The Mountain Diaries

Thursday 3rd April

Woke early, I don't know why i can't sleep at the moment. Did last bit of packing and met Dhana at 6am. Kathmandu airport, for local flights, was filled with trekkers and climbers, most people there waiting to start their adventures into the mountains, some just to take a flight over the Himalayas then return to the warmth and comfort of their hotels; i looked on scornfully. Flight was slightly delayed due to bad weather and cloud but made it onto the tarmac about 8.30am. About a dozen small craft were awaiting their morning passengers, and on our flight was a team of Korean climbers who would be tackling the summit of Everest. Already there becomes apparent the very important distinction between trekkers and climbers; if a trekker you are merely walking the base of the mountains, climber, you are one of the bat shit crazy people attempting to summit one of the peaks. The Koreans all wanted photographs with me for some reason and i was even included in the group photograph before entering the plane. The plane itself was tiny; so small you could not stand up in it and there must only have been around 14 of us in it; the front rows of seats being taken up with luggage. Before the flight a stewardess clambered around us all distributing cotton wool, slightly confused i accepted my hand full of fluff and watched as everyone stuffed this into their ears. I decided to bear the noice, it really wasn't that bad, and left my cotton wool on the plane seat. The flight was the most terrifying of my life, awful turbulence and wind meant that for the 40 minute flight we were constantly buffeted about and at several points during the flight it felt like the plane might simply drop out of the sky as it fell several feet in the air, causing everyone to grab the nearest thing in front of them, usually eachother. The scenery did prove quite a distraction however as we traced the side of the himalaya and snow capped mountains loomed outside the window. At one point we were flying through a narrow valley with the mountains either side of us and towering above the plane, they were so close it felt like you, if able to stretch your hand out of the window, would be able to run your fingers along the rock. This was quite unnerving as we were still being thrown about by the wind and felt sure we would simply smash into the sides of the nearest mountain. Landing was rather different as well. If you imagine that the pilot is trying to land the plane on the side of a mountain it might make a bit more sense. The plane came in steeply, pointing its nose almost straight down. From our seats you could see straight through to the cockpit and out the window. The view at this point made it appear that the pilot had simply given up hope and decided to fly the plane straight into the pine forest below. thankfully this was not the case and at what seemed the last moment pulled the plane up and onto a very steep runway that could not have been more than 200 metres long and skidded round a corner to park. Looking back as we exited the plane the runway just fell off the side of the mountain into nothingness. Once we had collected our bags from the front of the plane i had a proper chance to look about me. We were half way down a valley with the hills sloping off to either side covered in pine trees, to the left of the "airport" were around a dozen small white two storey brick houses, with gay bright blue roofs. Directly behind us and down the valley rose the edge of the Himalaya's that we would be walking towards. But first we had to go and collect our porter from one of the lodges. My porters name is Im, and he is only 16 years old. He will come up here to work the season and then go back to his families village during the winter. I was very concerned that my bag would be too heavy at 15KG, plus Dhanas bag, only 10KG, for Im to carry, a total staggering weight of 25KG. i was told not to worry and that they usually carry up to 35KG for trekkers. i was still not convinced until we began walking and i saw what some of the other porters were carrying. some were laden with three large duffel bags which must have weighed in in excess of 40KG. then there are the trader porters who carry food, clothing, anything the shops and restaurants need. These loads can be anything up to 80-90KG and look impossibly heavy. The porters carry short thick wooden sticks with a wide flat handle, very useful for support while they are walking, but even more useful when placed behind them and under their immensely heavy loads that they carry on their backs for a quick rest.

Todays walking was very easy; only four hours and mainly downhill. We walked down the valley and along the bottom next to the river. As we walked we past Tibetan prayer wheels and large boulders which had had prayers written in the Sherpa language inscribed into them and then painted white. Prayer flags fluttered everywhere, and there are many lodges and tea houses scattered along the main path. the path is quite busy with Yaks, sherpas, porters and other trekkers and climbers although the lodges, now we are camped out at one, seem very quiet - but there are so many you would need 10 times the amount of trekkers to fill them all.

We stopped for lunch about 12.30pm in one of the restaurants overlooking the river, and had a massive helping of Daal Bhat. It only starts to occur to me here how hard it is to find a balance with Im and Dhana. Im is very quiet and won't even come and sit with us while we have a cup of tea no matter how many times i ask if he wants to, and Dhana insists on doing and fetching everything for me. But then this is only the first day and we all have to get used to each other, i'm still not sure how things work up here.

We have stopped at Phakding for the night in a lodge that overlooks the river. There are several more lodges around us, and all seem fairly empty; disappointingly we are the only people staying at the one Dhana has chosen for this evening. Each one seems to work to the same theme; a guest house with very basic, but clean and comfortable, rooms, with a restaurant attached which resembles a wooden conservatory with large benches around the outside while in the middle is a wood burning stove, to huddle round when the weather turns really cold. A the moment the weather seems ok, apart from, what will apparently be, a brief spell of rain, very similar to an autumnal day in England.

Friday 4th April

N.B. i was so cold after arriving at the lodge in the snow that my hands were too cold to write and the date was all i was capable of doing.

Saturday 5th April

Yesterday we started out at 7.30am and walked down into the valley again. I lost count of the amount of bridges we must have passed over and by the end of the day i think i had successfully conquered my fear of them. These bridges can be anything up to 250 m long and made of steel. There are steel slats that you walk across so that below you are the, very visible, crashing torrents of the river. As you pass over, the bridge bounces around making your legs shake; this feeling carried on for several paces once you reach solid land again making you feel as though the ground is falling away beneath you.

