Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch

May 9, 2008 – Namche Bazaar

We awoke this morning at 11,400 feet above sea level in our comfortable rooms at the Panorama Lodge when the Sherpa staff delivered wake-up coffee at 6:00 a.m. The lodge is situated on a terrace near the top of Namche Bazaar, so we have a nice view of the market town below. We'd hoped to take a ten-minute walk before breakfast to the National Park overlook for views of Everest, Ama Dablam and the other great peaks of the Khumbu region, but decided not to go when we saw clouds and mist around Namche. We will see a lot of Everest and Ama Dablam in the days to come, so I think the opportunity that we had for a quiet early morning here at Panorama Lodge was even better.

In Sherpa culture, families put a significant portion of their wealth back into their religion by doing regular poojas to bless the family and the community, and to pray for good fortune and blessings for everyone. Our hosts here at Panorama Lodge have had eighteen lamas from Tangboche Monastery in residence in the lodge for the past three days doing pooja. This morning the monks were wrapping things up, so to speak, with a final round of prayers that was only to last about one hour. We went into the beautiful family gompa on the upper floor of the lodge and sat for a while as the lamas did their work. They were seated on three sides of the room facing the sacred texts and butter lamps at the head of the room. They were eating breakfast when we arrived, but soon after we were seated the eating stopped and the praying abruptly began. We were immediately soothed by the deep guttural sounds of the lamas reading from the sacred texts before them.

Buddhist poojas go on for a long time, but they are open and never seem formal by Western standards. We felt very welcomed. Not long after the praying had begun again, women served refreshments to the lamas. Before each of us they placed bottles of Fanta and Coke, and sweetbreads, candy, and a roasted barley flour staple called tsampa. There was a peaceful, timeless feeling about the we way we were starting our day in Namche. After the monks completed the pooja, we remembered we’d not yet enjoyed our breakfast, so we returned to the dining room for omelets and toast.

The town of Namche wakes up early. We knew that when we descended into town the everything would be in full swing, and we soon found many friends along the streets going past the shops. In some ways this town never changes, yet there is always something new. We discovered that a new ATM machine had been installed under a plywood stand in front of one of Namche's solid stone guesthouses.

Having not been here for a year, I had to get re-oriented a bit, but soon we had our bearings and the day’s real business got underway: shopping. I'd told Caroline before she left Doha, Quatar, that she need not worry about being able to find mountaineering clothing for this trip. "You can get everything when we are in Namche" I said. The interesting thing is that the same shops that sell "North Face" and "Mountain Hardware" here also sell beautiful fabrics, jewelry, and paintings. Late in the morning I saw Caroline and Tracy walking back up the hill to Panorma lodge looking like porters hauling large loads with everything they’d found during their shopping expedition.

Deke was up well before our 6:00 a.m. wake-up call this morning. I saw him outside his room and knew that he was eager for that first glimpse of Everest, the highest mountain in the world. That moment is yet to come for us, along with countless other inspiring views, encounters, and surprises along the trail. We will send reports each day, so stay tuned. Deke will see his mountain soon, and we will all have many more great adventures to relate.