Cold air and sore quadriceps greeted the team this morning. The cold air from sleeping above 14,000 feet for the second night in a row. The sore quads from our “rest day” hike up and down Nangkartshang Peak which sits at 16,800 feet. The hike down Nangkartshang Peak has been our only sustained downhill hike in 7 days. We used muscles that have not been called on for a while.
Our Sherpa guides served us muesli and a pancake for breakfast. At the end of breakfast, we held a “commitment to completing the climbing trek” ceremony. Tim led us in our pledge which went as follows: “To succeed we will have to trek and climb naked. Forget fixed lines, stocked camps, and cached gear. Forget tents. Forget sleeping bags. Forget solid food. We’ll carry the clothes on our backs, one insulated parka each, and two stoves to keep us hydrated to complete the last 5 days of trekking. Then we will be committed to completing the climb and the trek. We each understand that if one of us is injured and can’t continue, the others will have to leave him to die. And if it is me who must be left behind, I will have to love the others enough to let them go.” After our pledge, we headed to Lobuche.
The trail was characteristically dusty but we are now clearly in an alpine environment. We stopped about 90 minutes into the climb to get soup in Dhugla – energy for the final push to Lobuche which sits at about 16,300 feet above sea level. Even though most of us were not hungry, Tendi gently but firmly ordered us to eat the entire bowl. The entire group did well and we passed others – obviously from the inspirational commitment to completing the climb.
Upon our arrival at Lobuche, we ate lunch. Again, many of us were not hungry and John actually went down for a nap. Again, Tendi took charge and gently but firmly ordered that John be woken up and that we all eat our lunch and no napping. Acclimatization is better if one is up and active. We all know that Tendi (and the entire crew) has our best interests in mind and they also are committed to seeing us complete the climb. We all appreciate his guidance and advice very much.
At Dhugla
We also saw a Brit dressed in a vintage mountaineering suit – leather boots, knee high socks, knickers, suit coat, vest and red tie with a white shirt. When asked why – he said his girlfriend thinks he looks hot in it. Figures.
After lunch, we rested a bit and took a short hike up to see the Khumbu Glacier. The village of Lobuche sits at the foot of the Khumbu Glacier. The Khumbu Glacier flows down from Mt. Everest. The power of the glacier is seen immediately as the earth on both sides of the glacier (called a “moraine”) looks like a huge plow pushed the earth, dirt and rocks to the sides. There are no words to describe the size of the moraine or the mountains that surround us for that matter. Unfortunately, the snow and ice from the Khumbu
Khumbu Glacier
Glacier has receded a significant distance. Tendi told us that the snow and ice flowed all the way down to Lobuche when he first saw it in 1993. The snow and ice now ends at about the location of Everest Base Camp – a distance of approximately 2.5 miles – evidence that climate change has reached the Himalaya. I could sense the disappointment in Tendi’s face and voice.
Tomorrow, we head to Everest Base Camp which we all look forward to as it should be very exciting.
