We spent the last three days moving further up the valley, through Tengboche, Pangboche and ending up in Pheriche at 14,340 feet. We will rest here tonight and tomorrow, using the time to further acclimate before winding our way further up the hill and ever closer to EBC.

On the way we stopped at a Buddhist monastery in Tengboche and had the privilege of witnessing a Buddhist ceremony led by 8 local monks.

We also visted with Lama Geshe in Pangboche, the highest ranking Buddhist lama in the region, who gave us all individual blessings for good luck and safe passage on our climb. He was warm and welcoming and clearly had a good sense of humor, entertaining a bunch of westerners for the afternoon. A truly special experience.

Judging from the number of pictures of folks on the summit, thanking the lama for his blessing – it seems like he has a good track record and given he apparently has the direct line to upstairs, am only too happy to have him on-side for the remainder of the journey!

Leaving Pangboche we wound our way along trails etched into the mountainside and got our first glimpse of Everest – even at over 20 miles away, still dominant and majestic with its traditional plume. It looks deceptively close and clear today.

Further along the trail we passed another mountain giant – Ama Dablam, at 22,349 feet, a truly beautiful peak.

And finally making our way to Periche. Happy to report am feeling fine and *still* eating like a horse… in the interests of fitting into my climbing pants, the sooner we get to the climbing part the better!

Just a reminder for anyone interested in tracking the team as we move up the valley, you can go to the links page and follow our progress on GPS.

And lastly, if anyone still thinking of donating to the American Kidney Fund, you can also find the link on the same page.

Next update from Lobuche Base Camp!