There were several steep climbs up and then the inevitable drop down again. although coming down is so much easier you know that in the end you'll pay for it and have to climb back up again. I am surprised at how much plant life here is up here, and how colourful this is. Lining the path are dozens of rhododendrons (yes my spelling is appalling i apologise) of brilliant pink and white; the surrounding hills are dotted with clusters of tiny purple flowers, while the apple trees are in full bloom and covered in delicate creamy white blossom. then of course there is the mile upon mile of pine tree strewn land, making it feel more like Switzerland at times than Nepal.

After lunch we ducked right down onto the valley floor and walked right alongside the river, across what must be the dry side of the river bed (it was covered with loose round stones which must have been washed down off the mountains after centuries of monsoons), another path must lie above as this current one would be flooded with water during the monsoon.

I knew that today was going to be a hard day; we would be rising from 2800m in Phakding to 3440m at Namche and also there is a steep path just before Namche. However, when we stopped in front of a steep mountain with a bridge passing from our side onto it, about 200 m above us, i was a little concerned. We had a quick break and had a cup of tea, i'd filled my thermos that morning, while Dhana explained that Namche was just over the mountain and would take about 2 1/2 hours to reach. We climbed up to the bridge, which didn't prove too difficult and once over it began the steep winding path up and over. there was a lot of traffic on this path, as everyone was going so slowly, in the form of yaks, sherpas, porters and many trekkers. As everyone is following the same path and aiming to get to the same villages to spend the evening, you tend to keep coming across the same people through out the day. At regular intervals we come across the korean climbing team, two men from new zealand, 3 americans and a french man. you realise that everyone is moving at roughly the same pace, you take a 5 minute break and someone will over take you, then an hour or so later you will pass them as they rest up for a while. Everyone seemed to be struggling on this steep climb; it wasn't so much my legs that were the problem but my lungs. i could feel that we were getting higher and taking big steps was requiring more breath than it normally should. quite regularly the stream of walkers would be forced to stop to let a herd of yaks pass by or to allow the porters, some carrying impossible loads, room to pass. these little breaks are invaluable and a pause of a minute or so restores you completely.

Looking up and ahead is not advisable as there is nothing so disheartening as struggling where you are at the moment, only to glance up and find the path ahead getting steeper with no end in sight; as long as you focus on the two or three feet ahead of you then it becomes easier to keep plodding along. Everyone seems to be doing this as a small group of us ran into a bit of trouble. We were taken by surprise by a particularly narrow pass by a large group of yaks trotting down the path and three of us had to throw ourselves as far over to one side as possible to avoid being run over, this meant that we were practically lying horizontal across the rocks to one side, one thing was for sure the yaks weren't stopping; it's much like the Indian road system, the bigger you are the more right you have to the road, and to expect everyone else to get out of your way, quickly!

As we neared the halfway mark the wonderful citrus smell of oranges hit us. On the first level bit of ground we had come across everyone was resting up for a bit and an enterprising young Nepali was selling oranges to the tired walkers. the ground round about was strewn with orange peel and the whole place smelt amazing. Myself, Im and Dhana sat down munching on oranges just as it started to rain. i was so hot by this point that the rain was quite refreshing, but as we carried on up the last stage the rain turned to sleet and then a mix between snow and hail. After another hour we reached the edge of Namche and stopped in a tea shop to shelter from the foul weather. We were all wet through now and it was wonderful to get into the warmth of the wooden house. these tea stops are all made of wood with half the room being dominated by the kitchen consisting of a large range fueled by wood and yak dung that everyone initially gathers round, much to the annoyance of the cook, a stupendous metal tea pot good for at least 20-30 people, and one or two whole walls dedicated to large, heavy, wooden dressers. On these are plates, bowls, cups, steamers to make the momos, pots, pans and large and small thermos flasks. these flasks are beautiful, coming from china, and are painted lovely pastel shades with one cluster of painted flowers on them. wooden bungs are placed in the top to keep your drink steaming hot.

After copious amounts of tea and a plate of buff momos (so good) we headed for the last flight of steps that would take us into Namche proper. the weather had, by now, slightly abated although a steady trickle of rainy snow was falling. The paths and narrow "roads" in Namche were muddy and slippery, with small waterfalls of water coursing through them. Namche itself is the largest settlement we will see during the whole trek and has a bazzar where many of the guides and porters go to spend their money on god knows what, while others go to loose it at cards, many many hotels set around the horse shoe of the mountain side that the village lies on, and apparently one or two german bakeries but i haven't had time to explore and find these yet. We are staying at the Namche inn just above the bazaar. I was desperately hoping that there would be some other people staying at this lodge unlike the one the night before. After having a shower, much needed as washing after this point becomes basically impossible due to the cold and the physical exertion required, i met an Israeli couple and a Scottish couple. It was really nice to spend the evening chatting to people and swapping stories and experiences.

