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May 14, 2007– A Visit to the Dentist in Namche
Those difficult, beautiful, and unforgettable days up high above 16,000 feet along the glacial moraine that leads to Everest Base Camp already seem a distant set of memories, but we all have images of people, magnificent sights, and feelings such as snow on our faces and breathless hiking on the glacier that will stay with us forever. The two nights we spent at Ang Temba and Yangzing's warm and comfortable lodge in Pangboche were relaxing and allowed us all to recharge our batteries and begin to reflect on all the wonderful experiences we have had on this trip. The morning of the 13th I awoke early to find Dave and Jay outside the lodge marveling at the amazing sight of the sun casting bright morning rays right through the notch high above us on Ama Dablam Later, after breakfast, several of us walked for three hours above Pangboche to visit Ama Dablam Base Camp. This trekking team has now visited two of the Base Camps used in the Fall of 2006 by Berg Adventures Expeditions, Everest Base Camp and Ama Dablam Base Camp.
This morning was bittersweet as we said goodbye to Yangzing and the Highland Sherpa Resort in Pangboche. As we left the lodge, she presented each team member with a Khata blessing scarf. We will have great memories of our days in Pangboche, from our visit with Lama Geshi early in the trip, to many nice meals in the upstairs dining room, where we enjoyed things like Shushi (with lots of Wasabi paste!) and "Khumbu Glacier Melts". It only took us an hour to walk from Pangboche to the Tangboche Monastery. We went inside the main temple room and listened peacefully to one lone monk who was reading prayers and beating occasionally one his big drum, which made resonate, deep bass sound reverberate through the large room. Later once we were outside again, I took the group out behind the monastery to see the memorials that have been built over the years for some of the members of the 1963 first America ascent of Everest team. We stood in this lonely, out of the way, and very special place and looked up at Everest and Lhotse far above us in the blue Himalayan sky.
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At lunch today, Dave looked up at us with a surprised and puzzled expression just after he had bitten into a soft piece of Yak cheese. He soon had one of his front teeth in his fingers! Luckily we were only about 1.5 hours out of Namche. Believe it or not, Namche, this yak trading town with no roads nearby in any direction has about everything one could want from civilization. You already know about the internet, electric washers and dryers, and the large comfortable beds and great hot showers at the Panorama Lodge from our first visit here on the way up the Khumbu Valley. But what you might not have guessed is that Namche is the home of an excellent dental clinic that serves local Sherpa and Nepalese people as well as the occasionally toothless trekker. A very good friend of mine, Nawang Sherpa, a Namche woman who was trained in dentistry in Canada, gladly took Dave into her office right after we arrived. On the walk into town after lunch I tried to get a "before" shot of Dave's toothless smile, but he was too quick and I never got that shot. On his back in Nawang's dental chair however he could not stop me, and at least I have a picture of him as his beautiful smile was being restored.