April 10: to Pumori Base Camp
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On April 10, we moved up to Pumori Base Camp, at 17,400 ft.
For the trekkers this would be our home base for the next four days; for the Pumori climbers,
it would be their base of operations for nearly three weeks.
The trek up follows the route toward Everest base camp through Gorak Shep, the last settlement.
The trail to the Pumori base camp splits off from the Everest route and ascends an old moraine
to a seasonal lake at the base of the mountain.
This was one of the most beautiful camps on the trip.
Our group was the only one there, and we enjoyed the relative solitude of our little piece
of paradise.
We were now so close to the Tibet border that we could look through the Lho La pass and see Changtse in Tibet. We could also see the lower part of the Khumbu Icefall, tumbling out of Everest’s Western Cwm.