Island Peak Expedition Dispatch

April 26, 2017 – Acclimatizing In Pheriche

This morning the team received a blessing from Lama Geshi, who has been serving Sherpas and offering blessings to foreign adventurers from his home near the Pangboche Monastery for decades and has touched many lives. After our visit we hiked to Pheriche.

Pheriche is an important acclimatization stopover. Pheriche was originally a yersa or a farming village growing potatoes, buckwheat and keeping yaks.

They walked for about an hour from Pheriche to Dingboche viewpoint. From the viewpoint they saw Island Peak, which they are going to be climbing next week. They also saw three beautiful 8,000 meter peaks: Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu. The team continued to Dingboche and had a fantastic lunch at a local bakery before returning to the lodge.

Next they went to the Himalayan Rescue Association where we attended a lecture on altitude. After learning some great things at the lecture the group took the afternoon off to rest and enjoy the views.