Shigatse to Everest Base Camp

We left Shigatse this morning at 9:30 a.m. for our destination of Everest Base Camp. It’s a long drive, about seven hours from here. We make several stops along the way for photos along various passes, ranging in elevation from our current location of 13,500 feet to 17,100 feet. This is another one of those times when no pictures could do this experience justice, but here are some anyway.





This is the 5,000 km marker along the Friendship Highway. It shows that Shanghai is 5,000 km east of us:






Ruins on the hilltop. Click for larger!:

One of those funny translation things. Click for larger image:

About an hour after we enter Quomolangma National Nature Preserve (Quomolangma, pronounced Cho-mah-long-mah, is what Tibetans call Mt. Everest), the roads transform from paved road to all narrow, rocky, dirt roads with lots of twists and turns and some one-vehicle-wide only sections. One part of the road requires an unexpected short off-road detour due to high water.

Entrance to the Quomolangman National Nature Preserve:

Looking to our right from the sign:

Snow dog on the road:

Click for larger image. The black specks on the lower right are nomads herding:

This keyhole entrance on the lower left is only big enough for one Land Cruiser. Honk the horn as you enter:

Just as we approach our destination for the evening, a chubby ground hog scurries across the road in front of us. We will stay here tonight near the Rongbuk monastery, the highest monastery in the world at over 16,000 feet. This is about four kilometers away from Everest Base Camp. We find out they no longer let people camp directly at Base Camp anymore. The weather is overcast and cold, but it is not raining or snowing. Aaron and I settle in, then hike up a ways to a good spot to view our quest for tomorrow. We can see the bottom part of Everest, but the summit is covered in clouds. We spend about an hour just sitting here, not saying much, just soaking in the environment and the fact that we’re actually here. It’s a profound experience.

Everest is about where the two sides form the bottom of a "v."

After a light dinner, we head to bed. It’s cold, probably in the thirties. I go to bed in a stocking hat, gloves, and two fleece jackets to keep warm. With all of this on, under blankets, it’s not too bad. The thing that does still nag us is not being able to sleep. It’s a common malady of high altitudes for those not completely acclimated. When I do sleep, it feels like something just barely below being conscious, accompanied by vivid odd, random dreams. Aaron and I both woke up while it was still dark. He asked me what time it was. It was only 12:30 a.m.! This has happened a lot ever since arriving in Tibet. It’s bad when you keep waking up in the night, checking the time, and get frustrated because it’s not time to get up yet, just so this back and forth can be over.