At first light I looked out the window, a clear blue sky without a cloud in sight. I lay there for a brief moment and then decided I really needed to be out there. Braving the cold I dressed quickly and bolted out the door. Just magical. All the peaks I couldn’t see the first 3 days on the trail, the closest ones dusted with fresh snow.
From Tengboche you can see back down the valley towards Namche Bazaar and the Kongde Range beyond. This is the view from the window in our room at the Trekkers Lodge.
From the center of town, up the valley in the opposite direction the top of Everest peaks over Nuptse and Lhotse.
We have an easy hike today to Upper Pangboche at 4000m, climbing just 140 meters in elevation from Tengboche. The short ascent is in lieu of spending an extra acclimatization night in Tengboche.
The first part of the trek descends to Deboche then climbs through the forest with few views.
Once over the bridge the trail runs along a cliff face with plenty of views, especially of Ama Dablum to the south, unfortunately in shadow until late morning.
Behind, Tengboche remains in sight with the Kongde range behind it.
From here the trail rolls along with some steep but short sections. Like the day before traffic is heavy with large group of trekkers and trains of a yak-buffalo hybrid and yaks. We’re seeing more yaks as we climb higher. The hybrid is used at lower elevations and the yaks higher up.
We passed through Lower Pangboche and then headed up to Upper Pangboche, not the usual way but with fabulous views of the surrounding peaks.
Upper Pangboche is a quaint village surrounding a monastery.
The Trekker’s Holiday Inn Lodge and Restaurant, facing Kantega, is perched near the top of town with lots of sun and out of the prevailing wind. Tabuche can be seen to the north.
The lower rooms are freshly painted a pale orange. The bed has white coverings and flowered blankets. It’s still a small Nepalese box but much cleaner and brighter than our room the night before. These lower rooms also have a private toilet and sink.
The typical wood paneled dining room is spiffier that some. Pangboche doesn’t see many trekkers as most head to Dingboche from Tengboche.
After tea and a brief rest we head above the village to near the school to take in the views before they are cloaked in clouds. We could already see the clouds flirting with the mountain tops as they build and rise. The walk generally has the same views as coming into the village. The area also has a number of carved rocks, prayer flags and other religious markings.
The rest of the afternoon we took advantage of the sun while it lasted and did a little laundry. By early afternoon we were back under the clouds.
October 9, 2018
For links to all the posts in this series see the 3 Passes Trek page.