The most incredible journey of my life!

If you want to start from the beginning; Part 1 and Part 2

Day 5 – Namche Bazaar to Tengboche (3860m/12,668ft)

We’re getting messages from home asking if we’re okay, the news is reporting people are trapped due to the monsoon creating a snowstorm higher up the mountains. We learn the news is dramatized, the issues are on the Tibet side of the Himilayas where it’s possible to drive – cars are stuck and people can’t get down.

As we climb over the next few days we do run into trekkers who had to abandon their goal due to the storm and being on set group treks with firm dates. Unbelievably, not one of them was mad, they all seemed to revel in the experience they had in one of the most glorious displays of nature in the world.

We are safe, and today we are totally gobsmacked at the beauty! After 4 days and nights on the mountain we have clear skies and sun and the views are a treat for the senses. We have scenic views of Ama Dablam, Lhotse and our first views of a clear Everest.

We start climbing and everytime we’re able to look up is another amazing camera moment. It’s spectacular, our 1st sighting of Everest, all the tallest mountains in the world came out of the clouds and put on a show. You just want to stay put with a magnum of wine and watch all day but, alas, we’re here to climb mountains.

We see many trekkers we know already who were forced to stay an extra night in Namche due to storms. Ours was planned, there’s weren’t so they had to adjust their goals. We are all so happy the weather has turned positive as we go higher and there is tons of positive interaction and high 5’s between everyone.

We literally go up a mountain, then all the frigging way down again walking on boulders and an uneven mess of muddy stones, then we climb up another mountain, all the way up elevation we’ve already done twice now. All this to end up at almost the same elevation but in a different location. It’s teaching our bodies to build more red blood cells to carry oxygen through our bodies, it’s helping our lungs build capacity. It’s hard work!

It took us over 8 hours and, trekkers we knew to be strong, were struggling. Every body deals with altitude differently. It’s more a sign of; eating lots when you’re not hungry, drinking 4 liters a day consistently, how long you’ve been acclimated and sleeping, hopefully getting into deep sleep mode.

Altitude affects sleep hugely. Jeff and I are averaging 2-4 hours a night. You would think we’d be so tired after all the exercise we’d just crash nightly but our bodies not being used to reduced oxygen prevents a deep sleep. After 4 nights like this you can imagine how 8 hours of climbing might feel. Yet, each day, as soon as I get outside, I am filled with excitement and energy for the new wonders I will witness.

We finally arrive in Tengboche. Our lodge is right beside the Monastery by our request so we can hear the gong to participate in ceremonies. There seems to be a buzz around the Monastery when we arrive so we go directly there so we don’t miss anything. We basically collapse on mats in the inner sanctum to watch a ceremony that didn’t happen. There’s no schedule, the monks work in their own time. We think the buzz is just all the trekkers arriving at the same time with the same thought we had, ‘don’t make me move again’. It takes a while to motivate ourselves off the floor so we can get our room at the lodge.

What beautiful surroundings! 360 degree view of mountains. We find our private room with no heat, shared toilets with no toilet paper and showers with no hot water. There are also a couple of nude people roaming the halls. It’s all part of the journey.

Jeff is so exhausted he skips dinner and falls right asleep at 5:30pm. He needs the sleep but not eating is not good. What a show of hard grit and determination he displayed getting to Tengboche. We are all made of tough stuff when put to the test. I am beginning to get concerned about him but his oxygen is still pretty good fortunately.

I got my best sleep so far and woke in the dark. We’re discovering it is very important to try and get rooms where the sun warms and lights your room, preferably in the morning. It’s cold but today we get the sunrise through our window. We brought good sleeping bags and a pillow case to stuff our clothes into to keep them warm and have a makeshift pillow. The lodge provides a blanket, still changing clothes definitely wakes us up each day.

I get up right away, bundle up and rush outside for a view of the sun rising over the Himilayas. Jeff is still out cold despite me rumbling around in the room. OMG, it’s freaking gorgeous, I am in awe. Not many on the planet get to take in this view, surrounded by 8000+m bliss with a Monastery right beside us. There are only a few early birds up so we all get pics for each other and share our morning joy waiting for the coffee shop to open.

The trek to Tengboche, the lodge beside the Monastery, the sunrise views, great coffee shop with pastries, all made this my fav day so far. It would be a gorgeous trek to come here then go back down. I would easily spend another day in Tengboche! For those keen on fancier accomodations, a new lodge is being built close to the Monastery with more creature comforts. It’s was to be open by year end.

