Day #14 - Everest BaseCamp
Friday, March 4, 2022
Itinerary- Lobuche to Tyangboche
Elevation: 16,207’ to 12,664’
It’s 8:30pm - I’m currently in my sleeping bag in Room B-4 of the Himalayan Lodge in Tyangboche - elevation 12,664’. The oxygen is pouring back into my lungs. It’s amazing how good 12,000’ can feel when you’ve been sleeping over 16,000’ for the past 3 nights.
Only 2 more hiking days until the conclusion of our trek. We’ll be back in Lukla on Sunday afternoon and will fly back to Kathmandu on Monday (7th) morning.
It’s been an amazing experience- but I’m ready to get back to civilization. I haven’t showered in 10 days. I haven’t been in a place with heat in 10 days. I haven’t had wi-fi access for 7 days. I’ve been cold, physically tested, and have battled the altitude for 10 days. I haven’t had a toilet that flushed or a toilet where you could throw toilet paper into in 10 days (toilet paper goes in the waste-can by the toilet and there’s a huge drum of water (with bucket) in the bathrooms so you can poor water into the toilet bowl to effectively flush the toilet). Sometimes going back to the bare essentials helps you fully appreciate the luxuries we all have in our current lives. OK - I get it now - time for some basic life conveniences again.
Today was a really solid day. Around 13 miles with 3,600’ vertical descent. I’m not sure the ascent - but there were many sections with uphill climbing. I’d estimate at last 500’ of vertical ascent thrown into the mix.
I hiked today with Greg, John, Priscilla, Iveta, Ann, and Leah. We were in the fast group out front led by Dorjee - one of the main guides local in Nepal. He was flying down the course - it was difficult to keep up most of the day. It was good though - as we arrived into our destination at 5pm with others coming in after 6pm in the dark.
One of the highlights today was the Memorial Park. This is the area where all those who have died on Mt Everest are honored. We found Scott Fischer’s memorial - he’s one of the guides who passed away in the tragedy of 1996 - made famous by the book “Into Thin Air”. Dorjee had a cousin who died on Everest as well - we saw his memorial. (He still holds the record for most hours at the summit of Everest - 21 hours).
After our trekking day - we gathered in the lounge for hot tea, pizza, and conversation. Since people got in so late from todays trek - dinner was around 7pm. Tomorrow is a semi-easy day as we our expected to arrive into our final destination (Namche Bazaar) around lunchtime. Hoping to have internet once again!! It’ll be nice to catch up with the blog and family/friends.
Goodnight from Tyangboche- 12,664’ on the road to Everest BaseCamp.
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