We met for breakfast at 0730 and discussed the plan of attack for the day. We were to hike to the village of Lobuche and gain 2300 feet in altitude. Every step up is a new altitude record for me.

We bid farewell to the summit team; they are taking a higher path to EBC to give them the extra acclimatization they need. The summit team are a really good group of people. I was concerned we might be looked down on because we were only trekking to base camp and not mountaineers. However, nothing could be further from the truth, they accepted us into the fold. There are a couple of real characters in that group.

Leaving Pheriche behind us, we started a new class of rock terrain. The uphill climb was not as bad as some of our previous days, but now the altitude is working against us. The key is to go slow; getting yourself out of breath does nothing but hurt you at this altitude.

We stopped in Duglha for hot tea and soup, and crossed paths with Peter Hillary again; he is involved with a Canadian group attempting Everest this year.

We continued upwards and are greeted with fields of rock left from the Khumbu Glacier. We also passed through memorials for those lost on Everest, and stopped for a small break.

We continued to climb, but it was much more gradual at the point. We passed by base camp for Lobuche mountain and entered the village of Lobuche about a mile later.

Lobuche is definitely different from our previous stops. Due to its close proximity to Everest, it is a climbing outpost. Think of a mining town. At least it does have internet (at $6 per 200 MB), so I can get today’s post on the blog.  The lodges here are rudimentary compared to what we have seen thus far, and you see tents around the village for those who could not get a room in one of the lodges. Our guide also cautioned us against eating meat here (a first for this trip). Unfortunately some of our porters/sherpa staff appear to be in tents too, which does make me feel a bit guilty. A lot of our porters went back to Pheriche for lodging. In “real” villages, someone will take them in and put them up for the night.

We had a late lunch, and then were assigned our rooms. I am feeling the impact of altitude for the first time now at 16010 feet. I have a headache, have a bit reduced cognitive capacity and my 02 saturation is is at 83% with a a pulse rate of 73. While O2 stats like that would get me  a hospital visit in my normal environment, this is not unusual at altitude. These are all normal things to be expected with minor altitude sickness. Hopefully a nights sleep will help; we are on orders from our guide to not sleep before dinner (1 hour to go as I type this).

The main thing is….. 2 DAYS TILL EVEREST!!!