First Sight of Everest

I am sitting here in our room at 7:30 pm in the dark typing my blog. We started from Namche Bazaar this morning and after about 1 ½ hrs walk rounded a bend and there was Everest. It was quite exciting, amazing and thrilling. The clouds stayed away all morning so we were able to see the unbelievable mountains ringing us on three sides as we walked. It was an easy day, not too much up or down, but we walked longer than usual--about 6 hrs. As Mark said when we saw Everest, we can't say it is the fulfillment of a dream, because in our wildest imagination we never dreamed it possible for us to be trekking in the Himalayas. But dream or not, it was wonderful.

Now to get to our room. Because we can't walk as far and as fast as most trekkers we are not always staying in the best lodges. This one is the last lodge before we cross the river and head up for a 2000 ft climb. Most trekkers leave Namche and get all the way to where we will have lunch tomorrow, but we couldn't go that far in a day. So our lodge has no lights in the rooms and filthy bathrooms—at least according to Mark. I am relying on our Little John jar—which is a life saver here. Dinner was okay though—lemon tea and spaghetti with about 3 tbs of sauce and cheese. Lunch was fried eggs and french fries.

Last night I had Yak steak—which was quite good and actually cheaper than Mark's Dahl Baht, which is the national dish in the mountains. My only concern was that Namche is the end of the line for the traders coming from Tibet with their Yaks—I have a feeling the ones eaten are the ones too feeble to make it back across the mountains. 

There is so much more to talk about but I will leave the detail to Mark. The computer is low on battery but we will be able to recharge tomorrow night. PS It is very cold here, especially by this raging river out our door that is fed by dozens of glaciers. I would say it is about 50 and of course colder during the night. Our sleeping bags are warm—we will definitely be in bed by 8:30 as we can't afford to use up all our batteries. Tomorrow we will be buying some candles. Vicki

The river is our old friend the Dudh Kosi, which drains much of this side of the mountains. It is a raging torrent, glacier-milky. The bridge we will cross tomorrow morning stands right beside the remains of the suspension bridge that collapsed last year (no one hurt). High water around here lasts several months, as the spring melt merges into the monsoon, which ends in September.

Seeing Everest this morning was indeed a thrill. Its sedimentary-strata summit pyramid stood above the rest, Nuptse, the Lhotse wall, and the rest. Beautiful Ama Dablam was to our right much of the morning. I had no idea this vista existed, especially so close to Namche. Just after the view appears (and it lasts for some time down the trail) there is a new chorten, erected in 2003, commemorating the 1953 first ascent and celebrating the sherpas. An additional thrill was watching three plane loads of sky divers doing their thing directly above. Crazy people.

Culinary note. Today I had Sherpa garlic soup twice (no vampires!). Not as refined as some versions I have tried, but very tasty and said to combat altitude sickness. Also had a grilled cheese sandwich with yak cheese for lunch. Tomorrow morning, Tibetan bread with jam. Mark

Tomorrow we will pass through Tengboche, more great vistas of the Khombu and also a great religious site. Its Tibetan companion, Rongbuk Monastery, was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. Mark