An update from Ben & the trekking team currently at Namche Bazaar.

Yesterday morning the trekking team said their sad goodbyes to Bill, Greg, Vanessa and the high altitude Sherpa team at Everest base camp.  Rachel and Ephi took a scenic helicopter ride out.  And Luke & Oliver and I continued to the thicker air at lower elevations.  On the way to Pheriche, our resting place for the night, Luke & I hiked up Kala Patar at a (literally) breathtaking 18,300 feet for Luke’s personal highpoint.

This morning we woke to crisp clear air and started out hike to Namche.  The clouds closed in just before lunch and our world shrank from magnificent mountain views to just a few hundred feet which allowed us to appreciate the forest that we were now hiking through and offered sightings of colorful mountain birds like the blue and purple Himalayan Monal.

Tonight we happen to be the only guests at the Moonlight Lodge and enjoyed a great dinner before our mostly downhill hike to Phakding tomorrow.

Cheers!

Ben Adkison, Namche Bazaar