The people are so demanding :) Internet is expensive at 3400m! I did not freeze or collapse from altitude sickness; however, I did come pretty close to doing both on several occasions. My subpar trekking gear from KTM definitely did not keep me warm, but in all honesty, the stuff in my bag wouldn't have helped that much more. Above 3400m it was frigid all the time, and dipped well below freezing at night...in our rooms. Being above 4000m was what I imagine the moon to be like -- no trees, only rocks, the sun was extremely bright, and it was very windy.
We went to EBC, which literally sits on a glacier. EBC was cool because it was definitely something that wasn't there for tourists. It was full of climbing teams and climbing teams only, mostly sponsored by North Face, etc. The next morning, we got up at 4:45 am to hike up Kala Pattar (~5500m) to see the sunrise over everest. I only made it about halfway up. The sub-freezing temperatures combined with the altitude made it impossible to catch my breath, so I had to go back down. My water froze on the way up, and I was only outside for about an hour or so. Ashley and Kathleen made it up, and luckily they said that the view was about the same from halfway as it was from from the top. Also, a few days before we had climbed Chukung Ri (also ~5500m) so at least I can stll say made it that high (in the sun, during the day).
I caught a cold on our 2nd day out of EBC, so I've been battling that for the last few days. At least it happenend on our way out, otherwise we would've been delayed for sure! We're flying back to KTM tomorrow morning. I've never been more excited to take a shower in my life!
If it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. Pics to come soon. The trip was amazing--the himalayas are definitely something special! Also, our guide and porters have been amazing! We got really lucky! everyone that we met was definitely not having as good a time with theirs (e.g. they got ditched halfway through or ripped off). If anyone plans to do any trekking around here, let me know, and 'll hook you up!
We went to EBC, which literally sits on a glacier. EBC was cool because it was definitely something that wasn't there for tourists. It was full of climbing teams and climbing teams only, mostly sponsored by North Face, etc. The next morning, we got up at 4:45 am to hike up Kala Pattar (~5500m) to see the sunrise over everest. I only made it about halfway up. The sub-freezing temperatures combined with the altitude made it impossible to catch my breath, so I had to go back down. My water froze on the way up, and I was only outside for about an hour or so. Ashley and Kathleen made it up, and luckily they said that the view was about the same from halfway as it was from from the top. Also, a few days before we had climbed Chukung Ri (also ~5500m) so at least I can stll say made it that high (in the sun, during the day).
I caught a cold on our 2nd day out of EBC, so I've been battling that for the last few days. At least it happenend on our way out, otherwise we would've been delayed for sure! We're flying back to KTM tomorrow morning. I've never been more excited to take a shower in my life!
If it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. Pics to come soon. The trip was amazing--the himalayas are definitely something special! Also, our guide and porters have been amazing! We got really lucky! everyone that we met was definitely not having as good a time with theirs (e.g. they got ditched halfway through or ripped off). If anyone plans to do any trekking around here, let me know, and 'll hook you up!
18,000 feet! Right on Seed. Can't say I've ever been that high
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