Tengboche to Dingbuche

Yesterday, Peter walked from Tengboche (12,664 ft.) to Dingboche (14,469 ft) It is probably worth noting for comparison that 14,000 feet is generally a summit in Colorado. Here they have a town at that elevation!

(Peter of course makes the joke that they've named these towns to intentionally abuse people who are hard of hearing.)

Almost all Westerners Peter has seen are there to climb. Usually this is a very busy season for trekking in the mountains but since Nepal has been closed, those crowds are gone. Peter estimated that 60% of the businesses he's passed have been closed. This is a French woman he met on the trail yesterday. She lives in Kathmandu which explains how she's one of the rare people out in the Khumbu trekking at the moment.

Ok, so yetis are real. Proof:

You can see the colorful prayer flags on the right of this bridge. Same concept as the prayer wheels, when the breeze blows the prayers and mantras are said to flutter into the world. Such a lovely concept. The other white scarves are called katas. They are used in ceremonies, most commonly with monks. The general ceremony is that you bring a kata to a monk, he blesses you (and the kata) and drapes the kata over your neck. 

This box says "Everest Expedition 1953". Yikes! I can't even imagine how heavy their gear must have been.

Peter says he has been eating a lot of potatoes. This woman is dressed in a very traditional Tibetan dress and apron (with an added lumberjack jacket for warmth, presumably).