17.01.10 – 5.35pm (11.55am UK)

Before beginning today, may I explain something to those of you who, like me, haven’t got a clue what a meter is in terms of feet? The rough conversion, so I’m assured by my far more intelligent companions, is to multiply the metres by 3, then add 10%. Give or take, that’s it.

Anyway… on with the trek!

A 7.00am wake up with yak bags ready for loading by 7.45am. Breakfast immediately after followed by departure by 9.00am. A warm temperature greeted us as we began & the sky had not a cloud or blemish in it, it was beautiful. Today’s task: to trek to our next lodge in the village of Tengboche. Not a great distance away, but sitting at 3867m was 317m higher than our lodge last night. There was a high percentage – probably 75% – of hard uphill trekking. Again, we split into natural groups, but it was an enjoyable journey through woodland. The woodland cover was welcome actually, as the sun got warmer & warmer & the shade was welcome – albeit cold.

The expected eastern wind came, but the perpetrator(s) remained unidentified!

Walking isn’t straightforward. Because we’re on the go all the time – & because you just get used to snow being all around you, to the point where you stop seeing it – we forget the low temperatures we’re actually walking in. The majority of us are in just a base layer or thin fleece, but some of us (I have to say with pride that I’m one of them!) are even down to base layer t-shirts! However, we really feel the cold when we stop for a breather or go in to the shade. Anyway, back to the point, what we forget is that the ice along the trail doesn’t melt – even when the sun is on it.

So, as we walk along the dirt tracks, every now & then we’ll be reminded that lurking beneath the dirt is sheet ice as one of the group lets out a cry & goes A over T & lands in a heap, covered in dirt. Fortunately, no-one has been hurt yet & the damage has been limited to a dirty bottom, but it’s a reminder to us all to stay alert.

Arriving at Tengboche around 1.30pm, we sat down to our pre-ordered lunch (our Sherpa leader is very organised & had brought menus with him to enable us to order ahead). Some of us are becoming more adventurous with our choices, some (like me) are sticking to the old faithfuls, like eggs. I really am pushing my friendship with my room mate Rob to the max…

After lunch started our ‘free afternoon’… so we all wrapped up ready for our ‘300m (1000ft) in an hour’ optional extra, kindly proposed to us by our Sherpa leader! Boy, that was hard. I thought the other walk was hard, then the one after that, then the one after that… but this was hard. Lungs burning, every pore open, sweating profusely, conversation the furthest thing from our minds… we climbed, & we climbed, & we climbed. But we did it! A tremendous sense of achievement when we reached our goal, which was really just a prep for the altitude we’ll be reaching tomorrow. The view was spectacular – & Tengboche looked like a little lego town it was so small.

We were shown where we would be walking tomorrow – Dingboche at 4260m – as we could see the trail from our position. We could also see the Everest View Hotel which seemed soooo far away, yet we had only been there 2 days ago! The distance we had covered by foot seemed phenomenal, but I have to say we’re all making a really good pace.

The descent back to town was far quicker & we arrived back in good time to synchronise with St Luke’s morning service ending as the St Luke’s Six, plus Ruth, plus Elizabeth (see other trekkers list, 16.01) formed a circle outside to lift our prayers to our Maker. The start was delayed slightly as we waited for Bob to join us. After waiting for 20 minutes we went to look for him & found his room mate had locked him in their room. His room mate assured us he didn’t know he was in there…

Rob read Psalm 121 – a shared favorite & very apt – after which some of us prayed. It was a wonderful & reverent capsule of time & was made even more poignant by the towering Himalayan mountains, in all His glory.

Anxious not to appear religious nutters to the others trekkers who were just the other side of the window outside which we were gathered, Mike suggested we quietly place our arms around each other. We did this, at which point Mike broke into chorus at full blast with no particular song, but it included lots of hallelujahs! It was a priceless moment!

The lodges are getting progressively more basic each stay & this one is true to form. We keep saying the rooms aren’t cold, but I think that’s just because we’re becoming numb to it. Believe me, It’s cold. Very cold. Super cold. So cold that in the night, you’ll wake yourself up if your face is poking out of the sleeping bag even a little. The sleeping bags we’ve hired, combined with the thermals we’re sleeping in ensure our bodies stay warm, but any ‘pokey out’ bits get very cold. We each put off going to the loo until the absolute last minute (tonight’s is outside!) & so far we haven’t had ‘loo clash’, but believe me if we do it could get messy!

Oh, & the loos, let me tell you – it’s a hole in the ground! We were spoilt to begin with as a couple of the lodges had sitters (like we have in the UK), but they’re long gone. You either squat or not – & if not, you’re in big trouble. Sorry to be so explicit, but I have a responsibility as editor of this blog to keep it real & let you know what it’s like here on the front line. One of the hardest things to do – once you’ve got your head around the concept of what is required of you whilst hovering over the hole in the ground – is to stay like that until the job is done, with your thighs burning like they’re on fire & the cramps are setting in! Don’t these people know we’ve been walking all day?!

Of all the things good old Sir Edmund brought here, the very least I’d have expected from a fellow Brit would be to have introduced proper loos! An Englishman’s time spent there is, well, very British. Anyway, shall I move on… no pun intended!

As seamless links go I think this is up there with the best… more eggs, cheese, potato etc. are on their way shortly as we settle down to share food together, so I’ll sign off. Sadly no internet here at Tengboche – “the man with the key isn’t here” is a phrase we’re starting to hear a lot, I think it’s our equivalent of “the cheque’s in the post”. I’m assured Dingboche will have it, so I’ll try again there.