Way down and way up to Pangboche

Friday, 11 April 2014 Today will be the longest walk of our trek to Everest Base Camp. We will leave the comforts of the Panorama Hotel and head up to Pangboche. While the net elevation change is not that great (11,200 ft up to 13,700 ft), the trail is not so simple. We head out of Namche and up to Khumjung, the neighboring village. (Note: Kids in Namche make the steep one hour walk every day to attend the Sir Edmund Hillary School in Khumjung.) From Khumjung, we descend almost 2,000 ft to cross the river at Phortse, before climbing up the hill on the opposite side for a long traverse to Pangboche. This is literally ?the path less travelled? and offers spectacular views along the way. It also takes us through blooming forests of rhododendron along the river bottom. Although shorter, the alternative path winds down and up (and down and up) to Tengboche, following a very busy trail with many yak trains. We will be glad not to breathe so much dry, powdered yak byproduct on our walk. This promises to be 7-8 hours of hard walking and we will be glad to arrive in Pangboche at the home of Nima Tashi Sherpa. Nima is the sirdar (head Sherpa) of our expedition. If you look at his profile on the team member page, you can see his extraordinary achievements. Everyone is well and feeling strong. Access to the Internet will be limited for the next 5 days until we reach Everest Base Camp, so dispatches will be posted when we can. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams Blogs by other members of the expedition Shane - http://HeartHealthyEverestClimb2014.blogspot.com Steve - http://Wetumpka2Everest.blogspot.com Jeff - http://www.highpeakadventures.com/high_peak_adventures/web_log/web_log.html

Steve being blessed for success


Martin joining Steve for success