Nepal

I met up with my original group last night. We dined in Kilroy's and I consumed more food than I have eaten in the past two weeks. The group enjoyed their time in Langtang and had many experiences that mirrored my own.

Whilst I haven't seen Sukman, the Exodus team tell me that his nephew is still under observation at the hospital and is making good progress.

I started enjoying hill walking over 20
years ago with Matthew and Micheal Scott-Joynt. I purchased of my first proper walking boots in Llangollen in 1995 and started to discover the Welsh mountains with my wife Jill. The addition of my two "mountain" poodles who have accompanied me on some of the Britains most challenging walks from Crib Goch to the Cullins have helped me to stay relatively fit.
I began to read about the history of Everest and the Himalayas in 1996, never thinking I would get an opportunity to visit Nepal and climb in the highest mountains in the world.
Nepal has exceeded my expectations and is breathtakingly beautiful, but, if you do not enjoy hill walking I would argue that Nepal is worth visiting for the people alone. The people I have met in Kathmandu and the High Mountains have been welcoming, respectful, hard working and honest. One Australian traveller described the experience of Kathmandu as " like India but without the hassle factor." The culture shock of stepping off the plane, getting in a 25 year old Suzuki taxi and being driven through the dusty streets of Kathmandu is amazing.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world outside of Africa, and despite the huge gulf in the prosperity of the western travellers and local population it remains a safe country.
I feel privalleged to have spent two weeks traveling in Nepal, meeting the people and climbing the mountains.

Keeping in touch which freinds, family and the Hartford Manor and Darnhall Community has been a highlight. I am delighted that your donations to the "Make a Wish Foundation" are approaching £2000 including gift aid. I have had a number of messages from Alfie and his family who are very appreciative of your generosity. Please pass the details of the "Just Giving Page" http://www.justgiving.com/Simon-Kidwell
and blog details http://simonkidwell2012.blogspot.com/

to friends and family.

Thanks for you support.

Simon

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Kathmandu

I'm back in Kathmandu at the Royal Singi Hotel.

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We're off

Lukla Runway

I've finished walking

The last three days I have walked 40 miles and descended a knee crunching 3000m. One of my big concerns before the trek was how well my dodgy footballer knees would stand up to the pounding. Thankfully, with the assistance of my trekking poles and Delman carrying most of my luggage, my knees have survived. Being carried down the mountain by an angry yak would have been an undignified end to my journey.

One of the advantages of having come from such a high altitude is the increased fitness on the inclines. I am told this increased aerobic capacity only lasts a couple of weeks, but I hope to show the "Sandbach Sunday Cyclers" my new turn of speed on the local Cheshire cols in the coming weeks.

I have a flight booked out of Lukla at 6am tomorrow. I am due back in the UK on Wednesday morning and hopefully will be back at Hartford Manor at lunchtime, for one of Mrs. Stackhouse's roast dinners.

Delman

Tomorrow I say farewell to Delman. He has carried my Exodus bag, brought me a cup of black tea in the morning and tried to teach me about his country and the surrounding mountains. Delman's English is good up to a point...... that point being when you reply in English without any charade type actions!
He has tried to engage in conversation with openers including "How many rivers does your country have?" and "How have you been doing?"; But on he whole we have got on famously.
It is customary to tip the local guides/sherpas/porters for a trip. A privately hired porter works for about $20-$25 a day and tips help subsidise their income.
Alongside his tip, I have thrown in a photo of the two of us at base camp and a packet of McVitie Ginger Nuts within their sell by date, which proved pretty hard to track down. The first dusty packet I found, had a sell by date of 2009.

Delman and me

I don't like the look of the lower bridge

Mrs. Walton, this is closest I am getting to a yak!

