After the excessive trek yesterday, on the 11th day Helen's knee now hurts and Nick has stiff legs! We took 2.5 hours from Namche Bazar to Jorsale (mostly downhill) and 2.5 hours from Jorsale to Phakding. It felt like the longest ever 2.5 hours. We stayed in the same hotel as we did on the way (freeeeeezing cold!) and we met a Deaf Nepali who wouldn't shut up and leave us alone although he meant well but we were cold and had one thing on our minds - warmth! Hel...

Helen woke up today with lips like Leslie Ash's trout pout and puffy eyes. We had a last minute change of plans after talking with the other groups as we learnt that everyone was heading back to Namche Bazar while we were only going back to Tengboche. We decided to head back to Namche Bazar (better hotel! And clean toilets) the result is that two days of trekking was crammed into one and it was evident that our guide and porter were not happy. Oops. Both of us ...

Even higher than Everest Base Camp stands Kala Patthar (5550m). This is apparently the place to go for exceptional views of the Himalayan mountains. We set off at 5am from Gorak Shep only to find that our guide had a mobile phone for a torch....yeah we felt very safe(!) Before we knew it the cold defeated us, we had made it up two thirds of the way up Kala Patthar but our feet and hands were frozen and so painful that we could not continue. Our guide was rubbish...

The BIG day...a big push is needed from both of us if we want to reach Everest Base Camp. A two hour trek to Gorak Shep then a 2.5 hour trek to EBC. We forgot the route, the terrain, the scenery etc as we were so focused on making it and WE MADE IT! We finally reached the foot of Sagarmatha, Chomolungma or Mount Everest as we know it. The tallest mountain in the world standing at 8848m and we had reached its base, it was a defining moment as it puts into realisa...

The day before the big push to Everest Base Camp.....we gained 500m and Helen walked at snail pace but you know what they say about the hare and the tortoise. It was freezing cold, and Nick didn't have a good day as he couldn't find his pace. Today was relatively easy compared to day 2 and 4 but I never want to see another stone again. We now have Nuptse on our doorstep and again, no sign of Everest who is hiding behind its neighbours.