11/11/2015
Deboche: 3867m/12687 ft.
Dingboche: 4410m/14468 ft.
9km, 5.5 miles, 6.5 hours hike time
Terrain: Much of the trail follows along the side of the mountains offering gorgeous views of mountains and valleys. Flat, with a gradual upward slope. The crowds thinned out a bit.
It was a quick night at Deboche and I was restless and ill. Up and down between bed and meals, cold in the room but hot in the dining area, back and forth to the bathroom, which was not a pleasant place to be sick.
The next morning four members of our team turned around to head back down the hill. The full trip was long – 21 days – and some people couldn’t take that much time away. We’d started the trip with 21 people and now we were down to 11. Both Jagat and Tricia (TFK’s Ops Director) were leaving, along with two fun-loving guys we’d enjoyed. This made the group a bit more intimidating since there were now only two others who weren’t fairly serious climbers.
This area is dominated but a peak named Ama Dablam, one of the most visually striking in the valley. This is the peak Kat and Ryan are going to climb after our trek.
It was a gorgeous day with stunning views and the trail was easy to walk without tripping over rocks and tree roots. Looking one direction we could see the mountains flanking Namche, and Tengboche monastery – faintly visible in the center left on this photos.
Looking ahead we could see Ama Dablam, which was on our right side all afternoon.
Pens for farm animals like yaks
We’re now solidly above 10,000 feet so yaks are the pack animals. They can’t live below that altitude since their lungs are bred for high mountains. Opposite of us, their respiratory system doesn’t function well with too much oxygen.
The number of people on the trail has dropped noticeably. I was happy it was one of our shorter and easier trail days.
Always stand on the uphill side! Yaks do push people over the edge.
The number of people on the trail has dropped noticeably. I was happy it was one of our shorter and easier trail days.
Karen Marya 