We're all up and ready early- the soon to be 50 years old twins, Mark from Ann Arbor, their guide- Tendi Sherpa... The last real teahouse morning, last real bit of walking of the Everest Base Camp Trek- it's a bit sad that it has gone so fast. Chitra leaves before us again- he is from Lukla and is obviously keen to get home. Mary, Dhana and I set off, all three of us walking at different speeds by ourselves. It's cool this morning- we're in the forest and it's shaded, once again quite beautiful. Lots of birds, lots of trees, lots of flowers, lots of Koreans. Cross back across the bridge and make a very early stop for a cup of tea. There is a little shop with a window full of samosas, Dhana and ... read more

Happy Anniversary to my Mum and Dad! The snow has stopped falling, it is utterly beautiful outside. After a bowl of ultra thin porridge (NPI score of 4/10) supplemented by a chapatti with honey we head off to start our day. The walk out of the village was utterly incredible. The snow was pristine, powdery and soft, I love that squeaky noise it makes as you are walking on it. It is 0750 and the sun is shining- it is going to be a very good day. We leave the village heading downhill. It is a very comfortable walk. The surrounding trees are loaded with snow- it is a Hallmark xmas card moment if ever there was one. It is incredibly quiet and one of the most beautiful days yet. As the sun warms things up ... read more

We won. The plan... get up at 0600 for a 0630 departure, we won't get to do sunrise but we might get to have the view to ourselves. I would estimate that there are maybe a maximum of 20 trekkers in the village, so this plan has merit. Based on our time on Kala Patthar and then EBC the whole solitude thing continues to appeal. At 0710 (staffing problems in the kitchen) we leave the relative post porridge warmth and walk down through the village to the lake, it's an icy, snowy path and I earn one wet foot. The two ducks are out and there is mist coming off the lake where a hot spring is located. Some stellar shaped cracks are appearing in the lake, reminiscent of the glacial lake in Manang that we ... read more

Happy Birthday to you......Happy Birthday Dear Mary.....Happy Birthday to you Awake from legendarily good sleep- ah 0330! Great. The room smells strongly of kerosene- I wonder if there is to be an arson attempt, a new way of killing roof rats, Korean BBQ....? At 0600 when I wake up again it's gone. Another Himalayan mystery. The sun is pouring through our window and we have a big Ama Dablam view- so awesome. So, it is Mary's birthday. As a big birthday treat we have some Himalayan bread with our porridge and black tea. Say goodbye to the Germans, buy a toilet roll and are on the road again. The plan is Phortse for lunch and Machermo to sleep. Todays terrain is again very easy- it's flat or slightly down hill, it's dry and it's another beautiful ... read more

An "easy, steady day" says Dhana. The actual walking time was just over 4 hrs- that certainly constitutes easy. Right? Nope, the walk was actually pretty damn hard work. We took a trail heading down from Lobouche towards what appeared to be a frozen lake, it was actually just ice covering the valley floor- super slippery stuff but really fun. We had our little crampons on which we were really grateful for. Our only tourists this morning were four Chileans who were also planning on crossing the Chola Pass too, they were slipping and sliding even more than us. After about 30 mins of ice slipping on the flat we scaled up a steep, barren hill- on all fours at times, to reach a more defined trail. This trail ran parallel with the one that we ... read more