BaldBrady’s Blog

Written on March 17 USA time…

I had another miserable night last night, triggered I guess by the altitude gain and the urine productIon caused by the diamox. I think I only had about 2 hours of sleep. I also saw a return of the irregular breathing issue I had back in Namche Bazar. I was happy when dawn came, but I was exhausted. My appetite was gone too.

Nevertheless, I geared myself for the morning acclimatization hike, up the adjacent mountain about 250 m. I joined the procession of a couple of hundred trekkers snaking up the mount under a bright sun and stiff frigid wind. I forced myself to keep going, resting every one hundred steps. Counting my steps kept my mind off my misery. After reaching the turn-around point marked by a cairn supporting a prayer flag, we turned around and had an incredible view of Lhotse, Makalu (over 8000 m), and Ama Dablam towered over us across the village of Dingboche.

Here are some pictures from our view point:

After the brief photo op, our decent was quick. I sat in the dining room of the lodge in near total exhaustion. My lunch came, but I had little appetite. Still, I forced my self to eat the entire bowl of Sherpa stew. It took me nearly an hour to finish it, then I staggered back to my room, which had warmed in the sun, and crawled beneath my sleeping bag. I fell asleep within minutes, and slept soundly for 2 hours. That was my longest sleep since Namche, and also the longest I have gone without peeing. I felt much better after the nap. I spent the rest of the day hanging out in the lodge dining room in front of the yak poop oven, talking with the other trekkers.

If I can get a decent sleep tonight, I will move up the trail, otherwise I will spend an extra day here. Everest base camp is only a two days march from here, but the air gets thinner. Tomorrow morning will be decision time.