Day 10- 27th April, 2010- Hike to Kala Pattar and back down to Pheriche
Today we woke at 4:30AM set to leave for Kala Pattar at 5AM sharp. After a cup of tea, the team was off to climb KP. KP sits at 18,300 feet above sea level and offers superb views of Mt. Everest, Nupste, the Lho La pass into Tibet, and Ama Dablam to name a few. The theory of leaving early is that that the weather is usually clear and the sun rises from behind Everest.
Before we reached the first step up KP, we had to cross a dry lake bed. Of course, the manifesto of the commitment to the climb came up as another group was also crossing the lake bed to the foot of KP. We hustled and beat them to the path. This was a mistake. About 15 steps up the hill, we were all winded and out of breath. Nonetheless, we trudged on and were the first group to the summit. There was a solo climber up there already taking photos but we were the first group. We spent about 45min to an hour at the top taking photos and leaving mementos of our friends and families. It was an exhilarating experience, both physically and emotionally. We then descended and ran into the group that we beat at the lake bed. There were about ½ of the way up the mountain.
on the way to Pheriche
From there, we went back for breakfast at our lodge in Gorak Shep. Then, we trekked down to Pheriche. This was a slightly different route than the way up. The highlight of the trek down was the valley approaching Pheriche. The valley was wide and open, the mountains simply go straight up thousands of feet. Words cannot describe the views. The valley was also full of yak and dzo grazing for food.
Upon arrival in Pheriche, our lodge is great. It has a ski lodge feel. Some of us went to the local clinic for a presentation on Acute Mountain Sickness. Even though we were on the way down, the presentation was very informative. Dave found the presentation to be excellent because it reaffirmed all the advice he has given along the way, as our fearless trek leader.
Tonight we look forward to sleeping 3,000 feet lower at about 14,000 feet. Tomorrow, we trek down to Namche for a much needed hot shower!!!
