Today was our rest/acclimatization day in Dingboche which would normally mean sleeping in, but seeing as sleep has eluded me (and pretty much everyone else) this entire trek I was still up bright and early after a fitful night’s sleep.

And it was bloody freezing.

Even the yaks looked cold

For some unknown reason the staff of the guest house did not light the gas stove that morning. We were all sitting in the dining area with the blankets from our beds wrapped tightly around us and hot cups of tea trying desperately to stay warm.

But the good thing about getting up before the sun and risking frost bite are the beautiful photos you get of the Himalayas waking up.

Our plan for the day was to take a trip to the town of Chhukung which was about a 2-3 hour walk away. In that walk we would also gain about 300 m in elevation to aid in our acclimitization (espeically since we’d had to hike more than the alloted 500 m the day before).

The walk there was absolutely stunning. The town of Dingboche sits in a valley surrounded by the Himalayas, and heading towards Chhukung the views were even more amazing as you walked in between the mountains.

You were completely surrounded on all sides by the Himalayas including Lhotse and Island Peak (and a bunch of others I don’t know the name of).

A rescue helicopter flying people out

Even the Yaks thought the elevation was tough - tongues hanging out and all.

After stopping many times for picture breaks we finally made it to the town of Chhukung for a bit of lunch. This place is the launching point for people climbing Island Peak so we saw groups wielding ice axes, harnesses, and cramp-ons.

Not a bad view for lunch

The way back only took us about an hour and a half. We were almost all sporting altitude-induced headaches and were eager to descend back to Dingboche.

We returned to our guest house to find it full of groups and their guides - so much for our own private, quiet place. I settled in for some reading in the common area while waiting for them to light up the yak crap.

When they finally did it was like moths to a flame and we all pulled our chairs as close as we could get them. We all also placed our socks on the base of the furnace to dry so we wouldn’t be putting on wet socks in the morning…as if my socks didn’t smell bad enough already.

Spoilers for next time: that time I saw the Power Rangers running through the Himalayan mountains

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