Dispatch 21: Rest Day in Base Camp

Dhaulagiri Base Camp at night after fresh snow

Today, after a very good night’s sleep, I woke up around 7:30am, cleared the snow off of my solar panels, and watched as an enormous avalanche swept very close to the route to Camp I. Thankfully, we had advised Lina and Javi to leave very early in the morning for Camp I and we were confident that they were well past the place on the route that was at risk of being hit by that time. We ate breakfast together, spent the morning organizing and visiting with Dhaula, and again witnessed the afternoon storms materialize. We watched Office Space and played Monopoly Deal in the mess tent to kill time in the afternoon, and then I spent the remaining time before dinner organizing my meals for our next acclimatization cycle. We enjoyed a filling dinner (not something that we usually get this year), spoke with Lina and Javi in Camp I, and went to sleep as heavy snow fell.