Everest…Not!

As we approached the Pang-La Pass 5,120 meters (16,900 feet), Thomas, Dimitri, Irina and I were keeping our fingers crossed hoping for clear weather to see what is considered one of Tibet’s most phenomenal Himalayan views featuring the king of them all – Everest.

Losang smiled and indicated that we were about to reach the view point just as our car wound around the last corner and the stunning panorama came into view. Wow!

I jumped out of the car with my camera and immediately started climbing up the ridge to my left to find and even better vantage point. Oohing and aahing my way upwards, I snapped dozens of pictures of Everest simply stunned by the incredible mammoth.

Twenty minutes later – still snapping away – as Thomas and I were discussing nature’s masterpiece, a Chinese man who obviously understood our conversation looked over and said, “Excuse me, you are not photographing Everest – that’s Cho Oyu.” He pointed to a cloud that was clearing from another mountain off to our left and said, “That’s Everest there.”

We looked over and stared at the other mountain. Somehow, Cho Oyu seemed so much more impressive. But in the interest of superlatives, we turned to our left and started snapping away.