Made it!

More to come later, but im now sitting in a teahouse in Lukla! tomorrow I catch the plane to Kathmandu.

Namche (Saturday)

So had a small whoopsie on the way down to Namche, and hurt my ankle. Am ok, but took a few more hours than intended. Arrived after dark in Namche.

Resting up, bandaged up, and will see how things are in morning.

Pheriche (Friday)

So the weather was very changable, and whilst at 0520h Kala Patar was clear, 10 mins later it wasn't.

We were "on watch" for the next few hours, but it was snowing and showing no sign of stopping, so we headed off from Gorak Shep, not attempting to summit Kala Patar.

The walk down was great, we dropped around 900m of vertical altitude, and it felt fantastic. The air was noticeably easier to breathe. I will wait till tomorrow morning to see how I feel.

I've had a nagging mountain-cough, and nasuesa for the last week, I'm hoping it'll disappear soon.

Tomorrow we head to Namche, it'll be a long hike, with more ups and downs, but clearly more downs than ups. I'm hoping we don't have to ascend into Namche, those stairs were a killer last time.

Fitness wise it's hard to tell how things are going. Without a doubt the lower altitude is improving things, but I also must be getting fitter too. Will be interesting to see how things are after I've been at (near) sea-level for a week or two.

Gorak Shep (Thursday Evening)

It's 7:30pm, and I'm tucked up in bed, my fingers are cold so I'm typing this with my head inside my sleeping bag, trying to warm up.

It's cold up here. I'm not sure, as I've run out of wifi again, but I've been informed it's definitely at least a 4 degrees below zero. This wouldn't be a big problem, but the teahouse isn't exactly up to grade with its insulation - none. 

Whilst the dining room is warm (ish), I've got a (possibly) big day tomorrow. The highest and toughest peak yet is Kala Patar. It's 5545m (18,200ft) (cf EBC is 5363m). This is the granddaddy of them all for this trip.

There is one caveat, which is we won't do it if the weather isn't favourable, aside from not being able to see anything, it makes it more dangerous, as it can turn very very cold very quickly.

I'm of mixed minds on this summit. Yes, it's the big one, it will be awesome, a big tick, but I only just survived Gokyo Ri. EBC was easier (that's agreed by all in our group).

Kala Patar is rocky scrambling terrain, where your walking pole is both a blessing (aiding in stepping up), and a curse (way too many places to get stuck and trip you up). It's a step initial climb, eases out for awhile, and is then a very step finish. It's a 3 hour hike up. To be honest, I'm not sure how I'll do. But I keep thinking - only one way to find out.

I told Prem last time, I'm gonna keep going until I either reach the top, or he tells me I have to turn back. I will do it on my hands and knees if I have to.

EBC (Thursday)

Woke up this morning in Lobuje, and we headed out around 7am for Gorak Shep, we arrived around 9:30am.

This was our stop for a short while to fill up, change out the contents in our daypack, in preparation for our final trek. 

10:30am we set off. As we were preparing to leave, there was much discussion around what to wear, how many layers? hard shell? Walking poles?

I set off with 3 layers (base, t-shirt, and lightweight hardshell), beanie and my buff around the neck. Before long most were stripping off layers.

No matter where I've been, I've always ended up in a base layer and little else. Today it was just long/sleeve base layer and my hardshell rain/wind jacket.

A couple of hours later, we made it. We stood on the ridge looking down into base camp, made our way down past the rock danger, scrambled over the boulders, and another 10 minutes later we were standing there.

It was an emotional experience, so many days leading up to it, so much struggle, so much effort, so many steps (about 246,000), but I finally got there.

Everyone was Hi-Five'ing everyone, hugs all around. The guides brought hot chocolate, and around 1,000 photos were taken.

EBC Tomorrow

Well, I'm sitting in bed, it's 7:50, thinking about tomorrow.

We have breakfast at 6am, trek to Gorak Shep, drop our bags, change our daypack load to the lightest possible - we will evaluate the weather at Gorak Shep, and then we head off to EBC.

I'm told the path will be a bit unknown as this the guides first trek of the season (since the Monsoons) and the Monsoons bring avalanches which alter the path we will need to take. Many have already been to EBC this season of course, just not our guides.

Apparently because of the risk of rockfall in some areas we will be walking single file with a significant gap between us.

Sounds like fun 😁

Another shot of me, I think this is new.

Wifi is so expensive here, and unreliable. I'm going to hit send on this post and it'll be 50/50 whether it gets up tonight.

Lobuje (Wednesday)

The drama continues, but maybe resolving itself. Everyone's done all they can, so what will be will be.

Now on to other stuff....

Base Camp Ahead

Tomorrow is the day. We will be heading off early in the morning and trekking to Gorak Shep (3hrs), then we dump everything in our day pack that we don't need, swap around anything we need, and then.... we make the climb. 

Aside from yesterday, I'm feeling pretty good and my physical fitness has been coming along in leaps and bounds. I do keep in the back of my mind I was at 17,500ft a few days ago, and since then I've been lower, so my body has a lot more oxygen. But EBC is the same height as Gokyo Ri, so hopefully I'll do better.

I've been told that Gokyo Ri is slightly harder than EBC, that EBC is a gentler slope, just rockier. I'm not sure how that'll play out. I have my walking pole which I lean on (no pun intended) for the uphill parts. When it's really rocky terrain, your pole is just as likely to stick between rocks and at best trip you, at worst bend or snap.

Whatever will be will be, whether I'm able to use the pole, or not. 

Clothing

One of my daily dilemmas is what to wear, Hugo Boss or Armani. But in addition, there's what layers to trek. I overheat really quickly when hiking, so often find myself in just one layer. I've been balancing up different options, hiking in the base layer, or t shirt, or long/sleeve base layer. 

The issue that comes up is two fold - stops and weather. Whenever we stop I immediately start getting cold, and the wind can pickup quickly. I'd tried the warm jacket, but then I have to pull it out of my pack, put it on, and when we set off (or when the wind drops) pack it again (wearing it around my waist is bad, it gets wet from sweat)

I think I've finally worked out the optimal, which is t-shirt and hardshell rain jacket - it's gortex so it breathes a bit. It provides the shelter from the wind, so I feel warm.

I also balance it with other simple adjustments, my buff (head scarf thingy), tied in a pirates knot (see previous post), can cover ears or not, cover forehead or not. Simple adjustments like that make all the difference in balancing my own heat.

Group pace

I don't remember if I've discussed this, but with this Intrepid Travel group we stay mostly together. The further apart we are, the more dangerous it is, in that we have to have two guides at the back, so if someone has a problem, one of the guides can run forward for help from the third guide. They all carry lots of stuff in their backpacks, ranging from (soft) stretchers, AMS chamber bag, medical gear, oxygen, so when they need the stuff, all three need to be there.

This means that whilst there is a "at your own pace", it's still strongly preferred that pace be within 10mins of the front of the group. 

There really isn't a valid option to take 5 hours on a 3 hour trek with Intrepid.

It's certainly definitely possible to, when on your own, to do as you wish. Hire a porter, a guide, or a porter-guide, or just strike it out entirely by yourself.