May 14
Rest Days a Blessing for Arnot and Morton

By Melissa Arnot:

After two nights of sleeping at 24,000 feet (Camp III), I am ready for Base Camp. My body is tired, telling me it needs a rest. It is amazing how you can feel so good up there and then when you are down lower, your physiology reminds you of the negative effects of having been so high.

Dave and I only spend one day in our Base Camp, doing laundry (thank goodness) and packing a few things that we will need to walk down valley. We are going to drop significant altitude to rest. There are many benefits to this, but I think most of them are psychological.

As we leave Base Camp, the altitude quickly drops away. Soon we are situated at around 12,000 feet in a valley that is full of trees, flowers, baby animals (yaks specifically) and a lot of oxygen. As I sit down in the teahouse where we will stay tonight, everything on the menu looks tasty. I laugh at the fact that I am constantly hungry – the most obvious change from being at a lower elevation. When Dave orders two dinners, I know he feels the same. We are going to spend a couple of days down here, try to put on a few of the pounds we have lost and regain the mental energy to climb one more time.

There is another reason we have come down valley. On our way in, we decided to take a circuitous route over a few mountain passes to acclimatize and in the process, we didn’t see Lama Geshe for our blessing. Seeing the Lama is important to me, as I have stopped here before every expedition. Dave has too, and it is clear that the Lama knows him, asking how many summits he has. We sit in for our blessing, which includes chanting, rice throwing and the tying of a blessing square (sung-dhi) around our necks. The Lama is saying something about strength and health as he pounds his fists on my shoulders, head and knees. I am amazed at how strong he is. The blessing ends with our heads coming together and big smiles all around. I really like that it is his place. It is always so cluttered, with a whole table strewn with the Buddhist auspicious symbols and rice and butter.

We head out as many Sherpa are heading in for their blessing. We are happy to have this as part of our rest time. Now, it is time to head back uphill and into Base Camp, where we will watch the weather. This rest has been short, because it looks like a weather window might be opening soon and we need to get back to be ready for it. I shift my mindset, feeling a little stronger and definitely more well-fed as we head back up to start our summit climb.


Author: - Friday, May 14th, 2010
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  1. T-Dawg
    May 14, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    Our prayers and wishful thoughts go with you and the team too! Team R-400, Rushmore is behind you all the way, Melissa.

  2. Michel
    May 14, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    Good luck up there Melissa! Thinking about you and enjoying your blog. We’re pulling for you.

    Michel, Don, and a few impressionable Wood River students!


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