4100m start, up to 5220m on the pass summit, down to 4370m for camp.
77kms
Riding Time 5hours:27mins
Holy..... shit. I shouldnt swear here because my mom can read this, and may ground me, but shit, this was a hard one.
Started the bike day at 850am, finished at 530pm, thats l o n g . It was a 24k uphill today from camp to the summit of Lhakpa, also the entrance to Everest Nat Park. The 5 of us (same 5) rode strong and steady up. Terry seemed to be on speed today, spurred by his 3 hours of sleep next to snoring tent partner Cass, and was on fire on the climb. I made it to the top in 3h08mins, utterly drained. This is the highest elevation Ive ever been at, and probably ever will be at. I give Mike credit, he stopped to get me going when we were on false summit number 4 or 40. It was just head spinning draining for me today, and I felt like I had nothing left by the end. My head hurt, I had downed all my 3 litres of water that I carry at a time, and just spent.
As if that wasnt enough, the downhill didnt pay off. The cold icy wind ripped into our faces and I had instant snotcicles on the ride down. We had to pedal to get DOWNhill, for a first. We got to lunch and huddled in the gear truck it was so cold. Reluctantly, we started out again, even if the bus sounded like a good idea, the manly machoism won again. The ride down turned out great though after lunch, lots of dust, sand, dirt. Mike and I in front were loving life, while Terry behind me was getting a face full of dust the whole time (didnt know it at the time, but he'll live). We got to the little town of Shegar late again and into the hotel with no heating,but hot water at least.
Feeling really tired out, and tomorrows climb is Pang Pass, a beast of a climb that has crushed many before us.
Photo Captions
Top-After lunch good times dusty road
Left - Feeling rough
Right - Shoes clogged
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