Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch

May 1, 2010 – A Big Day From Pheriche to Lobuche

This is Leila Silveira reporting from Lobuche. Today was a big day for us; a big altitude jump. Even though the team is doing extremely well, it is always a concern when we have to move from 4,240 metres (13,900ft) to 4,910 metres (16,100 ft); an altitude gain of 670 metres (2,200ft). But we are ready. Lobuche is our next goal and, slowly but surely, we are getting closer to Everest Base camp.

Our first stop was Dhukla, a small lodge/restaurant situated at 4,620 metres (15,150ft), 380 metres (1,250ft) above Pheriche. We made it in great time and were ready for lunch. We started our hike with clear skies and beautiful views but by the time we got to Dhukla it has started to snow. We were happy to take a break, have another great lunch made by Bal, and warm up a bit. The lodge was quite busy due to the weather. We met a big British team who was also hiking; they were all from the Royal Army Infantry.

Jeremy gave us a great explanation about what exactly the infantry does, and we were all quite impressed and surprised by the type of life that they lead. We couldn't believe that they would choose to come to Nepal for trekking during their holidays; their work is so demanding that we thought they should deserved to rest during their time off!!!

We kept going after lunch and started the hill towards the memorial tombstones for the sherpas and foreign climbers who have died in the Khumbu. When we arrived there, the weather was already changing and the entire place was covered with fog which gave the place a very somber and respectful feeling.

We kept moving to Lobuche and just made it before the weather changed to snow. Wally Berg arrived from Pangboche to have dinner with us, which was a pleasant surprise although a short one. His plan was to head down to Pheriche first thing in the morning.

After dinner we had another movie program. This time we watched "Touching the Void", which was very appropriate.