Base Camp- Hi Res

Everest- the black one

Periche to Namche Bazar

Today was the day I made up an extra day - by walking two legs in one day. I left at 7am and began to retrace my steps from the last week. It took me three days to walk the same distance on the ascent.
We dropped 1000m today and the difference in the landscape and temperature was dramatic. The journey started with little plant life, apart from the small clumps of brown grass. You then see small shrubs and a short distance later you enter the treeline. As you reach the trees, the dry air from the past 5 days is replaced with the intense smell of pine. As you descend further, you start to notice the air is now filled with the familiar smell of burning wood, rather than the burning kerosene and yak dung which can be smelt at higher altitudes.
Namche represents the the first glimpse of modern civilization with a Cash Machine, Pharmacist, Outdoor Clothing stores and an increase in the variety of food. However, it is still 1000m higher than the highest ski resort in Europe, and most goods still arrive carried by yaks and humans.

Ginger Nuts

A human trait is to copy the behaviours of people you spend time with.

My diet for the past 8 days has been vegetarian, bland and to be honest boring. Today, I caught Delman buying a packet of McVities Ginger Nuts and putting them in his rucksack. I told him that a fat Sherpa was no good to anyone, which he though was very funny. He trundled off along the trail, giggling with his 25kg load.

Cold!

Despite seeing all the pictures of snow capped mountains, people dressed in down jackets and yaks with their winter coats, I have been surprised by how bitterly cold it is, especially at night.
Comfort does come in the common dining rooms where tired trekkers gather around the single stove at the centre of the room. With many of the Tea Houses above the tree line, and wood a scarce resource, the ingenious locals use an abundant natural resource - dried yak dung!

Ascent and Descent

Apart from the walking the three main challenges you face on the trek to Everest Base Camp are the  cold, altitude and basic living conditions.

Walking
When you travel to over 2800m it advisable to ascend a maximum of 300m a day to allow the body time to acclimatise to lower air pressure. It is also important to take a rest day for every 1000m gained in altitude. This can make a trek like Everest Camp slow going. Challenging days walking in the Lake District or Snowdonia can see you ascend over 1000m.  It is much harder going up when there is less oxygen ,but most trekking days when you are climbing are short compared to days in the British Mountains.
However, this changes when you descend! Today I dropped 1300m in altitude and walked 13miles. The air gets richer as you descend and you really notice the fitness benefits you have gained.

Kala Pattar

After an exhausting day getting to base camp, I had failed to take on enough food and water, I felt totally shattered. I managed to speak to Jill on the phone and told her I had run out out of energy and would give the last summit and highest point of my trek, Kala Pattar, a miss before heading down to Periche.
It's amazing what a few hours sleep in sub-zero temperatures can do! I awoke at 5am, skipped breakfast, left a message for Delman to cancel his 6:30 wake up call, and made my way up the lung bursting ascent of Kala Pattar. I met up with the some of the "Alpine Ascents Team" and Leanna, on their way to the summit. I made good progress reaching my personal maximum altitude of 5,545m at 7:15am.
Kala Pattar is renowned for having the best views of Everest and the surrounding 8000m peaks. It was the highlight of my trip so far, and if you had to choose between Kala Pattar or Base Camp my recommendation would be Kala Pattar.
I arrived back at the Lodge at 8:15am for a breakfast of pancakes, peanut butter and jam. I saw Ali and Russel from Texas on my way down to Leboche, they were both in good spirits and looking forward to tackling Base Camp and Kala Pattar. Unfortunately, they had to leave Marco in Leboche as he was suffering from AMS. He plans to spend another day resting and will descend if his symptoms get worse. Good luck my friend!

I made excellent time on the descent, introduced Delman to the power of a Snickers Bar, and arrived at Periche at 1:30pm for lunch.

Kala Pattar 5545m at 7:15am

Everest Base Camp

After 8 days walking uphill, tomorrow I get to walk down. I left Louboche at 6am and got to base camp at 11:30am. I spent an hour walking around base camp watching all the teams getting ready for their expeditions. The weather was bright and sunny this morning and I managed to wear my Stoke City Shirt over my thermal vest for the trek to base camp.
I didn't take on enough food and water and was exhausted but elated when I got back to Gorak Shep at 3pm.
Thanks again for your emails, donations to Make a Wish, twitter and FB messages. It's been tough at times walking solo for eight days, however, the messages of support from friends and family,in Staffordshire and Cheshire, have kept me motivated.
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Made It!

