After some planning we decided to head to Dingboche instead of Pheriche. Not only was this a slightly higher altitude but it also meant that we were able to keep the company of our new friends a little longer.
Our new friends were Rob (from England), Hanna (from Wales) and James (from Canada). They were all really lovely and our walks were filled with a range of conversations from latest movies to the production process of Maple Syrup. Time passed a lot quicker in their company.
We started around 8am from Tengboche and had a wonderful gradual trek through beautiful rhododendron forests which were laden with Old Man's Beard (a light green stringy lichen that hangs from the branches of the tree).
We worked our way up the valley at a reasonably even altitude passing through a few small towns along the way before coming to a broken bridge that was washed away in some flooding years ago. We crossed over the Imja Khola river on a small wooden bridge and then began our ascent up to Dingboche.
On the journey we met a German man who had been a part of a group of 6 who after crossing the Reno La on their way to Gokyo were hit by the bad weather mentioned yesterday. His group was travelling alongside a group of 8 who were also following the same trek but during the white out caused by the heavy snow the groups were separated. His group were in the front and all the way to Gokyo they heard the sound of avalanches tumbling down the valley. Hours later they finally reached Gokyo settled into the first lodge they found and we're having dinner when suddenly 5 of the 8 members of the other group burst in and immediately the Sherpa guides started on the radios calling in for Search and Rescue - aparently part of the group had been hit by an avalanche and three members were knocked down the mountain and were presumed dead. A grim idea of how terrible conditions have been. Aparently it was the heaviest October snowfall received in 15 years.
The terrain suddenly changed and before we knew it there were no trees to be found, shrubs and grasses replaced them and after a winding 30 minutes ascending up the mountain we found ourselves in the snow. I have never trekked in snow before so it was a wonderful (all be it slippery) experience. We continued to ascend until finally we came around a corner and saw the town of Dingboche.
Dingboche (4410m) took us by surprise, located right at the base of Mt Nangkar Tshang (5616m) not only was it huge compared to all the other towns we had passed since Namchee but the location could not be beaten. Lhotse was in full view but was shadowed by Ama Dablams North Face which towered majestically over the town as it was only 4km away.
We checked into our accomodation had some lunch and then wearing sandals or flip flops we headed up a large snow covered hill behind Dingboche. Our footwear would not get the best of us as we scraped and clawed our way up through the snow to the top where we were given views off a completely new mountain range that was at the bottom of the Khumbu Glacier. The views were out of this world and we would have stayed up there admiring them longer if it had not been for the bitter cold which drove us down the hill and into our warm rooms.
Our accomodation was amazing and the staff were even better. The lodge we stayed at was called the Snow Lion Lodge and Restaurant. We celebrated Aaron's 30th birthday with a wonderful chocolate cake from the bakery attached the lodge.
Good news is that Aaron seems to finally be beating his cold and my knees are no longer giving me pain on our treks. Got my first blister however... So that sucks a little.
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