We left at the usual time – 7:00 AM and trekked across Phulangkarpo Pasteur which is the wide valley to the north of Pheriche; along the way my right nostril started bleeding a bit- the air is very dry and cold and my nose does not do well in very dry climates. I tried to stop it while walking and was able to at least pack it so it didn’t bleed over any of my clothing – but it wasn’t until we stopped for lunch that I was able to really attend to it.

After the valley we began to climb up a steep ascent to the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier- the same one that Everest climbers have to negotiate on their route up the mountain. The climb was more a bit more challenging because we did it in a steady cold rain follow by a changeover to ice crystals.

One woman in our party was unable to climb much higher than Pheriche so she decided to hire a horse and ride up to base camp.  I wasn’t aware that this was an option but it is.  The woman felt confident because she rode horses and she was showing any signs of altitude sickness.  Well in retrospect it turn   and bruised has backside a bit.  Still she decided to go on after the strap was fixed and at the top to the climb on a fairly level path the horse spooked a bit because there were many trekkers on the trail and threw her again and this time she was also dragged a bit.  She suffered some trauma and additional injuries and she is now awaiting a helicopter to fly her out and back to Kathmandu.

This is a serious trek and people who attempt it must be in good physical and mental shape and be ready for difficulty along the way.  I honestly tried to appraise my own condition and mental ability before I left and I felt strongly that I can do this trek – but I also held no allusion how hard it would be, and it has lived up to as hard as I thought it would be.  My biggest variable is altitude sickness- I have been as high as we are going on this trek but that time it was much less strenuous and the weather was basically warm during the days with no rain – not the case here.

So tomorrow we are going to set out for base camp in the middle of the Khumbu glacier and I am hoping I can do one more day and get to Base Camp and maybe even see the famous Khumbu ice falls from a distance!)

Until then…