Walking to Dingboche (14,800′) took us up the valley into the arms of Ama Dablam. The trails were getting dustier, the air colder and dryer, and it was more and more important to wear our buffs over mouth and nose to diminish the ‘Khumbu cough’ we were all destined to get anyway.

Dingboche had an internet cafe and a bakery, but I opted for neither. I went for the shower and trying to get a little rest as it was not happening at night. Abby, my angel of the day, brought me an awesome-looking cinnamon roll that took me an hour to eat, bite by bite, forcing it down. You know the altitude is setting in if a pastry makes you nauseous.

As darkness and cold set in, they fired up the yak-dung stove which put clouds of thick smoke into the common room. Watery eyes and coughing spells. They managed to work out the venting and improve things a little after awhile.

On the spring EBC trek, Deana took the group to visit a Buddhist nunnery on the way out of Tengboche. They learned about how much the nuns’ lives would be improved by having a gas stove; it would mean they wouldn’t have to spend hours a day finding and chopping firewood and they could spend that time in prayer and learning.

The group donated enough money for the stove, and we stopped by to see it. The nuns were ecstatic about the change it made in their lives. Small things, big results.