There was supposed to be a large meteor shower over the last few nights, but since the sky has been clouded and snowing, we haven't seen them yet. Tonight there was some promise of clearing so we joined Jim and Sarah (the Everest Extreme doctors) to watch the sky. Originally we had aspirations of climbing the ridge towards Dingboche for a better view, but cold and concern over descending in the dark convinced us to stay on the ground. We had bought some local rum to mix with coke or pineapple juice and had a mini celebration. If you have ever drank alcohol at altitude, you know that a little goes a long way not to mention that we don't drink often here, so we were all lightweights.
Sometime after dark, we went out to attempt to photograph to stars and mountains. It is beautiful on clear nights how the moonlight lights the snow on the surrounding mountains and the stars are more numerous an you can imagine. However, I have never been able to capture it very well on film despite my best efforts and long exposures. Tonight was no exception. (I suspect the rum didn't help.)
We were entertained by the local animals though. A couple of stags broke out of one of the yards and were going at each other for a good hour. This of course riled up Pumo and the other mountain dogs. To keep Pumo from barking and antagonizing the horses too much Chris found a rope to play tug of war with him with.
We stayed up until almost 1am which is nearly unheard of in the mountain towns that generally close up at 9pm. Jim and Sarah got locked out of the Himalayan Hotel and had to sleep in our extra room (aka the Jimmy Carter room). Many years ago, President Jimmy Carter made a trip to Pheriche and stayed in the HRA aid post. There is a photo with him and the clinic staff that year which is now yellowed with age hanging in the main room of the clinic. It was a fun night but a little painful the next day for everyone involved.
Sometime after dark, we went out to attempt to photograph to stars and mountains. It is beautiful on clear nights how the moonlight lights the snow on the surrounding mountains and the stars are more numerous an you can imagine. However, I have never been able to capture it very well on film despite my best efforts and long exposures. Tonight was no exception. (I suspect the rum didn't help.)
We were entertained by the local animals though. A couple of stags broke out of one of the yards and were going at each other for a good hour. This of course riled up Pumo and the other mountain dogs. To keep Pumo from barking and antagonizing the horses too much Chris found a rope to play tug of war with him with.
We stayed up until almost 1am which is nearly unheard of in the mountain towns that generally close up at 9pm. Jim and Sarah got locked out of the Himalayan Hotel and had to sleep in our extra room (aka the Jimmy Carter room). Many years ago, President Jimmy Carter made a trip to Pheriche and stayed in the HRA aid post. There is a photo with him and the clinic staff that year which is now yellowed with age hanging in the main room of the clinic. It was a fun night but a little painful the next day for everyone involved.
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