Day 7 - Dengboche (4,300 mtrs)

Quite remarkably we all sleep in late today - 07:30! Over breakfast it turns out that our chat about water has lead to some behind the scenes discussions about expenses and it has now been agreed that water will be provided on the trek as well as whilst at the mountain camps.

We head off at about half nine and follow the main path. There is a very significant change in the valley that really started back at Tengboche. We are now above the tree line so the valley is now rocky and dusty with only a few gorse bushes. There are many fewer people here as it turns out that most of the trekkers turn round at Tengboche and connected to that is that there are no longer teahouses and shops every few minutes. But there are more spectacular views now.

Morning view back down the valley

Instead we are walking past lots of small stone walls dividing the land up which are marking out fields - this part of the Khumbu has lots of small farms growing the root vegetables that people here live off.

View up the valley

View down the valley

The teahouses that there are, are also a lot more rudimentary than before without the attention to detail and atmosphere that competition in the lower Khumbu has given rise to.

Teahouse common room

This all combines to make it a much sparser trek and you can really feel that things are getting a bit more serious now. It has also got quite a bit cooler although still hot when the sun is out. 

We are now walking past Ama Dablam and have a good view of the route that we will be taking - looks pretty interesting!

Ama Dablam ridge to the summit

The group naturally breaks apart over the next hour as we are all chatting and after an hour or so a couple of us stop to let everyone else catch up. After about 25 minutes we get a bit concerned and start looking about but there is no sign of them. Then another group comes down the valley and gives us the answer that we are expecting in that we have just gone past a small turn off leading down to the river which is the path we want. So we head back and pick up the trail and half an hour later come across a village. This seems a bit early as we have only been walking for 1.5 hours but we can't see anything else for a long way up the valley which could mean a long way still to go. However, then we spot a building in the middle of the village with 'Welcome to DB' painted on the roof and then, as we walk through the village, all the signs refer to Pangboche which is a bit confusing. We still aren't fully convinced until we see one of the rest of the team waving at us out of a window. 

I feel like something different to noodles and dumplings for lunch so try to get people interested in some meat. However while others like the idea in principle there is concern about how long it will have taken for the yak steaks to arrive. Hamburgers are the next option but again the quality of the meat proves and issue so we end up with veggie burgers - not really what I had in mind originally! We tend to order the same things for everyone as we are a group of 7 and it would take a long time for the kitchens in the tea houses to produce a number of different meals. 

After that, we get the showers we have been looking forward to as well as a chance to do a bit of washing. This is a bit novel for me as it is not possible to wash on most expeditions as once you are on the mountain both water and fuel are too precious to use for washing either your clothes or yourself and wet wipes can't really be compared to a hot shower. The difference here is the long trek that we have before we get to the mountain and the fact that there are tea houses all the way along the valley that have the necessary equipment - ie a gas bottle and a water tank.

Shower block, complete with solar heating system or simply bucket on the roof....

 

As we move into the afternoon, clouds come up the valley and the temperature really drops. It now resembles a moor in the UK - not much to see, cold and damp. The village empties as everyone takes refuge round the unusually early lit stoves. Then relaxing and dinner until bed.