Blogs from Dingboche, Nepal, Asia

We got up and had our breakfast before starting day 4. By this time, I fully expected to be tired or sore or something. But I actually felt pretty great. I was still postponing taking the altitude sickness pills because I felt so good. I did try to stretch every night when we got back, nothing major, just getting out the kinks. I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt and at this point we had done the hardest physical part of the hike with the steep slopes the previous two days. So, really, the trek is mostly just walking. You can take your time, stop as much as you want, and the hike itself is amazing from beginning to end, so you are mentally at peace as well. Today was going to be just ... read more

The room we were staying in opened up into the dining room so it’s unsurprising that we were woken up rather early by staff and other trekkers getting up. The hard beds and pillow that felt like it was made from wood probably didn’t help either. The room was so tiny the beds touched the wall on 3 sides which meant Stephen and I had to sleep apart for the first time since we’ve been traveling. It was a little weird. Fortunately being next to the restaurant also meant that the room was relatively warm so getting up wasn’t too painful. The walk started with an easy descent into Deboche. After just 15mins or so there were around 3 groups of lodges so we needn’t have worried about not being able to find somewhere to stay ... read more

akklimatisierungstag in ding boche die nacht war durchwachsen, weil unser guide uns immer viel essen mit knoblauch aufdrängt, wir das aber nur mäßig (in diesen mengen!) vertragen - es soll aber die akklimatation positiv beeinflussen. diese nacht habe ich aber so schreckliche bauchschmerzen davon bekommen, dass ich mich schon mit einem darmverschluss im hubi gesehen hab. am morgen ist aber alles wieder gut und sogar frühstück schmeckt wieder. zur akklimatisierung (climb high - sleep low) wandern wir auf gut 4.700m über die leicht verschneite landschaft. rings um uns die mächtigen spitzen der richtig hohen peaks, ama dablam seit gestern von der anderen seite mit spektakulären gletscherflächen, die in der sonne glänzen. oben angekommen müssen wir etwa eine halbe stunde herum sitzen, damit der körper mit der akklimatisierung auf diese höhe erfolgreich beginnen kann. erst b... read more

The last leg of the trail to Tengboche was, in my humble opinion, the most difficult of the entire EBC trek. The views, of course, were fantastic, especially coming out of Namche; but I huffed and puffed trying to keep up with Pikay (the guy can seriously move) as we edged towards the monastery of Tengboche at 12,680 ft. The monastery at Tengboche, located 7 feet above 12,680 ft, was built in 1916 by a Tibetan lama and is the largest in the region. It is located in a sort of epicenter of magnificent views, from which can be seen Lhotse, Ama Dablam in all its glory, and Everest in the distance. We attended a puja at the monastery, for which I was late, which led to a slight faux pas on my part when I ... read more

REST DAY Dingboche Unusual porridge this morning- 6.5/10 on the NPI- thin, sweet with 1 peanut (???). Todays rest day entails a hike to Chukhung Village - an elevation gain of approx 490m, its supposed to be a 5-6 hr return trip- knowing how these estimations now work it might mean 8 hrs- who knows?? While waiting to head out Dhana and I have an impromptu game of point scoring via an ice hockey/soccer mash up. What's the saying- "Small things amuse...". Anyway... at 0846(precisely), fully sunblocked, all 4 of us pick our way through the icy stepping stone path out of the village. Pass 2 internet cafes- both of whom state they have the fastest internet speeds in the village- we'll see. It's quite icy and snowy along the track but a path has been ... read more