Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

To Everest Base Camp.

Up the rugged Khumbu glacier moraine …

Sadly, there were very few tents at Base Camp 5360m (17,600 ft). But they set up as close as they can get to the Khumbu Ice Fall.

As I’d often heard, it’s a God Awful place to camp. It must take forever to build new tent platforms each season.

The weather was superb. Above freezing, the glacier collapsing upon itself with melt.

Some hiker goofing at the entrance sign …

Later I learned that nudity is not allowed near sacred mountains. Israelis who hiked nude over the Thorong La on the Annapurna Circuit were fined $100ea and had their camera SD cards confiscated.

I didn’t linger long as I proposed to backtrack same day all the way to Dingboche. For the first time I could hike as far as I wanted as I would finally be losing elevation.

hiking counter clockwise

From Dingboche I could resume the Three Passes of Everest itinerary, via Kongma La. This perfect weather was an incentive to hurry.

The only sidetrip on the decent was to checkout the “Italian Pyramid“, a high altitude scientific research station.

It was dark by the time I reached Dingboche. But with every step I felt, psychologically, that the air was more oxygen rich!

see all photos from day 9

… on to day 10

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