My guide leader had given me the choice of leaving with the group – in 30 minutes or following on afterwards, with “Gopal the Gude” accompanying me. It didn’t seem much of a choice, as I think I knew deep down the day would be much harder if I left later. In 30 minutes, I stocked up on water, took another anti-sickness pill and readied myself for the 7 hour trek ahead of me. I set off at around 0900 at the tail end of the group retracing the steps I had taken the last 4 days to make. Whilst overall on the days trek we would descend around 1200m, the first part of the day towards Lobuche was difficult as there were various inclines and declines to negotiate over rough terrain. I recall little of ... read more

Posing for one last photograph at the top of Kala Pattar (5550m), the “Mountain Machine” began the descent back down to Gorak Shep. For some reason, it had been decided earlier in the trip we needed a team name – so “Mountain Machine” was chosen, which had its origins as a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger and requires the reader to say it in the words of Arnie himself. The journey down for me was very slow – the last of the group to reach Gorak Shep. Not only were my knees were very painful (I had not been able to take any anti-inflammatory tablets due to still having an empty stomach), but also my state of fatigue coupled with the persistent feeling of being on the verge of blacking out and about to vomit meant I ... read more

Close up Mount Everest courtesy of a Telephoto Lens... read more

Following a short breakfast, which I worryingly had absolutely no appetite for, and I still nursed a mild headache, I packed light for the trek up to the summit of Kala Pattar for the best views of Mt Everest and its neighbours that any trekking tour would afford. I packed only 1 litre of water, some chocolate and of course my camera. This was to be the pinnacle of my trip – meaning more to me than reaching EBC, and I was excited but also apprehensive on account of the worrying thoughts I carried that I probably had the first signs of Altitude Sickness. All the signs we had seen on AMS over the week or so on the trail up to Gorak Shep listed all the symptoms to look for with AMS (I had all ... read more

It was a very early start for the trek to Gorak Shep - mainly on account of the fact that our guide wanted us to reach Gorak Shep to have a chance of also summiting Kala Pattar and reaching Everest Base Camp on the same day - a feat not many attempt and achieve. We received our customary wakeup call from the guides at 0430, with a bowl of warm water for "washy washy". I was already awake at that time, with a mild headache and a degree of nausea. Breakfast was served at around 0500, and all I could stomach was a couple of mouthfuls of porridge and a Worthingtons original sweet (from my sweet stash). There heater in the dining room gave little in the way or warmth and the atmosphere was very subdued. ... read more