When we had walked to Dingboche the previous day, the weather was very cloudy and we really couldn’t see much. However, the morning we woke up in Dingboche the weather was beautifully clear and mountains and sunshine stared us through our window. Somehow without realizing it, we had hiked into the middle of the mountains and were surrounded by breathtaking views on every side. None of our pictures do the views justice (not just here, but every mountain view of the trip).
Instead of hiking to a new town in the morning, we hiked a bit around the hills surrounding Dingboche which had nice panoramic views of all of the mountains. We took many pictures and were in awe of the mountains surrounding us. We went back and had lunch back at our lodge. (Side note: When one stays at a lodge, you’re only supposed to eat or hang out at your lodge and not other restaurants or else the room charge is much higher. Sometimes the rooms are free at the lodges if you are eating your meals there.)
Most people stay in Dingboche at least 2 nights to properly acclimatize since it’s at an elevation of 14,470, but since we planning on doing a high pass, we continued onto the next town, Chukhung, in the afternoon. By the time we reached Chukhung (elevation 15,520 feet), the weather had turned very cold and foggy.
The altitude continued to affect me more and more and a simple walk felt exhausting. The lodge at Chukhung felt very dark and cold and we got a much different vibe at this place. We bundled up with many coats, gloves, and hats and played cards while eating snickers bars for the rest of the evening.
At this elevation the only electricity comes from solar energy and there’s no more trees growing so dried yak poop is used for fuel. It actually doesn’t smell that bad when burned and we were just happy to have a hot stove to huddle around. We went to bed early to prepare for a big hike the next day.
This lodge must have felt a little depressing. 🙁 I imagine you were feeling exhausted and a little discouraged. 🙁