We came, We saw, We went back down - 21 October 2008

We got up at 4:30 am today for the trek up Kala Patthar to view Everest.  Just in case you're not reading through all the links, people scale Kala Patthar to view Everest because you can't actually see Everest from base camp.

It started off poorly - Jen had trouble keeping her hands warm and at one point we stopped, took off her gloves and the guide and I each put one of her hands in our armpit to warm it up.  It took us about 4 hours to get to Gorak Shep, where we stopped for lunch.  

Gorak Shep is the highest point where there's civilization, and I expected it to be similar to Lobuche.  Instead, it's actually nice.  We stopped for lunch in one of the two teahouses, and it's clean and spacious.  Originally, we were supposed to spend the night up here, but all of the rooms were sold out.  After we're done with Kala Patthar we have to go all the way back down to Lobuche and the sterling accomodations there.

Climbing Kala Patthar proved to be too much for us, unfortunately.  Jen started getting dizzy about an hour from the top and (unlike Kilimanjaro) I didn't leave her behind this time.  We took a couple of pictures and headed back down:

Mount Everest, from 2/3 the way up Kala Patthar

Part of the glacier - The mass in the center is striated

And us with Everest

Going down was, as you'd expect, much easier.  We went back to the teahouse where we had lunch, but thanks to the altitude neither one of us had an appetite.  We split a plate of popcorn and then headed back to Lobuche.

It's not as crowded tonight although we're in bed by about 6:15 pm.  I tried to listen to my iPod to put me to sleep, but wasn't able to drift off.  It feels like I have a fever, and I spent most of the night dashing for the bathroom.  Great thing about the bathrooms here at night - the water (both in the bowl and that you're supposed to pour into the "toilet" to flush) freezes.  Jen and I joke about taking the kids ice fishing.  Yep, we're mature.

Part of the reason I cant sleep is that my bunk is tilted toward the wall and so is the guy's bunk in the room next door.  Every time he moves, I feel it.  I'm sure that every time I move he feels it too.  We should have at least traded email addresses the next morning.  

Then around 2 am someone starts knocking on the door to the hotel and trying to get in.  It felt like it took them more than 30 minutes to finally get in.  At one point they started shining a flashlight through our window, trying to see if there was someone to help them.  Then, when they got in they decided it was a good time for a lengthy, loud conversation.

This is, by far, the worst I've felt in a long time.