April 13 Pheriche 14,200 Everest Standard Weather

Depending on where you stand in this little village we are now higher than anywhere in the lower 48. There are towering snow capped peaks in every direction. Day after tomorrow we will journey up valley to Lobuche. We have been staying in little “tea houses” along the way. A “tea house” is the Himalayan version of Motel Six. Most will have small twin bedrooms with a common bathroom and some will even have a hot shower for hire. The central focus of these mini-resorts is the dining lodge. This is usually a large room with a long bench built all along the outside walls. Tables are placed in front of these. In the middle is a stove that the proprietors fire up as soon as you can see your breath. I know from experience that we are moving from the wood fuel zone to the dried yak dung zone after tomorrow. Wood is definitely more pleasant but we are now well above the tree zone. Actually, except when they are first firing it up the yak dung isn’t that bad.

The rooms are unheated but most have a small bulb about like a Christmas tree light. Its sole purpose is to provide you just enough light to locate your head lamp. Most of the beds having bedding and a pillow – or maybe it is a rock in a cloth bag. I haven’t figured out. But everyone I know sleeps in their sleeping bag. After a few weeks at altitude most places sound like TB wards from all the coughing. I don’t think it makes much sense to stick your nose in a pillow someone has been hacking up a lung in. I’ll stick with my own now smelly bag. In a few days when I get to base camp I’ll be able to air it out. Sunlight is a great disinfectant.

Showers are a relatively new luxury to the Khumbu. I should say hot showers are a relatively new luxury. The Sherpas are nothing if not industrious and where there is another rupee to pry out of the trekkers or tourist they will find a way. It is a process. You give the staff notice about your hot shower desires and they begin heating water and filling a cistern. When ready you can go to it until the water runs out. Hot shower Khumbu style. It is labor intensive, primitive, the cook determines the water temp (hope they didn’t get distracted or it can get real hot) but it is so much better than the Baby Wipe baths higher up the mountain.

Trekkers by far outnumber climbers. They come from everywhere but I would guess most are from Europe and Austraila. Some are Americans but not nearly as many. You see a lot of British kids who come here on a “holiday”. I think proximity and longer vacations may play a role in who comes to the Khumbu. There are also a lot of Japanese. In fact there are a lot of Japanese who are quite old. I admire them. I hear young trekkers gripe that they are the only thing slower than the yak trains but I inevitably find them good natured, pleasant and inspiring. I hope when I am as old as they are I am still getting around that well.

Because there will be 15,000 trekkers in the Khumbu this year and 300 climbers you hear some interesting things in the tea houses. I am amazed by the breadth of knowledge some of these people pretend to have when they have no idea anyone in the rooms knows the difference. It results in some funny occurrences. Last night one guy was telling everybody about all he had read about Everest and one of the Sherpa members of our team walked by. He called him over and asked him to get him a refill on his tea. Mingma didn’t hesitate. He ran and got one of the people who worked there to get the man some tea. Never said a word. Mingma has summited Everest 6 times and he is only 26. In Nepal he is well on his way to being a superstar. Can you imagine one our pro ball players acting that way?

Tomorrow is a rest day. I’ll get some clothes washed. Take one of those hot showers and maybe wander over to Dingboche.