We stopped for lunch at the edge of the west branch of the Dzakaa Chu River. I sat down to wait for Ram to get the lunch ready when I looked over the top of a brown hill and saw the tip of the Everest North Face. I looked toward the west and saw what looked like a cowboy heading our way. As he came closer, I could see he was a local Tibetan on a donkey. We continued along the rough rocky road towards Rongbuk Monastery.