home  |  facts  |  travel log
 

[click to zoom]



[click to zoom]



[click to zoom]



[click to zoom]



[click to zoom]


space.gif Pangboche – Day 6

Oct 25 - Nov 15, 1998

Manny, being a mountain climber was filled with knowledge helpful for our trek. He had become our guide, which was why we started to refer to him as Manny Sherpa. The only problem was that he moved quite a bit faster then the rest of us, but that was okay because it gave Emmy some companionship during the walk.

The walk from Kumjunk started with a 300 meter drop down to a river bank and across the river on a rickety wooden bridge that took about a half an hour. it was followed by a three hundred meter rise back up to the same elevation that took about 3 hours. At the top was the town, Tangboche. Most famous for its large Buddhist monastery it is where we would be returning 8 days later to split from Manny and Emmy and to observe a Buddhist festival – Mani Ramdu.

After lunch in Tangboche which consisted of our typical rara soup (ramen - which has never tasted so good) we walked another 3 hours gradually uphill to the town of Pangboche (3930m).

We rented rooms at the Sri Dewa Lodge because its slogan “best food, cold and hot showers available” caught our eye. The Sri Dewa was the first lodge we stayed in that no electricity and no battery power at all. it was also the first lodge where, because of the cold, we were forced to sleep with our winter hats on. in the evening they lit a yak dung stove in the middle of the eating area to keep us warm and an old kerosene lamp that we could see. They cooked food on a wood burning stove that lofted smoke onto every entrée, a phenomena that we would enjoy for the duration of our ascent.

it was on this day that we noticed we had risen above the clouds and passed the tree line, as we rose out of the lush green valleys the landscape started to feel more desolate it was as if we were on the moon. it was the first night that we could see the stars. it is impossible to express with words or pictures the majestic nighttime sky when you are that far away from the imposing city lights. The longer we stared into the stars, the more vast the sky became. How small we truly are, if you only open your eyes and look.