The visit was short, but restful, at the Everest Hotel/tea house.  We then headed down the canyon to visit a town called Khumjung, a famous, wealthy Nepali town, where Sir Edmund Hillary built a high school.  Of course, Pem knew people there too, so he had us eat at his friend’s establishment, the Everest Bakery.  We consumed the bakery food like a bunch of pigs.  We had tomato soup with noodles and garlic, braided cheese bread, cinnamon rolls, cho-Danish (chocolate Danish), and of course milk tea and hot lemon.

We then proceeded to the Hillary High School after lunch.  The buildings inside the schoolyard – all fenced in three foot stone walls, were each donated and/or funded by foreign country organizations (i.e. Japan, funded the science building, Tokyo, funded the electronic/computer building, and Belgium, funded the arts center, etc).  We all then proceeded through to the end of the schoolyard, where Pem, Nhongpre and the seven of us were invited to play a volleyball game with the boy’s high school volleyball team.  Of course the Nepalese boys beat us American amateurs, hands down.  The trip back up the mountainside to Namche Bazar was so far the worst.  We had over 4000 stone stairs to climb, up and out of Khumjung, then trekked the plateau back to Namche.  We gained approximately 1000 feet of elevation total that day.  Great for acclimatizing!

Day 4 of Trek, May 18, 2008 – 5:30 am

Up at 5:30 and ready by 7:30 a.m., with all of our duffle bags packed and ready for our Sherpas.  Today we would trek to Thyangboche (12,401 ft), a 1251 foot elevation gain.  Thyangboche was just near the tree line, and usually fogged in, during the Monsoon.  We were nearing the monsoon season, within days so we were prepared for damp, cooler weather.  The five mile stone trail uphill, was beautifully surrounded by pink, white and red rhododendrons (Nepal’s National Flower), the size of apple trees.  It was a difficult day, but full of surprises.  Along the trek to Thyangboche, we were lucky enough to meet the oldest and famous “ice doctor.”  He was resting in the shade from his recent trek to Everest Base Camp.  He was one of the Sherpas whom fix the ladders on the ice fall itself.  There are five others, whom we did meet later, at Everest Base Camp.  We also saw a Lama Monk being led down the trail.  As we would soon find out, Thyangboche is the home to a beautiful Buddhist monastery, in which 52 monks were soon (the end of May, 2008) to join in celebration and prayer for peace throughout Nepal and the world.  It was definitely a holy place of worship.

Day 5 of Trek, May 19, 2008 – 6:00 am

Elliott, the team member from Chicago, was sick overnight – due to the elevation (12,401 feet).  He visited Dan and Brandi, our team EMT’s.  They calmed him, as essentially he was in a panic from lack of oxygen, and from the wheezing in his lungs.  Dan gave Elliott some Diamox, a medication to lessen altitude sickness.  That was the first of our illnesses, except for two of our team members, earlier in the trip, had suffered from diarrhea.  I have to admit, it was a rough night.  Dogs barked all through the night, and I woke up 4 – 5 times gasping for air.  Gerri said my breathing was different, and I had what is called high altitude sleep apnea. After breakfast we trekked higher and higher, for three hours, passing Pangboche, Tyaboche, and resting at Shomare (13,300 feet elevation).  We passed caravans of Yaks, now, rather than Zubkas.  Yaks are unable to survive well below the 12,000 foot level.  We reached our destination, Dingboche (14,500 feet elevation) at approximately 2:00 P.M.  Unfortunately, two of our seven team members were ill.  Dan was losing too much muscle, as he was so fit for the trip, with little to no fat to burn, causing weakness, dizziness, and diarrhea.  Elliott, was also dehydrated, weak, dizzy, and had diarrhea.  Our team was nervous we would have to split up, leaving Dan and Elliott back a day to acclimatize.

Dingboche was quaint.  It provided most of what we needed, especially our own toilet (no sink), IN our rooms.  The wooden cots were still the same as all the other tea houses, but each bed had a beautiful, bright colored, thick blanket, along with the thin mattress, to lay out our -20 sleeping bags.  Other than bed bugs to worry about, it was nice to have a bit more cushion, and toilet privacy.  Pem and the other Sherpas left us to meet up with their friends and play a game or two of Schooner (similar to pool).  What I never understood, and Pem could not explain, was how a 1600 lb. marble schooner table was Sherpa’d up to Dingboche.