Sunday 6th april

Yesterday i woke to find the view of Namche from my bedroom window totally obscured by thick creamy cloud. this was an acclimatisation day, a second night spent in Namche, in an attempt to let my body get used to the increased altitude. Staying in Namche would not really help, its important to gain some height and then come back down again to sleep, so we would be walking to Khumjung and Kunde at 3840m. the walk up to Khumjung was really hard going, snow covered the grounf and was still lightly falling. the route was very steep as well and this was the first day when i had felt the altitude affect me. Moving quickly is impossible and even climbing slowly you can feel your heart banging in your chest. We stopped at the Everest view Hotel but couldn't see anything as the cloud was still low and covering the mountains. Onwards to Khumjung which was a most dismal village, and resembled, in the worsening snow, a drear Welsh mining village. Kunde, lying slightly higher up the mountain than Khumjung, was slightly prettier and we stopped here for lunch. From here it was only a 45 minute walk down to reach Namche but by now the cloud had rolled down the mountain and covered the surrounding area so that visibility was reduced to maybe 10m. These are the times when having a guide is essential, if i had been on my own i would have had to have stayed at Kunde as i would never have been able to find my way back down. After walking for only 10 minutes the snow really began to come down thickly; the wind had picked up also causing the snow to fly horizontally into my face. We eventually made it back down to the lodge and i quickly pulled off my soaking wet clothes and hung them by the stove to dry. this is the highest i have ever been before and was still not suffering, a good sign at this stage as some people can begin to feel ill even this low down.

I had a quick walk through Namche but it was only the usual trekking supplies for sale, along with copious amounts of over priced chocolate. I bought all 3 of us doughnuts which i practically had to force Dhana and Im to accept. Back at the hotel i spent a very pleasant evening talking to a guy from liverpool called Rich. He was ex-marines and it was fascinating talking to him about the awful training and punishments they have to go through and about his experiences in Iraq.

this morning i woke to find the entire of Namche covered in thick snow. We waited until 8.30am to see if the snow would stop, it didn;t, so we headed out into it. this is apparently the coldest April in the mountains for years and they hardly ever get this amount of snow at this time. Apparently it is not unusual to be able to walk about in just a t-shirt but this morning we started out wrapped up against the elements. I was wearing two pairs of socks, thermal trousers and long sleeved top, thick waterproof trousers, hiking t-shirt, fleece and goretex jacket; the temperature was hovering around the freezing mark. While you are walking you are burning hot and sweaty and have to pull off nearly all your layers even though you are walking at a snails pace, but as soon as you stop the cold kicks in cruelly. the majority of todays walking was over quite level ground with only a few steep 10 minute parts but i knew that the last two hours were going to be the steepest climb yet up to Tengboche. Even on level ground the walking was hard going as everywhere was covered in about 7 inches of snow; the snow continued to fall throughout the morning. the paths were turned into either muddy sludge covered ground or else it was so icey due to everyone stamping down the snow that every footfall felt treacherous. I met along the way the usual suspects; a New Zealand couple i had met at the everest view hotel, two guys from NZ who now lived in sydney, a group of canadians and at lunch time, a new recruit to our daily tribe, a man named Christos, from the UK, who is traveling for 2 years and trying to do the 7 peaks - either summits or base camps.

The snow really made the countryside look very beautiful, like something from the front of a christmas card, but because of all the cloud we couldn't see the mountains that would have been surrounding us. We stopped for lunch before the big climb to gather energy and christos and the two NZ guys were there. We tried to get our guides to confer and try to get us all in the same lodge but none of them seemed very willing. I think all the guides have certain places that they normally stay at and are none too willing to change their plans. During lunch the snow really came down in torrents. We were the last to leave the tea house and when we did it had eased slightly.

the climb up to Tengboche was grueling and there was no choice but to take it very very slowly. Once you get into an equal and rhythmical pace it becomes easier but any deviation from this, be it missing your footing, having to take a particularly large step upwards, or even just coughing, leaves you out of breath and gasping. From Phunki Drengka, where we stopped for lunch, we rose from 3250m to 3850m in Tengboche in just two hours.

I was just starting to get sick of this mountain, the walk seemed to be going on forever and it was exhausting having to constantly be looking down and concentrating on the next place to step, this is all you can focus your mind on and doing any thing else like talking or admiring the view becomes impossible. suddenly we turned a corner and were welcomed by a sign announcing our arrival in Tengboche. We were now at an altitude of 3860m. It is very hard to remember when you are walking around the village that, even though you are not hiking any more, you are still affected by the altitude so you still can't march about without getting out of breath and a slight pain in your head. Dhana insisted that we stay in his choice of hotel and not with the boys which i was slightly annoyed about. However, it all turned out for the best in the end. staying at our lodge were a group of canadians who were being led by an english man. it transpired that, although he had lived in Nepal for 24 years, he used to live in Leeds on the Otley Road!

At 3pm Chris came down to find me and we walked up to the monastery. Tengboche is a very small village with only 6 hotels, 2 lying at the top of the village then over some flat land down to where the rest of the village is crammed together. Everything was covered in about a foot of snow and the monastery, at the top end, stood out all colour and splendor against the white background. In 1989 the monastery had completely burnt to the ground ina fire and had to be rebuilt. Since then there has been no heating in the monastery as they fear another fire. This means that for the monks who stay here over the winter they face temperatures of around -20! At 3pm they have afternoon prayers which visitors are allowed to sit and watch in the main chamber. This room is staggering in its beauty. Every surface is covered in buddhist paintings depicting the life of Buddha and there are several enormous statues around the alter. The monks began chanting as we all took our seats on the floor and i felt lulled into a restful peace. After 20 minutes a monk arrived with a gigantic teapot and filled the cups placed in front of the monks. All together, prompted by an invisible cue, they stopped chanting for a tea break and then began again simultaneously. This happened another two times and for some reason i found this really funny and had to suppress a laugh when Chris next to me let out a strangled giggle. After they had finished we all went outside and stood in the snow waiting to see if the cloud would lift and allow us to see our first view of everest. Sadly we were denied this and everyone traipsed back to their lodges for the evening. Back at my lodge i met the only other young single female trekker i have seen so far. After talking for a while we discovered that we were both called Victoria, had both been to leeds university,and were both traveling for about 5 months. What are the chances? We got on famously and had to be told to go to bed as some of the porters were sleeping in the dining room and we were keeping them up with our banter.

