A lovely day in Cornwall Park for a hike with a friend has added another few hundred metres to my total, which is now 4900m.
On my virtual climb this is just short of the tiny settlement of Lobuche. After leaving Thok La, the trail climbs gradually and is a fairly easy walk compared to the climb to the top of the pass. The massive Khumbu glacier sits to our right, but it is hidden behind the high moraine wall and we would not have known it was there if the guides hadn't told us.
The massive peaks are on all sides and the grandeur and desolation of the place is overwhelming. I can scarcely choose which way to point the camera and it doesn't matter because the view in all directions is incredible, and the scale so huge that no camera can do it justice.
The air is now to thin as to make the simplest of movements challenging. Bending over to tie a bootlace can easily leave one panting for breath, moving quickly is not sensible or even really possible for us. To add to the challenge, the air is dry and the dust from the trail is easily kicked up. Almost all of us have some version of the infamous "Khumbu cough" caused by a combination of cold, dust and thin air.
Still we see porters racing (compared to us) up and down with their huge loads, now almost all of them are supplying the expeditions at the various climbing base camps, of which Everest is only one, albeit the biggest.
Lobuche is the last overnight stop before Everest Base Camp.
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