Yesterday we summited Lobuche to continue our acclimatization. We topped out around 19,500, a relatively small mountain for this region but still about a mile higher than the highest peak in the continental US. The night before we got several inches of new snow so that made it harder, but we were able to get up and down without a lot of trouble. The morning weather was nice and clear, not too cold, but it started snowing again just before we got to the summit so we didn’t get the good views we were hoping for. The GI bug came back to haunt me a few hundred feet below the summit so the last 20 minutes turned into an hour and a half of doubling over with intestinal cramps. Much better today, hopefully that was the last I’ll see of that!
Mark and I were both wearing our 8000m boots, so the warm temperatures became a problem, both our feet were soaked with sweat for most of the day. No matter how well your boots fit, walking for hours with wet feet is almost a guarantee that you’re going to get blisters. Mark managed to avoid them but I picked up a couple on my toes. Should be fine in a few days though.
Today we are packing up to head back up to Everest Base Camp for a few rest days.
Friends in the High Places 
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