Everest marathon 20th November

Today was a rest day so a later start but very cold until the sun came over the hill at 7.30. We did a bit of washing and then set off for a walk up the nearby hill. A larger group had gone ahead earlier so we followed them up. Once on the ridge we had a lovely grassy path up to a cliff. Along the path there were lots of prayer flags and cairns.  The cliffs were at 4600m but some of us pushed on up to a better view at 4800m. We were with some of the younger runners and they decided to run down.  I jogged down until I caught up with Menai. We had a great lunch with home made spring rolls. in the afternoon we went up to the Machermo Rescue centre for a talk and to met the volunteer doctors. We were back in time for tea and a fantastic buffalo burger. It was an early night because we had a 5.45am start the next morning. Menai had a decent night even if she woke with a puffy face but I had a bad night I think.

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.

Everest marathon 18th November

It was an early cold start with "bed tea" and getting the bags ready before breakfast.  We both felt a bit groggy probably due to the cold night and lack of sleep. Breakfast of porridge, egg, toast and peanut butter set us up for a trip to the monastery to see the Yeti skull. The only problem was that the Lama was nowhere to be seen. We waited in the sun for a few minutes before heading down to the path to Mong La- without seeing the Yeti skull! We were led by Sherpas who made sure we did not get lost and another Sherpa brought up the tail. It was quite crowded and quiet a climb up to the pass. Apparently this was the birthplace of Lama Serge Dorje who brought bhuddism to the Khumbu valley. We had a nice relaxing cup of tea in a tea house at Mong La before making a steep decent down to Phortse Tenga where we had a lovely picnic lunch in a meadow by the river.  After lunch we had a hard hard climb of about 400 metres to our camp at Dole. This took about 90 minutes through a rhododendron  forest and past frozen waterfalls. Quite a few people suffered on the way including Mark who we walked with in the morning. The campsite was cold and felt colder than the night before but at least the stove in the lodge was alight to keep us warm. We had pasta for supper that was a nice change from dhal bhat.  We felt really tired so headed for bed in our tent by 8.15. The night was not as cold as we had feared and we both slept reasonably.

Our group.

Everest marathon 17th November

We had to get up quite early to get packed and down to breakfast. Menai was feeling much better this morning. The morning was a recce run of about 10k along the marathon route to Thamo. Some people ran it and others walked. I ran and was quite pleased with how it went and seem to be quite acclimatised to this altitude.  Mind you running 10k in 80 minutes is not going to break any records.  Menai walked it and was in good form making her feel confident about possibly walking the race in two weeks. There is a huge variation in ability for the race with some really good runners here. The route was really nice taking us through woods and villages that were a lot less touristy than the Namche area. On getting back to Namche I was able to have a shower before retreating to the Everest Bakery for some lunch. I met up with a "full of beans Menai" there before we all set off for our next camp in Khumjung. This was a 3 hour walk along the marathon route on good tracks some of it was being maintained by locals as we walked.  Our kit bags and tents were carried to our camp site on yaks which arrived about the same time as us in the evening. It clouded over so we only had limited views and it got a lot colder. There was a final one hour climb up to Khumjung that I had to do twice because I left my water bottle in a tea house.  On arrival in Khumjung we were allocated tents and then it was time to settle in before tea and biscuits in a lodge near the tent. We had dhal bhat  and chicken for supper followed by games of cards and pick up sticks. It was a cold night with frost on the inside of the tent. We both had to get up during the night to go to the loo but we both slept on and off.

Everest marathon 15th November

We both woke up a bit groggy this morning with a bit of a headache and queasiness. After breakfast I felt better but Menai was a bit under the weather as we set out for a gentle walk up to the Everest View Hotel. We were accompanied by some Sherpas one of whom, Nima, I had a long Nepali conversation with on the way up. He was lovely. We had great views of Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Everest. We had a nice cup of coffee in the sun with Nima and the others before coming down.  It was on this part that I discovered that my Hoka's were a bit lethal on the sandy gravel resulting in my slipping three times. Others suffered the same too. I walked with the young 20 year old Sherpa, Dawa who had been involved in two disasters on Everest in his short time in the business. After getting back to Namche we went back to the Everest Bakery for lunch. We wrote three postcards using Touchnote and met some nice American tourists from California. I went on the hunt for some grippier shoes and found some in one of the great shops here that seem to sell everything, some fake and some real.  We had dal bhat in the evening and a reasonably early night. Menai slept much better but my sleep was not so good.

Everest marathon 14th November

An early start this morning with breakfast at 7am and off by 7.45. I woke early anyway and went out for a very cold shave and hair wash outside. Menai had a bad night and woke with a headache but took a Fast Melt and it went away,followed by a good breakfast of porridge, eggs, toast and coffee.  The morning was nice taking us along the river Dhud Khosi through small villages.  There was a bit of evidence of earthquake damage on the way but not too much. We met quite a few Trekkers coming toward us and one set of runners. We had a couple of nice tea stops and some nice conversations with others in the group on the way. A nice sociable way of travelling really. At about 12 we got to the crossing of the Dhud Khosi on a high suspension bridge before a sharp 400m climb to Namche Bazaar. En route I managed to get a first glimpse of Everest though the clouds. We got to Namche at about 2pm to be directed to our rooms in the Sherpaland lodge with en suite shower and toilet.  As our kit bags had not arrived we decided to have a quick wash and get some lunch in the Everest Bakery and what a nice lunch it was. Apple pie, coffee and soup complete with Internet.  After a break in the bakery we went shopping for hats to keep us warm as Namche was very cold too and then back to the lodge to wash, do some laundry and change. We went down to the lodge restaurant for food and a really good talk about Mountain Sickness from one of the group doctors, Eamon. Eamon had worked for two years in  the Khumbu working in a high altitude clinic. It was really interesting. We then joined the others for a quiz that by some miracle, we won.

Everest Marathon 13th November 2015

A really early start with a wake up call at 3.30 am and breakfast at 4am to leave the hotel by 5am. We arrived at the airport by about 5.30 to join the queue for security checking in with our bags exactly weighed at 10kg for the kit bag and 5k for the day sack. We then had a long wait because the 6.30 flight was delayed because of a lack of visibility at the Kathmandu airport. We eventually go off at 8.30 in a whirlwind of activity and 18 of us piled onto a small twin propeller plane. The 27 minute flight was a bit bumpy but great views to the west of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manasulu and the Ganesh Himal.  We also spotted a cloudy Everest to the east.  We had a quick land and disembark from the plane to go to the Namaste Lodge garden in Lukla (2800m) for tea and to wait for the rest of the group to arrive in the sun.

After getting a packed lunch we had the leisurely walk to Phakding in the 400m valley below. A lovely walk with prayer wheels, prayer stones and nice tidy villages with vegetable gardens. En route we had two tea stops and met up with the others to have a rest.  In the sun it was warm but as soon as we went into the shade or it clouded over we were cold, very cold. On arrival on arrival at the lodge there was a youth meeting for a festival going on that included dancing, music and various young people doing turns.  Phakding was a cold night in the lodge but some nice food. I had a decent sleep but Menai was a wake quite a bit.