Dhingboche

Saturday 15th May-Day 6

Today was our second rest day. We are in Dhingboche to adjust to the altitude. After breakfast we did a 2hr trek up to 4600 meters. It was so hard because your heart felt like it is pumping so hard and you couldn’t catch your breath. At the top though when we all sat on some rocks looking at the amazing views all was well. We sat there just taking them in and adjusting to the height.

We heading back to the Tea House to relax for the rest of the day but it was time for Jenny and I to do some hand washing as we were running out of clean clothes. Although it is really difficult to keep clean on this trek we are trying to keep our limited clothes as fresh as we could. It was really different to be doing our washing outside on the side of a mountain. It was absolutely stunning. It seems like we weren’t the only ones who had this idea as everyone at the lodge seemed to have their clothes blowing around in the wind amongst the yaks.

As we finished our washing I had a funny turn. I had absolutely excruciating pins and needles in my hands and feet. This is a side effect of the diomox. I have had this on other parts of the trip but nothing like this. It made my feet feel like they were on fire and I was dancing around like a mad women trying to stamp out the pain. It did eventually go but I have decided to reduce my dose to half a tablet twice a day instead of the full one.

We had the rest of the day to kill but couldn’t actually do a lot because we had to conserve our energy. I did however, make time for my second hot shower. It was so lovely to be clean again. We then spent the rest of the day playing cards. I don’t think I’ve ever played as many games of cards in my life as I have on this trip.

There is also a lot of time to think mostly, on this trip about food. We seem to be hungry a lot of the time so always talk about the food we will have when we get home to celebrate making it to Base Camp. It’s not that the Nepalese food isn’t delicious, it is. But on the mountain it is a limited menu made up mostly of Dhal Baht which is a Nepalese curry with rice, vegetable Mo Mo which are like stuffed pasta, vegetable fried rice or fried potatoes. Every menu is roughly the same so it’s easy to get board. Tonight though it’s omelette and chips for me.  My stomach is growling at the thought.

The Everest Massive

The latest from my trek to Everest Base Camp.

Friday 14^th May- Day 5

We left Tengboche early this morning and I had massive indigestion from last nights potatoes and vegetables. Initially though the route was really easy and flat. We were only walking 7KM to Dhingboche which is ONLY a 5hour walk I thought. It will be fine.

After lunch it started to get really cold though as the paths opened up a little so it felt more like we were walking up a mountain than ever before. Suddenly, the green paths we had seen in the beginning seemed far away as the landscape changed to something a little more like a something out of Lord of The Rings.

By the times we arrived in Dhingboche we were cold from the wind whipping around us, tired and now at 4350 meters and are at 57% oxygen. I had to put most of my clothes on to keep warm.

We sat up in the Tea Lodge Dining Room area all together and ended up laughing lots which heated us up. I haven’t told you much about the other trekkers in my group yet but here is what I know about them so far:

Rob – Cheryl Cole fan, was a dancer on ITV’s Britannia High, Likes Snickers and water skis for England.

Fred– Loves David Cameron, has a twin that is 6 minutes older and is going to University in Nottingham.

Will– Went to Kings Canterbury with Fred and wants to be a Marine.

Rosie– Was a famous songwriters Nanny and went traveling in India.

Demaris– Is a Fashion Buyer, speaks lots of languages and is very good at organising things.

Nick– Has climbed up Mt Kilimanjaro is an experienced climber and works for an elevator company.

Andreas– Is a Security Consultant from Norway.

Anna– Is also from Norway, is the traveling partner of Andreas and is scared of heights.

Adam– Workes for a travel company, likes dance music, card games and is doing a charity bike ride in the Isle of White

Jemma– Lived in Thailand with me, doesn’t like beer and is amazing at poker

Jenny– Also lived in Thailand with Jemma and I, studied law and has a German boyfriend

Dawa- Is our head guide and has been to Base Camp around 80 times.

Krishna– Is the youngest guide on our trip who is always taking care of those in the middle.

Bibek– Always at the front leading the group, his favourite phrase is “Jaam Jaam!” which means “Let’s go!”

They are all really nice, people . They are all really great in their own way that really makes me think we have been really lucky and have a great group. We have spent lots of time together, mostly laughing until our eyes water and our sides hurt. One of the best things about being with this bunch of travelers is all the stories. Between us we have traveled all over and had a lot of adventures. It was great to hear about everywhere they had been from Mexico to Mongolia.

On My Ipod– My ipod is broken because of the altitude. The battery just went dead then it started to make a lot of noise. It’s going to be quiet without it.