EBC Day 4: Namche Bazaar to Deboche...

We left at 7:45 a.m. under clear skies so I wore short sleeves and eventually converted my zip-off trousers to shorts.

We passed many construction sites all around Namche, likely in response to the increased demands on the village as the trekking industry continues to grow.

Rather than full-size walking sticks, many of the porters use very short sticks as their loads are so heavy that they can’t stand upright.

This path was surprising wide and smooth, due to one man’s decades long commitment to improve the trails using donations from trekkers. Pasang Sherpa is now 79 years old, but he and his wife, with permission from the Sagarmatha National Park, still work along with two others to maintain the trail. Unfortunately, there was no one there taking donations when we passed.

Like previous days, the scenery was awesome, but the route was challenging. 

This photo was taken the day before, looking down on the path we would be following on Day 4.

We passed the stupa built in honor of the 50th anniversary of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa’s successful summit of Mt. Everest.