Up To Namche

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After spending the rest of yesterday playing chess and cards we were up for an 8am start. The weather was lovely all day – warm but still quite cloudy, and after yesterday we all appreciated it doubly much. It was a very long day, with lots and lots of steps; we climbed about 800m in total over 6 and a half hours. Most of the way was shared with yaks, mules and many people, mostly returning and going to Everest Base Camp. It made for a chatty day until it got too steep for easy talking… So, we got into Namche in the early afternoon and then had another 10 minute hill as a finishing touch up to the most wonderful lodge you could imagine on a climbing trip. Showers with hot water, electric blankets in the beds, plug sockets and even hot hand towels before dinner, which was rounded up with chocolate cake. You can imagine the difference compared with my last trip where we had one shower on the whole trip and proper toilets were a rare luxury. One off niceties for the Everest climbers who have 2 months here and their family and friends I believe!
At this 5 star accommodation we’re now preparing to go to bed (at 7:45), and have a rest day with an acclimatisation walk in the morning tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll also be seeing Becky Bellworthy and Mollie Hughes when they arrive at Namche tomorrow, perhaps we’ll bump into them at the highly acclaimed bakery down in the village.
The photo I’ve attached is taken from the middle of one of the many high bridges on the trek, made even more nerve racking when they can be shared with multiple yaks and people, with prayer flags being blown in the wind. With it being spring here I’ve also loved the amount of flowers around, there are such beautiful views!

One thought on “Up To Namche

  1. i know. porters get paid rs. 10/kg/day and it’s a lnooooog way from lukla (where most things are dropped off by helicopter) to namche or dingboche or lobuche or gorakshep so i met guys carrying, i’m not kidding, 200kgs. of rice. the legal limit, i think, is 20kg for female porters and 30kg for male porters. and then, they are last to be fed/given a corner to sleep in at the lodges “dinning halls” though they do get free rounds of tea which cost rs. 90 to other trekkers. anyway, i could go on and on except to say that simply saying “sherpas/nepalis are strong” doesn’t mean shit. ensuring they are paid a fair amount so they don’t have to painfully step through the path on chinese chappals is what ought to be done ..a few places are making efforts to ensure this, right?

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