Pangboche – Day 6Oct 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.
