Debuche to Pheriche

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Debuche 3770m - Pangboche 3860m- Shomare 4010m- Pheriche 4240m

Time taken: 3 hours 20 mins

Debuche - Pangboche 45 mins

Pangboche - Shomare 1 hour

Shomare - Pheriche 1 hour 35 mins

I wake early, about 5.30am after a poor night's sleep at the Rivendell Lodge. I'm amused/horrified to see not only my breath in front of me, but also visible 'smoke' as I open my sleeping bag to in the morning to go to the bathroom. Bathroom trips in the evenings or mornings before the sun comes up are now becoming too cold to consider now unless a certain level of desperation has been reached!

After a good hot shower the previous night, and careful planning of which clothes to place under by sleeping bag, thereby heat up before dressing, the morning ritual of packing up, breakfast and clearing out is not too painful. Breakfast is more a necessary mechanical movement than anything pleasurable, I think the hardest thing on this trek is not the trekking itself but the eating at altitude! However, I feel refreshed and energetic again when we set out on the trail to Pheriche. Walking in the cool forest is pleasant and the sun comes out to warm us only half an hour or so after we set out.

We reached the small village of Shomare where we stopped in to visit one of the porter's lodges which line the route. Inside were Suriya's brother in law (his sister's husband) and a friend of his. They were peeling potatoes and had a large piece of meat on top of a dusty plastic barrel. I was told they are planning a feast for an upcoming celebration. The Nepalis must have strong stomachs, I was a little concerned to see the meat not only unrefridgerated but also susceptible to being knawed at by a dog who wandered in when the cook wasn't looking! Suriya tells me he planned for us to have lunch in this area but since we reach here at 9.30am, even he has to admit this is a little early for lunch! Around the walls of the porter's lodge are inspirational quotes from Buddha such as 'It is better to travel well than to arrive' and 'He is able who thinks he is able' and other heartening phrases.

We have some good old trekking tea in some

battered aluminium cups as it is getting colder as we cross the 4000m line. Outside we see some musk deer, fairly close up! Feeling inspired, we press on. During this last section of todays trek, the scenery starts to change quite dramatically and from the green forests of the foothills, it now feels as if we are entering a higher altitude. There is less greenery, more stones and as we approach Pheriche we find ourselves in a large open glacial valley. The sense of space and air around us is fantastic. I've been warned by other trekkers this is a cold, wind-swept, forbidding place but I am exhilarated by the massive open spaces, the somewhat lunar appearance of the landscape and arriving midday, the sun was ferocious (and needed to be) with the cool breeze drifting up the valley. Walking on the small loose rocks was slightly more effort on the ankles but a pleasant change on the legs especially as they undulated only slightly without gruelling uphill sections as on previous days.

We stay in the Himalayan Hotel, which has to be one of the nicest teahouses on the whole trek. There are several reasons, the first

is the well heated, large sunny dining hall, the second, a sunroom at the top of the lodge which holds the last of the afternoon sun, and the third, the sale of a range of chocolate bars! As we arrive we see the amusing sight of trekkers and climbers in down jackets or full suits, sunbathing in the courtyard area in front of the lodge. Only their faces are sunburnt. Several hundred trekking socks are hanging out to dry and everyone seems in a good mood. I take a book into the sun room and relax there for an hour or so. Then the inevitable lunch menu is produced and I struggle to find something I think I could eat. I decide, to hell with it, i'll have some 'finger chips' and ketchup (carefully checking finger chips are chips a.k.a french fries) which I managed about 3/4 of, impressive given my recent track record.

In the afternoon I sit in the dining hall reading for a bit then at 3pm I attend a lecture given in a nearby hut by the Himalayan Rescue Association. It is a lecture given for all trekkers on a daily basis to educate

them about altitude sickness and it's prevention. Giving the lecture is a GP from Devon who is manning the station for 3 months during the high trekking season. As a doctor, I know a bit about AMS already but I am intrigued as to the sorts of cases they see and what the current advice on prevention is. Before I left I had made the decision not to take Diamox (generic name Acetazolamide) unless I has symptoms, but after hearing this lecture I change my mind. He tells us that in a recent double-blind study on 650 trekkers, half were allocated 125mg diamox twice daily and the other half a placebo. 34%!o(MISSING)f the placebo group developed symptoms of AMS versus 12%!i(MISSING)n the diamox group. He also confirms that you only need to take diamox when ascending, once you reach your highest point and begin to descend you can stop it. The effects wear off after 2 to 3 days. The side effects can be fairly intense pins and needles sensation in the hands and feet. I decide if the evidence backs this up, I am going to take it so I start tonight and will continue until I reach base camp hopefully. The GP also kindly gave us a tour of his quarters and allows us to measure our oxygen saturations, mine are only 89%!,(MISSING) amazing as all i've experienced is a very mild tightness with my breathing on uphill so far. It is definitely colder at this altitude and this is the first time I have felt the need of my down jacket so far on the trek so I decide to break it out. I'm so glad I did as i'm toasty within minutes. I kick back to listen to some music and think about the acclimatisation day tomorrow. I can't believe i'm more than half way to base camp, starting to allow myself to believe i'll make it all the way there!

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