Dingboche to Lobuche

Monday, May 5
After a day of rest in Dingboche we ascended to Lobuche. It was a gradual climb until we reached the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier where the climb was more intense. It is impressive to see how the Glacier can push the earth around to create the moraines - the forces are hardly imaginable.

Up on the terminal moraine we passed a memorial for climbers that have perished at one time or another climbing Mt. Everest. It was sobering and a clear reminder that there are dangers involved in the endeavor of summiting Mt. Everest. A familiar memorial was that of Scott Fischer, who among 8 lost their lives in a 1996 tragedy - written about in "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb" which I read prior to this trip.

Once we climbed the terminal moraine we trekked a little farther along the lateral moraine to reach Lobuche.

Once there, a few of us headed up the lateral moraine to get a glimpse of the Khumbu Glacier. The Glacier was pretty well covered by dirt and rocks so it didn't look like the typical glacier. You could hear the cracking and grinding of the ice as the sun and gravity played its part on top of the Glacier.

That evening we had a birthday celebration for "Wheels" with chocolate cake (compliments to the Sherpa cooks!) and a champagne toast.

Chris