Nepal: Lobuche 4930m (Day 9)
It snowed yesterday afternoon. We were sitting around the fire heater drinking tea when it started falling, slowly turning the surrounding mountains and huts a powdery white. Now, call me naieve or un-worldy, but I have never seen snow fall, and I sat staring out the window, mesmerised.
‘Snow!’ I exclaimed, to a response of silent nodding heads deep in books and journals.
‘But, it’s actually snowing!’
I was beyond excited, even more so to wake up the following morning to clear blue skies and a snow-covered track we would follow to Lubuche, only two stops from Base Camp. I think maybe the group thought I was suffering some bizzare kind of altitude sickness, pointing to snow-covered boulders every few minutes and exclaiming, ’snow!’ but it eventually melted, much to their relief I’m sure, and we took it slowly until we made it to Lobuche in time for a late lunch.
The combination of exhaustion and altitude meant the majority or the group was now behind me, although I was keeping the same pace, and apart from an earache from the wind I felt fine. Cold, but fine.
We were meant to climb another 100m in the afternoon to acclimatise, but it began snowing again (like, actual real snow!) so we weren’t able to, and I spent the afternoon wishing my snow experience included central heating, steak and fries, and a hot bath.
But the tea house had a western-style toilet that actually flushed, and at the end of the day that’s what you really want. You don’t think you do, but trust me, you do.
-Sarah
Tags: Nepal, Travel
