Everest Base Camp & Kala Patthar 07-23.05.2011 (5)

11May2011 - Namche Bazar(3450M) > Thengboche(3800M)
As usual, departed at 0730. But without KMeng. Sigh... Even CLeong who experienced mild AMS looked better. Towards 3800M, we started to realise that we were surrounded by Himalayan mount range. On n off, some unknown mountain peaks showed up whenever clouds made way for our sight. RQing walked slowly at the back. MChin n Raj accompanied her. I too tagged along them to start slow myself. I do scare of AMS! Call me chicken, but, I am a wise chicken ;-) Couple team, HWL n Choy were doing steadily too. As usual, RWen n GWah were at front. All seems well.

We stopped by at Phunki for lunch. Thereafter, it's all the way up to Thengboche. It got windy at a time so I walked a bit faster to keep myself warm. At one point, while i was walking with TBK, he decided to wait for those who were a distance from the front. We often do this back in Msia to close the gap between the team members at the front & back. This is exactly why I only choose to trek with OX, coz, we care about the team. Nonetheless, it was a wrong decision at such altitude though. We stood there for 15min, unaware of the chill wind effect, creeping in & took away our body heat without ourselves aware of it. We moved again once we saw them from far. At Thengboche, we waited for another 30min for regroup. Minus the Buddhist monastery, Thengboche does has the New Zealand feel. Vast green field with cows & yaks. Huts and lodges are at discreet distance in the misty environment. The blizzard wind was such a nightmare, although it was still day time. I was shivering hard & had to put on layer of jackets.

We were later told our stay over is at Debuche, another 30min but a descending trek, i speed down to have more body heat. But unfortunately for TBK, he later self diagnosed himself as hypothermia patient. What? TBK? Thought he has the muscle to generate enough heat for him? ;-) Lesson of the day is, never stop for too long. We were overzealous. When we wrapped him up with blanket, deva ju! He looked just lke RQing on the other day! That nite was bloody cold. Room temp was 12C before I slept. It's the 1st nite that i succumbed to use my rented sleeping bag. At USD1 per day, bloody cosy n warm!

Log of the day: 5hr walking day. 2hr lunch break. The peak refers to Thengboche. 

We were at the waistline of mountain range. Looking across to the other mountain is a joy.

Mountain goats. 

My feet need to breath too. My Salomon Elios GORE-Tex is a reliable partner. 

A typical lunch place. 

Potters took a break. It's a tough job. Chinese would say, blood-sweat-money. 

A rare team photo session indeed. 

Thengboche. Buddhist monastery & a lodge is there. 

Thengboche. A great valley view at the backdrop. 

A cattle with a heavy oversize head? 

Our lodge at Debuche. 

Similar bedroom setup as other lodges. But, practical. 

I like this chart in the lodge. It tells that I have experienced the 50% Oxygen rate environment when I was at Kala Patthar peak at 5500m later on. And, it was really tough.