Our dropback to Namche (11,300ft) these last few days has been mentally and physically restful. We are all eating, sleeping and breathing better.

Day 39: The yellow helicopter (aka: The Yellow Cab) picked us up from EBC at approximately 10-10:30am. After a quick stop in Pheriche, we arrived in Namche in just a few minutes. The whole ride couldn’t have taken longer than 8-10 minutes, but it was amazing. We trekked for 20 minutes to get from the heliport to our hotel, the Panorama. On our trek in, we took a brief detour to eat some sweets at the local bakery (I had a chocolate cupcake).

We had stayed at the Panorama during our trek into base camp, so we knew what the accomodations were like. Heated beds, hot showers and good food. After lunch, all I did was lie down in my nice, heated bed and took a nap until dinner.

Overnight a severe thunderstorm with lightning came through Namche. It woke me up around 3am and seemed to last forever. When I woke up again around 6:30am, I looked out the window and Namche was covered in a pretty blanket of snow. I have posted two photos of Namche – one with and one without snow.

Day 40: Today we all did our fair share of supporting the local economy by spending money shopping. We bought gifts, art, clothes, etc. I like supporting small, local vendors whenever I travel. Then in the afternoon, Brian and I both got massages from a guy who sold us a piece of art. For a $35.00 massage, it was great! It’s too bad they don’t allow vendors at EBC. Otherwise, having an accessible massage therapist throughout the season would be ideal. After getting a massage, we went to the Liquid Bar and watched an Everest documentary. This little bar in Namche is pretty neat…the young owner does a great job (he’s the one in the photo standing behind the bar).

On our way back to the Panorama for dinner, we stopped at the Sherpa Barista for hot chocolate and cake. The Barista is another great place to hang out in Namche.

Day 41: So….this morning we ended up continuing our efforts to help support the local economy. Yes, more shopping. That’s what happens when you have too much time on your hands. We had more hot chocolate at the Sherpa Barista, ate lunch and now we’re just relaxing the rest of the day. We are scheduled to return (via heli) back to base camp tomorrow morning sometime. Tomorrow it’s back to the business of climbing the mountain. No more heated beds and regular toilets. That reminds me. I was going to show you what I pee in about 95% of the time. The first photo is my 1 liter Nalgene bottle. I have excellent aim. I know I mentioned that we ladies have a pee tent at base camp, but the amount of planning and anticipation required to make it all the way from my tent to the pee tent in time prevents me from choosing that option most of the time.