Oh, during dinner everyone rushed outside as someone said everest was finally visible. Just as the sun was going down Everest and the surrounding peaks were unveiled from behind the cloud and i watched as the mountains turned pink.

Monday 7th April

This morning i was happy to see that the snow had finally stopped and the day was dawning bright and cheerful. I went outside before breakfast and was stunned at what the clouds had kept hidden from us the previous day. the village was completely surrounded on all sides by mountains, everywhere i looked was another amazing snow covered mountain, and again everest was clearly visible in all its terrifying glory.

although the snow had stopped the freezing temperatures during the night had turned all the paths to solid ice. The first hour and a half of todays walk towards Periche was a gradual slope downwards and i was walking on solid ice. Several times i was saved from falling flat on my arse only by leaning heavily on my walking pole and by Dhana grabbing hold of me and sliding his foot in front of mine to stop me slipping further down the slope. this made walking very slow and it wasn't until the sun came out and started melting the ice that we could make any kind of progress. The walk after this was quite straight forward and not too challenging, it also helped having a clear and constant view of Everest encouraging me to keep placing one foot in front of the other. There were quite a few people on the path and at one point about 15 of us were forced to scramble up the hill to find a safe place to stand while about 20 yaks charged past us. On coming to the last village before Periche we needed to stop for lunch and i saw Chris at a restaurant and firmly told dhana that this was where we were stopping for lunch. He conceded although he couldn't help himself from mentioning that he was unsure of how good the food would be; i told him it would be fine, and prayed that it would be.

After about 10 minutes Pete and Kirsty joined us, the NZ couple, and we had a nice time chatting, eating delicious momos and taking in the spectacular views that surrounded us. Through out lunch great chunks of snow and ice kept melting and falling from the roofs of the houses, it seemed the whole world was melting. After lunch there was a steep climb up towards Periche which, due to the altitude - over 4000m - was the hardest climb so far. The only way i managed to get myself up here was by taking deep slow breaths and looking straight down at the ground, not daring to look up once for fear of seeing how far i still had to go. It was encouraging that Chris was about 50m in front of me and i was managing to keep up with him, just! when we reached the top of the hill we had been climbing there was an easy stroll down to the valley floor where Periche lies. We crossed a short, typically Nepali, bridge over the river which consisted of 3 plates of metal tied together with string. The last plate had fallen into the river and i had to jump and ballance precariously on several stepping stones to clear the last 4 feet. I had arrived at Periche at 4250m and had cleared another 450m in height. It is usually at this height that people begin to feel the altitude in the form of headaches or nausea but so far so good and i'm feeling ok, if constantly out of breath. Chris, Pete, Kirsty and myself are all staying at the same lodge which is great and it feels like we have a little troop together, although i am definitely the baby of the group. The others are between 28 and 32 and have so much experience walking , trekking and climbing and i am constantly having to ask them to explain technical terms that i have no idea about. they are all very well tooled up as well with heart rate monitors, altitude meters, solar panels to charge mobile phones and handheld PC's - i wonder if this is going a little over the top, surely the point of coming up here is to get away from all this technology and live a bit more simply. Up here an indoor toilet seems the height of luxury, and if there's a sink, well, this is a dream we barely dare to share out loud!

There is a medical centre at Periche which holds a daily lecture at 3pm for trekkers about AMS and other mountain related illnesses. We all went down together leaving our guides together and all feeling like we were sneaking away from our parents like naughty school children. As we expected the lecture scared the shit out of everyone and i am definitely starting to take this trek more seriously and understand that it can be quite dangerous. It hasn't helped that we are now seeing the rescue helicopter flying over head at least once or twice every couple of days, picking people up off the mountain on their way to base camp if they are too ill to make it down on their own. I have also passed several people who are having to descend as they became ill further up.

