This morning I am happy to find that the clouds responsible for last night's snow have vacated the area and left blue skies in their wake. Despite my originally wanting to put food into my mouth hole at 6:00 this morning (and then compromising for 6:30), nothing emerges from the kitchen until
Three Passes Trek Day 11: Dragnag to Gokyo
I wake up and head to the common area for breakfast where I find the lodge-keep asleep behind the bar. It's already eight o'clock, late for the Himalaya, and whilst standing and deliberating whether I'm going to rouse the sleeping sherpa, he gets up on his own. A few groggy moments later and he's
Three Passes Trek Day 10: Cho La (Dzongla to Dragnag)
Cho La Pass, today's objective, has been built up in my mind as a dangerous and monstrous obstacle - one that should only be attempted in the best of conditions and under proper supervision. Thankfully, I wake up to another day of clear skies because I will be doing this pass on my own (and with my
Three Passes Trek Day 9: Lobuche to Dzongla
Last night I ordered the vegetable chow mein for breakfast and the chef didn't approve (apparently it's not breakfasty enough a dish to warrant early-morning cooking). Fortunately, he comes around and I have a mediocre vegetable chow mein waiting for me at seven o'clock when I meet my crew in the
Three Passes Trek Day 8: Kongma La (Chukhung to Lobuche)
Today's the day; I'm setting out to conquer the 18,159 ft / 5,535 m Kongma La. This will be the first of what will (hopefully) be three passes crossed on this trek (the Three Passes Trek - get it now?). Luckily, I've found a crew of three other trekkers who have graciously allowed me to tag along
Three Passes Trek Day 7: Dingboche to Chukhung
Today's hike won't be too intense since yesterday I was convinced that should attempt Kongma La (the first of the three passes) from Chukhung (the next village) instead of from Dingboche (where I am now). However, I am up early to say goodbye to Pavel and Olga, my Russian friends who have been with
Three Passes Trek Day 6: Dingboche Acclimatization
After what may have been my best sleep of the trip thus far, I spring out of bed to meet Pavel in the common area for our early-morning breakfast (Olga's decided to sit this day's hike out). There's only one problem: where's breakfast? Typically, you order breakfast the night before and tell the
Three Passes Trek Day 5: Pangboche to Dingboche
I'm blaming the altitude, but the dutch oven that is my sleeping bag this morning is out of control (there's probably some pills I could be taking to combat this gaseous expansion). In other news, the woman who runs the lodge wasn't very friendly with me this morning. I suspect she's a bit sore
Three Passes Trek Day 4: Namche Bazaar to Pangboche
Today I broke one of the rules I prescribed for Himalaya hiking; I didn't check the toilet basin for (liquid) water before passing solid waste (my sincerest apologies, person who finds this festering later today). In other news, it's Tibetan bread with cheese for breakfast followed by a liter of