Everest marathon 19th November

We woke up early this morning to make sure we were ready to get off in time. The sad news we heard before breakfast was that Mark had to be evacuated with HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema) We had pancakes and an omelette for breakfast before setting off for the lovely route to Machermo.  It started with a stiff climb out of the Dole valley with some spectacular views back towards Ama Dablam and Kantenga.  After about an hour the route levelled out for about an hour before a tea stop at Luza. We had coffee and chocolate as a nice treat.  The final leg to Machermo was not as hard as originally thought but did include a bit of a climb which at over 4000m was a little tough.  However we arrived into Machermo at 11:30 and managed to get the laundry done in record time.  As it turned out this was a good move because we managed to get things dried out before the sun went over the mountains and things froze within minutes. I had a shave and hair wash in warm water before venturing to the river for an all over wash in the river which was very cold. Menai more sensibly paid 600 rupees for a hot shower. We had a warm evening in the lodge and passed time reading, doing a quiz, hearing about the Antarctic marathon, eating and of course,  drinking tea.