Tuesday 8th April

Last night i had a bit of a crap night, i was perfectly warm, inside my 4 season down sleeping bag plus a blanket and nearly all the clothes i had been wearing the previous day, but kept waking up every hour on the hour from about 1am. Had a slight headache in the morning which went away after breakfast and decided to push on to Lobuche. I set off about 8.30am and walked up the valley towards the first stepp climb of the day. At this altitude we are above the tree line and there is hardly any plant life save for some sad and sorry looking scrub that looks a bit like heather. The land is barren and all you can see around you is earth, rock and snow. Todays walk was a constant climb upwards and at this altitude every step is an effort as your lungs try to take on enough oxygen. I reached the halfway mark where there was a cafe full of exhausted trekkers fuelling up on much needed tea and biscuits and joined the others who were also there. I thought we had done the hard part but Pete pointed out the next part of the climb and i realised the worst was to come. This next stage was a steep scramble over rocks and stones, not the most comfortable walking, but i bumped into the Korean climbing team again and we encouraged each other along until we reached the top of the ridge. At this place were many stone memorials covered in prayer flags to commemorate all the sherpas who had died on mount everest. Pete and Kirsty were there and i was pleased to learn i had made it up in the same time as they had, having left 10 minutes after them. My heart was hammering against my chest and there was no way of slowing it down as it tried to compensate for the lack of oxygen i was breathing in. The oxygen in the air is at only 53 %. I had now reached the 5000m barrier and this was the first time that i could feel the affect this was having on my body. the last leg towards Lobuche was almost flat but seemed endless as the village is hidden from sight until you are right on top of it. By this point i had lost all enthusiasm for walking; i was tired, hungry, completely out of breath and my heart felt like it was going to explode and i still couldn't see an end to todays walk. After what seemed like an eternity of slowly plodding onwards, feeling like i was making no progress what so ever we reached Lobuche at 5018m. In just two days i have climbed 1158m! Again our little group were all staying at the same lodge, which has a massive dining room and seems to be full to bursting. Lobuche is only tiny tiny and so the hew lodges fill up very quickly. Standing outside our lodge one can see the glacier which flows down from everest, and the moraine that we will be walking along tomorrow morning on the way to Gorak Shep and then finally, after lunch, onto Base Camp.

I felt so much better after i had eaten lunch and got a few cups of steaming tea inside me. We all went for a walk up the nearest hill, for several reasons; firstly it was only 2.30pm and we had the whole of the rest of the day to fill, secondly to have a look at the wonderful views of the mountains and the glacier path we would take tomorrow, and thirdly it helps to aclimatise better if you can go a little higher than where you will be sleeping and should make the walk tomorrow ever so slightly easier. We climbed for 100m and looked down into the valley. At only this slightly increased altitude i was having problems; again my heart was pumping hard and my pulse was a staggering 160 bpm even when standing still, and my head was really hurting now. Once we'd stopped walking for a good few minutes though and had a chance to take a few deep breaths i did begin to feel better. This was very encouraging as at the AMS lecture yesterday the doctors had said that the most important thing was that you were able to recover from your symptoms, otherwise you really have no choice but to descend.

I cannot believe how quickly time is going and tomorrow i will be at base camp, if i can make it. I can see from my previous diary entries how my priorities have changed. Up until only a few days ago i was preoccupied with my surroundings, the flora and fauna, the houses and what not. Whereas now all i can concentrate on is how my body appears to be reacting to the altitude and finding a way of getting myself to the next check point. Everyone going up seems to have been affected like this as all anyone can talk about at dinner is how they slept and enquire as to whether any one feels sick or has a headache.

A few words on hygiene:

Since April 3rd i have had one shower, and not washed since then. i have not removed my thermal trousers for 3 days, day or night. My hair is greace filled and knotty beyond belief. My hands are dry and cracked and bits of skin are peeling away from my finger tips. I haven't taken off the two pairs of socks i have on for 48 hours. I haven't washed any of my clothes since leaving Kathmandu and probably won't be able to until i get back there (the water here is so cold that when i made a feeble attempt to wash a t-shirt i couldn't keep my hands in the water for more than a few seconds, in the morning i saw that this bowl of water had frozen solidver night). Apart from all this and the constant banging of my heart even when at rest, and the breathlessness from just getting into my sleeping bag at night...i'm A ok!

I'm getting a little worried about tomorrow, i still have a headache that won't go away. I'm just hoping that tomorrow morning, after what i'm praying will be a good nights sleep, my body will have adjusted a little to the altitude and i will begin to feel better. I'm only just realising how hard this is.

Wednesday 9th April (black wednesday)

Well, what a thoroughly beastly day! I got absolutely no sleep last night and felt miserable all evening with a horrible head ache and dizziness. Spent the whole night worrying that i would have to descend and not make base camp. This morning, although exhausted, i did feel a little better as the dizziness had abated. I told Dhana there was no way i could go on to Gorak Shep even though i was feeling a little better, i didn't want to risk getting even worse and then really being in the shit. I am just so glad that i am doing this on my own and can make this decision. We have met quite a few people who had been trekking in a group, had gotten ill and had to descend with a porter to wait for 8 days in a lodge until their group picked them up again on the way down, they are usually on such a tight schedule that they cannot wait for even one day to see if the person feels better. It was rather depressing seeing Kirsty, Pete and Chris go off in the morning, but at least by staying behind for another night in Lobuche i had a better chance of making Base camp and climbing Kala Pattar. Although all i wanted to do was curl up in my sleeping bag nursing my aching head and tired body, Dhana insisted that we had to do some walking today and go a little higher so that i stood a better chance of aclimatising. He also gave me some Diamox which helps the body aclimatise as i didn't want to descend until i absolutely had to; i was damned if i was turning back at this point. Getting changed into my walking boots and trousers left me out of breath and my head reeling; i didn;t feel too inclined to agree with Dhana that walking would do me good. We headed out along the path that would have taken us to Gorak Shep but we were only going halfway today. I felt utterly miserable as i panted and strained up the slightest incline, while everyone else around me was chatting excitedly about reaching base camp that day. My surroundings didn't help much either; we were at the end of the glacier which flows down from everest, and everywhere was just rock and the occassional patch of ice. when we had reached half way we stopped for half an hour and then turned back; getting to this point had taken twice as long as it should have done as i had to keep stopping to catch my breath and wait until my headache subsided a little. the walk back seemed impossibly long and all i could concentrate on was keeping my head down and watching Dhana's feet in front of me. My brain felt like it was filled with fog and i can't remember a time when i have ever been so tired; by now i'd barely slept at all in the past 48 hours.

