Hike to Gorak Shep (16,980'). Can you believe we have internet access at 17,000'? But it'll cost you!
A much better day today, I feel great. It is fairly common to suffer a bit especially when gaining 2,000' in altitude in one day. Most days are good, some will be bad. We remind ourselves on the bad ones, pain is temporary.
We hiked from Lobuche to Gorak Shep (16,980') today. During this trek I have been setting pace for one of our trekkers. As we rounded a corner I pointed out Everest base camp, our first view of EBC. Of course everyone on the trail was excited and cameras were snapping away. We hugged and continued on.
After lunch we hiked a nearby mountain, Kala Pattar, (18,373'), which means 'black rock' in Hindi. Most of the famous photos of Everest are taken from Kala Pattar, the mountain offers magnificent views of the summit. Once you reach Everest base camp you can no longer see the summit until later in the climb. We took our fair share of photos of the triangle summit of Everest today.
After our past climbs as we hiked down our team commented that it felt as if we were hiking up as much as down, here's why...from Lukla, where we started the trek, to the top of Kala Pattar you hike up and down rolling hills totaling ascents of around 15,700' and 7,800' of descents. With that being said, believe me the thicker air feels spectacular.
Off to play more hearts. Last night we started a hearts game with some of the climbers. Always fun to play with a bunch of competitive guys. During our past climbing expeditions, while on the mountain for two months we only climbed approximately 20 days. So to pass the time, we enjoyed 5-6 hour hearts marathon games.
Tomorrow Everest base camp!
Susan Ershler
International Speaker
Ershler International
425-899-2333
