It has been a very satisfying past two days as we have descended from high camp with our sights set on Lukla and the flight ready to take us back to Kathmandu.   

On Monday we left our beautiful camp situated at 17,200 feet on the western flanks of Lobuche peak and began our descent towards Pangboche, where we would spend the night.  We passed many other camps of expeditions who will use this mountain as a warmup for Everest in the coming months; acclimatizing enough to hopefully skip a rotation through the dreaded Khumbu ice fall which looks quite treacherous this season compared to years past.  After getting through the valley and back onto the main trail, we were astonished by how much the river had risen due the warming temperatures compared to crossing it just a week previous.  The weather and temperatures are definitely concerning because of the impacts on the glaciers and the volatility it creates in the mountains.  We are glad to have climbed when we did and be finished before things get too melted.   

Upon our arrival in Pheriche, we ate some lunch, repacked a few things then hit the dusty trail for a few more hours of walking down to Pangboche.  Feeling happy about our climb and healthy from the thick oxygen of 13,000 feet, the team went out for beers before dinner and enjoyed a couple hours of well-deserved free time resulting in fun conversation and reflection of the trip.  By 8:30, we were mostly in bed resting for yet another day of walking to Namche.   

Come morning we put the ball in motion almost automatically by this point and headed off by 8:15 for our 10 miles to Namche.   This team is now very accustomed to these distances, and we arrived in Camp de Base by 2:00 pm leaving us a solid few hours to shower, rest and shop before needing to eat more food, which is the general past time we all need to indulge in because three meals a day is no joke.   

Now, at 9:00pm on Tuesday evening we are back in our rooms ready for 10 more hours of sleep before biting off the last leg to Lukla tomorrow.   This place is almost indescribable in both beauty and hospitality, but nothing beats home after a long visit.   

Stay tuned to see if we can fly when scheduled.   It is often times the most unpredictable part of the trip.  

Adam Knoff