Firat Eren

From a series of dispatches from the Alpine Ascents 2007 Everest Expedition team.

Tashi Delek from Thame! Today the trekkers and Bill are taking an “active rest day” in Namche with Pete and Ellie. They are visiting the Sherpa museum, taking hot showers, shopping and eating. The shopping in Namche is really nice as the friendly shop keepers are not aggressive like in Kathmandu and there are so many yak bells, colorful homemade hats and socks, and carpets to buy as well as all the useful things like cough drops and batteries. Many of us are enjoying seeing friends we’ve made over the years both on the trail and in the villages so there is much visiting involved along the way.

The Climbers walked to Thame today along an unusually flat contoured trail. In fact there is no word in the Nepali language for flat. We lunched in Thamo on Khumbu potato French fries and a spread of yummy food. The Khumbu potatoes are famous because they taste like roasted chestnuts and are absolutely the bet potatoes in the world. We would have been able to look up and see a lot of peaks today including all of the peaklets on the south side of Cho Oyu but we were treated to a refreshing and foggy day and didn’t get to see much far away but were treated with the things close in. We saw miniature purple Himalayan Iris and Tibetan Mastif mix puppies and about 5 Thar in a drainage that Todd spotted with his super powered bow hunting eyeballs. Thar are like mountain goats in shape and size but they are brown. They live with the same habits as mountain goats and are impressive to watch climb up and down rocks. We also saw a Danphe pheasant, the national bird of Nepal. They are iridescent and green, purple, and white.

In Thame we are staying for two nights at Apa Sherpas lodge, Everest Summiter lodge. The name is fitting for Apa who holds the record for climbing Everest at 16 times. We have been treated here to a wonderful art showing of of beautiful folk paintings Pasang made and the amazing thing is that he lost all of his fingers when he was young when he got caught in a storm on the Nangpa La while he was carrying for traders. Tomorrow we are planning a puja, a Buddhist blessing, at the Thame Monastary. The first of several to come.

So that is what we are up to now. Really roughing it up high in the Khumbu, enjoying every moment of it!

Be Well everyone and thanks for checking in with us!
Amy