Halfway there

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Dingboche, Nepal

Altitude at start of day: 3,820 meters / 12,530 feet

Once again I was awake before my alarm and feeling great. I used the very slow Internet to post yesterday's entry and grabbed some breakfast with Dave before we all set out on our daily trek. We reached Pangboche after an hour where we had our first stop of the day for tea. We continued on our three hour morning trek over easy rolling hills and terrain that was much less rocky than the past days. The mountain peaks are getting closer and we're feeling great.

We grabbed lunch where each of us had a hearty helping of potatoes with egg and cheese. Ram was talking to some locals he knew - something he's done throughout the trek - which got me thinking how great it is to have him as our guide for base camp. I'm very excited that he will probably know and introduce us to many people there. He also has helped other trekkers with their questions; I think we should collect tips from them for him.

This afternoon's terrain consisted of more rolling hills with limited rocks and bushlands, by the end. Along the way Dave hit his head on a rock and developed a bit of a headache. We reached Dingboche by 1:15 and had a whole afternoon to relax and acclimatize.

When we got to the teahouse we tried sherpa tea, which consists of hot water, tea, salt and yak butter. There was a preponderance of the latter which got to us both. The sherpas apparently can drink this for breakfast and be able to work for hours. The yak butter must be an acquired taste, or at least drinking it, or any butter, must be acquired.

Instead of resting, Dave, Hari and I took a short acclimatization hike up a couple hundred meters above the town. When we were near the top, I realized that in altitude we are about halfway to Everest summit. Clearly, we've done the easy half. At the top we saw breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and the town below. As we worked our way down, Hari decided to get close to a yak to have his picture taken. The yak didn't like this. Hari jumped and ran away. He tried a couple more times as I was ready with video for a possible Youtube special.

Later in the afternoon, we heard the rescue helicopter come in near our teahouse. Earlier on our hike, we had seen two men carrying a third guy who appeared to be ill. It had now gotten to the point that he needed to be evacuated. We had seen the chopper flying around the last few days but to different rescue sites. Dave and I agreed that we hope this is as close as we get, for the obvious health reasons as well as the $2,500 cost per ride. It just served as a reminder of the present dangers in this part of the world.

After our little spectacle, we went inside where Ram had ordered some boiled potatoes with a seasoning similar to Old Bay. We each peeled our own potatoes with our hands, dunked them in the powder and ate them. Neither of us had ever peeled potatoes with our hands and, as easy as it was, I have no real desire to do so again.

Dave noticed the other day that as we ascend the rooms keep getting smaller. This one fit that model. By the time we reach our highest overnight teahouse we very well might be sharing a bed.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon in the room, Dave reading excerpts from Into Thin Air about oral and rectal expulsion and me working on my journal and reading more of Fight Club. The room here is frigid; we stayed bundled in the room until fire with yak dung fuel was ready. Once it was, we made our way to the dining hall to warm up and finish our computer work. Dave started with a small headache of which we'll have to be mindful.

After grabbing dinner in the warm room, we set out to find an Internet cafe. It ended up that none were open at such a late hour (8:00). Along the way we came across some yaks that were scared of our flashlights. I was a bit scared of their reaction, too.

Once we got back we tried to warm up in our beds before falling asleep early in preparation for another day of trekking tomorrow.

Altitude at end of day: 4,343 meters / 14,245 feet

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Photos

Room with a view
It's nice waking up to views like this.

View from bridge
Looking down from the bridge we crossed early on.

Toilet
Well, more of a hole cut into some boards. There were bottles below. Hitting them from 10 feet above proved difficult. I wish I remembered more about projectile motion.

Lunch spot
Great views here, too.

Trail
The trail heads towards one of the mountian peaks.

Chopper
The rescue chopper flies one of its missions.

Rescue
A Malaysian man is carried to the rescue chopper.

Peel and eat potatoes
Having fun eating with our hands.