EBC Day 3: Acclimatization in Namche Bazaar

Waking up to clothes you wore the day before which absorbed all your sweat and whatnots, who wouldn’t enthusiastically jump out of their beds to change and freshen up themselves? Rise and shine, Budiday! It’s Day 3 and you have a wonderful day ahead of you!

Alright. The headache had gone again; another great sign that I wasn’t hit by acute mountain sickness (AMS), only a plain case of headache. But changing clothes? That was the least of my priorities during D3. You see, when you’re in the mountains, nobody really cares about your clothes, your smell, or the way you look. It’s not that being hygienic is unimportant, but you have other and far more important things to worry about like how not to get sick. So what I did first thing in the morning was brush my teeth, put on deodorant, and headed straight to the common room-slash-dining area where all the trekkers were already having their breakfast.

I can no longer recall what I had that morning, it wasn’t just worth remembering. What I do remember is how phenomenal the views were from where we were lodging. There were just snow mountains everywhere and we could see them because of the great weather!

After breakfast, Bikal announced that we were hiking to Syangboche Hill (3780 M) for acclimatization but we would first stop by Conservation Memorial, a portion of the Sagarmatha National Park. The activity would last for three or four hours and so at 8:30 AM, we started walking, er, hiking. The teahouse we were staying in was at the bottom of the village and so we had to hike quite longer compared to other trekkers.

Upon reaching the memorial premises, we were greeted by Mounts Nuptse, Lhotse, and the mighty Everest in their full glory as shown in the view deck of the park headquarters. We missed catching sight of them the other day and we were so ecstatic to see them during D3. We were lucky that they had shown their beauty, luck that is not shared by many. I pity those who only visit Namche Bazaar when it is cloudy or foggy as this is the only spot where they can have a good view of these mountains.

After taking photos of ourselves, the views, and the place, we went inside the museum where a handful of information about trekking in the Everest Region is showcased—history, culture, and other significant things. There was another museum just below the Conservation Memorial called Sherpa Museum but we skipped it and started hiking to Syangboche Hill.

The hill, 400+ M higher, seemed close and we thought it wouldn’t take us long to reach its top. The way to the summit is too bare and the hot sun rays mixed with chilling air made our hike more challenging than we thought. There were a lot of trekkers who passed us by but we didn’t wanna hurry. After all, this is the only activity we got for the day. We took our time seriously. LOL

At 11:00 AM, after almost two hours of hiking from the Conservation Memorial, Agot, Migs, and I reached 3780 M. While waiting for the rest of the team, the three of us had decided to no longer continue hiking to a higher elevation (there’s an option to hike further for better acclimatization). From where we were, we had a closer view of the Syangboche Airport and the Kunde Hospital, two of the most vital places in this part of the Khumbu Region. A few more minutes passed, Dwine and Rowjie arrived. We were waiting for Doc Rhoda but Bikal said she opted to not hike any further.

We took some photos and then immediately started our descent. Now the heat of the sun was more prominent and the drop was knee-breaking. With rumbling tummies, it took us around half an hour to get back to the village. Who would disagree that all things are possible with a hungry stomach?  Despite nearly being famished, we couldn’t afford to miss dropping by the famous outdoor stores of Namche Bazaar.

We’ve read blogs saying that the goods being sold in the outdoor shops of the Sherpa capital are way cheaper compared to Kathmandu. We were all excited about a shopping spree! But when we started window shopping, we realized that there wasn’t much of a difference in the pricing. If not at par, the prices are even more costly. The higher the elevation, the more expensive the products and services are. Why have we not thought about it? Dwine, Rowjie, and I went back to the teahouse without buying anything. The rest of the team had to purchase some outdoor gear because they need it and not because they wanted it.

We arrived at the teahouse around 1:30 PM. That’s a total of five hours of hiking, descending, and window shopping. We ordered our late lunch and had our most awaited free and hot bath after. The rest of the day was spent with us just sharing stories and laughter.

It was drizzling during the night and so we went early to bed. Funny though that it wasn’t that cold. My body might have been longing for that bone-chilling feeling that I couldn’t sleep. For a moment, I took pleasure from watching the movement of lights from around the village that was visible from our room.

Then the mountain gods and goddesses might have heard my heed. I now fell to a deep slumber. Good night, D3.

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DAY #: 3 of 14
ROUTE: Acclimatization in Namche Bazaar, Hike to Syangboche Hill
HIKE TIME: 4 hours
CHALLENGES: Hot, open, and steep trail to Syangboche Hill
VILLAGES: Namche Bazaar (3440M)
TEAHOUSES: The Nest at Namche
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[su_tab title=”More of my EBC series”]
EBC Day 1: Lukla to Phakding
EBC Day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazaar
EBC Day 3: Acclimatization in Namche Bazaar
EBC Day 4: Namche Bazaar to Deboche
EBC Day 5: Deboche to Dingboche
EBC Day 6: Acclimatization in Dingboche
EBC Day 7: Dingboche to Lobuche
EBC Day 8: Lobuche to EBC to Gorakshep
EBC Day 9: Gorakshep to Lobuche
EBC Day 10: Lobuche to Pheriche
EBC Day 11: Pheriche to Tengboche
EBC Day 12: Tengboche to Namche Bazaar
EBC Day 13: Namche Bazaar to Phakding
EBC Day 14: Phakding to Lukla
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