After all that ascending, the descent back to Lukla was short (just four days) and quite anti-climactic!

   
A Buddhist monastery along the path.    One of the rock carvings along the path.

   
En route to Namche Bazaar.                   And we’re DONE!!!  Flying out…

It began to snow as we arrived in Gorak Shep (nothing more than a couple of lodges wedged between two glacial moraines) and the weather didn’t let up for a couple of days.

Our first day in Gorak Shep was a total white-out, but I wasn’t about to let it stop me ascending to Kala Pattar, a mountain ridge known for its views of Mount Everest and Base Camp.  We couldn’t see a bloody thing at the top but I was glad I could tick it off my list.

We had planned to walk up to Everest Base Camp the next day, but as the weather had started to lift I decided to ascend Kala Pattar once more in the hope of some Everest views (I couldn’t motivate Dad however…).  It was cloudy at the top but it cleared for about 15 minutes to allow me to see what I came for!

   
That black rock behind me is Everest!     Frozen prayer flags at Kala Pattar.

No sooner had I descended Kala Pattar that we started walking up to Base Camp.  The walk was really slow going as there were many yak teams and porters carrying gear and supplies up to the expedition teams camped there (it was climbing season).

Yak teams coming down from Everest Base Camp.

   
We made it!!!!

Glad we didn’t fly up…!

We were due to leave Gorak Shep and start descending down the valley the next morning, but when we woke up at around 5am we found the weather crystal clear and decided to climb Kala Pattar (3rd time for me, 1st for Dad).

The next day we walked from Dzonglha to Gorak Shep.  As we had already acclimatized we had no need to stay at Lobuche which we passed en route, but we were glad not to as it was a bit of a dump anyway.

Me and the Old Man with our first view at the Khumbu valley with Ama Dablam in the background.

   
Our porter Kumar carries our stuff up the Khumbu towards Lobuche.