Pleasant rest days

April 19-20

Two very pleasant rest days at Pheriche are coming to an end, tomorrow morning I’ll be on my way back up to base camp.  Things have cleared up quite well, and the weather also seems to be improving, at least here at the “lower elevation” of 14,200 ft.  Interesting how easily one changes the perspective:  … going to 14,200 ft “to get some rest…”  The trek down from base camp took about 6 hrs, but was definitely worth the effort.  The way back up from Pheriche will take of course a bit longer, and it is also not advisable to get the whole 3,300 ft back to base camp in one day.  I’ll be hiking back up to Lobuche in the morning, spent the rest of the day there, and continue on to base camp next day.  In the meantime, some more climbers have gotten down here yesterday and also today.  Most likely, the unpleasant weather at base camp over the last couple of days did make this decision a lot easier for some folks.  Just a few minutes ago Pasang, my climbing sherpa showed up, we'll be going back up tomorrow together.  He's one of the legends here: 34 years old, and has been on top of Everest 7!!! times... Right now, things are looking up though, and I am looking forward to finally get some of the climbing in the ice fall on the way…

Namaste!