After a rest day and acclimatization hike in Dingbuche the team moved further up the Kumbu Valley. We passed through the Everest Climbers Memorial where many large memorials are built. As the team moved onward they are surrounded and guarded on all sides by the tallest mountains in the world it is certainly one of the most stunning and beautiful monument locations on earth. We will spend the night in Lobuche and hopefully move futher up valley in the morning.

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We are enjoying the beautiful views and abundance of hot tea as we make our way toward Everest Base Camp! 

 

After a pleasant breakfast in Dingboche our climbing team set out and trekked above and past the village of Pheriche, then stopped for a break in the outpost Thugla. Enjoying hot tea and beautiful views with every stop. We continued onward to the memorials below Lobuche, where we took some time to pause and reflect, then continued to our lodge for the night. We are warm and comfortable and everyone is doing well. Another great day with amazing views of the peaks surrounding Mount Everest. The weather has been sunny and beautiful in the day with temperatures quickly dropping once the sun goes down.

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Today our trekking team hiked up the valley and visited Lama Geshe in Pangboche for a blessing, a very special occasion! Each trekker received a blessing and a special gift as we make our war toward Everest Base Camp. We then continued up to Dingboche to spend the night. We had another stellar day with great views of Mount Everest, Mount Lhotse, and Ama Dablam! Everyone is doing great and we look forward to another wonderful day tomorrow! The weather has continued to be absolutely beautiful in the day with temperatures dropping once the sun goes down.

Photo: A spectacular view of Ama Dablam as our trekkers make their way toward Everest Base Camp!

Today our Everest base camp trekking team went on a nice acclimatization hike and had amazing views of the surrounding peaks. After a hearty lunch our trekkers enjoyed one of the local bakeries where they have fresh apple pie and great coffee! Looking forward to the trek to Lobuche tomorrow, everyone is doing well and in good health! The weather has been absolutely beautiful with great views of the surrounding peaks. The team should be arriving into Everest Base Camp on April 11th and will have the exciting opportunity to spend the night before heading back toward Lukla.

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Beautiful shot on one of our acclimatization hikes!

Today after breakfast we hiked up the Nangkar Tshang to about 16,200′! We had great views of Mount Lhotse (4th highest), Mount Makalu (5th highest), and Mount Cho Oyo (6th highest), as well as the very stunning Ama Dablam. Mount Everest was hiding from view, we will see Everest in a few days time when we trek into base camp. By climbing high and sleeping low our bodies can build more red blood cells to allow us to climb higher in the days ahead!

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Prayer wheels at a local  monastery, descending from our hike today back to Dingboche:

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View coming down from our acclimatization hike:

Today our Mount Everest climbers stopped in Pangboche and visited Lama Geshe, the high lama of the Khumbu valley. The climbers received individual blessings from Lama Geshe as well as a team blessing. We then hiked to Shomari for lunch and then on to Dingboche for the night. The food has been delicious and we have been enjoying hot tea with every stop. Everyone is doing well and ready for an acclimatization hike tomorrow! The weather has been fantastic and everyone is in good health and spirits! The team is very excited to continue toward Everest Base Camp and begin the journey to the top of the world.   

This morning after a great breakfast we left the wonderful Panorama hotel in Namche where we spent the last two nights, and enjoyed many fine pastries! This wonderful town is provides some of the best views that we have seen thus far. The team hiked up toward Everest View Hotel in the morning to see breathtaking views of Ama Dablam and Everest. Now we are hiking up the Khumbu valley through Tengboche where we visited the monastery, and now heading to our lodge for the night, the Rivendell. Many fine views of Mount Everest today! Photos: trekking along the route with Mount Everest in the distance, our team being blessed in Namche, loading the duffel bags in yaks this morning.

  

Today we went for a nice hike up to the Everest View Hotel, and enjoyed hot tea while admiring the views of Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. Then we trekked over to the Hillary school, and the to the monastery in Kunde, and found the famed Yeti skull! Afterwards we went back to our lodge and had a nice lunch, then bought a few handcrafts from Tibet. More pastries & coffees followed. It’s been a relaxing stay here in Namche! We are planning to continue our journey in the morning and trek onward through the Khumbu Valley toward Everest Base Camp. Weather has been amazing and the team is doing very well. Onward!!

Namche Bazaar is an ancient nexus of trade between the lower regions of Nepal and the Tibeten Sherpa people coming over the Nangpala pass. The team arrived early afternoon into Namche and will spend at least one night here resting, acclimatizing, and enjoying the shops and bakeries before moving higher. The weather has been consistently sunny with beautiful clear views in the morning with rolling clouds coming in throughout the afternoon. Everyone is healthy and strong and looking forward to continue the journey toward Everest Base Camp! The team plans to do a few short hikes above Namche and get a glimpse of Everest in the far distance.

Photo: the team on the trek today

Today the climbers completed a beautiful trek to Namche Bazaar, the capital of the Khumbu! We had good weather, and some spectacular views of surrounding peaks! The team is strong! After arriving in Namche we visited the bakery, had a few pastries like chocolate cake & apple strudel, with a few cappuccinos. Then we went back to our lodge and took hot showers, a great way to end the day, We are now enjoying our dinner! We plan to spend two nights here in Namche as we continue to acclimatize and enjoy the spectacular views. Onward!

Photo: Stuart at the sagarmatha park entrance gate