Day 6 - Pangboche (3,940 mtrs)

As usual we are pretty much the last to head off in the morning but soon catch up with some of the trekking groups  on the ridge above Namche which has great views both up and down the valley.



View back down the valley over Namche

Shortly after, we round the corner and as we approach a small Chorten (a small Buddhist shrine) the valley opens up to provide a superb view of the near mountains and those ahead at the end of the Khumbu valley. They are Ama Dablam to the right which we will soon be climbing, Everest (which I will be climbing next year) on the left and Lhotse (another 8k peak in the middle).

The path then undulates for a while

 

 

until we come across a cafe with a wonderful sun terrace giving us a new sideways view Ama Dablam.

From there we descend to the valley floor where an unseemly rush starts to get to one of the few places for lunch. The large ridge on the left hand side is the one that we follow up to the summit.

It is quite fun as a lot of people are squashed into a small space and it is not possible to avoid hearing the conversations taking place at other tables which come from the complete range of people on the mountain from tired, out of shape trekkers to experienced climbers. We have a rather large lunch of fried noodles and these are bound to sit heavily for a while. 

After lunch we have a pretty steep slope covering the 500 mtrs or so up to Tengboche (3,860 mtrs) This is another chance to really push but it is a long, long way and I am pretty knackered and hot by the top. I spy the famous bakery from the far side of the plateau and head over there to sit in the sun and take in the view whilst waiting for the others. Unfortunately some afternoon clouds come in and the view is quickly obscured before I get round to taking any photos. I remain good whilst the others are ordering cakes and brownies restricting myself to a forkful of the rather good apple pie. 

From there it is apparently only a 20 minute or so stroll to Pangboche so we set off at a leisurely pace. Our local guide, Nir, has gone ahead to organise our teahouse and Paddy stays on a bit to make some phone calls. After about half an hour of a rather steep descent there is a bit of concern that we don't seem near and villages at all. Then we come to a bridge across the river apart from the fact that it has fallen into the river  - I take this as vindication for my concerns when crossing these bridges!

After that it is a steep climb out of the valley to Pangboche which is quite taxing at the end of a long day! 

There we come across Nir in a teahouse courtyard. It turns out that the one we were heading for is full and he is seeing whether we can use this one instead. Starting late and taking long stops for lunch, hot drinks and cake is making us finish each days trek quite late on. This one is not great and whilst we don't mind too much he seems keen to leave the decision to us after we look at one of the rooms. After a couple of circular discussions about this he mentions another one further up the village which is nicer and has space for us - this is the first time he has mentioned this and it seems to coincide with the first time that the owner is no longer next to us. I think I see a hint here (although I am not sure what it is or why it is being made) and agree that if there is a better one we should go there. On the way he tells is that he is not happy with us staying in rooms of that quality (he thinks that they were 'smelly') but that he knows the lady so needed to leave the decision to look at somewhere else up to us. 

We move to a much nicer tea house at the top of the village with a warm and busy general room. I head out back to the bottom of the village (braving yaks and the cold) to get to the Internet cafe to see if I have become an uncle again. However young Jemima (this may or may not be her real name depending upon the tricks and games of her parents) seems reluctant to leave her warm, comfy       and join the real world regardless of the range of birth accelerators that my sister has been experimenting with.  

After that I get stuck in a yak jam in the narrow streets of Pangboche. The two yak drivers seem to be randomly lashing out with switches and throwing stones and it is little surprise that the poor beasts are confused about which way to go. This continues for a couple of minutes and I am not sure I am helping matters by chuckling at the ensuing chaos. After a couple more minutes the yaks seem to sort it out amongst themselves and I potter back to the teahouse for chatting, reading supper and bed. Supper is a duo of stir fries (rice and potato) and some boiled veg. 

A few people have headaches which are being put down to the altitude but the real problem is that none of us are drinking enough water. Usually on trips everyone gets two litres of out water at the end of each day which can be used as hot water bottles overnight and then provides drinking water for the next day. But this is not being done and so people are relying on the hot drinks we are getting at stops and with meals. This is not enough to cope with the heat whilst trekking and our acclimatisation. 

Tomorrow is a pretty easy day - or at least it appears so from the map. We are just following the valley with a gentle inclined climbing up about 500 mtrs over about 10k of distance. The plan is for a late (8am) breakfast although we are all likely to be ready for it by about 6am and then getting to he next guesthouse at about lunchtime where we should be able to get some hot water for a wash and a shave!