14 March
(Day 4 of trekking)
“After a somewhat nice but still cold sleep in (see video) Day 4 saw us take breakfast at 8am and head off at 9am.
Passing and touching the water powered prayer wheels in the village we took a steep but gradual climb compared to yesterday on our way to Khumjung and our planned drop in to the Hillary School to meet with and handover sporting equipment and stationary that we brought from Australia.
I think it’s fair to say, at least from my perspective, that we had the most amazing day of mountain viewing so far. The summit of Everest at 8,849m was even more prominent today with the snow blowing off it under the high winds. We also had great views of Lhotse at 8,589m, Nuptse at 7,861 Ama Dablam at 6,812m, and Khumbila (God of Khumbu) at 5,761m which you can’t climb due to its religious and cultural significance.
Interesting fact, whilst Everest might be the most commonly known peak that adventurers attempt, Ama Dablam at 2,000m lower is the most technically difficult to attempt. In the business they say that if you get to the top of Everest you are a Summiter and if you get to the top of Ama Dablam you are a climber.
Along the way we saw far less animals of burden, however the locals themselves were still carrying ridiculously heavy loads, one guy carrying 90kg of window frames complete with glass and a couple of others carrying 80-90kg of plywood sheets. One of these guys carrying 80kg weighed 70kg
.
.We entered Khumjung via the Khumjung Gate with the impressive Khumbila holy mountain ahead of us.
From here it was off to visit the Hillary school where we met some truly beautiful and happy go lucky souls and handed out sporting goods and stationary which they absolutely loved.
Last stop for the day was the Khumjung Monastery to look at the amazing religious artefacts and what is supposedly the scalp of a real Yeti.
.The temperature has very quickly dropped now and we are back in the tea house having Dal Baht, apple donuts and hot chocolate.
Tomorrow is a new day and we are all tired but looking forward to it.”
– Tony
