We woke up in our Namche yak pen to find we had had a dusting of snow during the night. But by sunrise, the clouds had completely disappeared, and we were treated with glorious views all around: to the west Kongde Ri at 6,187 meters (20,299’) and to the east Thamserku at 6,623 meters (21,729’).

In altitude acclimatization, a golden rule for trekkers is “Climb/Trek High, Sleep Low.” That is, during the day, do some hiking to a gradually higher elevation, then return to a lower elevation for the night. Our rest day in Namche gave us a perfect opportunity to practice this strategy with a trip past Syangboche airstrip to the Everest View Hotel. The initial climb out of Namche seemed almost vertical, and demanded a short rest every few steps. 

Proceeding on, we saw our first yak grazing in a field, and shortly after, coming around a corner, our first sighting of Everest. We took advantage of the view from the hotel deck for a tea break, but with the return of the wind and clouds, we were not anxious to linger. The late afternoon was spent back in Namche Bazaar, dodging the rain, shopping for yak bells, and emailing folks back home.