Trek Day 8 - Lobuche to Gorak Shep - 11/8/10

Kala Pattar with Pumori in the background

Today was really hard.  The 2 hours to Gorak Shep (16,863ft) was a piece of cake.  We had an early lunch and had a differing of opinions of what to do next.  The trek to base camp is 3 hours each way.  The trek up Kala Pattar is 3 hours up and 45 minutes down.  I didn't think that my knee could do a total of 8 hours in a single day, so Krista and I opted to go up Kala Pattar while the others went to base camp.   The norm is to do base camp on the first day and then get up and 4 or 5 am the next day and go up Kala Pattar for the sunrise and then head down to either Pheriche or Lobuche after -- the temperatures that early in the morning are -20F, so I think we were making the right decision.  Plus, it was a cloudless day, so we were guaranteed a great view of Everest from the top.

Summit!

Kala Pattar is basically a bump on the way up to Pumori.  It was definitely a long, hard, but steady slope up.  When you arrive at the "top" where most people are gathered, you have a stunning view.  But then it was pointed out to me that there's another summit, but you need to really scramble to get up.  I set aside my pack and poles and started scrambling up the last bit.  It was a lot like my climbing gym days.  A couple of guys gave me a nice boost up a good chunk of it -- I was so grateful, I didn't care that they pushed me up by my ass.  Anyway, I made it up to the true summit (18,513ft), and had the most amazing view.  I tossed my camera to the guys below and the took a few pictures of me up there.  I also took a panoramic video with my iPhone (actually two, but the first was really bad).  After skidding down on my butt, I helped the guys up (and yes, I grabbed their asses in return) and took some pictures of them.  I also sent a text message with photo to a few friends, making good use of that 3G tower that was installed this year in Gorak Shep.  Then, it was all about the trip down.  I took a little spill on the way down, but it wasn't too bad.  Just a bruised ego.

Everest from Kala Pattar

Back at the lodge, I found out that Bogdan and Irene had some bad headaches and didn't make it to base camp.  They're sleeping now.  Also, one of our porters appears to have some mild pneumonia.  I'm so grateful that we have 3 doctors with us who brought along a pretty well stocked pharmacy.  Hopefully, everyone will feel better tomorrow.

And an FYI -- I saw 10 avalanches on Nuptse today and heard another that I couldn't spot.  I also heard one on Pumori.  While no one climbs Everest this time of year (where Nuptse is a problem), I spotted tents at Pumori base camp from Kala Pattar.  Let's hope everyone's OK.