Everest Base Camp 2018 Day 6: Acclimatization Day at Dingboche

Friday, 16 November 2018

Elevation: Dingboche (4345m)

Today is an important day as it is the second and last acclimatization day before we heading to EBC (the first one was at Namche Bazaar). Dingboche is a popular stop for trekkers and climbers headed to EBC or Island Peak (Imja Tse). People will typically spend two nights in Dingboche for acclimatization purposes. As we did the previous time, we will use the day to reach a higher altitude and then return to Dingboche to spend the night. 

Beautiful Morning at Dingboche

Pagi tu bangun, tak rasa sakit dah & rasa lebih lega dari semalam. Maybe, sebab before tidur semalam aku dah makan Actifast 2 biji, so, I felt much better than yesterday. Alhamdulillah. 

Breakfast time is always the best

Breakfast pagi tu kat Dingboche tak tahu nak makan apa dah. So, bila tengok mat saleh kat meja sebelah kami makan chocolate pancake, terus order yang sama. Fad & Uncle pun follow juga, hahaha. Tak sangka pulak pancake dia besar gedabak. Mampu habis separuh saja. Pancake dia sedap & ada rasa macam brownies pun ada. Tapi kalau ada chocolate lava kat atas tu memang tak meninggalkan kesan kot, hahaha. 

Huge chocolate pancake for breakfast

We leave at round 8:00am from Good Luck Hotel after breakfast for our acclimatization day hike. For today’s hike, we aim for 400m climb but let’s see if we managed to reach there. Kalau ikutkan boleh saja nak sampai peak (kalau mampu lah) tapi Deepak our guide just suggests up to where we can. Kalau climb sampai Nangkartshang summit, dah cecah altitude 5000m and boleh dapat view yang lagi awesome. Ada saja yang buat sampai summit but mostly Mat Salleh. Bak kata Deepak, no need to push yourself, just enjoy the climb. At least, we still climb to higher altitude for today.

There’s one famous saying in high-altitude mountaineering “Climb high, sleep low”, which means that you should climb up to a certain point to acclimatize, and then come back down to sleep at a lower altitude and get your body used to the thin air. 

Beautiful weather for acclimatization today

Actually, for acclimatization day hike today, boleh saja nak start lambat tapi guide kami tak encourage sebab nanti dah sampai atas lagi panas. So, boleh imagine lah masa tu panas dengan cuaca cantik tanpa awan. Memanglah sejuk but still kalau kau dah hike kat high altitude ni, panas dia tak sama dah macam kat lower altitude sebab kita lebih dekat dengan matahari (eh, betul ke). Lagi pun, kalau kami start awal, boleh return ke Guesthouse lebih awal & get more rest for today.

Thanks... wish me LUCK

Beautiful view of Dingboche with Lhotse & Island Peak view

The beginning of steep climb

View on the other side also beautiful

Background view of Taboche & Cholatse... tomorrow we will go that way

Trek to the summit

View from the top... still halfway

The steep slope is quite tiring but well worth as it offers some of the best views of the Khumbu region

Alhamdulillah, cuaca sangat cantik dengan langit biru menghiasi perjalanan kami untuk acclimatize today

The higher up we go, the more we are rewarded with beautiful views

Hari ni, kami trekking leisure sambal layan view & ambil gambar. Trek nak sampai ke atas tak adalah susah sangat tapi boleh tahan semput juga sebab kami dah berada di ketinggian more than 4400m. So, nak jalan laju tu pun agak mustahil bila dah berada di ketinggian sekarang ni. Lagipun, sangat advisable not to push hard during acclimatization sebab nak elak AMS. Tapi kalau boleh climb lagi tinggi, lagi bagus sebab at least kita dah biasakan badan kita dengan ketinggian yang kita akan sampai keesokannya. So, acclimatization banyak membantu untuk trekking the next day. 