Back at the lodge, finally, and the Israeli couple, Ori and Sasha, who i had met at the lodge in Namche were staying there for the evening. I tried to keep up a conversation but was incapable of talking and just laid down where i was, on the padded benches that line all the walls of every lodge, and fell asleep. Im woke me up several hours later, i had slept through lunch, and asked what i would like for dinner. One of the symptoms when you are not reacting well to high altitude is that you lose your appetite. I was convinced this could never happen to me, as eating is one of my favourite activities (as Charlotte can atest to) and is not necessarily linked to whether i feel hungry or not (for evidence just place 20 cream slices in front of me and see how many are left). However, this evening the thought of food actually replused me and made me feel nauseaous even at the thought of having to eat something. I told Im i really couldn't face food but Dhana came over, said i had to have something and ordered garlic soup and toast for me. When this came all i could do was look at it, i couldn't even bring myself to pick up the spoon. I tried one mouthful of bread which immediately made me feel queasy and decided i was good for nothing but bed. Dhana seems very concerned i think and has given me strict instructions to come and wake him up any time during the night if i start to feel worse. All i can hope is that tomorrow is a better day; i don't know how to describe how sick, breathless and utterly shit i feel.

Thursday 10th April

Election day, and all over Nepal people are voting to decide the history of their country.

Thankfully i got a full nights sleep last night, which at this altitude means your body only waking you up two or three times as it struggles for oxygen and you have to take huge lungfuls of air to try and slow your heart rate down. But this morning my pulse was down to a much healthier 90bpm, headache was gone and actually felt rather energetic. Getting ready for teh day still took about half an hour, even though i was wearing nearly all my clothes already. I had breakfast at 6.30am as we needed to get an early start if we were to get to Gorak Shep in enough time to have lunch and be able to get to Base camp and back before dark. I was a bit nervous about starting the day incase after a few hundred feet my headache came back, but after an hour and a half, which took us to the base of a sharp incline, i was still feeling good and had also met up with the Israeli couple so had some company which is always encouraging. This incline took about an hour to get up and was simply horrid. As we have been blessed with good weather the past few days, sun all day and perfect blue skies and not a breath of wind, the ground has turned to dust and sand so every time i set down a foot i was sent sliding backwards a little while rocks scattered behind me. i tried to follow Dhana's feet as he expertly stepped from rock to rock making walking much easier, but trying to gulp down lungfuls of air to feed your starving muscles and keep plodding onwards does not lend itself to being able to jump from rock to rock. At the top was a wonderful view of the mountains which made the physical effort of the past hour worth it.

Now began some truly terrible walking over loose rock and constantly going up and down slopes, having to clamber precariously over large boulders and seeing no end in sight of the dust, rock and ice that is all one can see. To my left rose the shingle and rock covered slopes whie below me ran the end of the glacier; at this point mostly rock with the occassional cleft in it where ice soared out from. Above the glacier was the mountain range, although everest was still out of sight, and i had to keep looking up at this view to remind myself why i was putting myself through this as yet another slope loomed up infront of me. After rounding one last corner Gorak Shep came into view with the terrifying peak of Kala Pattar looming over the tiny cluster of lodges on the left hand side. I was now at 5170m! Mentally did a quick health check, pulse still in the 90's, no headache or dizziness, but still no appetite; i had managed to get down a small bowl of porridge at breakfast but knew i now had to eat something if i wanted to make it up to BC. Ordered the staple Daal Bhat but could only stomach the rice and Daal but had at least eaten something. Quickly got changed into some warmer gear, although it was still beautifully sunny outside i was told it could be alot colder at BC; this turned out to be crap and instead had to carry all the extra layers i'd been advised to take with me.

We set out a little after Ori and Sasha and hoped to see them along the way. this walk has to be the most depressing and demoralising thing about this whole trek and at several points i was on the verge of giving in and simply turning back. The path led me constantly up and down and at no point was there a rest from this or level ground. It was also over soft sandy earth and everything around was grey; the landscape had turned truly lunar. At one stage we had to walk right along the very bottom of a rocky sandy mountain which climbed steeply up and away to our left. Dhana kept glancing nervously upwards and on asking whether everything was ok i was informed that quite often rock and debris fall down the mountainside. Truly scared not, i had to admit that there was nothing i could do if a rock decided to roll down the hill and hit me on the head, for one i couldn't see how you could ever know about it until it was too late, and for another i was now walking so slowly that the thought of walking fater than a very slow yak had become laughable. As the sun was so strong every now and then deep groans and cracks echoed across the glacier as the ice broke and creaked in the heat. This caused everyone around me to hastily look upwards, and generally along this stretch everyone looked paniced. Very grateful to turn away from this area we headed towards the glacier and the environment became even stranger.

all around was grey rock but now ice dripped everywhere, there were large pools which were frozen over and where ice caves had formed, i could put my foot onto what looked like earth only to find just underneath was a plate of sheer ice. Here and there were large cubes of ice with, looking very odd and like pieces of modern art, big bits of rock balanced ontop of them. We were walking along a wide ridge and BC was visible in the distance, a scattering of prayer flags and tents. This was the most difficult part of this walk towards our final goal. BC was visible but because of the constant inclines and declines it never appeared to get any closer; it seemed i was making no progress, just becoming increasingly tired and deflated. I was walking very very slowly now and gasping for every breath; the sir was so cold that it tried to cover my mouth with my scarf, but even putting this thin piece of material over my mouth made me feel like i was suffocating and i had to tear it away as i just couldn't get enough oxygen from the air. I was getting so frustrated at this pint that i began shouting abuse at myself, which did actually seem to do some good and kept me crawling forwards, although i'm not sure it did much good for Dhana's faith in my sanity. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, the edge of the camp came clearly into view and after half an hour more i reached it. This walk should only have taken 2 hours from Gorak Shep, it had taken me 3 but i really didn't care.

