A leisurely start lets us recover a bit from the effort of crossing the pass the day before. The pass is visible on the horizon just right of center, with the broad snowfield in the saddle.

The Cholatsho Lake, on the right, points the way down into the Khumbu Valley. We cut across to the left, to head up the Khumbu Valley.

Cholatse, 6440m (21,490 ft), looms over us as we pass the frozen lake at its base.

Staying on the high ground, as we enter the Khumbu Valley itself, the near views are dominated by monster mountains!

Ama Dablam, on the left, dominates the view to the south. Its profile is now very different from the classic view of its north face.

We continue up the Khumbu Valley, dwarfed by the mass of the surrounding mountains.

A frozen river is the last challenge on this leg...

... and soon the lodge that will be our camp for the next three days comes into view. The pyramid of solar panels behind it houses an Italian research center that’s closed for the winter. Pumori, 7145m (23,442 ft.) peeks out over the ridge.