12 NOVEMBER 2013 - PHERICHE.. A LONG DAY WALK

Tuesday (12th November) – time to head north again today and re-gain the altitude we have lost over the past 2 days due to the dangerous state of The Cho La pass. Our overnight stop was comfortable enough at 3680m. It is surprising how much kinder the air and temperature is at lower levels but we still are way above sea-level (3680m = 10,500ft approx.) Ulyana departed south for Namche Bazaar and the prospect of a well-deserved break in Thailand (lucky lady – hot, hot beaches….). Our excellent Nepali team (Tendy (sherpa guide and Mega Adventures director), Ganesh (Mega Adventures director), Babu (assistant sherpa guide) Chirri and Rabindra (trek assistants) guided us a steep slope from our breakfast riverside location to an architypical sherpa village perched high on a hilltop. This set the scene for the rest of the day – another long trek which achieved a total climb of 640 m, re-entering the mountain-scape . We haven’t reached the snowline yet but trees have given way to boulders. Everest is back in view – barely five miles away from us and magnificent with a long snow plume spilling eastwards. Just in front of Everest we can see Lobuche East (6119m) – its summit the goal for Jake, Andrew and Richard at 0700hrs (dawn) on 15th November (stay tuned). For Jake, our arrival in Periche late this afternoon was an emotional moment. In October 2010 Steve had occasion to visit Jake in his sick bed in the clinic of the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) here in Periche. Jake had become seriously ill whilst trekking to Everest Base Camp. He was within 4 hours of death. The clinic staff saved his life. Steve and Jake went straight to the clinic to pay their respects to the staff there – one of whom remembered them well! Bob is safely en-route home to the USA and the rest of the team endure. This is proving to be a tough trek. Weight loss will be not insignificant! No bad thing for some of us, perhaps!