Phortse is home to the Khumbu Climbing School. This school was set up by western climbing guides – Conrad Anker being foremost among them – to train the Sherpas in western guiding techniques. The school generally takes place during the Khumbu off season: ie, January. I know several guides in Jackson who have come here to teach (I would imagine it’s a little chilly then). During the Sherpa guiding season, ie, now, it functions mostly as a museum, with a library and a study hall. It’s beautifully built.
I know some of the guides who have worked here, and I can totally visualize them taking this mountain bike out for a spin. I get it. To an older rider such as myself, it looks suicidal… the side hilling is next level and the trails are rocky, but I get it, and seeing the bike here – in good condition – made me smile.
I’m staying at the teahouse adjacent to the center. Phortse is not inline with any of the main Khumbu canyons, so this place gets only a fraction of the traffic. Last night and tonight I have the place to myself. I’m the only one here. On our hike today, we only saw maybe a half dozen people. The solitude likely ends tomorrow, so I’ll just live in the moment.
Alas, now that I’m moving up the valley, the rooms are getting more, well, you can see for yourself. I still have a private toilet, but you have to manually flush it by pouring water in it. There’s no hot water. There’s no heat. No more electric blankets. It was 38 degrees in the room when I woke up this morning.
Who picked the green paint?
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