Into the Khumbu Valley

After Cho La pass, we camped about 500 meters below on the other side of the pass and collapsed! We were exhausted... and I continued to struggle with my cough and congestion. The next day we descended a little and turned north again to Lobuche. I was then feeling slow and coughing and suffering allot, and was not looking forward to camping above 5000 meters in Gorak Shep again (after Lobuche). I felt like if I went further and got to Gorkak Shep, I could hold up the group, and I wouldn't have the energy to climb to Base Camp or Kala Pattar anyway since the plan was to hike to GS, climb KP the same afternoon, then next morning 5 am start the 6 hour round trip trek to Base Camp, and then back to Lobuche in the same day.

I descended to Pheriche where there was a medical clinic instead, and saw the doctor and recieved additional medications. It was not bacterial, and she said I was on the mend, but probably good that I did not ascend since it could easily turn into pneumonia up here. The body does not heal well at these altitudes, and I am now convinced that half of this trek is about staying healthy... between Altitude Mountain Sickness, food / stomache problems, and colds taking a turn for the worse. Nearly every day we have seen helicopters flying up the valley to get someone who fell, got sick... etc. I stayed in a lodge with a lovely woman from the U.K., Susan, who had stomach problems that could be dysentery, and she was only doing Everest Base Camp trek so she missed most of hers... another Ozzie came down to the lodge and she had been vomiting for 3 days and couldn't keep any food down... so, better to descend and live to hike another day than to end up in a hospital in Kathmandu (which doesn't sound pleasant!).

Here is a picture of Brian from the top of Kala Pattar - approx. 18,500 ft (he was the only one to make it - Tammy got to GS, did not attempt KP, and didn't get all the way to Base Camp either... she had started getting a slight cold, but not as bad as mine and she still was not able to push on.

In the photo, the Khumbu ice fall is behind his shoulder and the Khumbu Glacier toward the bottom of the photo. Everest is above his head, and Nuptse is above on the right side of the photo.

Will post more in a few days from Kathmandu...