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PhD submission celebration trip??
Pic of the bridges is lovely, much nicer than anything I managed to get. I was forced across there with 4 walking poles in one hand and my gfs hand in my other - pretty unnerving, especially having to keep my cool for the sake of my already skittish gf.
Be aware of the altitude, it really can be a trip-ender, my Mum didn't make it up to base camp, but was lucky enough to be able to travel down enough that she didn't need to be evacuated to Kathmandu. We heard of a group of 6 that was reduced down to 3 by the altitude too. If you can find it, get some diamox, I found it really helped with fatigue and the awful altitude headaches, just avoid ibuprofen/asprin while on it.
What's your planned itinerary? Have fun! I'm so jealous, it's been a long time since I've been in a place and so strongly just wanted to stay and explore.
yoshy-
PhD submission celebration trip??
In a way, but really it's my dad who's always wanted to go and for whatever reason we've only just got around to it. I've already been to Majorca and the Lake District to celebrate and just about starting to feel normal again after thesis submission! It really screwed me up.
Yeah the bridges feel sketchy, I've tried to take some video of it but as you say feels dodgy without two hands on!
We're all taking Diamox and out itinerary is quite slow, just 300-400 m ascent per day. Feeling okay so far except for a very mild headache the first day. My dad got food poisoning which was also nearly a trip-ender, but fortunately we had an acclimatisation day right in time so he was able to lie in bed for a day and get back to normal. Fingers crossed...
We should be arriving in Gorak Shep in a few days, then we'll be staying there and doing a day hike to Base Camp. Then back down to Kathmandu and a few extra days there. Just about to set off for Dingboche!
frankenbike
Hiking to Everest Base Camp. Even without plumbing, an electricity grid, roads etc. they still have WiFi...
Apologies for terrible phone camera quality, terrible photography skills. I have vastly more photos on my digital camera (though the autofocus is broken and I suck at manual focus) but can't do anything with them til I get home to my computer.
That's Everest in the last shot with the cloud billowing off on the left hand side.
Temperature at night is near 0° indoors and only going to get colder as we go up. But you only pay $3 for a room so pretty fair. I'm sleeping in a -10° Rab bag that saw me through a night in Scotland in the midst of the Beast from the East last winter, so far it's been fine.
The altitude is insane, I can't even run up 10 steps without losing my puff. We're just below 4000m at the moment. Also insane are the Sherpas who are carrying 30kgs or more by baskets with a strap around the head (ie. not shoulder straps like a rucksack), who run most of the way up. I saw a guy carrying what looked like an iron stove and chimney, he was as fast as me
Paging @Chak who requested updates!