Friday 10th November If anything, the weather was even worse than yesterday. The downpour was relentless. It hardly inspired confidence for the day ahead. My plan had been to walk down to Lukla with Paul and fly back to Kathmandu tomorrow. The weather looked like it had other ideas, so I decided to see if [...]
Thursday 9th November It was good to have a lie in until the late hour of 7:30 a.m. PD Sherpa wished us a good trip on our departure. Today is the second day of the Mani Rimdu festival and some dancing is taking place. On the approach to Tengboche we saw a musk deer. It [...]
Wednesday 8th November Last night I slept well although I was awake at the crack of dawn. The lodge did not start serving breakfast until 6 a.m. I had some delicious porridge and Tibetan bread with jam. Departure for Deboche was at 8 a.m. The path passed through several yersas (yak herding areas) before crossing [...]
Tuesday 7th November An early start was essential if we were to go to Kala Pattar and back, then subsequently to Pheriche or Dingboche. We were up at 6 a.m. and soon on our way. Initially, the path from Lobuche gently wanders up the ablation valley. At the end of the valley path we had [...]
Monday 6th November After waking at 5:30 a.m. I went outside to watch the sunrise over Ama Dablam. Yesterday’s walk had taken a lot out of me so I will give Chukhung a miss on the way back to Namche. There is not enough time to see both Chukhung and the Mani Rimdu festival. Peter [...]
Sunday 5th November It is my birthday today. I am 26 years old and certainly don’t feel any older. Paul and Peter gave me their best wishes, and I posed for a photo outside the lodge holding the ‘Happy Birthday’ sign. Paul listened to the football last night when he was in bed. He said [...]
Saturday 4th November Last night I slept like a log. I had a much needed shave, washed my hair, and had breakfast. Marcia gave me directions to her hotel in Kathmandu so that we can meet up on 12th November. Paul, Peter and I agreed to leave for Dragnag, our overnight stop before tackling the [...]
Friday 3rd November I don’t know whether it was the thrill of the impending adventure or not, but I was awake at 1:30 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. In the short time I had been asleep I dreamt that I was playing cards with the others. Being at altitude makes me have vivid [...]
Thursday 2nd November The day got off to a bad start when Jill discovered Tania suffering from AMS. Tania did not look well at all. She showed the classic signs of ataxia; loss of co-ordination, making her look drunk. Her speech was slurred, her eyes glazed over, and we were all very concerned. AMS can [...]
Wednesday 1st November We made it to Gokyo today. From Machermo we walked over the ridge down the gentle slope to Panka. The path leads to where the high moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier meets rock walls. Beyond Panka there is a rocky road that leads to a wooden bridge over an icy stream. The [...]
