Update

Date: 4/8

Local time: 6:16pm

Location: Namche

Elevation gain: 0

Route taken: Khunde to Khumjung for one group. Thame for the other group. 

Weather: clear and sunny (finally) and -2c to start and up to 12 during the day. 

Highlight: Our first view of Mt. Everest

We started the morning at 5:00 to set out to a viewpoint just a few minutes away from the tea house. In the pre-dawn cold we watched the sunrise over the mountains in the clear mountain air. Mungo our guide pointed out Mt. Everest in the far distance. We all took a lot of photos and we thrilled to get out first view of Everest. 

After lunch we divided into two groups based on preference of which day hike to take. One group went to Thame which is the home village of Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa that co-summited Mt. Everest with Edmund Hillary. The second group hiked to the village of Khunde and then Khumjung. 

We all returned to the tea house to relax and have dinner. After dinner we gathered to debrief our day and later it was back to our rooms to pack up in preparation to leave the following morning. 

Date: 4/9

Local time: 4:25 pm

Location: Tengboche 

Elevation Gain: 420m/1377ft

Route taken: Kenjoma to Phunki Fenga to Tengboche

Weather: Partly cloudy to all clouds

Time: 7 hours elapsed with a stop for lunch and afternoon tea. 

Quote of the day: ‘When you are back home and look up you see the sky, when you look up here you see mountains then sky’

We had breakfast and said goodbye to our wonderful hosts of the past three nights. We headed out the main trail which hugged the mountain side of the Khumbu valley. It was a very scenic walk with only a slight elevation gain and 180 degree views of the valley. 

We then dropped sharply down to Phunki Fenga (elevation 3250) for a lunch of fried rice. After 45 minutes we started a long uphill trek through pine and rhododendron trees. Along the 610 meter elevation gain we got up into the cloud layer where it was snowing lightly. We reached Tengboche for tea and cake, then it was a short downhill walk to our tea house for the night in Deboche. 

We are now warming up by the stove at our tea house and discussing what meals to order for dinner. We will stay here in Deboche tonight and head for Dingboche tomorrow morning. 

Date: 4/10

Local time: 5:15pm

Location: Dingbouche

Elevation gain: 590m/1935ft

Route taken: Deboche to Dingboche

Weather: Sunny all day, 5 degrees C

Time: 6hr 15 min with a 1 hour lunch break

Highlight of the day: We had a closer view of Mt. Everest before leaving the lodge 

Challenge: we are now over 4,000m/13,100ft

We had breakfast as we have done each morning and finished packing up our kit. We had a beautiful sunny day this morning and it was a welcome sight. We set off up a gentle slope further into the Khumbu valley through low woods with mountain tops peaking over the trees. 

As the tree line slowly receded we reached Shomare for our lunch. Our view has now shifted from trees to low evergreen shrubbery and rocky outcrops. 

It was a slow and steady elevation gain up to Dingboche with an elevation of 4410m/14,400ft. We are lodging in a small village nestled in a valley surrounded by large peaks. Most notably Ama Dablam which is 6856m/22,500ft and more of a challenge to climb than Everest according to the experienced mountaineers. 

We enjoyed an early afternoon tea in the upstairs sunroom at the lodge and later had dinner all together. We then took an early bedtime as most were tired and looking to get some extra sleep in. 

Date: 4/11

Local time: 3:58pm

Location: Dingboche 

Elevation gain: N/A

Route taken: Followed the Imja Khola River up towards the Lhotse glacier. 

Weather: Sunny and 7 degrees C

Time: 6 hours with 45 minute lunch

Highlight: We had 180 degree views of Ama Dablam

We headed further up the valley for an acclimatization hike to Chhukhung which is an elevation gain of 320m/1049ft. Along the gentle uphill slope we approached wide views of Lhotse, Island Peak and Peak 38. 

We had lunch at a popular tea house in Chhukhung before heading back down the valley to return to our lodge for the night.