Yowza, it was very windy last night!  I was up at least every hour, awakened by the buffeting of the tent in very strong gusts.  The tents are built to take it, and are erected with solid technique, so no one got blown away.  In fact, only the toilet tent got blown over, and this was easy to repair in the morning.  Sometimes mother E likes to remind us who is boss.  Duly noted.

What a difference by sunrise: Pure blue skies and calm conditions.  Beautiful day at base camp!

We met our climbing sherpas today, which was exciting.  My “personal” sherpa is named Pasang Kami, and he hails from the nearby town of Phortse, as do many of IMG’s sherpas.  Warm, polite, and experienced.  He has summited Everest six times!  Plus, his brother is climbing with another teammate this season.  His kids are similar ages to mine… clearly, I am in excellent hands.

We had time for laundry today, which was sorely needed.  Hand washed, and line dried (which works very well in blazing sun and super low humidity).

One of the IMG guides, Emily, who is also a physician, held a yoga session in the morning, and I was eager to participate.  So much time spent sitting on our duffs here…. Flexibility is good!  I am now one with saluting the sun, downward facing dog, child’s pose, cobra, plank, and several other cool moves.

To stretch our legs, we took a walk in the icy heart of the moraine across from camp.  This is the same place we trained on 4-9-15, but this time we walked up the moraine to the base of the icefall, a spot called crampon point (because that’s where you put on crampons when heading up the icefall).  It was other-worldly and beautiful… and blazing hot!  Ice reflects sunlight from every direction, trying to cook us in our skins.  Fortunately, I keep covered up from head to toe… no room or time for sunburns!

To bed early tonight, then a day hike halfway up the icefall tomorrow to a spot called the Football Field… then right back down to EBC, probably down by noon.