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Again Time To Acclimatize
25 Oct, 05 - 14:33
Today was a combination acclimatization and rest day. We've come up to 14,000' pretty directly with just the one "rest" day in Namche. Everyone is doing fine with the elevation but it's time to really let our bodies catch up before we start climbing in earnest.
The strategy is to engage in some moderate exercise, gain some elevation, then come down and rest.
We had a nice morning for a hike. Sunny, but with a mild breeze. We went over the ridge to Pheriche - a stop on the way to Everest base camp.
In Pheriche we came across a relatively new monument to all those who have died climbing Mt. Everest. It is sobering to see how long the list is. Even more sobering is to see how much space they've left to add names in the future.
From Pheriche we re-acquired the ridge above the town, hiked over to another hill, and climbed to about 15,000'. We'd been walking 3 hours to that point and it was almost noon, so we called it good.
I've been kind of remiss in not describing life on the trail in more detail - chalk it up to the loss of my keyboard - tapping is much slower than typing.
Pat has joked with George multiple times that the point of this trek is to "'soften us up". Life on the trail is relatively soft. Tea is served in our tents in the morning (our wake-up call), followed shortly by a hot bowl of "washing water". We have a hot lunch every day, tea at 4:00 (with a snack - often popcorn), and a really nice dinner.
Only in Tyangboche have we had to eat in our dining tent. The rest of the time we've eaten inside a tea house.
Shifting to "mountain mode" could be a bit of a shock. On the other hand, the excitement of finally engaging the mountain, will more than make up for the loss of our trekking amenities.
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