BC is enormous, so much bigger than i expected. it is spread across several acres and Dhana said there must be about 50-60 summit teams here, it is probably busier than normal as no one is able to summit from the Tibet side. All the camps are very haphazard and spread about, the whole area was just like the surface i had just walked across and to pitch tents the porters, who are sent about a month ahead of the climbers to set up camp, have tp clear every area where tents need to go. This involves smashing up and removing vast quantities of rock and shingle and ice in an attempt to flatten the ground. i was sad to find the place vaguely depressing and did not quite know what to do once i had finally got there after a week of hard work.. Maybe it was because i had no one there to celebrate with, but the place was generally bleak. Dhana and i had a celebratory snickers and chocolate has never tasted so good! it didn''t quite seem real that i was here and i don;t think it will sink in properly until i can get on a phone and tell someone that i made it. I had a mooch around the camp and tried to find the Koreans but there were so many tents it was impossible (on the way back we saw some of them on their way to their new home for the next 3 months and had to refuse offers of tea and biscuits as we were getting a bit strapped for time).

We headed back and my spirits sank as i thought of the long road back to the lodge. The walk back was just as tiring and even worse as there was no end goal to keep me motivated. Luckily the weather remained clear for the rest of the way back to Gorak Shep otherwise it would have been unbearable. When we were going back along the path where there was the risk of fatal mini landslides we heard a scream from about 10 m behind us. some rocks had tumbled down the hill but magically only hit the backpack of the now terrified woman.

By now it was about 3.30pm and i had been walking for nearly 8 hours non stop, except for lunch, and was absolutely exhausted. The last hour and a half went past in a daze and i can only remember collapsing into a chair at the lodge and being forced to drink cups of hot lemon (this and garlic soup are the magic ingredients to help you aclimatise and i never want to drink another mug of the stuff again, i find myself trying to sneekily order a mug of contraband milk tea but Dhana always spots me and when my drink arrives its hot sodding lemon!). This has been a very long and tiring day but all i managed to eat was a chappati and peanut butter; pretty much for the last few days i've been living on porridge, chappati and peanut butter and a small helping of rice. The lodge we were staying in was really busy and everyone looked happy but extremely tired. I stayed up for a while playing cards with Ori and Sasha but couldn't keep it up for long.

I collapsed into bed at about 7.30pm in desperate need of sleep, especially since we were attempting Kala Pattar the next day, but in my mind i was already giving up on it, thinking that now BC had been reached the aim of the trek had been accomplished and surely it was now time to be heading home.

Friday 11th April

Had a glorious nights sleep last night and was feeling much more positive about tackling Kala Pattar. Dosed up on porridge i set out at about 7am. Kala Pattar is a peak in its own right at 5545m, but not snow covered. looking at it from the bottom it doesn't seem that bad; this is because what you assume to be the peak is in fact only the first step the clime is sheer and unrelenting, people had told me that you can only take about 10 steps at a time before being bought to a standstill as you gasp for breath. I knew i was going ridiculously slowly as everyone else over took me but as long as i could keep moving upwards, no matter how slowly, i didn't care. A stubborn will to get to the top had taken hold of me and i was going to summit even if it killed me. The first hour took me over very steep earth to the first ridge, which from the bottom looks like half way. From here i could see the summit for the first time and it was miles away. Every step after this point became a massive effort and after the long day yesterday i was already very tired. Now we continued steeply up over loose rocky and sandy terraine to the base of the last leg.

This last stage involved climbing over boulders like you would find at the beach, where children go poking around in the rock pools; the only difference was these seemed stacked almost vertically. I could have cried at this point, my lungs were actually painful and there seemed nothing i could do to get my pulse down. After 3 hours i reached the top and couldn't quite believe i had made it, i was now at 5500m! The summit was a steep stack of rock reaching to a single point gradually on one side, whilst on the other there was a vertical drop down. When i turned around, we had been climbing in one direction and my eyes had been firmly on the ground, i was shocked. Spread out before me was the whole range of the himalayas in this region from Everest to Island peak to Nuptse to Ama Dablam (my favourite mountain) and lastly Pumo Ri.

I had met Chris the day before who said that when he had done Kala Pattar the day before it had been -10 in the wind. Imust have got very lucky as there was a clear blue sky, brilliant sunshine and not a cloud to be seen any where. I sat right at the summit and tried to take in what i could see before me but it was all slightly over whelming, the last few days all seem to have been part of some strange dream at the moment and i don't think it will all seem real until i can sit down and talk to someone at home about it.

