2 November 2017 Today was the day. A long hard trek to Gorak Shep and then onto EBC after lunch. It promised to be cold and hard. A light snow had fallen overnight in Lobuche at 4,940m. It was an early start at 6.30am for breakfast. I was a bundle of anticipation and apprehension, scared... Continue Reading →
31 October 2017 Today was a rest and acclimatisation day in Dingboche. We woke late and breakfasted before lightly loading our daypacks for a short hike. The path we would take began behind our teahouse and we met many other groups heading up the same path. The barren landscapes above 4,000m mean it’s easy to... Continue Reading →
30 October 2017 Today was supposed to be a relatively easy day. Heading out of Duboche, everything was covered in snow. Everywhere I turned was a stunning scene of white, yaks plodding past, both with and without burdens. The forest looked enchanted, like any minute a unicorn would come trotting out, dip its horn at... Continue Reading →
27 October 2017 Today began well before my 6.30am alarm. The walls of the teahouse were thin and people in nearby rooms were stirring from 5.30am. The morning pilgrimage to the bathroom and back at the end of the hall, the opening and closing of wooden doors that always seem to stick. I’d slept well... Continue Reading →
26 October 2017 I was a bundle of nerves when I woke at 5am. We had a 6am flight to catch to Lukla, the starting point for our trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC) and the beginning of perhaps my greatest physical and mental challenge to date. We were hurried through the security point at... Continue Reading →
24 October 2017 - Afternoon The taxi dropped me back to Thamel after I said goodbye to AJ and Bina but I was still to find my hotel. It took me several wrong turns and another half an hour of walking before I saw a sign for my hotel in front of me. I decided... Continue Reading →
22 October 2017 - Afternoon I’m sitting in a bar in Kuala Lumpur airport, a pint of Japanese beer before me, dripping condensation onto the used cardboard coaster. I think I hear my name being called over the PA system every few minutes. The accented pronunciation of Malaysia sounds very similar. A pleasant trill heralds... Continue Reading →
After the disappointment I experienced climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (see Climbing a mountain to nowhere), I threw myself into baby-making. We’d been trying for coming on two years without telling anyone bar my bestie. Kilimanjaro had been a good distraction for me, scheduling in training hikes and trawling the gear and equipment stores for those must-have... Continue Reading →
5 August 2013 Our summit attempt was to begin at 4am from 5,300m. I hardly slept it was so cold. I had thermals on, heat pads, an arctic-rated sleeping bag and still I was cold. And scared. I had wanted this my whole life and I was terrified I was going to fail. Unable to... Continue Reading →
