![Lobuche East (20,075ft/6119m) is a trekking peak. The main peak of Lobuche, Lobuche West (20,161ft/6145m), requires an expedition peak permit that is considerably more expensive. Himex members climbed Lobuche East twice to avoid climbing through the Icefall to acclimatize for Everest. [_EVE090122]](../imgThmb/_EVE090122a.jpg)
![Hiro took this of Shinji and me on our way to Lobuche Base Camp. I was not doing well. Two days before during skills review I felt some pain in my chest. That night I was up coughing and the pain grew worse. At some point during the hike to Lobuche Base Camp, I made a simple movement that resulted in what felt like a spear digging through my chest. It was like a golf ball with spikes on it lodged in my heart. [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_2959]](../imgThmb/IMG_2959o.jpg)
![Lobuche Base Camp with Lobuche Peak in the background [EVE09_0149]](../imgThmb/EVE09_0149a.jpg)
![Lobuche Base Camp [EVE09_0140]](../imgThmb/EVE09_0140o.jpg)
![Lobuche BC as Team 3 goes up to camp 1 - I stayed behind to give my muscle time to recover. [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_2989]](../imgThmb/IMG_2989o.jpg)
![The view from the summit of Lobuche East. After taking a strong anti-inflammatory for a few days, I joined Eugene, Monique (Eugene's mother), another trekker and two Sherpas for the summit climb. [_EVE090248]](../imgThmb/_EVE090248o.jpg)
![Eugene and his Mother, Monique, at Camp 1 [_EVE090240]](../imgThmb/_EVE090240o.jpg)
![Climbing Lobuche - These photos were taken on another day by Hiro. The card in my camera was full! [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3153]](../imgThmb/IMG_3153o.jpg)
![I left the trekkers early on summit day and went ahead on my own. [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3188]](../imgThmb/IMG_3188o.jpg)
![Climbing Lobuche [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3213]](../imgThmb/IMG_3213o.jpg)
![Climbing Lobuche [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3239]](../imgThmb/IMG_3239o.jpg)
![Climbing Lobuche [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3496]](../imgThmb/IMG_3496o.jpg)
![Climbing Lobuche [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3554]](../imgThmb/IMG_3554o.jpg)
![Thomas, just below the summit at high camp [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3593]](../imgThmb/IMG_3593o.jpg)
![High Camp with Everest in the background [Photo by Hiro KuraokaIMG_3599]](../imgThmb/IMG_3599o.jpg)
![The summit of Lobuche - I reached the summit in just over 4 hours, which was a tremendous relief. Although I only climbed Lobuche once, it didn't seem to matter for my acclimatization. [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3680]](../imgThmb/IMG_3680o.jpg)
Climbing Lobuche - These photos were taken on another day by Hiro. The card in my camera was full! [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3153]
Climbing Lobuche - These photos were taken on another day by Hiro. The card in my camera was full! [Photo by Hiro Kuraoka IMG_3153]
