Today was a rest day, a “real” rest day; no strenuous acclimatization hikes. I woke up and once again saw blue sky, and upon closer inspection saw that we also had received a decent layer of snow. This was the perfect excuse for me to don my heavyweight thermals and go do some exploring.

What a gorgeous morning! I watched as the sun slowly painted the surrounding mountains as it climbed up from the horizon. As always, the mornings are calm; there were few people out and about before 0700. A little bit later, we had a few groups head out further up the valley towards Everest.

Back into the warmth for breakfast. The food is still good, but a notch below what we have gotten in the past ; not surprising given the nature of this lodging camp. After our slow paced breakfast, we gathered outside for a very short hike up the moraine outside the village. The moraine is the rocky wall that makes up the side of the glacier, separating it from the rest of the valley.

It was an easy hike, but oh the views. We were surrounded by mountains; you could see Nuptse, Pumori, and Lobuche peaks. I also saw my first good ice fall and the Rock bed carved out ages ago by the Khumbu Glacier.

There were a ton of cairns (stone memorials) on the ridge. I found a nice quiet spot to lay out on the hillside and soak in the view in solitude and soak up some sun. This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful natural sights I’ve ever experienced; I’m afraid photos will not do full justice. All good things must come to an end; our guide rounded us up and back to the lodge we went.

I had a cheese (nak cheese) pizza for lunch, very good. Following lunch, I was very happy to pay $6.00 for a hot shower (no cold showers yet). After that, I sat in my room and made notes for the day (I was having my tablet and power bank charged at a cost of $10.00, so I had to take my notes. “old school”).

My roommate and I were also trying to keep each other awake (guide’s orders), so we finally got out and walked around the camp. We stopped in at the world’s highest bakery (4910 meters); I had a cup of hot lemon and a slice of apple pie for the sum of $7.50. prices have definitely increased as we have worked our way up the valley; a bottle of water now costs $3.30 where it cost $1.00 in the first stages of our hike. I wanted coffee with the pie, but we need to stay of caffeine at altitude; I haven’t had coffee for several days; this is an expensive way to detox! With all the food we have been getting, I am beginning to think this excursion should be called the “Everest food tour”.

On our way back to the lodge, a helicopter came in, dropping supplies and picking up gear and people. They ended up kicking one person off the chopper, I’m assuming due to weight. In total, the chopper was on the ground for around a minute. Observing some of the supplies being hauled to the lodge, we discovered a large portion were eggs, 2 of which I’d be eating for supper!

Not much else happened; we met for supper, discussed the coming day, and headed off to bed. My O2 stats are still running a little low at this higher altitude; I’m at 84% for 02 saturation, but at least my pulse has dropped back down since the morning. Other than the headache my first evening in Lobuche, I’ve had no altitude symptoms other than the expected shortness of breath while being active. Others in the group are on diamox to help with altitude.

Everest tomorrow!!!