Made to (5,350m)on the 20th December A spectaaacular journey that was personally the hardest physical challenge ever. Managed to avoid altitude sickness as we acclimatised at 2 points along the way. Despite the lack of evidence of a base camp('tis winter and climbing Everest starts again in the spring), therefore the ground was shale, no snow, but the most arresting feature was the glacial ice formations at the bottom of the incline. Alongside the absolute silence the colours of the formations were highlighted by the sun shining through, absolutely unforgettable. The base camp is also on the Khumba Glacier but the site is covered in shale and dust and only identifiable as a glacier if you scrape away the layers or slip on the ice, which needless to say I did with great style!
We (my guide Phodi and Nema, the porter) came down to Lukla by the 26th and until then the weather held and was clear and sunny - daytime temperatures reached 20C but nighttime went down to -15C at the highest lodge/tea house, 3 hours from base camp. Fortunately had taken advice from Pam and Steve (archers) and purchased a down jacket which I wore day and night (after trekking) though it was a tight squeeze in the sleeping bag but necessary for survival. Christmas Day was celebrated whilst walking the last 3 hours to Lukla, I gave various renditions of Christmas carols I could remember the words to.At Lukla the weather broke and it sleeted and froze, I was convinced I'd be stuck for days before a plane could land, but my luck held and I flew out the next morning. The experience of taking off from Lukla was pretty similar to how I imagine it would be taking off from an aircraft carrier, the runway was the same length and dropped away to nothing at the end. Took full advantage of looking through the cockpit window as this 16 seater Douglas 227 (?) took off as it did not even have a curtain between the pilot and passengers. We waited to board hanging around on the tarmac watching other similar planes land - all very informal and in keeping with the Nepali 'Heath Robinson principle. After one days R&R will be going to a 4 day retreat run by the Osho organisation at Topoban, a few miles outside Kathmandu, and then a final 10 day trek to Jomsom before India. Am looking forward to meeting some of the people from the Everest trek at Pokhara, for dinner at the Jazz Cafe at Lakeside on the 3rd before flying to Jomson. Have many photo's of the amazing scenery from this trek and will be including them when I reach Thailand.
Photo 1 Everest Memorial to a group of climbers who died on Everest, sadly there are many of these in a 'Memorial Park" on the way to the last village, Gorak Shep, on the way to base camp.
Photo 2 Lukla Airport and the 16 seater Douglas 227 that flew me down to Kathmandu
Photo 3 Lukla Airport Very small and very cold!
Photo 4 Sagarmatha Gate (on its side, unable to right it!)The entrance to the National Park, Everest is part of this park.
Photo 5 Everest (middle peak) on way to EBC from Gorak Shep, viewed from about 5,300m. elevation.

Greetings

Happy Christmas and New Year

Greetings to all my friends and family who have supported me on this Journey

My best wishes to you and I will be thinking of you all.

Much love and best wishes

Sue

Finally started this 20 day trek at 05.30 on 8th December - my guide Reshi collected me from the Kathmandu Peace Guest House (am tending to stay there in- between treks etc) at thios godforsaken hour to catch the plane to Lukla. Said plane didn't take off until 07 15 as they waited for dawn and clear skies as the Nepali system does not have radar, as well as a very short runway at Lukla. We were the only 2 passengers on the plane and the other 12 seats were taken up with cargo - this whole country runs on the 'Heath Robinson' principle! Landing was sudden and bumpy but unlike some landings we did not bounce once. Spectacular views as we climbed up through valleys, often we were lower than the mountain tops.

We met our porter at Lukla after having grabbed our bags from the trolly and without much ado we made for a guest house, had breakfast and were off, first stop Phadring, only a 31/2 hr hike, at 3218m whereas Lukla is 3,300m. Day 3 we arrive at Namche Bazar at 3,600m following our first view of Everest. Unfortunately the first guide got sick and I have another guide, Phadi, a pleasant 24 year old with more than 30 treks to Everest behind him, and also he was involved in the organising the Skydive from 29,000ft of 38 skydivers, landing at Namche Bazar heliport.

