Not being in any rush we had a leisurely breakfast before saying goodbye and heading on our way. The weather was glorious again, which whilst very pleasant to walk in would have been more useful yesterday than today where most of the route is tree covered so views are limited. It was nice to be warm for a change though. Leaving the teahouse we pootled into Namche itself. Here we found a goat bell for Stephens mum and some horse bells for Chance - he’s going to sound like a Christmas pony! Most of the mules and horses here wear them so it’s a little fun. We also picked up a raisin loaf for elevenses and got some emergency cash out in case we end up stuck in Lukla. We then headed down out of ... read more

Lumde is in the bottom of a valley and so gets the sunlight later in the morning. No sunshine through the windows or fire during breakfast made it a very chilly start despite the fact it was warmer than it has been higher up. We started off around 8am and I was relieved when we finally reached the sunshine. The next couple of villages we reached are traditional Sherpa villages. They had large, walled fields and stone houses. They were large and only had one or two teahouses. It was good to see somewhere that wasn’t relying on tourism for its income. We reached Thame around 1030am. It’s a pretty village sitting on a plateau surrounded by mountains - the situation is lovely. Unfortunately it was badly affected by the earthquake and most of the buildings ... read more

There are definite pros and cons to ending up in a little group. Obviously it’s much safer and route finding is easier with more eyes. I’ve also found that I can dig deep and keep going as I don’t want to let the team down in a way I don’t necessarily do when it’s just Stephen with me. It’s also more fun having other people to have conversations with, especially at meal times. That said you catch each other’s bugs. Bart felt unwell yesterday, Stephen this morning and me this evening. Typical. We didn’t set an alarm this morning - we ended up waking up around 830am. Sleep was definitely needed. Miriam and Robin had already left as they were planning on walking to the 7th lake, by Cho Oyo base camp, an 8 hr ... read more

The room in Dzongla was the coldest we have had so far by quite a long way. Fortunately I was cosy in my sleeping bag liner, sleeping bag and duvet. Annoyingly our water had completely frozen. There was no water to wash in (all frozen), my wet wipes were frozen and even my toothbrush was frozen! Typically this lodge decided it wouldn’t light the fire for breakfast so we shivered through a yummy porridge & French toast. Whilst eating breakfast a Dutch couple were explaining that the glacier over the pass is extremely slippery and difficult without mini-crampons. They were selling theirs having already done the pass. Bart bought one pair and we bought the other, hoping we weren’t being ripped off. After breakfast, around 8am, we set off in the sunshine towards the Cho La ... read more

Today turned out to be easier and much more enjoyable than I had thought it would be. I didn’t sleep as well as usual, mostly due to waking up short of breath due to the high altitude. Despite this I felt refreshed on getting up and feel well I myself. We enjoyed breakfast with our companions from yesterday and set off on our way in yet more glorious sunshine. The walk from Lobuche to Gorak Shep is only about 200m ascent. The trail is once again extremely well travelled and we got stuck behind large groups of trekkers and yak trains. Expecting it to take about 2.5hrs we were pleasantly surprised to arrive just after 10am. The recommended Himalayan lodge had rooms for all of us (including a double bed for Stephen and I!). We dropped ... read more