A lovely nights sleep under a heavy blanket which was much needed given that the night time temperature is dropping as we gain height. Thankfully, despite being on Diamox only one trip was needed to the toilet – one of the side effects is the need to go frequently others include tingly extremities!
During the night it rained heavily and with three external walls to the room we woke up to A slightly damp environment – a note to self to pack everything into bags and shut them before going to sleep.
No showers this morning, so we moved to the dining area to try to warm up but if anything it is colder than the bedroom so – much rubbing of hands to warm up.
The daily breakfast routine starts with a check of 02 levels and mine finally settled in at 88%. Quite happy with that. Of course we have the Sherpa call for “black tea black” in their frenzy to serve us all at one! This was soon followed by porridge and then Tibetan bread which might best be described as a sweet Pizza Express garlic bread without the garlic – delicious coated in honey!
The start of the walk was a re-run of our acclimatisation walk the previous night, but this time without our legs having been warmed up and the added weight of our day packs. It was a steep and long climb which then led to a much more gently undulating walk to Machermo where we were to stay.
Some great views on our way and some wildlife to be seen including musk deer and various raptors. Plant life changed as we climbed as we were now above the tree line so we were surrounded by rhododendrons, sadly no orchids to be spotted today after the good number seen the previous day.
The walk took us through the most spectacular scenery which hard to describe – the photos below do not do it justice!
A relatively short day’s walking brought us to our lodgings in time for lunch and in glorious sunshine it was time to hand wash some dirty clothes. At this altitude (above 4000m) even washing the clothes led to breathlessness.
After a good lunch it was time for an acclimatisation walk up the ridge behind us – known locally as the north face. A great walk with fabulous views some of which are shown below
4pm brought us to the local hospital for a talk on AMS and how to avoid / deal with it. The hospital is run by volunteer doctors for the autumn and spring seasons and is part of a charity that helps porters with medication, kit and accommodation when needed – thankfully ours are well kitted and looked after by Exodus.
Come the evening it was time to move to the dining room which was heated unlike the bedrooms. A good place to finish drying the clothes I had washed earlier! Also time to check our 02 which despite the increased elevation the 02 level has risen 1% to 89%. However, based upon the AMS talk we went to earlier, this a fairly useless figure to look at – particularly in isolation! Nevertheless an interesting stat to check.