Day 7
We're up way before the crack of dawn - 5:30 am - to get ready for our Everest / Qomolangma ascent! We cross the Pang La pass (5,205m / 17,076') and capture the sunrise as it lights up Everest / Qomolangma's majestic face! We can also see an amazing panorama of soaring peaks including Everest (8848m / 29,028'), Lhotse (27,916'), and Makalu (27,817'). Temperatures here in Xegar are much cooler, and at our Everest / Qomolangma scenic outlooks, it is already -10C and not likely to get much warmer. The winds are a major factor up here!
Yep, that's me standing in front of lots of prayer flags and, yep, that's Mount Everest/ Mount Qomolangma in the background. It was cold and windy, but nothing a true Canadian couldn't handle! I guess I'm gazing wistfully off into the sun, thanking my lucky stars (and Mom and Dad) for being here! [photo by Yam Gurung]
We all piled back into the vans and started toward Mount Everest / Mount Qomolangma Base Camp. Snaking down Pang La pass to the Zakar River Valley, we then turned southwest toward Rongbuk Valley. We're now at Everest Base Camp (5,200m / 17,060'). This is the first of a few base camps, but the only one tourists are permitted to visit. The other base camps are for trekkers and mountaineers with the proper permits, Sherpas and porters. As this is late fall, no trekking permits will be issued; one must wait for April or May next year to climb to Everest's summit!
Remember those two small figures in one of the previous images? Here they are at the Base Camp we were all visiting. They are installing a whack of prayer flags. Tibetans believe that the prayer flags generate spiritual vibrations that are released when blown by the wind and the prayers are carried in the air like silent prayers. Trekkers often leave prayer flags here, hoping for an auspicious journey.
From Everest Base Camp we travelled to the highest monastery in the world: Rongbuk Monastery (5100m / 16,732'). But first, lunch! Our cooks and crew had set up the tent facing the majestic Mount Everest / Qomolangma, but the winds were so strong the tent soon fell down/blew away. We all grabbed some hot food and shelterd ourselves behind the cook's truck.