Jumpa kakak payung from Indonesia

Ada saja view yang cantik at the right moment

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all

Further climb

View ini yang akan menghiasi perjalanan kami esok

Beautiful View of Khumbu Valley

Panorama View

We decided up to this point only

We climb up to 400m for acclimatization today

Teringat perbualan kami Bersama Uncle tentang satu group from Malaysia yang insist nak buat EBC 10days. Siap boleh buat comparison dengan ABC trek pulak tu sebab diorang dah pernah trekking kat sana & they assume the same thing juga dia boleh buat di EBC trek. Since aku dah melalui & merasai sendiri trekking in both trek, EBC & ABC, just nak share yang EBC trek memang sama sekali tak boleh compare dengan ABC. Pada pendapat aku, memang lah trek di EBC lebih senang dari ABC tapi dari segi altitude, temperature, weather… memang tak sama. So, bila trekking organizer dah plan itinerary for EBC min 14 days included 2 days acclimatization, meaning mesti dah ada sebab tertentu kenapa diorang buat macam tu. Maybe, boleh buat 13 days with 1-day acclimatization juga tapi risiko nak kena AMS tu maybe agak tinggi. Lagipun, EBC region ni terletak agak North, hence, weather pun memang lain macam sikit. Kalau sejuk tu memang sejuk yang tahap tak mampu nak buat apa-apa rasanya. So, jangan ambil mudah dengan Acclimatization sebab AMS can happened to anyone eventhough kau seorang yang hebat panjat gunung sekali pun (aku pendaki runcitan saja).

The other Malaysian Group

Stop staring at mountains. Climb them instead, yes, it’s a harder process but it will lead you to a better view

Done for today... Jom balik

Life is like a mountain, hard to climb, but worth the amazing view from the top

The best view comes after the hardest climb (Pic I like the most)

We're done for today Acclimatization

Dingboche with the Ama Dablam view

After about 4hrs trekking, kami pun kembali semula ke Good Luck Hotel. Plan nak jalan-jalan di sekitar Dingboche sebab Deepak cakap ada small market tapi sebab dah nak pukul 1pm, so, kami plan lunch dulu. Perut harus diisi for energy. Untuk lunch kali ni, kami order 2 plain rice & fried potato. Sebab semalam dah order fried potato dia best je, so, kami order lagi lunch ni untuk buat lauk makan dengan nasi selain lauk pauk yang kami bawa dari Malaysia. Oh, setiap kali breakfast, dinner or lunch, kami selalu order hot water Medium Pot yang boleh dapat air dalam 1.5L tu. Masih termasuk dalam package. So, instead of order air sorang 1 cawan, kami lebih prefer order 1 pot air medium size yang boleh minum sampai 7-8 gelas. Harga tak jauh beza pun dengan 3 gelas air. Sebab aku rajin tengok menu (padahal menu yang sama je kot dari Phakding sampai ke Gorakshep) & compare harga, hahaha. So, dapat minum extra hot water & kadang-kadang tu, siap penuhkan thermos aku lagi. 

My Lunch... Yummeh

After lunch, kami rest sekejap before plan nak jalan-jalan di Dingboche. Lebih kurang pukul 3.30pm, aku & Uncle keluar semula sebab kami dah plan nak ke small market kat Dingboche ni. Fad tak join sebab perut dia rasa tak berapa ok. Kami jalan sendiri tanpa Deepak sebab cari dia tak jumpa, so, kami assume dia tidur lah tu. Kalau follow Uncle jalan-jalan ni memang satu loop Dingboche lah dia buat. Tak ada small market pun seperti yang Deepak cakap tu tapi sebab terdapat beberapa kedai yang jual macam-macam keperluan juga, so, aku rasa itu yang dimaksudkan Deepak dengan small market. So, kalau dah sampai Dingboche ni pun tiba-tiba rasa tak cukup keperluan nak ke EBC lagi, so, Dingboche is the last place you can shop for something… from foods, clothing to trekking gears. Maybe tak complete macam di Namche but at least you have few shops to choose. Aku pun sempat juga membeli keperluan & energy drink untut bekalan ke EBC. Habis jalan-jalan, returned back to Good Luck Hotel.

Jom tour at Dingboche

Those hikers yang nak ke island peak akan stay di Dingboche juga for Acclimatization. Actually, the trek to Island Peak initially follows the main EBC Trek route but separates near Dingboche. Pajilah, next time jom, Island Peak (hahahah... berangan).

Way to Island Peak

Normal view kat sini kalau nampak kettle atas dish

Bakery & cafe also avialble in Dingboche

Shops available at Dingboche

Kot ada yang nak last minute shopping tu

 
Dinner malam tu simple saja, Rara Noodle Soup & fried potato. Kalau order fried potato kat sini, memang banyak juga portion dia & best makan macam tu saja. Kami tidur awal malam tu sebab esok kami dah nak ke Lobuche (4910m).

Simple Dinner with Milo 3in1

 It will be a very tough day tomorrow sebab kami akan climb more than 500m nak sampai ke Lobuche. Harap-harap semua ok. Lagi tinggi means lagi sukar perjalanan & pernafasan kami sebab udara semakin tipis.

To be continued…