Dingboche

I want to first thank my good friend, Kelly Bobbitt, for posting the map on my last post! I was surprised to see that this morning. It put a smile on my face! So thank you, Kelly! (he's a GPS mapping expert so I think the right guy is helping me here).

To recap over the past few days, from Namche we hiked up about 1,000 feet to Khumjung. It's a short walk uphill. We stayed at Phurba's lodge for 2 nights which was great for me because I could use a rest day to help recover from this cold. Phurba is Himex's larger-than-life Sherpa. He's been to the summit of Everest 14 times, and like many of the Nepalese, he has sparkling eyes and a smile that lights up a room. He also has 5 adorable children - I enjoyed watching some of the climbers playing football or keep-away with them.

Little sidenote, in Namche, some of the guys ran into Ed Viesturs and got a photo with him.

From Khumjung we made our way to Tengboche, where several of us visited the Monastery, noticing how some trekkers either don't notice or don't care to follow the instructions that clearly state NO video and NO flash photography. One woman was abruptly escorted out by a monk. Hello? Total knucklehead.

The walk from Tengboche was down and then up, resulting in just a few hundred feet of elevation gain. It took about 3 hours I think. I was not feeling well because of this cold that I keep trying to stay positive about- "if you're going to get a cold, better to get it now," "it will go away," "it happens...." While walking up the hill, all I could think was "this really sucks." I'll be positive later.

Yesterday we walked from Tengboche to Dingboche at about 14,100-200 feet. And today, THANKFULLY, we have another rest day. I cannot believe all the internet cafes! The price goes up with altitude. Today I'm washing clothes and me. Some are going on a hike. Others are simply sitting around. It's important to rest as we acclimatize and it is especially important to hydrate. I drink at least 2 liters of water per day and on same days a little more than 3. We drink throughout the day, not all at once, so water is absorbed.

This is an incredibly nice and interesting group of people from South Africa, Norway, Ireland, Japan, China, France, etc.... and I am frequently surprised when I walk into a room and someone offers me his chair! I wondered out loud whether I would get the same courtesy at the Hillary Step (a section of Everest we climb on summit day) and the consensus was that we can't tell who is a man and who is a woman up there! But I am already feeling close to several of the people, something I love about expedition climbing. We are all away from our families and lead different lives, but have similar interests and dreams. Hard to describe without sounding sappy but suffice to say, I am so far thrilled to be with this group.

I finally finally finally read John Wood's book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World (I know, I suggested it in my link at right but I hadn't actually read it yet myself - bad), and I don't know if it's because of the altitude or because of the things his organization, Room to Read, is doing, but I felt myself tearing up through much of it. If more people with John's background and skills (he was a director at Microsoft) put their energy and resources into building schools and libraries in developing countries, the world would be a better place. Climbing Everest seems so small and petty!

My next book must be a mountaineering book so I could snap back into climbing mode.

Tomorrow we are off to Lobuche. Then to Base Camp where we will have plenty of rest days and where I hope to kick this cold. Two climbers, including me, have it, as well as Monika and another woman on the film crew. Hopefully, that will be it.

I know I keep saying this, but next post will be at BC. I'll try to post photos from there. Meanwhile, I'll let Kelly add whatever clever maps and images he has!!

Oh and the time difference from California is really 12 hours, 45 minutes. I can't keep track.