Nepal. 10 April

Did not have a good sleep last night. It may have partially been the altitude. It may also have been going to bed at 6 (we would have an early morning today). But mostly, it was the guy sleeping next to me. I was on the end next to the ladder. He came in later, so he had to crawl over my feet which woke me up. Then we was loud. He was a loud breather, he snored, he made noises, he was even loud turning over. Finally at 4:57, this guy turns to me and says "wake up James." It was Kagi.

We had some tea but skipped breakfast and were out the door by 5:30. At this point my head hurt a little with every step, and I just felt really slow. We made it to Goram Shep around 7. This is the last stop you can possibly make for food and lodging before Kala Pathar or Base Camp. It consist of 2 buildings. I felt like I had a hangover, and walking by the kitchen that smelled like gas (kerosene stove) didn't help. I started to feel nauseous while eating my jam toast. I did feel better after finishing it though and taking my pills.

I think it took us another 2 hours to get to the top of Kala Pathar--again going slowly, it was quite steep. The peak itself is quite small, only about 2 people can fit, but just below that is more space. So I went up to the top, took a picture, then came down a few feet and shot off a couple of rolls. You could see all the big mountains from here. You could see Base Camp. Yo0u could see the South Col (the final ascent of Everest). You could see the Khumbu Ice Fall (the huge seracs that make up the beginning and most dangerous part of the Everest climb). It was awesome.

We were up there for about an hour before coming back down. It only took about 30 mins to get back to Gorak Shep. I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich (even if it was one of those Foreman types) and fries. The closest they had was a cheese and vegetable sandwich. Mine came without cheese. It was fine, but not what I was craving. I did get my "chips" but they are never good here.

On the way back to Labouche, we must have passed 100 yaks. All were carrying supplies for the Everest expeditions. Once we got back there the older Canadians had arrived, we said hello. I had tea and talked with another guy from Sweden. He lives in Oklahoma. American Airlines has a shop there, and his company supplies parts for engines, so they sent him to answer technical questions. He wasn't very thrilled, but he said most of the people were nice, and only a few were xenophobic. He also gets to travel a lot. In 3 1/2 yrs, he's been to 40 states.

We had decided not to deal with Labouche again for the night, but were going to spend the night in Periche (new Dingboche). Halfway down we stopped at Dugla again for tea. I was a little bummed--I was hoping to run into the Kiwi's on their way up, but must have missed each other.

It was quite windy and cold the rest of the way down. Once we got to the lodge I was having some trouble breathing, but I think that was because the wind kicked up my allergies.

It was a pretty quiet night. I finally got my cheese sandwich--which hit the spot, and my apple pie, which did not live up to expectations.

Kagi and I talked about our plans for the next couple of days. We are going to skip Khumjung since we already saw it. Instead there is some Sherpa museum in Namche. I'll also get to check email and buy a few more things. We will still go to Thami. We are going to go passed Tengboche for the night though since it was cold. I still wouldn't mind going back to KTM a day early, but at least this is better than before.

All of my symptoms could just be altitude and allergies, but I think I might be catching a cold. That would not be good for diving.