Day 9 was a big day for trekking. We climb up from 14,100 to about 16,100 ft. That is a big elevation gain for one day at these altitudes. It was a great trek and you could feel the gain in a couple of ways. First, it is getting harder and harder to breathe. Each step, particularly up take a lot of energy and you have to breathe really hard. We use pressure breathing techniques to help bring more oxygen in and keep from getting hypoxic – which is low oxygen in your blood. Second, it is getting much colder. When the wind blows it is cold. When we stop to rest we have to add layers to keep from getting too cold. It actually snowed right after we arrived at the tea house. It looked pretty against the mountains. But again, it is cold. It is so cold the bathroom had frozen water on the floor and the water in the toilette was half frozen too.

We are not in Kansas anymore. We are in the high country and it is more rustic in about every way. The food is not so good. The bathrooms are rough. The rooms as very basic and cold. Probably about 30 degrees last night. Thank goodness for my -20 below zero sleeping bag and my pee bottle. It is just too cold at night to go out to the bathroom to pee. Everyone has a pee bottle they keep with them at night. As there are no bathrooms in the rooms and it is cold and disturbs everyone if you are walking about.

In the afternoon we climbed to Dookla’s pass. It is there they have the memorials for all the folks who have lost their lives on Everest. It is pretty moving especially when you are traveling with folks who are going to risk their lives to summit. Not a lot said there as everyone walking around with reflection and thought. There are a lot of memorials there. Some big and some small, but all represent someone special who’s luck did not go there way. I think it was at this spot that you could see the focus for the climbers begin to rise.

I also got to meet Joby today. He is the guy who is going to jump off of the peak of Everest in a wing suit and fly down to base camp at 200 miles an hour. Discovery channel is going to show it on live tv sometime in May. The film crew are actually NBC sports people. We have been staying with them for the past few nights. Really great people. Most are veteran climbers. I got to meet a the 2 guys that will be filming from the summit. They have a very dangerous job as they maybe at the summit for up to 3 hours.

Joby was very nice and I had a chance to talk with him for a while and get my picture with him. He seems very nice and laid back, but I know he is dialed in. Talk about danger. This guy is talking it on. The whole production is quite a feat and bringing that much equipment and organizing a live tv feed in such a harsh and remote place is worth watching alone. What Joby is going to do is just crazy. I will be watching for sure.

I really enjoyed the climb today, but it was definitely harder than some of the previous days. Really starting to get deep into this trek. At this point, we are 3 days away from Everest base camp.