Everest!

Summit day

Day 6 Dingboche to Loubouche

Day 6
Dingboche to Louboche

My Himalayan stomach has gone! I am now able to eat food, thanks to some antibiotics I was given by Sherpa Lakparita yesterday morning. Sherpa Lakparita is working for Alpine Ascents, as they attempt to lead eight clients to the ascent of Everest. He is the most famous Sherpa working in the Himalayas today, with 15 ascents of Everest to his name. Amongst his clients is a nineteen year old British teenager, Leanna Shuttleworth. Leanna has already summited the 6 highest peaks on 6 different continents and is now attempting to summit the highest mountain in the world- Everest. After summiting Everest she is hoping to summit Lhotse, which would be a first for any woman. I had dinner with Leanna last night, and she comes across as a typical teenager on a Gap year waiting to go to university. More details of Leanna's attempt can be found at leannashuttleworth.com
After dinner, I walked to the next door Lodge to say farewell to Ali, Russell, Marco, Scott, Karen and Dawa and had a late night of 9pm.
I made good progress on the trek from Dingboche to Louboche, and arrived at 11:15am for a lunch of Sherpa Stew. Tomorrow, I will be rising early for the long trek to base camp.

A Yak

Mrs Walton has requested a Yak for her phonics/ handwriting lessons

Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)

Most people can travel safely and rapidly up to a height of 2800m with out getting ill. My intinerary with Exodus is designed  to reduce the possibility of AMS but still 30% of people who follow a schedule can get AMS. I am currently at a height of 3870m and you can feel the effects of the lack of oxygen when climbing,  but I am managing to get some sleep and I do not have any of the symptoms of AMS. However, if I do start to feel the early signs I will descend and abandon my attempt.

Kyangjuma to Tenboche

Day 4 Kyangjuma to Tenboche

Thanks to my newly acquired guide book from Barbara, there should be an improvement in my spelling of the place names and the mountains from this point in. I will also cross reference some of Dalman's facts about National Birds!

Unfortunately I was struck down with my first illness yesterday afternoon and this morning. A condition I'm politely going to refer to as Himalayan stomach. I do not want to do into further details or provide reviews of the local toileting favourites but I was in a pretty dark place this morning as  I  faced 2 hour steep climb, in thin air through the forests to Tenboche with low energy and fluid levels.  I needed some help! I called on the assistance of my iPhone and put on my Smiths/Morrissey playlist and tried not to think of my griping stomach. For those of you who do not know the work of Stephen Patrick Morrissey, he was the lead singer of the Manchester band "The Smiths" and I personally find his downbeat lyrics uplifting. After all life is always worse for Morrissey.

Thankfully my trek finished at lunch time today and I plan on drinking cola, visiting the internet cafe and eating plain boiled rice. Tomorrow,  I should meet up with the other Exodus group, who flew out on a helicopter, and are one day ahead of me. I look forward to sharing stories and seeing how they are getting on.

Hygiene

Hygiene I haven't shaved for a week,  showered for 4 days and I'm not changing my socks every day. Is it a coincidence that the Yaks are smelling better? Most places on the trail to Basecamp so far have showers, but there are two main reasons I am resisting the call of the  shower: First is the cold. The thought of getting wet when you are freezing does not appeal. Second the showers are not the most inviting and like many of the toilets they should be avoided at all costs. You now may be asking how do you keep clean? The answer is baby wipes. The baby wipe is currently an essential part of my kit bag. If you are planning on doing any High Altitude trek do not leave home with out them.

Leboche

I've just arrived in Leboche. My Himalayan stomach has cleared and I've got a phone signal.