The walk down was slightly easier and i could feel the change the lower we got down and the more oxygen there was in the air. Had a quick lunch in Gorak Shep and then back out again as we had to get down to Periche by the end of the day. Descending today was amazing and at parts i was practially running down it felt so good to be ab;e to breath easier. The weather held out until we reached the bottom of the valley, where Periche lay about 3-4 miles ahead, when the cloud and damp mist descended down on us. This area could very well have been deepest darkest Yorkshire or somewhere in the peak district; low foggy cloud, stone walls and cottages, rocky heather strewn land and brooks and streams criss-crossing the valley floor. I was the only person staying at the lodge that night but didn;t really mind as i was so tired i just wanted to go straight to bed after dinner; we had had another 8-9 hour day of hard walking. During dinner Dhana told me, as we all sat round the stove trying to keep warm, that one of the Nepalese guys at the lodge had said i was very nice but it was a shame my nose was so long, he supposed there was nothing i could do about it; i really need to learn Nepali!

Although base camp is the one you have to do so you can say "i've been to everest base camp", Kala Pattar is the one i'm really pleased that i made and feel like i achieved the most from completing.

sunday 13th April

Nepali new year - happy 2065!

Yesterday we had a late start and didn't head out until 8.30am on our way to Namche, another long day ahead of us at about 8 hours. I think i might have taken it a bit quick the day before as my ankle was hurting me quite alot. Until yesterday i hadn't had a single ache or pain but now my ankle is fairly painful as well as my back and my legs are starting in now as well. Although going uphill feels like much harder work coming down causes alot more problems as generally you are going faster and there's a constant strain on your knees. I can feel how much fitter i am, now i can keep up the pace i have on the flat when i'm going uphill with no problems, and it feels great to be able to fly down the mountains and not feel the dread of facing another hill like i did when i first started. Walking becomes addictive and i don't feel like stopping for breaks any more and am usually up and ready to start the day before Dhana in the morning.

We reached Namche at about 4.30pm, just as the rain started. I went down into the main streets and bought Dhana and Im new coats as part of their tip which i would give to them on the last day.

I finally had a much needed and over due shower, i don't think even i realise quite how bad the smell and dirt had reached; i hadn't washed since leaving Namche 9 days earlier! I cannot explain how wonderful it was to have a warm shower and feel clean again, and was certainly worth every penny of the 200 Rupees i was charged for the pleasure; up here everything has its price.

that night we were staying at a different lodge that Im had gone on ahead and chosen which was one of the best we have stayed at, i spent the evening talking to a very friendly warm man called Joe who was from America but had been living in holland for the last 8 years and worked as an organisational psychologist. We nearly had the lights turned out on us at 9pm, as we were the only people still up, and took the hint and went to bed.

Another late start this morning, it really feels terribly lazy to be having breakfast at 7.30am and to not start walking until 8 or 8.30am. The rain had stopped over night and as we descended through the pine forests it smelt like the hot botanical gardens where the tropical plants and butterflies live. We descended down the steep hill which had been agony on the way up to Namche and then after crossing the river had to ascend the other side. I had a few tears as this was the last time i would get to see the snowy mountains, i really can't believe the trek is over, time has gone so quickly. The rest of the walk was quite straight forward apart from when we got stuck behind a large herd of yaks who had apparently lost their shepard and Im, Dhana and myself had to try and shoo them along, screaming, shouting, hitting and whistling at them until a Nepali man cam running out of no where to take over.

Today was Nepali new year 2065, so i am somewhat in the future. At the lodge tonight in Phakding, the last stop before Lukla where we have one night and then fly early on the morning of the 15th, Im, Dhana and I played cards for hours and had a bit of a celebration but i think the real party starts now that i have taken myself off to bed and they can go and have a drink and let their hair down.

Monday 14th April

This is it, the last day and i am now focusing on how good it will be to get back to Kathmandu, where they have things like telephones, internet and, occassionally as the power is usually off from about 10am until 9pm, electricity.

Todays walk was really easy, just the last 3 hours down to Lukla where the sun was shining. We passed all the newly arrived trekkers fresh from Kathmandu and although i envied them for what lay ahead a bad little part of me wanted to laugh and say "ha ha you have no idea how hard this is going to get". It is only now, relaxing in the lodge, that i've become aware of how thoroughly tired i am, and i'm noticing all these little aches and pains that i think before i was forcing myself to ignore. According to one of Pete and Kirsty's fancy little gadgets we were using on average about 5000+ calories a day, even trying to eat 3 good meals a day, and over 4500m this became a real struggle, it's very difficult to take on this many calories and i do seem to have lost a little bit of weight. I can highly reccommend the Everest base camp diet! i can't wait to get back to Kathmandu and just spend a day sleeping and not doing any walking. i've packe my bag for the morning, it's not a pretty sight; everything is covered in dust and mud and there is a rather pungent smell attached to everything.

Tonight at the lodge was so much fun, it's a bit of a tradition on the last night for all the porters and guides and trekkers to get together and have a bear and a bit of a party. In our lodge tonight was a group of Australiens and we all had a celebration together. Had my first, second and third beer with Dhana since the beginning of April and it was nice to be able to relax and have some fun with him without him having to worry about work. There was loud Nepalese music playing and all the porters and guides got me up dancing and teaching me how to dance Nepali style. It has been the perfect end to an unforgettable two weeks. Tomorrow we have breakfast at 5.30am and hopefully fly back to Kathmandu at around 6.30am, depending on the weather. I took the last of my beer outside with me before coming to bed, and stood in the moonlight for one last look at the clouds rolling down over the mountains.



*will be continued later*

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