Everest trek - Day 7 - Dingboche to Thukla

4350m to 4600m (+250m)
5.0km - 2 hours

100th post on this diary!

Almost no sleep last night. It didn't seem like an issue not being able to sleep, it was just some more time to kill, but in silent darkness. My brain felt fresh and wide-awake - I'd read that sleep deprivation was common but had assumed it would be intensely annoying and groggy. I listened to podcasts and music all night! Helen and Dave were also having broken sleep patterns.

There's two possible paths out of Dingboche; one is a gentle climb but longer, from the top of the town; the other is short and steep. We chose the latter which was an exhausting three steps, stop, get breath, three steps, stop, get breath, three steps... and so on to the Stupa. The weather was overcast and windy again, we wondered if we would ever see any mountains! Once past the Stupa and on the ridge the walk is a nice, open, steady climb. Far below on the left are the river and Penriche. We sat down to let an enormous group of trekkers, porters and guides overtake us.



The land is mostly barren now, but if  you look closely there's millions of beautiful tiny flowers carpeting the land!

The path follows the river up, and at the end of the valley is the rocky end of a glacier, a natural dam for a crystal blue glacial lake. Our brief dog companion today was George, who soon decided we weren't interesting enough and went the other way. The path turns right and meets with the river. There's an interesting bridge here, the first section being okay but the next part (which is sometimes washed away) is no more than two thin planks, so requires a little more balance. Over the bridge the path then heads into the three-building "village" of Thukla - the Yak lodge, the restaurant and the Sherpa lodge (no tourists allowed!).

End of a glacier - glacial lake just visible

That bridge!

Thukla

Fluffy exhibition yak!

We had some lunch (I had an amazing Sherpa stew) then the rains came. Also here were Tom, Verena, Martin and the friendly South African couple we'd seen in Dingboche. The South African man had an impressive watch with GPS, an altimeter and many other functions - I was a little jealous of his statistic collecting abilities! He'd received a weather report that the weather was going to break the day after tomorrow - this was great news if true! Two ladies came out of the rain into the restaurant, they'd been to base camp the previous day and said it was snowing, and they didn't see a thing. One of them said she had to try and sleep sitting up at Gorak Shep as she felt like she was suffocating while lying down. The South Africans said farewell, put their packs on and bravely melted into the mist, wind and rain!

Me, Verena, Helen, Dave, Martin, Tom, lodge owner

Our original plan was to stay two days in Dingboche but we read a good acclimatisation schedule suggesting one night in Dingboche and one night in Thukla. It's not immediately clear but there's two types of accommodation at the Yak lodge; one in the old building tucked away behind the restaurant (50 Rupees) and the other is in the more obvious new building (100 Rupees). We didn't see the old building and stayed in the new one but it seemed unfinished, and the toilet was bad! Also staying here were the monks from Tengboche monastery - they were heading to Mother Everest for an annual Puja.

The evening was freezing so the lodge workers popped some Yak "pancakes" into the stove - we all gathered around, scared to leave the warm and get into freezing beds!

Yak powered warmth

Everest trek - Day 6 - Pangboche to Dingboche

4000m to 4350m (+350m)
6.0km - 3 hours

At the 4000 metre milestone (kilometrestone?) we're now pretty high! Sleep was broken last night, with many more colourful dreams. We left the lodge at 6:30am accompanied by Scratch & Sniff, our two  new dog guides. Our reason for leaving so early most days was to miss the afternoon rains which seemed to start around 2pm. This morning, breaking routine, there was light rain to start but it quickly cleared. The trail has a steep climb before you've even left the village, but soon flattens out along a treeless valley side, with the river far below on the right. Today was Helens turn for travellers stomach - there's no escaping it! The walking here is easy and the trail opens up onto a mossy, yak filled plain. If you want to go to Penriche keep left and high where the path goes up to the top of a hill; if you want to go to Dingboche keep right and low, where the path goes down to the cold, angry river and over a bridge, which is sometimes, apparently, not there! After the river is a steep climb up the hill, opposite is  an impressive iron scree. Once over this ridge Dingboche comes into view.

We stay at the Moonlight lodge, which is owned by the sister of Namo at the Himalayan lodge in Pangboche. There's a real lack of tourists about, the only people I saw were a South African couple we'd not spoken to (yet) and Tom, Verina and Martin who were staying over in Penriche but were on a stroll to see what Dinboche was like (they preferred it). A little stream runs though the town, and at the top of this stream, providing some flavour to all of the water below, was a dead dog. It was there for as long as we were there; no-one seemed bothered about moving it from the water supply! We took an acclimatisation walk up to 4500m but wind picked up and the afternoon rains moved in again.

In the evening Dave created a dungeons and dragons map. He was the dungeon master and me and Helen the characters, which we drew while waiting for Dave to complete the map. My character was called Scarlet Tigernipple, a buxom, bare-chested, brunette warrior in chain-mail pants - I think this says something about me (bear in mind I've been travelling for a long time). We completed the map without dying and I found a rusty nail which I hope to use in a future game.

Scratch

Y=AK2

Bridge over troubled waters

Make a furnace - smelt the iron - craft a sword!

Dingboche comes into view

My room at the Moonlight lodge

The owner of the Moonlight lodge with MonstaB