Acclimatisation in Namche
I spent yesterday afternoon relaxing in the lodge while some of the group visited the shops down in the village. I had a lovely shower, then played some cards and had a frustrating game of Scrabble. We had a very good buffet dinner in the evening then carried on playing cards, though I seem to be useless.
Having passed and then been passed by one of the other Jagged Globe teams, we ended up in the same lodge as them last night in Namche. There was a healthy rivalry and some competitive banter out on the trail, and now we’re fighting to get to the buffet before them, but they’ve been hogging the tables closest to the kitchen, so only Mark has been successful so far!
Today we’re acclimatising with a small climb then staying in the same lodge again. We were up pretty early for breakfast and then climbed about 350m up to a hotel called Everest View. The climb was good, but unfortunately there was no view: the clouds broke briefly and we saw Lhotse’s south face, but most of the time we just stared at the cloud. It was a promising trip though, as everyone seemed to cope well with the altitude.
The lodge is pretty busy but the trails are more of a worry. During one of the breaks in the clouds Mark and I were looking down on tomorrow’s trail, full of yaks, porters and tourists. I’m desperately hoping it will be a bit emptier when we start climbing.
It’s a bit strange doing this trip so soon after the HRP, as everything is a comparison. The trails here are much busier and life is generally more luxurious – it’s quite strange having such a light pack and very different staying in lodges. Rather than washing in streams I’ve got a bowl of warm water.
The walking so far is pretty easy compared to the Pyrenees, partly due to the light pack and partly because we aren’t (so far) walking a great distance or time. This will be very different on the summit days I think – there the days will be colder, longer and much more technical than anything I did on the HRP.
Another strange thing about being on the Everest Base Camp trail is meeting so many trekkers. Mark introduced me to a new phrase today: Acute Mountain Snobbery. I’ve definitely been suffering from this, looking down on the trekkers, but I imagine there are more serious climbers who’ve looked down on our little group. It’s hard to imagine the likes of Chris Bonnington coming up these trails, mingling with the trekkers…