EBC Day 11 – 28th October 2009

We had a lot of ground to cover today so by 0600hrs we were on the trail. I had slept really well and found I no longer have headaches or difficulty breathing the thin air. I had finally acclimatized to the altitude. Getting to Gorak Shep (5140m) the last stop before EBC, was easy going.

At 0900hrs we had arrived to have a second breakfast and picked up our pack lunches for last stretch to EBC. We stopped for about an hour, before “Djam Djam” was shouted.

The route zigzagged following the moraine to the Khumbu Glacier, until the point where we would drop down and cross to base camp. From here the views of Everest are limited due to Nuptse sitting in front of it. This section wasn’t strenuous; had it not been for the early start I wouldn’t have felt as tired as I did.

By midday we reached EBC. We did it! I felt so elated! The group congratulated each other shaking hands and I gave my brother hug; everyone had a smile like the ‘Cheshire Cat’ beaming across their faces. The sense of accomplishment was powerful, as we had achieved something spectacular; it had been a difficult trek.

We posed for pictures, took in the views and the atmosphere while munching on our packed lunches. After a while the wind and the windchill was making it uncomfortable to remain still, this signaled us to begin our walk back to Gorak Shep.

It seemed to take ages returning, I think the come down from the adrenaline and excitement of reaching EBC had exhausted me. When we finally reached our teahouse I was rained. As soon as I entered my room I flopped down on to my bed to have a siesta; I didn’t even have the energy to take of my boots!

After our naps we spent the remainder of the day in the common room playing ‘Rons Game’ until dinner time. It would be another early start in the morning as we had a 6 hour walk following the summit of Kala Patthar, down to Dingboche.