Day 6 – Tengboche to Dingboche (4410m/14,470ft)

As we were packing up to begin our trek the gong goes off. I run over to the Monastery to catch the morning ceremony with Monks. It’s very quiet, one Monk serving several drinks to the other Monks then a bowl of what looks like porridge. They drink and chant as I’m counting my many blessings with much gratitude.

Today we trek 7 hours to Dingboche. This would be the most beautiful trek so far!

We were the last to leave the lodge at 9am so no one was behind us for a long time. Many are coming off the mountain and returning to Tengboche from the storm. They had to cut their treks and goals short so they don’t miss their flights.

There are a few rules in the Himilayas but the Yaks and Porters get the right of way. The Porters are crazy strong! Everything on the mountain gets there by these 2 forms of transportation. Villages are made of local stone but the cement, wood, food, supplies, merchandise … everything is carried up. Porters get paid by weight so some of the loads are ridiculously overloaded.

It was a beautiful trek into snow today, I even enjoyed a snowball fight later in the day, Canadians are a bit more prepared for this wintery weather. The raging rivers created great background music.

I met a Nepali boy with his Uncle who wanted a picture with me, he was insistent on showing off his hair, we had an entertaining conversation in well spoken English then said our goodbyes.

After our lunch break in a small mountain village called Pangboche, Jeff insists I go ahead with Mangla, “I don’t want to feel like I’m holding you back anymore and I need to go slow”. This is where his struggling got real, I’m thinking it’s more a result of his training at this point. His pace wasn’t bugging me as it gave me time to record the journey and Mangla was starting to join me in some creative ideas. We listened to him though and went ahead.

After ascending all morning, we now descend and cross the Imja River as we head to Dingboche. The river is raging today, likely due to the storm and thawing snow from the mountains. It creates a symphony of sounds for the rest of the trek into Dingboche.

Mangla and I arrive and it’s a good thing I went ahead. This is the first day I wasn’t happy with the accomodations. The rooms are in a separate building from the communal area and it was freezing cold with no window. We’ll be in Dingboche 2 nights, this wasn’t going to work. Jeff and Bibek arrived in the dark and Bibek scurried to find us a new home on the other side of town. We trekked in the dark and snow and arrived at our new home at 7pm. Long but wonderful day.

I am very happy to be feeling great, I’m strong, eating willingly and drinking well but my oxygen went into the mid 70’s. Nothing a good nights sleep can’t change I hope.

Day 7 – Dingboche

Today we have the most special acclimation hike of our lives! It’s a beautiful sunny day for an epically romantic, tear creating trek thru snow cutting our own trail to a private place in the Himilayan Mountains. Celebrating our 25th year our way

We began planning this romantic portion of our trip 5 months earlier. How we kept everything a secret is quite shocking since we both tend to like sharing. We were giddy though in all the planning, we quickly realized that for us the planning not only with adventures but in secretly committing to each other was adding to the joy. Wedding dress shopping, finding a photographer in Nepal, selecting locations, finding the lightest items for our vows in the mountains.

We don’t want to take a single moment for granted in life or our relationship. We’ve been blessed to have each other and we work hard everyday to bring joy to each other and keep our relationship blossoming. My Adventure Buddy Jeff still makes me swoon after 25 years and it’s about time we made it official.

We planned this out for 5 months and booked pre-climb photos being blessed by Monks at both sunrise and sunset near Kathmandu. Sujan and his partner from Rays Studio were fabulous!

Today we do the most important part, share personal vows with each other.

Today we complete our commitment together after 25 years of love without bounds. We raised 4 kids into adulthood, continue our careers and live life adventurously. Once we decided on vows in the mountains, we had to find very light clothing as we (and/or Mangla) had to carry it the whole trek. We managed to pull off 3.6lbs and look pretty good given we hadn’t showered in 7 days.

Next, we had to find a place!

Many were climbing the mountains around the village today. We went off the beaten track into the thick, heavy snow and mud. There’s no rush, we have all day and the clear skies and sun guaranteed some great pictures. Bibek took all of these shots, he even managed videos of our vows. Thank You Bibek Gurung!

Jeff, you are my history, tomorrow and forever.

Vows and Wows! Days don’t get any better than this one! Love is a wonderful thing.

Jeff and I were thrilled everything worked out so well. We enjoyed a typical dinner of boiled eggs and lentil soup, Bibek checked our oxygen and we were all happy to see Jeff at 70%. Jeff was moving slowly but this is not a race to the finish line, our job is to eat sleep and trek and we have the whole day to do only those 3 things.

Tomorrow we journey to Lobuche.

I encourage you to subscribe so the new posts go to your inbox.

Part 4 https://karengeterdone.com/2026/01/02/everest-base-camp-part-4/

More pictures of the journey: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Karengeterdone and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/karengeterdone/?hl=en