Dispatch 02: Acclimatization Hike to Syangboche and Khumjung

Today was another beautiful sunny day. There was a bit more haze coming up from below, and clouds rolled in about mid-afternoon, but by then we'd seen all we wanted to see. Our night in Namche had only a few barking dogs to disturb us... not so bad. After a good breakfast, we walked on over to check out the Saturday market being held on one side of town. Many colorful and purposeful people were milling about on several of the rock terraces where goods and produce had been laid out for sale. In any given direction, money was being exchanged and the Khumbu villagers were loading up with everything from whiskey to chicken eggs. We wandered about, and then back through the stores of the main part of town to the Khumbu Lodge.

It was still mid-morning when we set off for an acclimatization and exploration hike. Passang led us up the steep hillside to Syangboche and then over to the Everest View Hotel, from which the views were phenomenal today. We could see Cholatse, Tawoche, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Peak 38, Ama Dablam, Kangtega, Thamserku, Khusum Kang Khuru, Quangde and a couple others I haven't fgiured out yet. Everest and Lhotse had small plumes of cloud blowing from their summits, but it didn't appear to be too windy up high.

Passang brought us into his home town, Khumjung for lunch, and then he took us by the local Gompa to show us the famed Yeti skull. We all leaned in for a close look when the keeper of the skull unlocked the cabinet as six young monks chanted a few feet away. Yep... no doubt about it, a yeti, plain as day. The story goes that it was a gift from the people of nearby Thame, a fair number of years back. We then had tea at Passang's place and made our way through swirling mist and cloud into Khunde and then down the hills again to Namche. The lodge was packed full for dinner, with each table speaking their own language about all they'd seen during their various days of trekking. Thyangboche tomorrow.