One more night with almost no sleep – now I know I wouldn’t survive for a long time in that high altitude. At 5am, I got an instant coffee made by the warm water of the previous evening. We began hiking Kala Patthar at about minus 20 degrees I guess, even to cold for my camera, it didn’t work constantly. The rising sun offered enough light already. Luckily the sky was clear and we always had a straight view to Mt Pumori and the spectacular high mountain range in the back, including the peak of Mt Everest and Khumbu Icefall. But we all had some troubles with the altitude and the incredible cold, so we decided to return at about 1/3 of Kala Patthar – our guides promised the view from the top is almost the same.

After breakfast we left Gorak Shep, returning to Lobuche. A very crowded part with traffic jams at Everest Highway, which took about 2 hrs. After lunch we passed the memorials of lost climbers and Sherpas. Snowfall started as we further walked downhill along the rocky desert, passing rivers and marsh. Finally we arrived Pheriche, an unexpectedly quiet village, not only consisting of tourism business. A pleasant change compared to the crowded areas I spent the last nights. I stayed at “Pheriche Resort” with only two other guests.