Day 9 - Kala Pattar (5550m)

As if yesterday wasn't hard enough, today was going to be another day of challenges. We woke up at 5am because we were hiking to Kala Pattar. This is a peak near the base camp where the views are the best in the whole area, whithout going up to a ridiculous elevation.

We were to ascend 400m. The reason why we had to go so early is because the weather in mid-morning and the afternoon is really bad. When we woke up, the sky was completely clear. We could see the moon in the west against a vivid blue sky. All the snowy peaks around us were clear. So we started the gruling climb up the hill.

I had to take 2 breaths for every step. My body or muscles did not hurt, but more I felt that my heart was going to explode right out of my chest. The group was ahead of me. They all got to the top, but I couldn't do it. I finished about 20m from the top. But I was ok with that, because when I looked around, I could see Mt. Everest above with the sun rising behind it. I did it! I was in the prescence of the tallest peak in the world. I took photos and ate a snickers bar, without which I would have died. My camera battery died soon after, but I got lots of pictures and just sat on a rock looking at the peaks around me.

Then my friends came down and we headed back to the lodge. I had to go to the bathroom (#2) so I was almost running.

We packed and left Gorak Shep. Now begins the quick descent back to oxygen.