We have arrived, quite literally, at the high point of this leg of our trip. At 17,100' The village of Gorak Shep is the highest permanent habitation in this part of the Himalaya. It is the jumping off point for Everest Base Camp, 17,600', which several of us visited today, and it lies in an old lake bed at the base of Kala Patthar (Black Rock, 18,200') a fantastic viewpoint of Mt. Everest that we will climb to tomorrow.
But my, how this high hamlet has changed since I was here last in 2006! An Internet cafe; a
a solar array; cell service; at least five new buildings. All this in a village that a mere five years ago consisted of only two permanent structures and was one of the remotest and least hospitable habitations on the planet.
Technology has come to the Khumbu.
Namaste,
Jim Ronning
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