We arrived yesterday to Namche Bazaar where we are staying for two day – for acclimatisation. Most of my group members came to Nepal from the sea level and going too fast to high altitude would be dangerous. We need to go slow and take time to acclimatize. Namche is at 3,440 meters which is a good start of the expedition. We can already feel altitude here when walking or running up the hill – we have to stop to catch breath… Our bodies have to start acclimatise before going any higher.Today, we went up over 400 meters above Namche to the Everest View Hotel for a little walk and nice views. However, it was a bit cloudy and we couldn’t see Mt. Everest – only Ama Dablam, Nuptse,  and many other peaks.

Margaret and I going up to Everest View Hotel for a walk – below us is views of Namche Bazaar

Views of Ama Dablam, Nuptse, and many other peaks from the Everest View Hotel (3,880m)

This year we are 3 Lhotse and 7 Everest Climbers in our group (also two trekkers to the base camp)… On our Lhotse team – it’s me, Margaret and one other person from the USA. Everest team has two climbers from Australia, one from New Zealand, one from Czeck Republic, one from South Africa, one from Guatemala and one from UK. So, the team is as diverse as it could get. Although half of the team are new to Altitude Junkies, hovewer, all of them seem to fit well with the ‘Junkies’ style and bond well with other group members.

First night of the expedition at Dorje’s lodge in Phakding – Junkies’ bonding time

Tomorrow we will get up early in the morning and will continue our trek towards the Everest Base Camp. I’ve already done this trek last year and in 2010 but I am looking forward to doing it again. The views are amazing all way to EBC. So, tomorrow we’ll head off towards Tengboche and will stop for a night in Deboche (3,710m). On Tuesday,  we’ll trek to Dingboche (4,419m) where we’ll spend two nights. On Thursday, we will go on to the last stop before the Everest Base Camp – Lobuche (4,940m) for two nights. We should reach the base camp by Saturday afternoon. We need to take it slow as our bodies are in the process of acclimatisation. If you go too fast, you risk getting altitude sickness.

I may not be able to post any updates before Saturday or Sunday – before we reach the base camp. 3G is very sketchy and Internet unreliable during the remaining part of the trek to EBC. For info on the progress of Lhotse/Everest 2015 expedition, you  may check Altitude Junkies’ dispatches via their website: http://altitudejunkies.com/lhotse.html

Stay tuned!