Another really tough night trying to sleep at Gokyo. For the second night in a row I had trouble breathing - or at least in keeping a regular rhythm to my breathing. I would wake up gasping for breath, and even as I lay awake I kept feeling short of breath. It was later explained to me that at night the heart rate slows down and what with being at a high altitude it means you may not be getting enough oxygen, giving you the gasping for breath problem. I even took a sleeping pill to try and alleviate the problem, but to no avail. By morning I had decided that I did not want to experience another night fighting for breath, so it was time to start heading down.
Of course before heading down, we had to climb Gokyo Ri for some of the best views on the planet. Again we were lucky with the weather - not a cloud in the sky. We started at 8:30 and it took a bit less than 2 hours of steep climbing to make it up the 570m to the top. This time we went slowly matching each breath with a step and we did not need any breaks. Sara really outdid me. While I was plodding along she raced ahead to get to the top first. She certainly was not giving her old man any "face". Just like last time it was a much easier climb than up Kala Patthar ... but the climb down was a knee breaker.
At the top of Gokyo Ri, we had a very important task to accomplish. You see for the last 25 years I have had a blown up picture taken at Gokyo Ri hanging in my office. It has been my "sanity" picture all these years. The task before us was to try to duplicate the picture, but to add in Sara as well. Unfortunately we were having some battery problems with the camera (due to the cold I guess) and so had limited shots available. Thankfully a Dutch couple were able to help us out and take a couple of extra shots, and theirs turned out to be the closest to the original, so many, many thanks to Bianca and Jan.
With the shots accomplished it was a fast (way too fast) climb down. By the bottom the knees were really sore and blisters were forming (we subsequently learned that for steep descents you should tie the top laces of your boots really, really tight to stop your feet sliding around). Anyway it was then off to Machermo for a hopefully more peaceful sleep.
Another really tough night trying to sleep at Gokyo. For the second night in a row I had trouble breathing - or at least in keeping a regular rhythm to my breathing. I would wake up gasping for breath, and even as I lay awake I kept feeling short of breath. It was later explained to me that at night the heart rate slows down and what with being at a high altitude it means you may not be getting enough oxygen, giving you the gasping for breath problem. I even took a sleeping pill to try and alleviate the problem, but to no avail. By morning I had decided that I did not want to experience another night fighting for breath, so it was time to start heading down.
Of course before heading down, we had to climb Gokyo Ri for some of the best views on the planet. Again we were lucky with the weather - not a cloud in the sky. We started at 8:30 and it took a bit less than 2 hours of steep climbing to make it up the 570m to the top. This time we went slowly matching each breath with a step and we did not need any breaks. Sara really outdid me. While I was plodding along she raced ahead to get to the top first. She certainly was not giving her old man any "face". Just like last time it was a much easier climb than up Kala Patthar ... but the climb down was a knee breaker.
At the top of Gokyo Ri, we had a very important task to accomplish. You see for the last 25 years I have had a blown up picture taken at Gokyo Ri hanging in my office. It has been my "sanity" picture all these years. The task before us was to try to duplicate the picture, but to add in Sara as well. Unfortunately we were having some battery problems with the camera (due to the cold I guess) and so had limited shots available. Thankfully a Dutch couple were able to help us out and take a couple of extra shots, and theirs turned out to be the closest to the original, so many, many thanks to Bianca and Jan.
With the shots accomplished it was a fast (way too fast) climb down. By the bottom the knees were really sore and blisters were forming (we subsequently learned that for steep descents you should tie the top laces of your boots really, really tight to stop your feet sliding around). Anyway it was then off to Machermo for a hopefully more peaceful sleep.
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