The Final Furlong to Mt Rum Doodle!

We did it! We did it! We made it all the way up to the base of Mt Everest and neither of us suffered from altitude sickness which we thanked the gods for. Having said that we were very careful and drank three or four litres of water each a day and went on a very potent garlic soup diet once above 3500m. It's supposed to aid acclimatisation....think I'd rather take a diamox any day! We are also very proud of ourselves for making it all the way without any guides or porters. We saw a few tour groups going up at the same time as us and they have these porters which carry all their gear and get herded up the trails one by one like sheep by a guide which they have paid a fortune for. We were kind of baffled why people opt for this very expensive option as it is so simple to do the trek on one's own. A monkey with arthritis could it. There's one route in and one route out down the same valley which makes it difficult to get lost! Having said that we realise not everyone has the same amount of time as we did to plan and research such a trip.

Well, it truely is the most blissful, hassle free way to trek. We stayed in cosy teahouses each night, slept in a warm bed and even enjoyed the odd hot shower. I think we washed three times in two weeks...suffice to say we stank, we ached and yearned for a beer! We brought a wee cheeky bottle of rum with us up the trail which is perfect with hot water and honey in the evening to warm you up but we were advised not to drink any alcohol after a town called namche bazar (3440m) as it could make us more suspectible to altitude sickness. All the more for the way down then!

Most trekkers come to the Sagarmatha (Everest) region in the most popular trekking months of October, November and April. An unbelievable amount of nearly 10000 trekkers passed through in October 2008. This figure constitutes foreigners only and doesn't even include the guides, porters, locals or number of yaks all battling for a space on the trails. We heard some reports that there are massive queues to cross the foot bridges and people have to sleep in the dining room of the lodges as there are no beds. Before setting off we were a bit worried about the weather as it is winter in february and not a very popular month for trekking. Day one and all our worries were quashed...clear blue skies, sunny days and very little trekkers on the trails. I have no idea why most people come in Oct and Nov time, (well actually I do, it's because this time of year is post monsoon season and the mountains are supposed to be at their clearest) as the weather in February is also so beautiful. Well, if it is a secret I suppose it is best kept that way! We had two weeks of the most unbelievable weather. Hopefully the photos can do justice to just how fantastic and amazing the trek was. I think the camera can never really capture the sheer size and scale of the 8000m peaks surrounding us. It was beautiful. Another thing the camera cannot portray accurately is just how cold it was. The days were clear and sunny but the icy cold winds pounded us up a lot of the valley, stinging our faces and freezing our fingertips. We would wake up in the morning to find the water in our water bottles completely frozen. Anyone who knows me will know I detest the cold so it is a miracle in itself i perservered with this trek! It was bloody hard work. Especially at the higher altitude, we felt like we moved at snails pace. We have both lost close to a stone in weight...Dal Bhat and a snickers each night just doesn't cut it when your body burns so many calories every day. The food on the trail is pretty horrible. It was great to get back to kathmandu and get stuck into a juicy burger.

A favourite day if i had to pick one would be the day of my birthday (2nd March). We climbed kala patthar (5550m) for the sunrise view of Everest although it was far too cold to enjoy it properly, so we went back up again in late afternoon and stayed to watch the sunset. This was much better than sunrise as the sun sets on Everest turning it yellow, orange and red.

Well, we feel we saved the best til last and ended our seven month round the world trip on such a high. We are now coming home a couple of weeks earlier than anticipated due to job offers which are just too good to refuse. We both agree we are ready to come home and excited about seeing friends and family again! Thank you all so much for following our blog, we hope you've enjoyed our travels as much as we have. We have just one more entry to make on some of the sights in kathmandu but this one will have to wait until after we get home. See you on Thursday!!

So long, farewell, no need to say goodbye!
Lauren and Conor.

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