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With just Kapil and myself to organize, we were able to leave Yak Karka around 7:30 am. We were initally in the shade and it was quite cold. But soon we moved into the sun and I was able to switch to shorts. Nights have been getting down into the low 40's in my room, so I suspect it has been getting down into the mid-30's outside. Fortunately, it has been sunny during the days at the higher elevations and reasonably warm. I'm glad because I hate hiking in long pants.
Today's hike was relatively short; we arrived in Phedi in a little under 3 hours. The short steep uphill sections were a bear as I tire very easily due to the altitude. Even the relatively gradual uphill sections tire me if I try to walk at my normal pace. Besides being winded easily and a little lightheaded on exertion, I still am doing well with the altitude. No headache, and appetite is very good. Last night I think I experienced irregular breathing. I would almost be asleep and then I would wake up sudden, take in a giant breath of air, and then rapidly take a series of shorter
breaths until I caught my breath. Irregular breathing is marked by a cessation of breathing for up to a minute, followed by the deep rapid breathing until the oxygen debt is made up and then the cycle repeats itself. It is relatively common during sleep at altitude and as I understand is not a serious problem. It's just a bit annoying and makes getting to sleep difficult.
There wasn't anything particulary notable about today's hike. The views continue to be gorgeous and all the cliffs around us are composed of limestone. I think I spotted some caves in the cliffs above. Kapil spotted some grazing yak on the opposite hillside. I tried to get some pictures, but I think they will just be brown dots on the photo as they were so far away.
Not long after we arrived in Phedi, Katrine, Andre, Lee, and Seo showed up. There was a happy reunion, but they didn't stay long as Gautan wanted to press onto High Camp. Katrine and the Koreans were not anxious to head up to High Camp, about 400 meters higher than Phedi, because they were still having some mild altitude problems. But they reluctantly followed
Reunion, Phedi, Nepal
Left to right - Katrine, Andre, Dan, Lee, Seo their guide up there. Kapil wanted to stay in Phedi because the hotel is better and with the lower altitude we stood a better chance of getting a good night's sleep. I was glad to stay in Phedi as moving to High Camp only gets you an additional 45 minutes down the trail.
When we got to Phedi, I ran into Eldad and Gal. They stayed on for lunch, but pushed on to High Camp after Gal was feeling better. As they left, an American woman named Heather took their place. Heather was an undergraduate student at Yale studying Egyptology and ethno biology. At the end of the semester she had decided to "head to the other side of the world" and come to Nepal before returning to her parents' home in the small town of Cottonwood outside Redding, California. She was making some pretty good time on the trek as she had started two days after us and caught up to us just before the pass. She had combined a couple of the hikes that we had done in two days into one day and even gaining in some cases about a 1000 meters in a day was
not suffering ill effects from the altitude. As she had arranged her trek through on of the hotels owned by the same company as Kapil's guiding company, Kapil took an interest in making sure that she was doing okay. Kapil is such a great guide.
After a short acclimatization hike, Kapil, Heather, some other Nepalis, and myself sat down to watch a National Geographic documentary on the 50th anniversary climb of Mt. Everest. Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay, the sons of the original climbers to summit Eversest (Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay) were on the climb as well as Barry Bishop's son. In addition to the 2002 climb, the documentary gave details on the original 1953 ascent and previous attempts by the Swiss and British. What they accomplished with the equipment and knowledge of the mountain that they had at the time was amazing. The film also focused on the Sherpas and how climbing had both positively and negatively affected both the individual Sherpas and their families and communities. The Sherpas deserve at least as much credit as the climbers as they did all the heavy lifting without which the previous expeditions and many of today's climbs would
have been impossible. It was cool to finish the film and then walk outside to look at the Himalayas. And it gave me a little boost in spirit as I contemplated my micro-Everest of crossing the Thorong La pass tomorrow at over 17,700 feet. Nothing compared to Everest, but still the highest I have ever been. We will set out at 4:00 am tomorrow and must be up at 3:00 am. It will be cold and dark when we leave. Too much fun!
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