Trek to Everest 2015 Day 14 : 12-12-2015

By Beth and Zoe

This morning our group woke up to an even chillier than normal sunrise, with frozen toilet water, painfully cold toes and frozen towels hanging up to defrost at breakfast, it’s safe to say that winter in the Himalayas has begun. After another amazing breakfast cooked by our fantastic chef Lakpa, we set off up the hill to Tengboche Monastery. Even after climbing uphill, the majority of us still couldn’t feel our fingers and toes so our group leader Bikash took us for a few jogging reps outside the Monastery, this was successful until we had to remove our shoes to enter. However, having numb feet was more than worth it for the beautiful experience of the monastery and all the vibrant, calming sights it had to offer. After the sun had finally risen over the spectacular mountains and we yet again had amazing views of Ama Dablam and Everest, we set off to Namche, much to everyone’s delight as this particular campsite includes the opportunity to buy Pringles and chocolate, a privilege we have been deprived of since we were last here. 

Our walk included a steep decline down to the river where we crossed a suspension bridge and trekked through some forested areas which reminded us a lot of walking in Tasmania. Our walk consisted of various inclines and declines that had us all huffing and puffing and hoping for strong legs, all the while enjoying the incredible landscape around us that surprises us every day. We stopped for lunch in a nice outdoor area that provided us with some much desired sunshine and more stunning views of Ama Dablam. We enhanced our cultural experience by tasting some local yak cheese which was delicious. With full bellies, we completed the last leg of today’s walk to Namche along a track that hugged the mountain side and lead us to familiar views. Upon arrival at the campsite, a few people headed into Namche to stock up on some essentials including toilet paper, chocolate, issues and Pringles. The afternoon has been a leisurely one as we are all feeling pretty tired as we reach the end of our incredible trek. It has been spent playing cards, spoiling ourselves with sugar and enjoying the greatly appreciated Wifi the Namche offers. It has cooled down quite a lot now that the sun has gone, so we have our hot drink bottles waiting in our sleeping bags ready for an early night so we can continue to Ghat in the morning.