Day 14 – Chhukhung to Dingboche – Porters and Illnesses

Following the exertions of yesterday an easy day was in order and a relatively short trek back down the valley to Dingboche, our third and final visit. The wind was brisk but progress was almost all downhill made for a leisurely time.

Now is a good time to recognise the hard working group of porters that have been with us since day one. One of the the key rules of the organization that we chose to travel with, Mountain Monarch, is “One Porter One Trekker”. So, each trekker is assigned a porter who carries the majority of his or her baggage from place to place. These guys are amazing. They virtually run from place to place be it a short distance or a long high altitude climb. Below is a photograph of our fantastic Porters. Some companies use Porters to carry two or even three Trekkers bags.

Unfortunately one of the realities of mountain living is illness. For several days now a few of the Turtle Trekkers have been suffering with a variety of ailments, some more serious than others. Hygiene in the mountains is a huge challenge and at night in the Tea House there is a cacophony of sneezing, wheezing and coughing. Once ill it is then very difficult to recover as there is no opportunity to get warm and no where to really wash and get clean. A few of us have really struggled these past days, none more so than Henry, and today he made the tough decision to leave the trek and get back to Kathmandu. He left in style by helicopter which took 10 minutes to cover the distance it had taken us 5 days to walk. We already miss him and wish him a speedy recovery.

The sink pictured serves an entire floor, probably 30 people and is situated in an open corridor.

Tomorrow it’s onward to Zhongla and then the High Passes.