Day 5: 2025/4/20 Pangboche (3,950m) to Dingboche (4,350m)
Sunny most of the day, cloudy in the afternoon.
It started raining yesterday around 5 p.m. and continued through the night. This morning, when I opened the curtain, I was surprised to see a clear blue sky-what a glorious Easter Sunday morning!
Since today’s walk was short, we left at 8:45 a.m. This has become our routine: on full-day walks, we have breakfast at 7 a.m. and set out by 7:45, stopping for lunch at tea houses along the way. On shorter days like today, breakfast is at 8 a.m., and we depart at 8:45.
We climbed briefly before settling into a balcony walk, surrounded by mountains above and a clear river flowing below. After two and a half days of overcast and rainy weather, we were finally rewarded with full views of the beautiful mountains. Now, being lower than yesterday’s high point, we see less of Everest; instead, Lhotse dominates the view. Ama Dablam, which had been eluding us for the past couple of days, now towers above us on the other side of the river. The mountains are so high and majestic, clad in white against a cloudless, cobalt-blue sky. It’s an amazing sight! Trekkers and climbers are like pilgrims, yearning to behold these peaks-for some, their wishes are granted; for others, they are not.
Now that we have officially passed 4,000 meters, you might wonder how I’m feeling. It’s a mix of good and bad. The good news is I don’t have altitude sickness-at least not yet. I can walk, albeit slowly, eat, and sleep. The bad news is I’ve had a sore throat since last evening. I’m not sure if I caught a virus from the woman who was coughing badly next to us at dinner on my first day, from the shower I took on the second day, or from something else. It’s common for people to get sick at high altitude. Many travelers here develop a cough due to dust, breathing cold, dry air through an open mouth, and sharing germs in communal spaces. This cough even has a name: “Khumbu cough.” I don’t have that yet. I don’t mind getting a little sick-I just hope it doesn’t turn into something serious, as harder days are ahead and I can’t afford to have compromised health.
Despite this, I am grateful to be here. I thought of Mitch Hutchcraft, an adventurer I follow on Instagram, who set out to complete the world’s longest triathlon-from the UK to the top of Everest. He swam 34 km across the English Channel, cycled 10,000 km across Europe, and then ran 900 km from India to Nepal. That’s not all-he trekked to Everest Base Camp and still has to climb Everest. He’s doing this for adventure, to challenge himself, and to raise money for veterans and animals. Last I checked, he was already at Base Camp, a week ahead of me.
I also thought of a documentary I watched on the plane, The Mountain Within Me, about an English rugby player whose promising career was cut short by a spinal injury from a diving accident. He had to rebuild his life and identity, eventually learning to walk again, overcoming many challenges, and founding a nonprofit to help others like him. Thinking of these inspiring people, I felt grateful to be here, fighting my own fight. We each have our own mountains to climb-whether 1,000m, 4,000m, or 8,000m. No matter the height, we must face them and discover if we have the mental fortitude and strength to overcome our doubts and weaknesses.
As I walked, I realized I felt pretty comfortable-occasionally a bit lightheaded, but nothing serious. In fact, my legs felt light. Of course, I breathed hard on the uphills and my throat was dry, but today’s gentle slope didn’t feel bad at all. As I reflected on how good I felt, it dawned on me that it wasn’t because I was strong, but because my guide, Jungbu, had set the pace perfectly for me. Later, I asked him when he figured out what pace suited me. He said it was back in Lukla-on the very first day! What a fool I am!
After a little over three hours of walking, we arrived in Dingboche, at 4,350 meters, just before noon. We’ll be staying here for two nights. The next two days will still be relatively easy. Tomorrow, I’ll do an acclimatization hike up the hill, and the day after, we’ll head to Chukung at 4,740m. Then comes a week of “final exams.” Will I be able to pass the Three Passes test? I’m not sure, but I need to find out.
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