a taste of what's to come

And so from Namche a taste of what is to come on the 29th begins! After a 'rest day' (clearly a misnomer) climbing to 3880 metres to aid our acclimatisation we set off the following day along the marathon route.

Our first day along the route itself began in bright, warm sunshine but alas not all the group were feeling so cheerful. There were a few sore heads courtesy of the altitude but more worryingly several of the 17, including RG & AT were experiencing the Nepalese equivalent of Dehli Belly (answers on a postcard!). Big George, the tight head prop fae Fife was really struggling but despite dehydration and frequent vomiting along the route manfully made it to the riverside lunch stop. Not to be outdone RK complained of a sore throat and common cold! (Most likely attention seeking behaviour!) Predictably lunch, as all meals have, included pasta and potatoes. Equally predictably it was delicious, for those with stomachs still willing to accept any form of nutrition! RK, as always, had seconds. No sign of altitude sickness there!! However, for those with mathematical inclinations there was a serious concern. The day was to involve a 500 metre climb but we had descended 200m!

Would we really have to climb 700 metres in the next two hours? No prizes for guessing that we did. A few hours later everyone successfully made it to the monastery at Tengboche. A great effort from all those who were feeling well short of 100%. Shortly afterwards we arrived at our stop for the night - Rivendell Lodge. A name borrowed from Lord of the Rings AT reliably informed us. Rivendell's bathroom facilities were well stretched that evening!! After dinner RK tucked himself into his warm sleeping bag for a well deserved (in his own opinion) nights sleep! However, he was rudely awakened at 11pm by AT moaning and rocking backwards and forwards in bed complaining of a 10/10 abdominal pain! RK suggested his wife Karen, having bourn his two children, would be unlikely to concur with his scoring system but nonetheless he was in trouble! On closer questioning RK established the AT, the fully qualified consultant anaesthetist, had overdosed on Brufen on an empty stomach!!!! Visions of a helicopter evacuation to Kathmandu for an emergency laparotomy for a perforated ulcer were foremost in RKs thoughts unless the situation could be reversed. Fortunately we managed to locate the team medical bag and, in a further answer to prayer, it contained anti acid tablets (or at least that looked like what it said on the side of the packet)! 40mg, half an hour and a mars bar later AT was cured to great rejoicing! The only evacuations required that night were by several bowels, several times!
 

The following morning saw only a mild improvement in the bowel disturbances of the several affected! Appetites were generally poor but RK made up for this by inhaling any unclaimed morsels! Again the sun was bright and warm and the team set off at a slow pace initially towards Pangboche and then to our resting place for the night - Dingboche. The highlight of the morning was our first glimpse of the summit of Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, as it is locally known. A special moment indeed for the majority of us for whom this was our first sight of the highest of all God's peaks. A sight which brought Psalm 121 verses 1&2 clearly into focus. As the clouds rolled in and the sun disappeared in the afternoon the team were glad to finally reach their lodge in Dingboche. Many were quick to check out the toilet facilities which were still going to be severely overworked during our 2 night stay!

The next morning brought the first signs of improvement. The diarrhoea and vomiting were starting to settle for the majority and other than a few sore heads there were no significant altitude complications despite the fact that we were now 4410 metres above sea level. This was another one of those 'rest days' but as usual that involved another acclimatisation trek up the valley to 4700 metres! The views though of Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Island Peak though made it all worthwhile. After the customary rest at the top for Lemon Tea (one of RGs finer ideas it has to be said) we were back on the move back to the lodge. Since this was part of the route the boys set off at a brisk walk along the 5 kilometres or so back to the lodge. A decent pace was achieved but sadly RG rolled his left ankle again on the rough terrain. This was the same ankle that came a cropper a few weeks ago in the Mournes. Fortunately on that occasion RG had access to expert advice and treatment from Andy McMullan. On this occasion however he had to make do with two suitably untrained clampits in AT & RK whose strapping looked much less than impressive!

Bright, warm sunshine greeted us as we prepared to leave Dingboche and travel further north up the Khumbu valley. The morning trek was undertaken with a quite incredible vista! Massive mountains and plunging valleys made for breathtaking viewing to the point where few noticed the ever increasing elevation. The scale of the scenery was in sharp contrast to our own insignificance! Another steep climb in the early afternoon brought us close to our resting place for the evening - Lobuche.  However before then we came upon the memorials erected to many of those who have lost their lives attempting to summit Everest. A poignant moment for all. As the temperatures dropped again the team was glad to reach the lodge for more warm Sherpa tea. Amazing how the simple things in life can be the most satisfying!! After a quick rest and several more layers of clothes several of us climbed another 100m to get our first view of the Khumbu glacier. RG sent a few texts home from beside the glacier at 5000 metres above sea level. Amazing the wonders of modern technology - and even more amazing that RG can use a mobile phone!!!

And so to the next few days DV...... climbing above 5000 metres, hopefully a view of Everest from Kala Pathar at 5500 metres before finally reaching base camp!!

And then the race.............