Karma loves to lie and decieve but usually he isn't very good at it. We discovered this when we woke up at 5am for the sunrise on his advice - only to have to wait for an hour in freezing winds to even glimpse the sun's rays! He even tapped on his window to wave us farewell as we headed out of the lodge!
It was still worthwhile as we had plenty of time to walk up to the hill to our chosen vantage point, though Dorothy and Marjorie went back to bed! Kickass views, especially in the moonlight of the snow-capped mountains. I think Paul got several better pictures than I; Id like to say it was because of his chunky SLR but it was actually because I was too cold to take my gloves off - resulting in shivering blurred photos! When we saw Karma we told him how good and worthwhile the morning trip was - no complaints about the early start!
I had asked if it was possible to ride a yak, but it is similar to the myth about riding in a kangaroo's pouch. Not even the locals will ride a yak! They aren't particularly friendly and will generally avoid contact though sometimes we have to move right off the trail when the herder says his yaks are angry!
Robyn #2 (actually called lisa) decided to tag along with our group as she'd befriended Paul and fellow Canadian Robyn. I wasn't too sure about this as it is unfair to the rest of the group who'd paid for the guide etc that she was bludging off!
It was a very cold down-hill walk in the shade of the Alpine forest but still nice and scenic. We took a pani beechraam (water break - go my nepali!) with great close-up views of Ama Dablam, the mountain herself. Personally i think it looks better than Everest which has no character other than being huge! Karma continued his deception, telling me that a Sherpa could go to the peak (close to 7000m) in the morning and be back by evening! Yet his trickery was foiled when he added that a sherpa friend nearly died when climbing with an expedition group.
Saw plenty of yaks, both burdened and wild, as we made our way for lunch at Pangboche. Some chowmein and a few games of shithead preceded a lengthy cold outside wait as a huge precession of yaks went past.
The major highlight of the afternoon for Marjorie was a small bridge over a rushing river - made og 2 logs and a couple of plywood boards! No railings or anything, making it a hectic minute of steeling your nerves to cross!
Karma said to me as we walked that he wasn't happy about Lisa bludging off the group, particularly as she didn't even check with him to make sure it was ok! He said that he will have to tell her to stay away and we agreed that it was a good idea to let her stay with us for the rest of the day. But then Karma proved his deceptive skills again - saying that the lodge ahead will be "booked out"; meaning she cant stay the two nights with us!
As Dingboche came into sight a very light snowfall began that continued into the night. Whilst not heavy it was a chill to accompany the biting wind and many dandruff jokes were made. Karma pointed out to the group the acclimatisation excursion - a huge "hill", standing at about 5000m! Nice thing to look forward to, especially if the weather worsens!
The rooms here are warmer - foam matresses carpeted to the walls! Even still we weren't quick to inspect them, preferring instead to spend the leftover afternoon in the warm and spacious dining room, Tibetan bread satisfying our hunger! Many games of cards and scrabble were played (i maintained my scrabble championship). Met an Aussie bloke from Forbes who was climbing Island Peak, a snow-capped mountain visible from the lodge. He told us that the Japanese blokes who were all using small computers were part of a father-son expedition group to climb Everest! They are staying up above 4000m for 6 weeks before they attempt it. I wonder if dad is interested in doing a father-son climb...
Karma showed us some card tricks, including one that didn't really work - reflecting his poorness in trickery as Lisa also managed to get a room at our lodge!
