Doing It For Cure Cancer!

Note: I tried 7 times to get a photo in, but the connection at 4000 meters deep in the Himalayas just can't handle it (shocking, I know)

Today we pulled our boots back on, zipped up our coats, packed up our bags, and continued onward toward Everest Base Camp. Without question, the moment of the day we all look forward to the least are those first ten minutes in the morning after the alarm goes off.  It is 6am and we are nestled deep in our sleeping bags.  "Beep beep beep beep beep" and I am knocking on the wall to wake up my neighbors. That knock is passed down from room to room until all 10 weary travelers are wide awake, though the walls are so thin, my knock usually carries all the way down. There is no heat in the rooms, which means the temperature at this hours hovers around -5 degrees. By the time we reach Base Camp, it will be roughly -30 degrees at 6am.

 

We must then get out of our sleeping bags and embrace the arctic temperatures, change into our clothes (which are equally freezing), pack our bags, attempt to brush our teeth (assuming the taps haven't frozen), and saunter into the lodge where we will once again eat a meal that can adequately be described as "yellow." EVERYTHING we eat is yellow.

 

While every day is tough and we are digging deep to get the kilometers behind us, reminding ourselves that we are doing this for something greater than ourselves keeps us going.  Today's theme was "I'm Doing It For Cure Cancer" and do we did!  9 kilometers mostly uphill, ascending from 3400 meters to just over 3800 meters in roughly 7 hours, arriving at Tengboche Monastery to another frigid lodge.  It's all part of the adventure!  Knowing that we are here on this Inspired Adventure to help find a key to a cure gives us that extra burst of energy when it is needed most.

 

If there is anything to say about it today, it is that the team found its rhythm.  KGB (Vlad) caught his breath.  Jazz and Wu paced together. StavMan got his uphill groove back. Yes, it seems that all the pieces are falling into place right on time.  We are now just 4 days away from Base Camp and let me tell you, there is no stopping us now!

 

GO TEAM!