Friends in the High Places

First views of Everest and Lhotse from Namche

I wish you all could be here with me.  This morning we got our first view of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.  Pictures do not come close and words cannot describe how massive and majestic these peaks are.  Ama Dablam is, in my opinion, the most beautiful peak in the world, with a giant “tooth-like” summit, with a hanging glacier (the “dablam”, Nepali for necklace or pearl) that defies gravity.  Then off in the distance, but still dominating the skyline, are Everest and Lhotse, huge plumes of snow streaming from their summits, we estimated at about 100 miles an hour.  Not a good day to be high on the mountain, but from what we hear, they are probably just finishing the ice fall so nobody is anywhere near the jet stream right now.

Today we hiked around the Namche/Solokhumbu region for about 8 hours to acclimatize, going up to just under 13,00 feet.  Another mellow day, but good for acclimatizing.  Tomorrow, we’ll do more of the same, with a few of us planning a 9 mile trek up to about 12,800 feet to see the village of Thame.  Hoping tonight we can finally push the reset button on our jet lag and sleep through the night.  Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have some time to upload a few pictures as well.