We slept late today, getting up just before 8 AM. For breakfast, I had cinnamon French toast, because it had looked good when Julie had it here earlier. However, the toast turned out to not have much egg or cinnamon. The snow started to melt when the sun hit the valley, and I went outside to wash with a basin of warm water Lal brought me. While I was shaving, a Nepali came up to me and said ``yak danger.'' When I looked around, there was a yak right behind me. I moved to a safer place and continued shaving. The lodge courtyard was full of yaks carrying gear for a large camping group.
We began the walk toward Phortse at 9 AM by retracing the route we originally took from Pangboche, which is now mostly downhill and much easier. Instead of going back through lower Pangboche, we climbed the hill and went through the old part of town, upper Pangboche, which is more traditional and less visited. It has beautiful views across the valley to Mt. Kangtega and Tengboche. The oldest monastery in the Khumbu region was also here. Unfortunately it was closed, so we couldn't see the gompa, which is said to contain yeti relics. Instead, we had lunch at the lodge next door. We got enormous servings of noodle soup. Just when I thought I couldn't eat any more, the hostess came and refilled our bowls. I took some pictures out the window.
The next part of the trail followed the gorge we came up from Tengboche, but on the opposite side of the river, and much higher up. The views were spectacular, but the trail was not easy, constantly going up and down along the steep wall of the gorge. There were a number of steep and treacherous staircases in the rock. Both my guide and I had colds, and our noses ran a lot. The Nepalese don't need handkerchiefs, since they have a way of blowing their nose onto the ground.
Finally, we crossed the last ridge, and could see Phortse below, perched on the edge of a deep valley. This was a relief, because by now I was very tired. Some women were working in the fields. Phortse still gets relatively few tourists. We stayed at the Namaste Lodge, which was empty when we arrived, but got a few more people later. We arrived at 2:45 PM, exhausted from the long walk. We got a private room for the first time since Namche Bazaar. It was a primitive, cell-like room, with a dirt and stone floor just large enough for our packs, and a bunk with two thin mattresses, one with a Micky Mouse cover. The external walls were mud, and the walls between the rooms was wood. A blue plastic tarp covered the ceiling, and a blue floral sheet was draped on the walls around the bed. A window let in direct afternoon sunlight, temporarily warming the room.
Lal brought me a tea, and I put on my warm clothes and unpacked. Then I went up to the unusually large dining room, which doubles as a pantry. One long wall was covered with windows, giving a view down the valley toward Everest View Hotel. There was a prayer wheel next to the door, and bell rang when anyone spun it. On the opposite wall, across the long room, was a little shrine. There was no stove. Every once in a while a woman brought embers from the kitchen and placed them in the pot. Everyone huddled around it attempting to get warm, but it did little to drive the chill from the vast room. Clouds moved in, as usual, in the late afternoon, and it started to snow.
I drank a lot of tea to keep warm. A group of Swiss campers came in to drink beer. We ordered dinner early. They were out of dal, so I couldn't order dal bhatt, like I wanted. Instead, Lal and I had curried potatoes with rice and a very potent chile sauce. It was good, but I found it difficult to eat such a large plate of food, especially after the hostess refilled my curry bowl.
As darkness fell, the Swiss beer-drinkers returned to their camp up the hill. The children living in the lodge curled up in some blankets in the corner and went to bed. A very old lady went to bed in the opposite corner. She chanted something for a long time in a deep frog-like voice. We went to bed early tonight, since the chill in the lodge was not helping my cold, which I thought had now progressed to a sinus infection and possibly bronchitis. I decided to start treating it with an antibiotic, Cephalexin. My sleeping bag was warm and comfortable, and I slept very well for over twelve hours tonight. The only time I got up, around 3 AM, I found that the stars were out, and there was a crescent moon lighting the valley.
Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.