Everest Base Camp Trek - Part 2

The fourth day of our trekking was the least picturesque one. Almost the entire route between Namche Bazaar and Tengboche we spent inside clouds and consequently had no views. However, the stay in the village of Tengboche proved very interesting. After arriving at our guesthouse, we went to visit the Tengboche monastery, the most important one in the area, where we were fortunate enough to witness the making of a sand mandala. Four monks were working on the beautiful, almost finished mandala and added their tiny amounts of colored sand to the short-lived piece of art.

It was a cold morning when we woke up the next day. The ground was covered in frost, but the clouds had cleared and brought us back the fantastic mountain panorama with Nuptse (7861m), Everest (8848m), Lhotse (8516m) and Ama Dablam (6812m). The weather stayed like this the entire day and we had this fantastic view in front of us for most of the trek. Shortly after lunch, we passed the 4000 meters elevation and at the same time went above the tree line. From that point on, brown and grey colors dominated the landscape around us. We spent the night in Dingboche, at an elevation of 4350 meters.

From Dingboche, we had another acclimatization hike on our itinerary, the climb to a peak called Nagerjun. On this day, we had to climb 750 meters up to an elevation of 5100 meters and then back again, which made this the most strenuous day so far. The steep climb was absolutely worth the effort though, as it provided breathtaking views. On one side, we could see a different face of Ama Dablam with two glacial lakes at its base. On the other, we saw Taboche (6495m), Cholatse (6440m) and Cholatse lake. And last but not least, we also saw Makalu, at 8485 meters the fifth-highest mountain on earth. Thereby, we managed to see 6 of the 14 eight-thousanders in less than a month, including 3 of the 5 highest peaks.

The following night was exceptionally clear, allowing Sam to take some great night photographs of Ama Dablam and Lhotse.

Feeling excellently acclimatized, we departed towards Lobuche the next morning. This day was quite easy for us, as we ascended up to 4900 meters only, less than we did the previous day. Along the way, we passed a graveyard for climbers and sherpas. Many stone piles were standing around with inscriptions about the deceased. A special place to rest in peace for those who were connected to the Himalayas. We went sleeping, excited for our visit to Everest Base Camp the next day.