Sent from my iPhone

Peaceful Lodge

Monday 9th April Evening
I went to the Doctor's briefing on Acute Mountain Sickness, and how to
avoid it at 3pm. These briefings take place each day at Periche and three times a week at Dingboche. After a bland dinner of vegetable stew I joined Marco, Ali and Russel at their Lodge up the road and had a good evening sharing lemon tea. I also spoke to their
guide Dawa, who started as a porter and now has his own guiding firm.
Dawa has a wealth of experince and has really helped me along the way.
Dalman my guide has limited English, and I now feel I have taken
control of my itinerary of my ascent to Base Camp with Dalman acting
as my porter/ guide. There are advantages of going with a smaller group
or going solo. You miss the support of a group, but that can
sometimes be an advantage as 80% of the cases of AMS occur in large
groups where group objectives overtake the needs of the individual.
I am due to reach Base Camp on Thursday and I hope to be able to get a
phone signal to post a message and picture. I'm still undecided if I
will attempt Kala Pattar the next day as I need to make up time on the
descent, I want to conserve some energy.

Peaceful Lodge
I slept at the Peaceful Lodge, Dingboche last night. Peaceful is an
unfortunate name if you have one of the bedrooms below the dinning
room, with constant clatter of hiking books on a plywood floor. An
essential item for any traveler are Boot's wax ear plugs. You roll
them in the palm of your hands until they are they are soft and then
plug them in your ears. I'm not sure if there are any meteorologists
reading this blog, but they need to get their measuring equipment to
room 206 of the Peaceful Lodge in Dingboche, because it must be the
coldest place on earth. I slept in my feather down sleeping bag,
thermal leggings, merino wool top, neck warmer and hat. I had a
fantastic 11 hours sleep and am looking forward to my rest day. I am
planning on a walk to Periche to get my Himalayan stomach sorted, a
visit to the Cyber Cafe to update the blog and check email and will
join Marco, Ali and Russell for the last night before our paths diverge and we go
our separate ways.

Tea Houses
Whilst some people choose to camp on the way to Base Camp, I am staying
in Tea houses. Tea houses have a common dining room and shared
bathroom facilities. Some have solar powered hot showers between 4-5pm,
with others having gas showers which you can use - as long as you keep the
window open to stop carbon monoxide poisoning!
As you get higher and colder, the tea houses have a wood burning stove
in the dining room but no heating in the bedrooms. The costs of the
tea houses are about £2-£5 a night for room only. If you have breakfast and dinner-
the food has been costing me about £15-£25 a night. The tea houses are
very basic by British standards. A warm welcome makes up for the
freezing bedrooms and toilet facilities.

Tengboche to Dingboche

Tengboche to Dingboche 9th April 2012
I had my early morning alarm call from Dalman with a cup of tea at 6am.
I had a difficult night with a return of the Himalayan stomach. I
had misplaced my medication but fortunately Russel, one the three
Americans we met at Kathmandu airport, was on hand with American
strength medication! I joined a number of guests from the tea house at 6:15am to see the moon set over one of the Himalayan giants.

We made an early start at 7:15am and made good progress throughout the
morning. We walked through pleasant Pine and Rhododendron forests with
Ama Dablam towering above us. It was here I got my first full glimpse
of Everest, whilst not as spectacular as Ama Dablam, it's triangular
peak sneaks out above closer mountains.

Bad, Bad Yak Man
Despite ongoing issues with my stomach and feeling dehydrated we made
good progress this morning. I have enjoyed walking to music on my
solo trek, and I am enjoying revisiting many of my favourite songs from the
last 25 years. We were about 3 hours into the walk, when I heard a
crash over The Stone Roses track I was listening to. I saw a large
rock falling in front of me. One of the rocks hit Delman, my guide/
porter!
We moved to the left of the path, and looked up at a 3m high dry stone
wall with a rogue yak pushing rocks from the wall onto the trail.
Fortunately, the rock hit my Exodus bag Delman carries on top of his own
rucksack. If it had hit him on the head the blow could have been
fatal. Delman quickly composed himself, and we both agreed that the yak
man in charge of the yaks was a "bad yak man" and we continued on our
way. It did bring to home to me, the hostile environment we are travelling
through. There were over 10 rescue helicopters this morning, making
journeys up and down the valley to take people suffering from Acute Mountain Sickness down the mountain. Exhaustion can stop many people, but the most
dangerous must be the yaks. The yaks are powerful animals, and carry
large loads. They have sharp piercing horns, and like all animals they
have a mind of their own. When passing a yak train, it is essential to
get out of their way and take the high ground away from the edge of
the trail.
Delman stopped for lunch at 11am, and we made good time walking above
the tree line into the dusty moonscape of Dingboche and arrived at
12:30pm.
I am now at the high point of 4360m. This is over four times the
height of Snowdon and I am coping well with the altitude. I have no
headache and I am feeling strong.
I am in Dingboche for a rest day, with my next stop Leboche.

