Yesterday we arrived in Tengboche at 3876m following a 9.5 km hike that took 5.5 hours to complete. We descended 400m and regained 818m by the end of the day. Our efforts were rewarded by the our first glimpses of Everest!
Today is my 30th birthday and also the first day of running my exercise and cognitive function experiments at high altitude. So far, things have been rolling along really well! I woke up at 5:30am for a sunrise hike to see Everest and the surrounding mountains at first light.
Once the sun rose behind Ama Dablam and Everest, it wasn’t possible to take a good picture. However, mountains to the south of Tengboche made up for that.
The exercise and cognitive function experiment has been running very well so far. The team is really enjoying walking outside for a change (we walked stairs in Kathmandu).
Tomorrow we depart for Pheriche at 4200m. I have definitely noticed the altitude in Tengboche. I feel breathless going up stairs or even walking up a slope. At lunch I felt especially rough but have since rebounded and feel pretty good. I’m sure the effects of altitude and AMS will become much more pronounced from here on out.
Your Brain on Altitude 
Happy 30th Birthday from a very excited group of seven and eight year olds!
Here are our questions for today:
Elora is curious to know what kind of animals are in your first picture with all the pillows and bags.
Lauren wants to know how cold it is at the top of Mount Everest
Ciara wants to know what is the highest point you will get up to..?
Mikhail is wondering what other animals are in that area…?
Tiago and our entire class wants to chat live with you if possible 🙂 They are very curious to see where you are.
Hope you had a great day!
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Hey Ms. Dorland and class, thanks again for the questions.
Elora – those are yaks bringing heavy bags and gear up to villages high in the mountains
Lauren – there isn’t a weather station on the peak of Mt. Everest, so they have to estimate the temperature from a weather station at a lower altitude. Google says that the temperature at the peak of Mt. Everest can be anywhere between -19 to -36 degrees Celsius
Ciara – the highest elevation that we will reach is 5540 m, at a place called Kala Patthar. We will hike to Kala Patthar before the sun rises on May 14th in order to get a great view of Mt. Everest and the surrounding mountains. We will then hike back down to lower altitude after spending a few hours at Kala Patthar.
Mikhail – in Tengboche there are horses, cows, and yaks. There are also really friendly dogs who have followed us on a few hikes!
Tiago and class – the live chat will have to wait until we come down from basecamp!
Thanks for the messages, keep them coming!
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