5 star recovery

Well we have finally got back from the mountains and thought that after all that hard work it was about time to relax and recover. We therefore booked ourselves into the Hyatt, a five star hotel, for two nights (with Lorna, Colette and I sharing a room) so we could lay by the pool and eat some nice food for a change.

I was wonderful, just what we needed. Now that we can all walk again Colette and I have moved back to the flat and Lorna flew back to the UK today. Tomorrow I start at the hospital which should be interesting after all that I have heard about it from the others. It is in a really poor area right on the edge of Kathmandu and aparently they deal with a lot of tropical medicine. I will let you know how it goes.

xxx

Emily has arrived!

Congratulations to Louise and Ed on the arrival of their baby daughter Emily.

Her birthday is the 21st April and she was a hefty 8lb 110z... as Kelly says "Ouch"!

xxx

I Made It!

Yep as the title says I made it to Base Camp!!

Day 4 of the trek was a nice walk through the valley to Tenboche (3860m) which is home to the highest monastery in Nepal and they claim the world. We had coffee and cake at what was claimed to be the highest bakery in Nepal and then went to watch a service (monks chanting) in the monastery followed by a rapid fire talk given by one of the monks. It was very ornate inside with every surface painted with different scenes and pictures of Buddha.

On day 5 we walked to Pheriche (4270m) which was in the middle of a really desolate valley where it got really dusty and very windy, I think it was the first time we got out our scarves and hats. We have still been very lucky with the lodges. This one even had a hot shower which consisted of boiling water coming out of a pipe that turned on by pulling the pencil out of the end of the pipe. High tech eh! We went to Pheriche without Ruth and Matthew who headed for home that morning.

Day 6 was supposed to be a rest day so naturally we had to go on a leg killing walk up a mini mountain to help us to acclimatise. Collette and I had shared a room that night and only woke up when we saw a helicopter outside. After scraping ice off the window we saw that it was about 6ft off the ground and heading straight towards the window. Argh! Turns out the heli-pad was just behind our lodge. There was also a small hospital in the town so we went for a short talk about mountain sickness there which was interesting and useful but also slightly scary. Apparently they mainly deal with porters with mountain sickness because they regularly race up the mountains too quickly. Some of the symptoms can be quite scary and deadly though so the talk was well worth going to, meant we knew what to look out for.


By day 7 the hills were getting much steeper, the air getting much thinner and it was much colder. I am happy to say that I am the slowest in the group, though also the only one without a headache. On the way up to Lobuche we stopped at a tea house for a break and discovered a crowd had gathered around a girl who had been put into a pressure tent (basically an inflatable yellow sausage with a window) to bring her to a lower altitude very quickly. She had pulmonary oedema and was basically drowning in her own fluid.....very scary, all because she had ascended too quickly. Shows how careful you have to be. We carried onto Lobuche and I started to feel nauseous, I symptom of mountain sickness. So did Lorna and Hi Jade had a really bad headache. I was able to take some Diamox (my new best friend) and sleep it off in two hours. If you get any symptoms you stay at the same altitude and see if they go away. If they do you can continue, if they don't you descend.

On day 8 we set of for Gorak Shep, which is apparently where base camp used to be in the 80's. We were warned by our guide that only 60% of people can sleep there because the of symptoms of mountain sickness, ie nightmares and headaches. On the same day we tried to climb Kalapatar which is the best place to view Everest from without actually going up Everest. Hi Jade, Kelvin and I made it. Collette felt exhausted and turned back and Lorna felt too ill to try. It took me ages to get up to the top (5550m) but I did it. I nearly gave up too when Hi Jade and Kelvin passed me on their way back down, but I did it!

Me half way up Kalapatar, Everest is the black peak in the middle.
The photos at the top are not so good because I was too tired and cold to smile!

That night only Collette and I stayed in Gorak Shep as the others didn't feel well enough. On day 9 we got up with the aim of going to base camp. It was like going bouldering as we were clambering over rocks rather than walking and the last bit was over a glacier that was covered in mud and rocks. Strangely it wasn't too cold though. We made it!! There is basically a collection of tents there because people have to spend a month to acclimatise before going to attempt to summit Everest.

Collette and I celebrating making it to base camp, were standing
on a glacier with lots of tents behind us!

The best bit though was we found a bakery at base camp!! The best cookie I have ever eaten!. I think the trip was definitely worth it for the sense of achievement. You don't know what you are capable of until you push yourself. And none of my muscles are thanking me for any of it. I'm not sure its your fitness that counts, more your ability to breath thin air and ignore your crying legs which are suffering a lack of oxygen.

Were on our way back down now, and are at Namche again. Collette and I are staying here for a rest day tomorrow whilst the others (who have already had a rest day) go back to Kathmandu.