Hygiene and AMS

Hygiene

I haven't shaved for a week, showered for 4 days and I'm not changing
my socks every day. Is it a coincidence that the Yaks are smelling
better? Most places on the trail to Basecamp so far have showers, but
there are two main reasons I am resisting the call of the shower:First
is the cold. The thought of getting wet when you are freezing does not
appeal. Second the showers are not the most inviting and like many of
the toilets they should be avoided at all costs. You now may be asking
how do you keep clean? The answer is baby wipes. The baby wipe is
currently an essential part of my kit bag. If you are planning on
doing any High Altitude trek do not leave home with out them.

Acute Mountain Sickness

Most people can travel safely and rapidly up to a height of 2800m with
out getting ill. My intinerary with Exodus is designed to reduce the
possibility of AMS but still 30% of people who follow a schedule can
get AMS. I am currently at a height of 3870m and you can feel the
effects of the lack of oxygen when climbing, but I am managing to get
some sleep and I do not have any of the symptoms of AMS. However, if I
do start to feel the early signs I will descend and abandon my
attempt.

8th April 2012

Day 4
Kyangjuma to Tenboche

Thanks to my newly acquired guide book from Barbara, there should be
an improvement in my spelling of the place names and the mountains
from this point in. I will also cross reference some of Dalman's facts
about National Birds!

Unfortunately I was struck down with my first illness yesterday
afternoon and this morning. A condition I'm politely going to refer to
as Himalayan stomach. I do not want to do into further details or
provide reviews of the local toileting favourites but I was in a
pretty dark place this morning as I faced 2 hour steep climb, in thin
air through the forests to Tenboche with low energy and fluid levels.
I needed some help! I called on the assistance of my iPhone and put on
my Smiths/Morrissey playlist and tried not to think of my griping
stomach. For those of you who do not know the work of Stephen Patrick
Morrissey, he was the lead singer of the Manchester band "The Smiths"
and I personally find his downbeat lyrics uplifting. After all life is
always worse for Morrissey.

Thankfully my trek finished at lunch time today and I plan on drinking
cola, visiting the internet cafe and eating plain boiled
rice.Tomorrow, I should meet up with the other Exodus group, who flew
out on a helicopter, and are one day ahead of me. I look forward to
sharing stories and seeing how they are getting on.

Dengboche

9th April 2012

I made it Dengboche in good time to find I have no phone signal. I am
unlikely to get a phone signal now for three days. I am in an internet
cafe and I will try to keep you updated by email.

Delman hasn't quite got the idea of taking photos on the iPhone

Everest hiding behind the mountains at 6:20am

It's so cold I'm sleeping in my hat. Goodnight.

Easter Dinner in the teahouse. Can you spot Russell's deep fried Snickers?

No Internet!

Threre's not Internet at Tengboche. I have three new entries to post which will will have wait until tomorrow when I get to Dengboche.

Sent from my iPhone

Here's Marco!

