This morning will be the last ascent of our trip, and to celebrate we thought 4.30am would be a great time to commence said journey.
Liz, who has been troubled by an ear ache plus a dry cough, valiantly attempted the climb, but wisely saw the folly of her ways, a bridge too far, and went back to the lodge, and bed.

Rachael was fresh, and I had run out of excuses, so off we went with our faithful guides, Dawa & Mingma, climbing to our highest point of 5550 metres, reaching the summit after about an hour and a half of up hill grind.

The cloudless sunrise produced breathtaking views, with Mt. Everest the shining centrepiece surrounded by nature in all its incredible beauty.

It was freezing, about -5C, so we didn’t hang around for too long, but long enough for plenty of snaps, and a few moments to contemplate the awesome power of the Himalayas.

Getting down only took about 20 minutes, breaking into a jog as we needed to thaw out, and eat as we were starving.

Breakfast, pack and off by 8.30 for the long walk down to Dingboche (4500mt).

We slogged our way back over the rock laiden glacier to Lobuche for another coffee at the “highest cafe in the world”.

We ordered a round of coffees, shouting Dawa & Mingma, and the bill came to 3500NRP ($40), which would have paid for 2 x showers, 2 x full battery charges, WiFi for 24 hours, 2 x toilet paper, and a box of pringles…the sacrifices you make for a decent coffee?!

Onward we strove, passing hoards of trekkers going the other way, until we stopped for lunch at a very popular spot overrun with trekkers refreshing before climbing a nasty hill we had just descended.

Thank God we were going the other way!

After lunch the weather turned cold, so we hoofed it stopping only to check out a Yak farm with fabulous stone yak cabins, before reaching our destination at 3.30, after being on the go since 4.30…11 hours! Yee gods!

We followed our usual pattern and adjourned to the dining room to read, play cards, and wait for tea and bed. Another request for an early dinner so we could be in bed by 7:30 at the latest.