Friends in the High Places

On the way back to Namche from Thame

We took this on the way back to Namche from Thame today.  We probably put in about 10 miles and 2,500 feet of elevation change, but this one picture was worth it.  Glad today was a rest day 🙂

In the background are just your run of the mill 6,000+ meter peaks (probably 6,000 feet higher than the highest peak in the continental US).

Tomorrow we will move up to our next stop on the trail, Deboche. It’s about the same altitude that we’ve been to the last few days, so should be no problem.  I am constantly thinking how fortunate I am to be here seeing this spectacular part of the world.  I miss you all but hope you will enjoy sharing this with me through this blog.

One more thing… Today we noticed that there were some large stockpiles of granite blocks stacked in some of the villages.  We asked our sherpa how much it cost to buy blocks for building.  He said it was 800 Rupees for 1 cubic meter of blocks.  That’s about $11 for someone to quarry the stone, hand chisel it into blocks, then carry roughly 2,000 pounds several miles.  Eleven dollars.  That either means those people make very, very little, or that money just doesn’t mean that much to them.  My guess is the answer is a little of both.