I woke up at 4:40 AM and donned my cold weather gear with the temperature at 5 degrees F. The base camp manager, Anthea, told us people were starting up the Ice fall at 3:00 AM. So by time I was out looking, there was a string of lights moving up the top of the Khumbu Ice Fall, with some poor straggler a good bit behind. The stars were gorgeous as well; we were blessed with a clear morning (actually a clear day).

I stayed out in the sub freezing weather as long as my toes could handle it; I got to see dawn turn to day, and observed the sun starting to paint the mountains across the way. I had base camp to myself for about 45 minutes; quiet beauty.  I finally gave in and got back in my warm sleeping bag. Side Note: I had to put my water bottle in the sleeping bag with me to unfreeze it.

Some of the group took a hike to the edge of the ice fall. You could get an idea of it’s immenseness, but we were not right up on it; of all the parts of Everest, the ice fall scares me to death.

Back from our hike, we had a few moments to relax, and then had lunch. The summit team had arrived at EBC right as we were served lunch. After the summit team had a chance to recoup, we had one final get together with them, wished them luck on their trip up the mountain, and set out for Gorak Shep, where we would be staying the night.

We were blessed with good weather all day in contrast to the clear morning, cloudy evening norm. Made for great viewing and pictures on the way out of EBC to Gorak Shep.

To put it plainly, Gorak Shep is a complete dump. Since it is the last stop before EBC, they don’t have to glam it up. The table in the restaurant in the lodge we were staying in had a jar of jam that looked like a science project; we chose our meals wisely. People get sick at altitude, so the dining area was full of people coughing, hacking, etc. I’m not even going to describe the rest rooms.  The walls were paper thin, so you heard everything too. I just chalk this up to part of paying the price of admission to Everest; but it certainly explains why the “luxury base camp trek” sets up tents instead of using Gorak Shep lodging. Still worth it. Tomorrow we will hike up Kala Patar (over 18,000 ft) to get better views of Everest and see the sun rise from out behind the big mountain. 3 days left in the Khumbu Valley.