Greetings all from yes, still Namche. So we have returned to the land of email, doughnuts, and hot showers after a night going 1k higher and spending the night in Thame, home to our sidar, Lakpa Rita Sherpa. The morning was filled with wonderful views, bountiful blessings from the Rimpoche Lama at the Gompa above Thame, and copious cups of dudh chai or milk tea. As the sun softly entered my room this morning, and I sat up gently easing into the day with my first cup of tea, I watched my roommate, Vern, complete his last set of crunches, (sit-ups at 6am, the man is a truly dedicated athlete), after breakfast we headed up the hill to the Gompa, or small monastery for our expedition blessing, this one was a sort of pre game show to the big puja, or blessing we do as basecamp with the climbers. The Rimpoche Lama, curiously peered at us over his tinted glasses and asked our Sherpa escort where we were off to, after being told Everest, he calmly looked us all over, smiled from ear to ear, and said, in so many words, be careful! After promising we would, we hit the trail back to Namche.

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Stopping at Lakpa's house to meet his mom on the way down valley, we had yet another cup of tea, sat around discussing just how special the Buddhist religion is, and how much the mountains mean to them. You can see this here as anywhere you look, you are gazing at peaks people only dream of touching, letting alone climbing to the summit. I myself stumbled over my feet numerous times on the way down valley looking up at the numerous undone routes, unnamed peaks, and simple awe inspiring beauty.

We rolled back into Namche this afternoon under building clouds and droplets of rain, making it down in time to beat the weather, and get on the list for the showers (quite a struggle with a group of 16!). So we are now spending the evening huddled around the wood/yak dung stove (yes, they burn yak dung for fuel here to save some of the trees, burns hot, and long. we won't talk about the smell.) and planning for our move up valley tomorrow to Thyangboche where one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries in the country, let alone the world, sits perched on a high hill. I personally am looking forward to staying there as it holds a very special place in my heart. So till then, keep joining us on our journey as we make our way slowly to Base Camp. But for now this is Luis, wishing everyone back home a pleasant day.

— Luis Benitez, Alpine Ascents International Guides and MountainZone.com Correspondent

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