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Published: April 7th 2007
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Incredible day.
Sleeping at five thousand 200 m (having to write it as the five numeral isn't working!) is not a comfortable experience. You sleep very lightly, aware of the bitter cold around your face and sucking at all the oxygen you can get. But at the same time it was a happy sleep as I had achieved my goal and knew that the next day we would be heading down.
(On the subject of cold nights, I dunno how anyone manages to have children here. It's so cold I have perefcted the art of getting ready for bed without exposing any skin whatsover. The lack of hygiene is also a major turnoff, even if I didn't suddenly appear to be married to a tramp in a beard. Mind you, the Scots guys we met the other day had been kept awake by an amorous coupe in a lodge the other night. Phil said 'bet they were French'....and do you know, they were. Love it when national stereotypes hold true).
Was pretty wiped out when I woke up and just couldn't find any enthusiasm for Kala Pattar. As far as I was concerned, I had done what
I had come to do and now wanted to go down but in the end decided to go. It's really the only way to keep warm.
Kala Pattar rose up behind our lodge and the theory is that the higher you go up it, the better the view of Everest. I thought the view of Everest the day before had been tons better than I would have thought and I ddn't think it was THAT much better from Kala Pattar. The wretched thing also had loads of false summits, you kept thinking you were almost at the top but never really were.
Does anyone watch Soccer AM on Sky on saturday mornings? Keep an eye out as Phil stripped his top off and did a piece to camera (the video on his digital camera) to send in that was so funny Si thought his throat would explode. Don't think Sange the guide could quite believe what was going on either.
On we slogged, Si was bounding ahead and me and Phil were somehow keeping each other going. It was about this point that Phil redefned the term Kala Pattar. Look out for it in a Viz Profanorsaurus in the shops soon....I can't say more.....
In the end I made it 3/4 of the way up which was much more than I thought I'd do. Phil and Si got up to the top. I felt chuffed to bits (or would have done if i wasn't coughing up bits of lung) and headed down to the lodge where we all met for a pot of hot lemon (what you drink out here I never want to see one again).
Then it was down, down, down. Lubuje for luch and then a march to dughla suddenly my feet had wings, I could walk hard and fast, I could feel how fit I had becaome, the air was getting soupier and thicker and SNOWY. The mountains, as if reluctant to relinquish us from their grip so easily began hurling snow at us and before long we were headed into a total white out and straining for a glimpse of Pheriche before us. We were descenfing about 800 metres and in spite of the conditions the walking felt easy, bracing, we were just so relieved to be fleeing the thin air, the isolation and the severity, the snow didn't matter.
We reached Pheriche sometime after 4pm. We had left Gorak Shept at 11.30am so it was pretty good going. We found a lodge and hilariously, Si and I were staying in a room with a picture of Jimmy Carter in it. The reason being, ths was the room Jimmy Carter has stayed in when he visited Pheriche. Wonder is it stank of urine then too? Rather scary toilet next door with a big hole in the front of the bowl. Made for a slightly more exciting that usual sitting experience....will it hold or won't it? You get used to these things after a while.
We sat in the lodge room abd the indescribably filthy lodge owner put on some Eagles. Normally, I wouldn't be much into this, but having not heard much music for ages, it was fantastic! I shall never hear the Eagles again without thinking of that lodge in Pheriche. I got Sange and the porters to teach me the card game they were playing (incomprehensible) ad tortured them ny trying to speak Nepali to them again and then sleep. Tomorrow, Easter Sunday, we shall be back in Namche, snow and God willing.
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