November 4

I got up early, as usual, just after sunrise. The sky was clear, and sunlight reflected off the surrounding peaks. It was very cold, and the water flowing down the street outside from the spring pipe had partly frozen. For breakfast, I had scrambled eggs and chapatis. The eggs came with a surprise: grated yak cheese on top. I filled my water bottle at the spring pipe, then filtered it and added iodine. This was the first time I used my filter, since I usually obtained boiled water from the inn, for a fee. Julie said she had traveled extensively in the third world, and does not use iodine, just a Katadyn filter. She said she believes the Swiss theory that viruses are generally attached to larger host particles, which are removed by a 2 micron or better filter. This theory is rather controversial, and is not generally believed in the U.S.

Lal told me there was a good view from a 16900 foot hill overlooking Dingboche. I had been thinking of walking up the Imja Khola valley to Chhukung, which was supposed to have nice views from between the Lhotse and Ama Dablam, but Lal said the view from the hill was better, and if I wanted to climb the hill, he would go with me. I decided to climb the hill. The climb was practically straight up. We passed a number of yaks and a small monastery. For a while, I didn't think I would make it. We rested a lot, but the top didn't seem to be getting any closer.

The view at the top was worth the effort. We could see the Ama Dablam base camp, next to a blue lake at the base of the mountain, but high above the valley we climbed from. We could also see a lake near the Cho La pass, which can be crossed to reach Gokyo. The trail we would be following tomorrow to Lobuche was also visible, although Lobuche itself was behind a ridge. Lal climbed out on a pinnacle on top of the hill, but I didn't follow, because there was a steep cliff on three sides of it, and it looked dangerous. We descended by a gentler route, which was still very steep, and entered town via the trail we would be taking tomorrow.

Ama Dablam from above Dingboche

I had chicken noodle soup and glucose/malt biscuits for lunch, and went down to see the stupa while the sun was still in a good position for photographs. There was supposed to be a talk on altitude sickness at the Himalayan Lodge at 3 PM, but the doctor from the Pheriche clinic who was going to give it was busy and couldn't come. I washed my hair in the spring outside in the street, which was really cold. This was the closest I got to a shower on the trek yet. A big group with yaks moved into our courtyard. Julie asked me and two other Americans, including the young lady who had been having altitude problems in Tengboche, to play a game of Whisk, an English card game similar to 500 which has a trump suit.

The other two Americans were taking a year to return home from a job teaching English in Japan, and had just spent two months in China. They had saved a lot of money while teaching, because they were working in a rural area, but were paid as much as if they had been teaching in Tokyo. They would not try to make it to Kala Pattar, due to a lack of time and the lady's altitude problems. This was as high as they will stay. They would walk up the valley to Chhukung tomorrow.

Julie said she never walked with her porter, but sent him ahead so she could walk alone. She told him to wait for her at bridges and hills. Her first trek was in 1984 in the Annapurna region, when she said there were far fewer inns than now, and they usually just served dal bhatt. Now you can get a wide variety of food, including pizza, apple pie, pop corn, and French fries. She began this trip with a trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary, where I thought I would like to go after this trek if there was time. She said the trail condition is not as good there, but the elevation is lower. She also said it is much better to stay at the Annapurna Base Camp than the Machhapuchhare Base Camp in the Sanctuary, because you get more of a feeling of being in the middle of the mountains. One of the lodges there, which is run by a young woman with a western-style appearance, has apple pie with chocolate sauce, which Julie said is worth trying. She didn't remember the name of the lodge.

We had dinner during the card game, which lasted a long time. I had fried noodles with vegetables and cheese, and garlic soup. The noodles came with a surprise fried egg, which had a soft yolk, so I didn't eat it. Lal probably had them add the egg, since he was in the kitchen. It became cloudy at sunset, but cleared up beautifully after dark. The Swiss family with the four and six year old children, who I had last encountered in Phakding, were staying here tonight. The children sang a lot, but were well-behaved and quiet at bed time. They had been traveling for four months.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.