Everest Trek, Day 11 - Kyangama to Monjo Cont.

Our Group at Mt. Everest Basecamp

After we left Namche, I spent two hours creeping down the steep paths, loose dirt, and slick rocks along the Namche hill  Wow. . . the look on the faces of the people who passed me going uphill. I'm sure I had that same expression when I struggled up there 10 days ago. I had slipped twice earlier in the day (I slid on dirt and went down like I was sliding into second base), so I moved pretty slow from then on. My knees were pretty sore when I made it to the bottom, but fortunately that effort was followed by one of the prettiest sections of the entire hike. We trekked right along the river surrounded by tall mountains (Colorado-size, not Nepal size) for about an hour, and by now some flowers were blooming, adding a bit of bright color to all of the browns and greens in the landscape.

That day was the Nepalese New Year, and after dinner that night in Monjo, Tashi, Lhakpa, and the teahouse cooks brought out a special cake they made to celebrate. The Sherpa culture has a great respect for older people, so Tashi asked Ed, the oldest member of our group (69), to cut the cake for us. It was a very sweet moment.

Over the past two weeks I have found the Sherpa people in general to be a kind and gentle people. They have great senses of humor, work hard, and are caring hosts - exactly the kind of people you would want to spend time with when you're far from home. One of my greatest memories of this trip will be Lhakpa's call to us each morning and after each break on the trail: "Okay, jam-jam (let's go).  Smile!"