I woke around 4:30 for the first weather check. Cloud, mist and no visibility. The pass was looking unlikely. No one else was up and I was starting to think that we would be following everyone else back down the valley towards Namche. We hung around for a while and eventually, other started to rise and congregate out the front of he guesthouse, praying for better weather. We had breakfast and a tea - usual protocol and packed out gear up. We told Bom that we would probably be heading back down as the weather was looking grim. As I was brushing my teeth outside, literally within seconds, the cloud cleared to leave a big blue hole in the sky. Within minute or two, that blue hole has enlarged and the mist lifted completely, leaving a stunning array of high peaks surrounding us. We hadn't even realised they were there. From what was looking like miserable morning turned into the most stunning scenes - white jagged peaks and deep blue sky all around us. The challenge was back on. We gathered our bags and began towards the pass. A gradual climb turned into a steeper on as we navigated our way higher. It was the usual policy of one foot at a time. We were still at around 5300m here and progress was slow as always. Eventually, we reached the base of our first steep climb - the tricky ascent up a boulder face. The snow was getting much deeper by now and our trek had suddenly turned into rock climbing. Bom made a quick footwear change into his walking boots. The climb was heaps of fun but tricky. It tested our endurance at this high altitude. Eventually, after around an hour or climbing it flattened out a little. This part however was the most challenging as we now had to navigate our way across the steep sides of the mountain in deep snow and ice. Bom did a great job of keeping us safe and he was always there to lend a hand - literally. We made it across the side of the mountain and onto the huge glacier that dominated the valley. We met our friends from the guesthouse here who were busy making snow angels and bulging a snowman. We stopped for a few photos before our treacherous walk up the glacier towards the summit of the pass. We had no idea where the crevasses that we had been warned about were so we elected to follow some fresh footsteps in the snow, probably from the Canadians who sent off earlier than us. We figures that Canadians should know what they are doing when it comes to mountains and snow. After another tricky climb we made it to the pass summit. Incredible views and beautiful sunshine made it all seem so easy - it hadn't been! The Nepalese guides did some singing, we had some lunch and took some photos. Now we were about to start the part we had been told was the trickiest - the steep decent down the ice and rocks. There was fresh snow on the ground which made it slightly easier than the sheet ice we had been expecting. Nevertheless, it was a treacherous decent. Bom was always on hand to help but we made good progress getting down and managed it with only a few slips and bum shuffles. When we finally got down, we had some enormous boulders to navigate over before joining a track which took is up another steep hillside. There next part was 'Nepalese flat' which as ever meant some slow accents and a little much needed flat! We eventually made it up to the top of the valley where our leader Helen got too excited and went off course. A call from Tom and Bom brought her back down to the track and we were on our way. This part was steep down which we did as fast as we could. We had now been walking for around 9 hours and we were delighted to see in the distance what we thought was our destination or the day, Gokio. We met up with our Scottish and kiwi friends on the way down who informed us that in fact our final destination was in fact much further. Anyway, some warmth and a much needed masala tea were in order. We stayed and rested our legs for a bit before the next part of the challenge - over the Gokio glacier. We climbed slowly up to the edge of the glacier, passing a cow with its calf who decided to get a big angry with our presence. Bom did some cow whispering and ushered her away. We made it to the Gacier ridge and the view across the massive body of ice and rock was incredible. Bom seemed sure he knew the best place to cross so we navigated our way along the side of the glacier. We could hear the rumble and splash of huge rocks rolling off the glacier and into the many glacier lakes that spread across the giant mass of ice. Eventually we made it onto the glacier itself. The first part of the journey was pretty straightforward and we followed a winding tracking and down the rugged terrain. After 20 minutes or so of walking, the most again descended on us and visibility was almost non existent. We could continue to head the rumbling of moraine as it tumbled down the side of the steep ice, often cascading into pools of water. We had to take our time now as the path was somewhat unclear however in Bom we trusted - ho told us he had done this around 50 times. After a long 1.5 hours of traversing the glacier - we now hated glaciers. Cold, icy, dangerous and not much to see. We were knackered by this stage and dreaming of our dal bat in Gokio. As we reached the far edge of the glacier suddenly Bom looked very unsure about where to go next. In clear conditions, he told us, it's easy to find your way however we could hardly see our hand in front of us at this stage and no one knew where to go next. Bom headed back to try to find some other Trekkers whilst we sat on the valley side, dodging tumbling scree. Eventually Bom returned and the most lifted a little. We were on the path up the steep side of the valley which when at the top gave us an amazing view of Gokio and the spectacular lake. We literally ran down the hill into the village, delighted to be there after the longest and by far, most challenging day so far. Our guesthouse was amazing here. Bom's old school friend owned it and we had an amazing room (as far as these basic lodges go!) with a double bed, overlooking the lake. We were happy to be there and as we sat by the fire, tea in hand, discussing the day we had, we decided that we should have a couple of nights in Gokio. We liked it here! We went to explore the village and met our Scottish and kiwi friends for some dinner in their place. Tomorrow would start with a climb up the steep,
Gokio Ri.