31st March

1800hrs, Lukla

Walk-time: 7hrs

Ascent/Descent: 2835m (Monjo) - 2580m (Thado Koshigaaon) – 2835m (Monjo)

It is with a sense of relief and a job well done that I write this entry; sat in the lodge dining room, with a cup of masala chi and a stomach full of shortbread and champagne, we are all relaxing and congratulating one another on surviving the last fortnight.

Everyone has performed amazingly, no matter what was achieved at an individual level – we have all pushed ourselves to the limit and beyond. And as I write people talk of whether they would return and do this again – some saying “no way,” while others (including myself) say “yes – in a few years.”

It is not just the trekkers who deserve congratulations – even more so are the support staff – guides, medics, porters, cooks, Sherpas. To provide us with three meals a day, no matter where or when, with cups of tea seemingly every five minutes, is a feat many of us cannot comprehend. To carry 30kg of our crap from place to place in barely a fraction of the time we take, tents set up ready for us before we’re even in sight of our campsite is amazing.

Even as I sit here in 3-day-old clothes, and a kata scarf, not having showered in a fortnight, thoughts already turn to returning to work. But as a touch of work enters my mind I immediately try to find something to distract me – to have to do this then return to the daily shit of teaching at college is an unbelievable change. So without any guilt I look for distractions of any kind.

Celebrations in Lukla - photo courtesy of Matt

The diet here has been brilliant; anyone who complains about our cooks should try to spend a week in their shoes and try to do the same. “Bed-tea” at wake-up, a two-course breakfast of porridge and then omelette or other egg-based food half-hour or so later, and then we’re off. Midway through the day we stop in some village tucked away in some valley niche, and they’re already there with soup and a main course ready, with a hot juice ready the moment we arrive and tea just before we depart. And somehow they clean, gather up the kit and overtake us in time to have a three-course meal ready for when we reach camp.

And dinner is not dull or repetitive. There is a lot of potato, but it could be boiled or mashed or roasted, with various veg in various ways. Sometimes there’s tuna or luncheon meat or salami. Noodles only appeared once this time, rice only two or three times. Certainly it was a great set of meals served daily, and the only thing I didn’t eat that I couldn’t eat was bamboo last night.

We should be flying out to Kathmandu tomorrow morning – a return to showers and clean clothes. And then it’s a waiting game until finally returning home on Monday.

-Chris

Welcome to Lukla - photo courtesy of Matt