoint to present documentation. To get up this incredibly steep incline it is very dusty in spots and rocky in other places. About 30 minutes in, Jim develops a problem with the altitude and low intake of oxygen so we are taking our time ascending. No problem as it give the other three a chance to rest. Each uphill step for Jim is painful and challenging, but he is mentally very strong from marathons, triathlons and ascending Mount Kilimanjaro last year.
One of the cool things about this part of the trek is we are in a forest and many of the trees near the trail are rhododendron trees, although we are a little too early for their blooms. Blossoms usually occur in April and May. The uphill climb is dominated by shady forest and birds soaring on the thermals. Still warm during the climb. As the afternoon gets later the clouds move in over the peaks (higher elevations).
We make it to the top and Tashi Deleck Lodge and Restaurant where Jim and I will stay for two consecutive nights. Wolfgang will stay tonight and then return with his porter Ekta to Lukla in a few days. The entrance to our hotel is a combination of ice, snow, stones and mud. Our rooms are up the stairs and down the hall. We have windows on both sides and two single beds BUT no bathroom in our room. It is around 3:30 and already getting cold. Jim is exhausted and sweaty so pulls out his sleeping bag and falls asleep quickly. We discover no electrical outlet in our room and it is 300 Rupee to charge up your phone and 500 Rupee for wifi!
Jim's mileage count for today = 7.17 miles and 17,812 steps.
I meet with Dorjee and Wolfgang in the dark dining room where the generator does not switch on until 5:30 pm. Order lemon tea and you can see your breath. Everyone in the dining room is dressed very warm. They attempt to start a fire in an old oven in the middle, but only manage to create a bunch of smoke in the room so windows are open and it gets colder.
Lots of opportunity to chat with other trekkers. I get speaking with a long-haired 23 year-old young guy from Gothenburg, Sweden. His name is Daniel Per Oscar Gunnarsson. He travels on a budget and averages about 10 hours a day trekking. Wow!
I head back to the room and my steripen to make some drinkable water from the sinks located outside the toilets. Of course, it is really dark without any lighting. They do have a proper toilet though! I had to take an Immodium tablet this morning due to my diarrhea. Jim is still sleeping so that is good. The single small light bulb comes on in our room around 5 pm. The clouds rolled in before 4 pm and some guys were playing a game of pickup soccer with the local monks. By 5 pm the dining room is surrounded by cloud cover.
A really great perk prior to dinner was small hot and wet towels to apply to our faces and hands! What a treat! A form of entertainment was the 76 year-old owner who was quite a character and to surprise Jim he took out his upper dentures and displayed them.
There is a lot of snow in the village and in particular around our lodge. At 5:45 while I update the journal it is freezing cold in our room. Meeting at 6:30 pm for dinner. Wolfgang wanted to celebrate his last night with us so we drank three (3) San Miguel beer each (large size). Back in our room and my journal is cold to the touch.
No comments:
Post a Comment