Everest Base Camp Trek Day 3 – Acclimatisation Day

When you first hear the term ‘acclimatisation day’, you picture resting and recuperating for the day before your next ascent. Well guess again! The recommended thing to do on these so called rest days is to hike (surprise, surprise) to higher altitude and come back down to sleep in lower altitude. It is said that the fittest hikers are often those who get AMS (altitude mountain sickness) because of their tendency to over-exert themselves and climbing too fast.

These cuties will genetically be fitter to cope with altitude 

Our friend Edgar experienced this very early on. When climbing the last hour to Namche Bazaar, his exhaustion showed through shortness of breath, dizziness and blurred vision. He arrived in Namche completely wiped out and went to the doctor's who prescribed him Diamox, the common altitude sickness tablets. Needless to say he stayed put during said 'rest day' and recuperated.

It was with great disappointment that I woke up for another strenuous day walk, but a relief to be able to leave my bag in the lodge and carry only water and snacks – what a treat! I felt light and eager to get my first view of Mount Everest via a view point and Everest View point Hotel. 

Outside our guesthouse

 After a steep climb, we got to a field surrounding Sagarmatha National park Visitor Centre on the ridge above town and got our first sighting of the giant peak, surrounded by other snow-capped mountains.

Our first shot with Everest 

After a few snaps, we climbed even higher towards the ‘highest hotel in the world’ where the view was pretty much the same. We continued on the narrow path towards the village of Khumjung (3780 metres), where we stopped for a cheap and hearty lunch. We continued through Khunde (3840 metres) and back down to Syangboche (3720 metres) in a nice 5-hour loop offering stunning mountain views. We found it very hard to walk uphill and experienced heart palpitations when pushing ourselves too hard. We had no choice but to ascend very slowly. Chris got his first of many altitude headaches.

Reaching Everest View point hotel

Climbing

Enjoying the rest on top of the hill

When we got back to the town of Namche, Chris went to rest while I went in a popular coffee house to watch the documentary Sherpas, the real heroes. It was very interesting to learn more about the hard reality of their work and enjoyable to savour an apple pie while doing so. In the evening, after hand-washing socks and underwear, we settled for playing cards (again!) and catching up with our friends while warming up by the fire-burning oven in the communal dining room. By 8:30, we were wiped out and ready for bed!