Many Thanks

I have just seen the Just Giving total has reached £1000 plus gift aid. Thank you so much for your kind donations.
Please pass on the details of the blog and fundraising to freinds, colleagues and family.
Simon

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Ama Dublum

It's looking like a beautiful day

Day 4 Breakfast

The Day 3 afternoon was spent walking to 3850m and a visit to the High School and Hospital in the village above Kyangjuma. The School was closed for the spring break but more worryingly the hospital was closed because it was Saturday. Dalman pointed out another national bird of Nepal, the Danfe. I'm no bird expert but I think the Danfe would be my first choice for National bird with its brightly coloured plumage and distinctive call.
I'm starting to get Himalayan belly and had a bland dinner of spaghetti and tomatoes sauce. I met up with Enid and Barbara who are raising money for the Mercian Regiment and Barbara's local hospice, St. Peters. Enid lives in Stoke,near the hospital, and must be the oldest British woman to reach base camp at 70. I can't believe someone of her age can make it as it's the toughest thing I have ever done with lack of sleep, penetrating cold, poor food and altitude.
The walking is the best part of the day, especially when the sun comes out and takes away the high altitude chill.
Barbara kindly loaned me the guide book I lost on day one. I now have more information on my journey.
It's 8am here and I'm off for another day in the hills.
Sent from my iPhone

What happens if you get sick on a Saturday?

Khumjung High School founded by Sir Edmund Hillary

Mobile phone mast

Amadablam Lodge

Ama Dablam Lodge

I'll be staying at the Ama Damblam Lodge in Kyangjuma tonight. I have dropped my large Exodus bag off at lunch time. I will be trekking higher this afternoon and returning to the Lodge this evening. Delman is wearing his trainers and will not have the Exodus bag to weigh him down. I think he means business!
Trekking high and sleeping low is part of the acclimatization process.
I think I'm visiting the Edmond Hilary School this afternoon, but with Dalman's improving English it's a bit of a magical mystery tour.

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Vulture

Tell Mr Bedford I've just seen a vulture which Delman tells me is the national bird of Nepal.

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Not Everest but Wow!

My first view of a Himalyan Giant

Namche in the morning sun

Day 3

Day 3 Breakfast
Yesterday I was a vegetarian. After sampling the chicken chow mien on Thursday, I have decided to go vegetarian until I get back to Kathmandu. They don't separate the meat from the bone in many of the chicken dishes. The cook gets a cleaver and hacks at the whole chicken and throws it in. Yummmm!

I had a good nights sleep. It freezing at night but my newly purchased blue water bottle doubles up as a hot water bottle at night and drinking bottle by day. I even use the the water the next day to drink on the mountain. I'm drinking water, black tea and ginger tea to keep hydrated. Not drinking can lead to an increased risk of altitude sickness, the downside is that I have to get up twice a night and it's freezing.

Sent from my iPhone

Day 2 Part 2

I met an Exodus group of 16 returning from base camp today. They  were all really friendly and had heard about me from their guide leader. One of their group did warn me how tough it was with the combination of the cold, headaches, lack of appetite and poor sleep. Nevertheless he was delighted to have completed the trek and all his group were in good spirits.

I skipped lunch and had a Snickers bar and decided to put my headphones on and get my head down for the steep trek to Namche Bazar. Delman set a steady pace and asked me to take plenty of stops today. Racing up hill can cause acute altitude sickness and you have to walk slowly to encourage your body to adapt to the lack of oxygen.

When I arrived at Namche I managed to get a top up on my Sim card and spoke to Jill to wish her a happy anniversary. I then joined Marco, Russell and Ali for dinner . I'm now going to bed. Happy Easter to everyone back home and thanks for your support.

Carrying goods to market

Suspension bridge

Namche Bazar Market

Striding out over a suspension bridge

Can you spot the suspension bridge behind me?

I'm staying at the Khumba lodge tonight.

Day 2 Part 1

Day 2 Part 1
Phakdiing to Namche Bazar
Happy wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife Jill.
I stayed at the Sherper Guesthouse in Phakding last night. The lodge is run by Sherper Nima, who combines his role of running the guest house with leading high altitude treks to Mera Peak and India. We spent time discussing my itinerary and mountain life. We had heavy rain and lightening last night and being a real Sherper , Nima chose to sleep in his tent and not the lodge.
Contact ngsloding@yahoo.com if you want good place to stay or discuss higher 6000m treks in Nepal and India.
I waved goodbye and set on my way .

