Uphill to Namche

Location: Namche Bazaar
Altitude: 3450m
Local Time: 21:00
Weather: 13C, Cloudy

Hi, Its Paul coming in from Namche Bazaar.

Today was a big day for everyone, climbing up about 900m from Phakding to Namche Bazaar. So far the group is all coping well, with a couple of people finding it tough going, but everyone arriving at Namche by the end of the day. Chris and Bridge are in a lovely lodge called Camp Debase and we are enjoying their restaurant to write this update. Thanks for all your messages – we are getting them loud and clear and having great fun reading them.

Walk to Namche
We left Phakding this morning at about 7:30am after a good night in our tents – we slept solidly for about 10 hours. On the route today there were lots of yak trains, which consist of about 7-12 yaks, and a herder who keeps them moving along. They hog up much of the trail with their wide loads, and its really important to pass them on the uphill side of the path, in case you get knocked over. On one occasion we had crossed about three quarters of a very long, but narrow suspension bridge, and then a yak train came onto the bridge, and we had to turn around and go to all the way to the start again, as there simply wasn’t room for us and them.

After lunch, which was had on the rocks by the river, we climbed very steeply uphill, along a track which zig zagged along a ridge. The sun was quite hot on our backs, and we were feeling the effects of altitude. After a rest and a Gu gel, the four of us felt better and made our way up to Namche, which suddenly appears in front of you when you least expect it. We are camped at the top of the village about 3 meters from the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed here in November.

Sherpa Meeting
At 16:00 this afternoon we met our Sherpas. They are a very impressive looking group, with many years of experience between them. We also got to meet Mingma and Dasona who are the sherpas who are going to be climbing with us. They are heading directly into basecamp tomorrow, so we will see them again in a bit over a weeks time.

Tomorrow
We have two days rest at Namche, so we are going to explore the town, and I intend to research all the bakeries, to find out the best one! Apparently there are three. Tomorrow is also market day so that should be a sight to see.

Cheers,
Paul.