Today is a rest day and very restful it has been. We walked up to the top of the local hill, 3555m according to the sign, and had our first view of Everest. The clouds are quite low but our guide, Kinner, got the timing just right and we arrived as the summit cleared, pictured left.
Kinner is a good guide, he seems to manage us old boys very well, stopping us from doing anything too silly and making sure we walk at the right pace and keep ourselves hydrated and fed. His two helpers rush round with thermos flasks of tea so we take on board sufficient fluids.
All the locals wear thick clothes and hats indoors as well as outside. We were hoping to sit by the fire in the evenings but most of the time the rooms are as cold as outside, as a result we are all in our sleeping bags by 8pm. There have been problems with deforestation in the valley with so many people and not enough fuel so it does make sense not to waste it. I am writing this in a coffee shop which has a propane heater, free WiFi and free electricity (the guest house charges for charging!) absolute luxury which means I will probably pay a fortune for the two coffees as the propane has been carried 20 miles up the mountain by mule.
It is now noticably cooler, some might say freezing. We have "proper" toilets in the guest house but as the water was frozen they don't flush, a hole in the ground loo might be a better option.
Tomorrow we climb up another 300m to be a bit nearer our destination, no idea when we get out of internet range, I am on tenderhooks waiting for news about a new grandchild and the sale of our house but one bit of good news did get through, Barnet have got through to the 3rd round of the FA Cup.
The biggest town on the trail
This little park has the best viewpoint of Everest.
John 2 sticks brought a little device which measures you heart rate and, more importantly, the oxygen level in your blood. As we go higher the % of oxygen decreases. At sea level if the percentage is below 90% you would be off to hospital. We are now over 3000m and all of us are between 85 and 90. By the time we get to base camp we will be down in the 70's, hopefully not much lower.
The sign under the statue of the great man says "Do Not Climb", not something Sherpa Tensing took heed of.