Sent from my iPhone

Suspension Bridge

A Yak train

Marco, Russell and Ali from the USA

Into the clouds

Nima Sherper outside his tent

Ready to go Day 2

The view from my bedroom window at 6am

Lukla to Phantang

After two days waiting, I finally made it to Lukla. I would have abandoned the attempt to reach Everest Base Camp today, had I not been able to fly out. I needed to give myself enough time to acclimatize to the altitude safely and a window at the end of the trek to catch my connecting flights and get back to work.

It was incredibly difficult getting to Lukla this year, and I beleive the Exodus team did everything to try and get all seven of us on flights out of Kathmandu. Poor weather was mo doubt a factor, but congestion at Lukla is exasperated at Easter by all the expedition teams wishing to get to the summit of Everest. The mountaineers need to get to the summit in the Spring weather conditions before the monsoon rains arrive in June. Although, listening to the rain outside the monsoon season may have come early this year.

Flight
My flight today was amazing. To see mountains out of the left and right windows of the plane towering above us, was both terrifying and exilerating. The airstrip at Lukla is incredibly short and only the very smallest planes can land there. You land at the end of the tarmac, and the runway then slopes up sharply to slow the plane down. The landing today was superb and the pilots must be some of the most skilled in the world.
I didn't realise until today, how terrifying yesterday's flight was. We circled three times yesterday, in the valley, surrounded by the highest mountains in the world. Helmut one of the Guides, who flies the route frequently, walked with me today and told me that he been praying at one point and our guide leader, Suckman, had his head in his hands. There was a moment yesterday when one of the pilots turned around to signal to the lone air stewardess. The pilot gave the same signal and facial expression Gary Lineker gave to Boby Robson,at the 1990 world cup final, when Gazza received the yellow card that meant he would not play in the final. Terrifying!

Trekking

My first day trekking was amazing. The people, mountains and river valley was beyond anything I had expected. I crossed river gorges on cable bridges that bounced as you walked across, avoided Yaks with piercing horns carrying supplies up and down the trail and saw 14 year old children carrying 60kg loads supported by straps on their heads.
The highlight apart from the scenery was eating lunch with the Sherpas and guides. We ate in the kitchen area, because the main seating area was full and the Sherpas do not eat with their clients. I watched in amazement, as the two cooks prepared chicken fried rice, egg fried rice, nan bread and a potato dish for the customers, over a single wood fueled flame. I told the sherpas tales of a magnificent team from the west called Stoke City and showed pictures of the Wembley FA Cup Final.

The only low point was my Exodus bag and rucksack letting the rain in. I didn't put my clothes in plastic bags and many are now wet or damp. There is no heating in the Lodge and I'm hoping they will dry a little by the morning.

I am the only guest in the lodge tonight, because it was booked for our group of seven- which is now a group of one. I will be meeting up with other trekkers tomorrow on the trail, and at our next stop, Namche Bazar.

I will now be updating the blog via my iPhone. I can only load low resolution photos and please ignore any typing errors. It is amazing to think I can keep you updated of my progress thanks to the recently installed mobile transmitters.

Sent from my iPhone

New Hot Water Bottle

My new blue drinking bottle doubles up as a hot water bottle at night.

Lunch with the Sherpas

Tea Stop

Well I made it!
I landed in Lukla 10:45. It's now 1pm and it's pouring down. I must have been on the last flight of the day. The plane was slightly better than yesterday's Tuk Tuk. I now have a very low bench mark to judge planes by and I would prefer my planes to be made from aluminium.
I flew over with Helmut, a guide from the group one day ahead of me. I'm not sure he knew what to make of my "High 5" as we landed but he seemed to get the gist . He will try to catch the Exodus group one day ahead of us, over the next two days.
I should catch up with them before Everest Base Camp.
I was met at the airport by my guide for the trek, Dalman. He will be carrying my 11kg Exodus bag, plus his own luggage, and I'll carry my day bag. I'm so glad I packed light!
Thanks for your messages of support by email, FB, twitter and the blog. They do help, and thank you for your kind donations - I'm determined that Alfie will get to The World of Harry Potter!
Speak soon.

