EBC Day 13 – 30th October 2009

The tiredness from the excitement and intensity of the last four days and the Oxygen rich air at 4410m, made me sleep like a log; I was away as soon as my head hit the pillow. I slept right through to 0630hrs, when I decided to treat myself to a fully body baby wipe wash.

We set off late morning as the trek today was a short 4 hour stroll. The sun was out keeping the temperature pleasant, however the path was very dusty. We had to pull our snoods over our mouths to stop the dust getting into our airways.

The further we descended the greener it got. Bushes started to appear and sub 4000m we had trees! The shrines to the side of the path became more elaborate and signs of civilisation were more frequent.

Always in front of us, our destination for the day, Tengboche sat on it’s perch above the forest line, with the snow capped mountains as the backdrop. It was like something out of a fantasy novel.

We soon entered the copper birch and fur tree forest on our approach to the village. The sun shone through the canopy and the air was cool and comfortable. A very relaxed and enjoyable walk into Tengboche.

After a short but fairly steep hill we entered the village. The centre is dominated by the Buddhist monastery and next to this was a bakery! The whole group piled in, to get some food before basking in the sun on the patio outside. I ordered a huge portion of a Dutch apple pie. It was so good not even a crumb was left on my plate! Our lodgings were across the square opposite the monastery.

While we were waiting for our keys to the room, I ordered an egg sandwich as I was still hungry, despite the pie. I sat outside in the sun until it arrived, and when it did, it came with a portion of chips! Best day ever!

Our room was on the corner of the teahouse and had a window looking out at the monastery and another back up the Khumbu Valley, with a view of Ama Dablam. The sun began to set, casting it’s waning light over the giant peaks. The colours were breath taking as they changed the tone of the mountain tops.

I grabbed my camera and raced outside to catch the last rays. I got the picture of the adventure that day, it is one of my all time favourites, from all my travels. The clouds had rolled in giving it a mystical and otherworldly look.

We joined the group for dinner at the teahouse. Turns out the owner is the daughter of Dawa Tensing, who was part of Hillary’s 1953 summit team. There is a scrap book containing pictures and letters of him and Sir Edmund Hillary himself.

Everyone was in high spirits and Irish Neil had even started on the ‘Firewater’ (fermented millet) and whiskey. I even won the jacket for carting my tripod up Kala Patthar and not using it! Everyone was excited about reaching Namche Bazaar, even planning on how to celebrate our achievements from the last two weeks. There was talk of a pool competition!