Location: Pheriche
Altitude: 4243m
Local Time: 6pm, April 11
Weather: Fine during the day, lightly snowing now -2C
Hi its Paul here. Today was
spent relaxing in Pheriche, while Chris and Bridget left for Namche.
This morning we celebrated
Chris' 31st Birthday at the lodge, before they headed off for the 7 hour hike
to Namche. We are sad to see them go as it's been great fun having them along
for the journey so far and sharing lots of experiences. They are off to India,
Europe, New York, Hawaii and then home.
Lodge Life
We spent today relaxing in our lodge, alternating between the sunroom and the
dining room. Both Fiona and I got through a book each. Our room was typical of
most lodges - two beds against opposite walls, with the door opening between.
Your bags are placed between the beds, as there is not much room anywhere
else. The dining room is the mainstay of any lodge and this one is heated by a
central pot belly stove, so it's nice and warm compared with the bedrooms.
This dining room has windows on 3 sides, with great views of Ama Dablam. Going
almost all the way around the dining room is a cushioned bench seat covered by
an elaborate tibetan rug. There are many tables in the room and in the
evenings its pretty busy with about 30 people. During the day we tried the
sunroom, but it quickly got too hot for us, so most of the day was spent in
the dining room.
Yesterday we had a shower,
but we say that the shower at base camp is better than the one here. There was
no head on the shower, so the water just came out in a single stream like from
a hose.
We are just about to order
dinner - most likely a vegetarian curry and vegetarian momos (a dumpling
served steamed or fried). These are delicious and a real favourite. We don't
eat meat outside of that served by IMG, as we are concerned about getting
sick.
Our plan tomorrow is to head
back up to Lobuje and then head back to base camp the day after. Hopefully the
route through the icefall will be complete by then and we can move up after a
day's rest.
Regards,
Paul Adler