The prospects of reaching base camp are good as the weather is holding and it is sunny and warm during the afternoon, and the high pressure system is predicted to last for the next week or so. If all goes well we should reach base camp on the 19th December. Succeeded and the weather held, but the effort was very great and lost 1/2 stone in the process, purely through the effort of breathing!
Photo 1 Ice flows at EBC (Khumba glacier)
Photo 2 The site of EBC NB No snow at this time of year - or tents.
Photo 3 Crazy ex-British soldier - plays a mean game of poker!
Photo 4 Rome Cathedral (should be elsewhere but unable to change it....)
Photo 5 Everest (middle peak) from viewpoint of Kala Pattar

May have confused anyone reading the Pokhara blog entry re Everest, the mountain visiblke from Pokhara is Machupuccre known locally as 'Fishtail' , Everest is much further East and will be, if all goes well, trekking to within sight of it by the 14th - 15th December. Am back in Kathmandu amidst the smog and pollution - definitely a city that could have survived better without the internal combustion engine. 5 days here and am preparing for a 20 day trek to Everest base Camp (EBC), my guide has a greatly improved , compared to the last one, command of the English language. Temperatures here have dropped since I first came in October, though midday it is about 21C, but nighttime is chilly. Must not complain as it has been in the 30's centigrade up until a week or so ago in Pokhara.
Have had an opportunity to catch up with some Nepali friends I met in October, and have had the chance to visit some of the sights of Kathmandu and the surrounding countryside, from the back of a motorbike, again!

A 14 day trek from Pokhara to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) started on 18th November with high hopes of success, sadly the weather was against us and at Himalay (2900m) a blizzard caught us out and the 3 of us (my guide, Diness and porter, Dil) attempted to move upwards towards Duarali but the ice and snow were too difficult to traverse and at 3,200m we turned back. However the scenary was spectacular, alternating between forests of bamboo, banyan and conifers and lower down many fruiting banaana trees, as well as , much to my surprise, rhodedendrum trees. During the day we turned back the mountain rescue helicopter past us on its way to rescue some trekkers, we felt we had made the right decision.
The highlight of the remaining trek was Poon Hill at sunrise, which necessitated getting up at 04.45 to join a torchlight procession climbing 320m up the hill in time for the dawn. Our luck was in and the sky was clear and the stars were brighter than you will ever see them in the UK. At dawn we (there were about 200 people) were greeted by a view of many Himalayan peaks, including all 3 Annapurna peaks and the first shaft of sunlight as it caught the highest. See some of the many photo's of this when I can load them! On the climb down you could then see that the landscape was bathed in frost, lit by the newly risen sun, an unforgettable sight which some people here compare to being at ABC and argue it is a better view. During the trek we came across many varieties of butterflies, some , for example the small blues are common to the UK. The buzzard was also seen on more than one occasion, recognisable by their distinctive call, and today in Pokhara I saw many swallows flying around the Phew Lake.
The 15 day trek was very strenuous, climbing, descending and climbing again often more than 1000m ascending in a day. Accommodation was at 'tea houses' along the way, basic and with no hot water in most or you arrive too late for a hot shower as there is limited solar heated water and others beat you to it - a cold shower at 06 00 is an excellent wake up call to a sluggish body first thing! Nepal is fairly limited as to washing and toilet facilities, and you are continually being reminded not to go to the toilet whilst in the wild within 50m of a water course. This is not as easy as it sounds, as Nepal has a lot of water courses including some awe inspiring waterfalls. The country is still without electricity in many places or daily power cuts are common, so my wind-up torch has proved very useful.
We arrived back in Pokhara on 1st December, a day early, and my porter and guide left and I have spent time relaxing and catching up on emails etc. The hotel is luxurious compared to the last 2 weeks with a proper bathroom (perhaps more aptly described as a wet room) and a TV that spews out some dreadful Indian programmes but includes BBC world news, which I value. Whilst trekking I was able to tune in to the Indian vs England cricket , but sadly only on one occasion so do not know the final score - could someone let me know, probably best by email.
Tomorrow am taking the tourist bus to Kathmandu as opposed to the rough and tumble 0f the local bus. It takes 6 hours but for a little extra lunch is provided.
Am not looking forward to Kathmandu (for 5 days, before tackling Everest Base Camp for 20 days), due to the pollution levels being far higher in Kathmandu than Pokhara. Will probably be back to Pokhara if for no other reason than it has many great second hand bookshops which will do part exchanges. Whilst meeting people from all over the world is stimulating, am finding a quiet read of many books I have wanted to read and not had enough time, is also great.
Photo 1 view of Fishtail and Annapurna 1 Mountains from Phew Lake Pokhara
Photo 2 2/3 of way up to Annapurna Base Camp, about at Bamboo
Photo 3 The morning after the blizzard that sadly led to our turning back.
Photo 4. View of Fishtail Mountain from Sinewa, on the way back down.