Trek Day 4: Tengboche to Pheriche

Shrine in front of Ama Dablam - one of the more famous Himalayan peaks

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Time taken: 4:15  hours (incl. breaks)

Distance: Today: ~9 kms               Total to date: ~28 kms

Altitude: Tengboche - 3860m, Pheriche - 4240m, Max ascent: ~470m

(Note: More pictures in the archives - click on any picture to see the others!)

We were a little slow getting going this morning, as we finally had a decent view of the mountains.  Turned out that Anthony and his guide set out at the same time, so we decided to spend the day hiking together.  Nice to have some Western company throughout the day.  We decided to have a slower one, relatively, so set out on a moderate pace.  Also, the day was much more of a level walk for the most part, so we were able to chat rather than just gasp for breath the whole time.

Another shrine on the trail

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The first 20 mins or so was a steep descent down to Deboche (~100m).  The next few hours was a very slow ascent across some plains area.  Since we were getting over 4000m, there was very limited foliage, but tons of mosses on the rocks all around the trail.  Scattered throughout the valley were tons of small granite boulders.  Everest was obstructed by clouds early on, but most of the day was spent walking amidst the other snowcaps in the area (Ama Dablam, etc.)  On some of the closer mountains, you could see where landslides had occured.  Tengboche was without electricity indefinitely at the moment, since a recent landslide had knocked out the generating station for the village.

This area was also our first exposure to yaks, which apparently only live above 4000m where it is cooler (rather than the buffalo that are used/live below this altitude.)  They look very similar to the buffalo, except with much more hair on their bodies - hanging almost to the ground.

Terraced farmland alongside the trail

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The day was actually sunny for the most part, and fairly windy.  The wind had picked up in the last day or so, as it wound through the higher regions of the river valley, which formed somewhat of a wind tunnel.  I definitely got a little too much sun and didn't drink enough water on the trail, and when I arrived in Pheriche, I had a bit tired.  Had lunch, and then started to feel much worse immediately afterwards.  Started getting a headache, one of the classic symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS - altitude sickness).  I told Keisha, and you could see the concern spread quickly across his face.

I decided to take a rest, but still heed his concern about not sleeping, since it apparently worsens AMS to sleep in the day when you have just increased altitude.  May have slept for a couple of 10 min stints, but generally just lay in bed trying to feel better.

The view down the street of Pheriche... Not too shabby a place to stay the night!

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Had dinner late that night, of garlic soup (apparently it helps battle AMS - it was surprisingly good!) and momos, which are a Tibetan form of dumpling.  Of course, they were not true Tibetan, since they used canned tuna, but they were fine.  At least it was a little, if not unusual, taste from home.  After dinner Keisha and the tea house employee had some Chang (a local beer-like moonshine), and offered me some, but given how bad I was feeling, I decided to pass.  Alcohol is not supposed to be very good for AMS, but apparently Chang is so weak that it doesn't matter.  I passed nonetheless and then went to bed.