Lobuche - 15,240 Ft.

I woke up to more clouds this morning. I was hoping that all the clouds from yesterday would unload a big rainstorm overnight and clear up the sky, but unfortunately they stuck around and formed a thick fog instead. According to the itinerary today was supposed to be an acclimatization day. I was going to spend the day hiking to the nearby Chukung Valley, which has incredible views of the Himalayas, and then back to Dingboche. No clear skies meant there would be no views, so Min and I considered other options. Since I haven't shown any signs at all of altitude sickness, Min suggested that I skip the acclimatization day and hike up to Lobuche, the next village on the itinerary.

After an hour's hike past Dingboche the sun began to burn off some of the clouds, like it did yesterday. Above us the sky was perfectly clear and blue, but again there was a ring of clouds around the valley blocking the views of the mountains. Min and I sat down for a half-hour in a wide, brown plain, hoping that the clouds would clear and that we'd be able to see the mountains. The range directly ahead of us included the massive 8000 meter Malaku, as well as Ama Dablam and Thamserku. Today's show was almost exactly the same as yesterday's. The clouds cleared away from the very top of Thamserku and I got one or two pictures of it, but I only saw bits and pieces of Ama Dablam and Malaku through the clouds. While sitting with Min we spotted some wild yaks in the distance. I enjoyed just having some down-time to sit and think to myself and enjoy the partial views of the mountains. Min and I were quiet for most of the time, but he did ask one profound question... “So...”, he said, “WW wrestling in USA... is it real... or no?”
It's frustrating to me to be so close to such amazing scenery and to be teased by clouds that clear away a little bit at a time, but never quite allow me to see everything. From the parts of Malaku I saw through the clouds, I could tell that it was absolutely enormous. It would easily be the largest mountain I've ever seen from such close range. Maybe my luck will be better tomorrow.
Min and Pemba and I hiked about four hours to Lobuche. Along the way the rolling brown plains changed to rocky hills and riverbeds. The scenery reminded me of what the surface of the moon might look like. At one point we crossed a raging river by walking across two narrow planks that had been placed across it. It was one of those moments when I thought to myself, “Don't even think about this, just do it.”
Later tonight I had a dinner of fried rice and talked with a few other travelers at the lodge in Lobuche. I spent a lot of time talking with a forty-ish couple from Wales named John and Bridget. The two of them are living in Darhamsala, India right now and had to leave the country to renew their visas. While they were at it, they decided to spend two weeks hiking to the Everest Base Camp. We talked a lot about traveling in Nepal and India, how expensive London is, and even a little bit about religion (I'm the first Mormon they've met or heard of besides the Osmonds).

The change in itinerary means that I'll visit the Everest Base Camp tomorrow instead of two days from now. Obviously I'm excited. I've heard about it from a lot of different people, but nothing is quite like seeing it first-hand. A peak near the base camp called Kala Pattar is where the great views of Everest are (there are hardly any views from the base camp itself), but it's still one of those intriguing places that, if nothing else, will be interesting just to visit and see for myself.