Lobuche: God's live here

Early morning start after standard breakfast of omlet, porridge and toast an lots of hot water ( lemon ginger, tea, masala tea and all other combinations) we set out for Lobuche. " Buche" means God in budhist tradition and this valley of the khumbh glariaer is believed to be the valley of Gods. Every year in July and August all residents leave the valley with the belief that the gods come down here for a month and bless the valley with good crops. 

This area is above tree line so the only thing that grows is potatoes that are farmed by the residents and yo use beautiful terraces of the potato farms along the hill side. Landscape is harsh yet beautiful and mountains are imposing.

After walking through the area you realize that there are many  eautiful and high mountain peaks, Everest happens to be just a little taller than others.  Amadumlum is known to be a harder technical climb tban w erest.

The trail was very windy and cold( we were warned about it) . Because some of us ( me and few others) were having difficult y walking through the wind and cold and also dealing with the altitude of 16000 feet. Mountain pass can only be passed by putting one foot in front of another. It is amazing what we can achieve when we know there is no choice. We had all the layers of clothing that we thought we needed and we were still very cold and slower we walked colder it got. Our very patient guide Rame also started hinting that if we do not walk faster we may be in trouble but the altitude and the wind will stop us every ten steps. 

We stopped and looked around and the mountains, the river and the rocks . Morain of khumbh glacier were so beautiful that it is hard to describe and just one foot in front of other was the only choice. Rame took my back pack, to lighten the load. At this altitude guides are life saver. It is critical to have the guide who it nurturing and encouraging. We are blessed with Rame. He told me stories of the medicines that grow in this region. Some of them are not found anywhere in the world. I told him about Ramayana when Hanuman came to get the right medicine for the dying Lakshman. Rame knew about the legend and in fact he showed me the plant too. He talked to distract from the tirdness, he reminded me to drink water and just took care of all of us. These guides are our kids age or even younger and are so caring and nuturing. I do not thing we could have done this trek without them.

Along the way was the monument of people who died in the accidents on the trek. It was humbling to see that no matter how well you are prepared, things can go very wrong very quickly. There are too many variables and lucky ones like ourselves are able to do this trek not because we are strong and prepared but also because we are lucky and single mindedly determined. 

Lobuche is at 16400' and we felt every foot of it. It was an effort to move , to tie shoe laces, to go to the bathroom and so on. After almost ten house day we got to the lodge and warm dining area. The temps were in 10 degree F , very very cold. The lodges are very basic at these heghts. Bathrooms down the hall( due to dimox) had to go few times at night. No hot water, no shower and of course no heat. I had all the layers Jugdeep had helped me buy( so Thankful to him to help me buy the quality stuff..not the usual cheap stuff I tend to get) and I had the sleeping bag and the blanket and was still shivering. For me night is very hard because there is no nature to distract and it is uncomfortably cold. During the day boay and mind are both active and the beautiful scenery very distracting. 

Most of us are feeling the effects of altitude to various degrees. We also have cold and cough which is not helping the situation much. But, we are all in great spirits, played rummy in the evening and set around shared storis. One of us is having hard time with the altitude and the resident doctor has decided to send him down to pheriche. Having a doctor on the team is a blessing in such expeditions. She runs around and takes care of everyone including herself . I feel it is critical to hike with the right team of people .