the rainbow bridge

Dingboche altitude 4410 m

Yesterday when I woke up in Tengboche at 600, I looked out my window and said "looks like a great day to summit Everest"....there was no snow blowing in the jet stream indicating good weather. What a cool thing to wake up, look out your window and see Everest!

We had breakfast and were off to ascend 650 m over 6 hours and 8km. We started out walking through rhodadendrum and coniferous forests, the sun was shining, but that cool himalayan breeze had me with my fleece on. The himalayas are really an untouched paradise. This may be a bit overly dramatic but if you know the poem "Under the Rainbow Bridge"...the landscape reminds me of that. When you lose a pet (as the poem goes) the beloved pet goes to a place called the rainbow bridge where their illnesses are cured, they are young again, it is a perfect place with meadows and hills and streams....when you die you meet them there again. The himalayas are such a paradise that I have expected to see my beloved cat Sammy galloping towards me or my family dog Mackenzie....seriously!

We passed by the Russian climbing team that made summit but lost a team member in the process. Obviously they were moving fast, in a hurry to get down. As we climbed beyond 4000m, trees disappeared, similar to the arctic tundra, low lying juniper shrubs and "tundra" flowers. It was almost like something out of star trek or the old Mad Max movies...beautiful, serene, untouched, yet very isolated with the snow capped peaks of the tallest mountains in the world surrounding you.

We were all moving a bit slower due to the altitude...that and climbing at 45 degree angles for up to 2 hours at a time is what makes this trek a challenge unlike no other. Its probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done thus far. Gareth and I were talking of trying to summit Everest at some point in our lives....if you were properly trained and got some good mountaineering experience it might be doable. Our team is still great...some are pacing faster than others...i am usually about in the middle. Its not about speed here its about safety. I had to dispense some extra diamox I had (have and extra 2 week supply) to one of the girls, otherwise I am convinced she probably wouldn't make it.

We arrived at Dingboche around 1530 yesterday after what turned out to be an almost 8 hour day, tired. I slept for a bit while the others hung out. We have to pay 380 rupees for a hot shower, which will not even be possible after today. This morning we did our acclimatization hike and climbed 400 m straight up very slowly then down. Gareth and I were straggling on the way down talking about the possibilities for mining in Nepal...the glacier and volcanic rocks are just gorgeous...then we made a plan to write a sci fi book about how nepal becomes a superpower after allowing mining in the Himalayas...maybe we are just altitude crazy! We also tried to collect some yak dung for our guesthouse hosts for fuel for the fire...our assistant guide laughed when he looked in my half full bag I had slung over my shoulder because Gareth and I had actually collected quite a bit of horse poo. Thought that counts!

After descending we ate lunch, some of us did laundry and some showered. I did laundry, as in fill a basin with cold water and hang outside to dry. Then I hiked it up here to the internet cafe which is costing me about $16.00 per hour! Took me about 20 minutes to walk up here breathing heavy all the way. The least little bit of exertion makes one pretty short of breath. I will shower after i get back and prepare to move on tomorrow to Lobuche (altitude 4900 m)tomorrow

WEATHER REPORT FOR DAD
Last night when we went to bed I think it was about +6-8...I had to wear a long sleeve tshirt, s short sleeve, my fleece my lightweight longjohns and hat, socks and snuggle into my -12 sleeping bag

This morning not a cloud in the sky but i added my northface pants to my last nights pyjama ensemble and i was ok...probably about 12-15 i would guess-timate:)