Rested

I almost feel human again - I've had a shower and a great sleep and am not freezing. My time out here has been great - I've met some wonderful people and spent some quality time alone. I even had an impromptu visit with some young monks on a hillside above Thangboche monastery that I won't forget for a long time. On the way up from Thangboche, I spent two nights in Dingboche, and did a day hike out to Chukkung on the way to Island Peak. I had never been out that way before and really enjoyed it.

The weather has been much colder than normal for this time of year. We had fresh snow for about 5 days running, which made everything very pretty but didn't help the footing on the trails. I was planning to spend a few more days up at Gorek Shep (the closest spot to Everest Base Camp) but ended up coming down for several reasons. First I have a couple of friends who are climbing this year and I wanted to visit them at base camp. Unfortunately, they had permit problems and had to come down to Kathmandu to sort them out, so I missed them at base camp. We're staying in touch and trying to meet up either back up here on the trail or down in the city depending on how things go with their climbing permit. Second, it was really cold when I was there, and the weather wasn't that clear in the morning. There's no point being up there if you can't see your surroundings. Finally, I found the climb much more difficult this year than I have in the past. I typically get sleep apnea at high altitudes, but didn't feel it this year until my night at Gorek Shep, which was a nightmare. Every time I fell asleep I would stop breathing and then wake up with the feeling that I was suffocating. It got to the point where I would start having panic attacks every time I felt myself drifting off. There isn't any physical danger from this - your body will automatically start breathing again - but it's emotionally draining. Anyway, when I realised that Manny and Andre had left base camp, I didn't feel the need to stay up there any longer. I could potentially have climbed Kalipathar, a nearby hill that offers some of the best views in the world. However, the weather wasn't great during the morning I would have gone and I had done it before and it almost killed me the last time, so I thought I would just live with the memories and photos from last time.

In spite of the cold and my breathing difficulties, my hike into base camp was really good. I hiked with a British woman I met on the trail, so I had some company. The weather held for us all afternoon, which was unexpected and a nice surprise. Typically our mornings were clear and then clouds came in in the afternoon, but the reverse was true up at base camp. The ice and snow on the mountains, especially Nuptse, were spectacular - all kinds of hanging drifts and ice chunks the colour of the shallow sea on a Carribean beach. On the way out it was like walking through a thunderstorm with avalanches booming on all sides every few minutes. They're so cool to watch from a safe distance.

After I left Gorek Shep I spent a couple of nights in a valley that I really love and enjoyed my time there immensely. It was still really cold there and so I decided to come down farther. The day that I left Pheriche to come down, the weather turned. I hiked down in much warmer weather which I assume exteneded right up to base camp. I'm now enjoying balmy weather (t-shirts in the sunshine)in Namche.

As for the crowds, it was the weirdest thing. I guess that they have been having trouble landing flights at Lukla, so they have gone days on end without bringing trekkers and climbers in. This isn't unusual as the Lukla airstrip needs clear sight to land and this often doesn't happen in the mountains. The day that I flew in was the first in several that flights could land so I started my trek with tons of people who had been waiting for days to get here. Because I stayed a few days in Thangboche, they all got ahead of me and I was realitively alone for the next little while. On my way down yesterday, we obviously got another wave of flights after a few days without them. I could hardly get down the trail for the people going up - so many huge groups. I really don't know where they are all going to sleep when they get up to the tiny settlements like Lobuche and Gorek Shep. I'm really glad I got out of there before the flood of people arrived.

I have asked to get my flight out changed to Thursday, April 16. I'll find out this afternoon if they are able to accommodate it or not. If that works out, I'll stay in Namche tonight and tomorrow and then walk out to Lukla over the next couple of days. I'll keep you posted.