Everest (Day 5) - Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar, Nepal

Namche is seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but it's a bustling market village rivaling Kathmandu, as far as the availability of goods, especially anything related to trekking.

The village is built into a mountain face, 11,286 feet (3,440 meters) above sea level. I arrived here after a strenuous, five-hour hike, climbing almost 3,000 feet in elevation.

This was the most terrifying part of the trek. Do you see those two suspension bridges dangling in space? Yep, I had to cross one, the higher one. My guide said many a hiker has wanted to turn back at this point, and on more than one occasion, my guide has had to hold a trekker by the hand, leading him across, while the hiker shut his eyes. Now, take a look at the rocks on the far right leading uphill. Actually, that's the trail. It gives a good indication of what I climbed up and down most of the day.

I'm not afraid of heights. I love rappelling into caves, but this was not an experience I enjoyed - gingerly walking across a bridge hundreds of feet above a river, a bridge that bounced with each step and swayed in the breeze, a bridge with two-way traffic, some of whom were porters weighed down with tremendous loads that forced oncoming walkers to turn sideways and cling to the side. If you're curious, yes, people have been knocked off occasionally.

I chose to not glance down.

Here's a closer view of one of the bridges, a much lower bridge I encountered earlier in the day. There was no way I was pulling out my camera for the big one or doing anything else that caused me to lose focus.

Still, what a thrilling hike. The views throughout were nothing short of stunning.

Today, I learned a couple of basic rules of the trail. First, porters and animals have the right away. Second, hikers, next to cliffs, always need to stay to the inside of passing animals, especially donkeys, because they've been known to push people off. For that matter, it's also a good idea to not walk to the outside of porters because sometimes they might not see an approaching trekker.

So far, my body is holding up well. My guide, Pasang, kept reminding me to slow down, although at times I felt like I was a 90-year-old man taking baby steps.

I wanted to trek much faster, but Pasang said the secret is to keep moving forward at a steady pace, don't lose one's breath, and give the body time to acclimatize to the altitude gradually. I've now reached a height where altitude sickness can begin to appear, but I feel great.

This morning, the rains stopped, leaving me with gorgeous weather and allowing flights to resume to Lukla, at least for a few hours, before fog shut down air traffic again.

I'm not sure if the rest of my group made it to Lukla, but my trek continues. My guide this afternoon said I'm a "very lucky man" for having left a day early. I feel fortunate in more ways than one.

Tomorrow, I'll enjoy a luxurious rest day because trekkers need additional time to acclimatize at certain elevations before moving higher; however, I'll still do a local hike, although it will be a much shorter day.

I hope you're enjoying my blog. I'll keep you posted from Nepal.