Trek day 3 - Monjo to Namche Bazaar

October 2nd

This was the big day!  From Monjo at 9,300 feet to Namche Bazaar at 11,300 feet.  For folks from the Northwest, compare the elevation of Namche to that of Mt. Hood (11,240 feet) and you'll get the idea that we're way up in the mountains!  At this height, you definitely can feel the effects of the rarefied air.  Breathing is more difficult and you tire easily (unless you are a Sherpa - or a zobkyo).  Since we are neither Sherpa or zobkyo, especially after a steep 5-hour climb made up of too many stairs to count we were rather exhausted and sore.  We were made especially tired by the fact that our assistant Sherpa guides took us on too long and steep an acclimatization hike the day before in Monjo.

Another one of the many scary suspension bridges.  Pretty frightening from this angle.

This is how meat is transported in the Khumbu region.  This porter basket is full of some part of a water buffalo which is clearly not under refrigeration.  Occasionally when porters would pass us carrying buffalo, we would be accosted by the combined smell of "ripe" meat, sweat, and smoke (people in the Khumbu cook with wood indoors and the smell permeates many porters' clothes).

Here's what's left of an old suspension bridge.  Most likely my family crossed this bridge on our trek back in 1986.

Gourav- the trek leader, and Kaji- one of the assistant Sherpas.

The most ridiculous and insane bridge of the whole trip.  It's probably somewhere around 300 feet above the river.

A slightly closer look at the bridge.  You can use the zobkyo crossing the bridge to get and idea of the height.

After crossing the bridge and going up some steep steps, we get our first view of Mt. Everest!!!

The trail is incredibly steep over rocky, uneven steps.

After so many steep steps, this is not a happy smile.  It's more of a "the camera is pointing at me so I have to try to smile" smile.  Or perhaps a "my feet are blistered but I'm going to smile anyways" smile.

Finally, after much effort, we reach Namche!  The town of Namche Bazaar is situated in a bowl on the side of the valley.

The bottom of the bowl just seems to end in a sheer cliff.  This is the most popular area for the local children to fly their kites.

It's cold up here at 11,300 feet!  Here's Mandi bundled up in front of a store that's selling various items to tourists.  Interestingly, almost every store in Namche seemed to have pretty much the same selection.  This includes jewelry, prayer wheels, statues, singing bowls, clothing, and prayer flags.

At the end of the day, Mandi gets to recount the horror of the steep steps to Namche in her journal.