Hanging on in Tingiri...

Conscious that I was awake, I did a quick survey of the percentage of my body that had direct contact with the dusty, dank bedding and pulled my sleeping bag over my head as protection from the freezing cold air.

Knowing that some sort of rice and egg and dumpling concoction would be on the menu for breakfast I wasn’t in any rush to get up. While it’s great to have my appetite back I still can’t get excited about Chinese breakfasts. The dogs didn’t let up through the night and it sounded like they’d had a family reunion on the hotel doorstep. … given that most of the dogs seemed to be inbred, this reunion constituted most of the village dog population.

A good stretch of the legs, a healthy altitude gain of 600m, and some absolutely spectacular views of the Tibetan plateau were on offer for the mornings hike. Yesterday’s ‘taster’ acclimatization walk to the Everest Memorial was a good warning to wear plenty of sunscreen and protection from the wind howling mercilessly across the dry plateau blowing the sand like bullets against your face.

The walk was very enjoyable with a long gradual slope with Everest looming ominously in the horizon it was good motivation to keep a steady pace putting one foot in front of the other. The Tibetan plateau is incredibly dry and arid. It seems to stretch for miles to the foot of Everest. It’s a hard, unforgiving environment. Seeing the local people drive by in their ancient 3-wheeled diesel tractors weaving around the cows ad loads of rabid dogs on the street is a subtle reminder of the luxuries we take for granted at home.

The walk down wasn’t nearly as pleasant as the walk up thanks to the numerous dust devils which kick up without warning and blast sand against your face like bullets. The dust ploughs over everything in its path with a thick layer of filth. Marching back down from the acclimatization walk to Tingiri we pulled our balaclavas over our heads and looking like terrorists who had just robbed a mountain-equipment shop.

As a break from the monotony of Tingiri filth and ‘bathroom humour’ the boys started a dusty game of rugby ‘keep-ups’ in the hotel parking lot. It was a beautiful sight as the locals looked on curiously and the ball bounced ceremoniously from one dusty knee to another, sometimes rolling into a mud-pit alongside the hotel or bouncing off of the windshield of one of the old land-cruisers.

As the sun set and we headed back to our hotel rooms we all quietly breathed a sigh of relief, content with the knowledge that our next stop would be Everest Base Camp and the start of our respective journeys to the highest point on earth.