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Rain

Made it!

I've landed at Lukla

Boarding pass

I'm in the airport departure lounge, I have a boarding pass and a flight to Lukla at 10:10am.

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Stokies

I've just met another Stoke fan on the bus to the airport. Originally from Trentham, now living in Shropshire and still gets to a few games with her mum who is a season ticket holder.

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Groundhog day- Kathmandu airport

Itinery

If I get out of Kathmandu today. My new itinery will be to reach base camp on Thursday 12th April and Kala Pathar on Friday 13th April.
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Saying goodbye at the hotel

Morning

It's a beautiful sunny morning here in Kathmandu.

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Sukman

Sukman has been our Nepalese Leader for the past 4 days. He was born outside Kathmandu in a small farming village and is now an Exodus Team Leader in the Himalayas. Sukman has remained cheerful and positive and tried everything to get us to Lukla.
When we returned to the hotel this evening, Sukman received a phone call from his sister to tell him that his young nephew had fallen from the roof of their house and had suffered a serious head injury. In a country with no free health care, Sukman was needed urgently by his family. If we had landed in Lukla as planned today, he would not have been able to get back to support his sister and nephew. Our thoughts are with Sukman.

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Abandoned flight

The reason our landing was aborted was because the pilot could not see Lukla airstrip because of the cloud cover.I was sitting behind the open cockpit and I could see the pilot peering over the nose of the plane tying to spot the runway through the clouds. If they cannot see the clouds they will not attempt a landing.
Lukla is known as the worlds most dangerous airport because the pilots have touch down the planes wheels within a very short length at the start of the runway. If they land too far along the length of the runway they cannot stop and you crash into the mountain. If they land before the runway you crash into the shelf the runway is built on.
The two pilots made the right call today.
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Last night

I spent my last night with the group at the Third Eye Restaurant, Kathmandu.
We've had a wonderful few days together, mostly spent at Kathmandu airport departures. Hopefully I'll meet up with them in 12days, for the last night.

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Decisions made

After much soul searching and heartache the group have decided to embark on an alternative trek to Langtang. It looks beautiful and will be far quieter than the trek to Everest base camp.
I have decided to give Everest base camp one more shot. I have a flight booked for 8:30, local time. I will have my own porter and if I don't manage to fly out I will get public transport for 8hours and catch up with the group a few days later.

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Day 5

Day 5
We are in the departure lounge waiting for our flight. Yesterday was along day waiting for the weather the clear. We left the airport at 2:30pm, disappointed and tired. However, there were people in the airport who had waited for up to five days and still had not made it out of Lukla.

There is a book, "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer which documents the Everest disaster of 1996. It was a watershed in the recent history of  Everest expeditions. Inexperienced mountaineers paid  guiding firms large sums of money to reach the summit. Many poor choices were made in 1996 and 12 died. Many of the climbers got a condition referred to in the book as summit fever,  where they put their goal of reaching the highest mountain in the world over their own personnal safety.

Yesterday, we could appreciate how poor choices are made. However, safety seems to be a prime consideration of Exodus and the other travel firms. The group I am with have a great attitude and we remained positive despite the disappointment of not getting a flight.

Thanks for all your personnel messages of support and the kind donations we have received for the Make a Wish Foundation. I would appreciate it if you could forward the details of the blog to friends and colleagues to raise awareness of the work of the Foundation. I have a Nepalese SIM card and hope keep you posted our progress when I can get a signal or internet connection.

So Close!

The pilot had to turn back to Kathmandu due to too much cloud:(

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So Close!

We took off at 1pm local time to Lukla. Unfortunately
the pilot had to abandon the flight due to increasing cloud.

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Our plane

We've got our airline tickets

Flight to Lukla

Day 2 in the airport. The weather is clear and they are taking our bags to be weighed. It's the most exciting thing to happen in the last 36hours.

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Lightening at 3am

There are planes flying to Lukla today