One thing I really want to know though... if it was up hill on the way to base camp, how can it possibly be up hill on the way back... because it is!

P.s have a look at some more pictures from the trek.

xxx

First view of Everest

On Monday we flew to laluka which is where we were to start the trek to base camp. The flight was ok, only slightly bumpy but the landing was interesting. The runway at the airport is really short due to the landscape so it has to go up a hill to make sure the plane stops before it hits the cliff in front of it. Apparently the hill works in reverse on take off to make sure the plane picks up enough speed before it takes off. Nail biting stuff. Once we had landed we had breakfast before setting off on a 2 hour trek to our first nights lodge. ‘Breaking us in gently’ is what we were told. The first nights lodge was luxiourous compared to what we were expecting. It was in a valley alongside a river which derives from a glacier further up the mountain.

The second day we set off for a 7 hour trek to Namche which is where we were to stay that night. The walk was fine until lunch time and got much harder in the afternoon. The path started by following the river and then ascended steeply into the hills. The majority of this was so steep it was basically a huge staircase made from rock which zigzagged along the edge of a cliff. There were some slightly precarious bridges to contend with too. We have decided that the only form of exercise that might have helped with this trip would be to use a step machine at a gym for a few months before getting here.

By the time we got to Namche we all celebrated and Cami (our guide and cook from the flat) told us its is only a few minutes further which of course meant we were about to plod past the rest of the town to the lodge which was almost at the highest point. We were all very glad to get here. This lodge is more like a 3 star hotel. We have ensuite rooms with hot showers. There is a nice dining room with a big fire stove in the center to keep us warm, it gets quite cold at night. We have also found that out water bottles have a dual purpose. At night we can fill them with boiling water and use them as a water bottle and by the morning it is cold enough to drink. As a result I have been hot rather than cold at night so no need for the thermals yet.

Today is day three and a rest day so we can get used to the altitude. Namche is at 3400m. However the mantra goes ‘climb high, sleep low.’ So we did a trek this morning for an hour up a hill to get our first view of Everest. Amazing is the only word to describe it. The view makes the aching legs worth it.

Everest is the second peak from the left with the cloud to the right.
From Left to Right: Lorna, Me, Kelvin, Hi jade and Collete

We then went back down the hill for lunch and then for a wander around the market. I have bought myself some souvenirs I’m afraid. I got some yaks wool socks which are lined with fleece for when it gets cold higher up and a map which shows the route we are trekking. While at the market we also had some great chocolate cake and the lemon tea is one of the things I will probably remember most, like the mint tea in Morocco.

Tomorrow we have an ‘Easy trek’ we are told, through a valley to our next stop. We only ascend 200m the whole day and that is spread across 6 hours. Five of us are carrying on however Ruth and Mathew are giving up as they are finding it very difficult. Ruth has asthma and Mathew a cold. So far we are having a great time, it is hard work as expected but a great sense of achievement when we reach out destination at the end of each day. Only the porters put us to shame by running up the mountain carrying our heavy bags.

So far we have been lucky. It has been hot, no mountain sickness, blisters or food poisoning, fingers crossed it stays the same. This is the last stop with internet for a week or so. Will fill you in when I can.

P.s have a look at some more pictures from the trek

xxx

I'm in Nepal!

Hi, just a quick note to let you all know I got here ok. Nearly managed to get a business class seat for the second leg of the journey, shame it didn't happen as it would have been much easier to focus on the TV screen which was actually about 6 inches from my eyes, never mind.

I have met up with the girls at the flat, which is simple to say the least, but will do.There is also a guy from the company that stays at the flat and cooks all our meals for us too which is great.

We're up really early in the morning for a 7am flight to get to the base camp trek start point. It's a 45 minute flight on a plane that has only 16 seats - ARGH - I've seen them they look tiny. From there we start the trek straight away but aparently they are breaking us in gently and we will only be walking for a couple of hours on the first day. Will let you know how it goes when I next get a chance. I expect that by then I will be much fitter and have got over any altitude sickness (it's ok we have tablets to stop us feeling sick - it can be useful haveing links at the hospital it seems).

xxx

Spring?

If you wake up on a Sunday morning and it looks more like Christmas than April what do you do next? Go to the beach and make a snow man of course! Well after a short snow ball fight with James this is exactly what we did. Its not often that you see snow floating on the sea, or in fact get snow on the south coast but it still made a good two inches deep.

As quickly as it fell the snow disappeared and made way for what was a far warmer, sunny spring like afternoon. Perfect for another test drive of a certain Lotus Elise that has kept a grin on James' face for the past two weeks. It is pretty though!

Only a few days until I'm off to Nepal now... I'm off to pack... how exciting, oh and apparently it's much warmer there!

xxx