Oct 11, Dingboche, 4410m

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Oct 11, Dingboche

Had a very good night. Woke up several times to hear a hard rain, and it was raining in the morning.
We were on the trail by 8:15, in our rain gear. By 10 it had stopped raining so I happily took off my rain gear as I was getting soaked from within.
There are now fewer people on the trail as we have taken an alternate route. We are now climbing above the tree line so the views become ever more dramatic. Unfortunately the clouds are obscuring the mountains.
We had tea at the 11 at Pangboche. We toured a 600 year old monastery, which supposedly contains the skeletal hand and skull fragment including hair of a yeti. The hand was incredibly large. No photos were allowed.
Lunch was at Orsho, on the second floor with a dramatic 360 degree view, but the clouds hid the mountains.
After lunch we climbed another 400 m to Dingboche. We always climb at a very slow pace so it is surprisingly easy, and I never ended a day with tired legs.
The hotel was simple but there was a western toilet for every two rooms, a real luxury. Toilets in the mountains are subject to endless comments. Guys have it much easier as most of the time squat toilets are no issue for us. Some of our group rates each toilet, with some achieving very low ratings. I noticed people entering toilets with a lot of caution as they sized up the challenges about to confound them. For me it was always a plus when on leaving a toilet I did not leave tracks.
After settling in I strolled through town breathing deep to get rid of the altitude headache that was bothering me. I noticed a lot of smoke from chimneys all burning yak dung. Lots of stone fences keeping the yaks in place made this a special place.
As I ate my meal of veggie macaroni I could feel the headache leaving.
We tested our oxygen content and I was at 85%, very good.
By 9 everyone was in bed.
Today was my birthday, very low key and maybe I should have mentioned to my group. But the upside is that here I am at 61 hiking in the Himalayas, making me realize some of the many blessings I now enjoy.

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