After the elation of successfully making it to base camp, many would think that rest and recuperation would be in order. When we were discussing our trip with the tour company, the manager showed us pictures of the Gokio lakes and the Cho La pass and it looked incredible. It was an additional 3-4 days and could only be completed if the weather was good. We had decided to go for it whilst in Kathmandu. We were told that the pass was challenging and that in the snow it was barely passable. We were woken at 4am by Bikram. Our initial thought was that it was a clear day and that we would be ascending Kalapatar to get a sunrise view of Everest. This was the agreement the night before; if it was clear he would wake us, if it was cloudy he would let us sleep. Back to bed for a couple of hours then and after a breakfast of porridge (we alternated between porridge and noodle soup most mornings!) we had to make the decision about what to do. I had a bad chest cough and splitting headache from the altitude. Helen had her newly stitched up injured knee. The weather was gloomy, cold with light flurries of snow and it looked even bleaker further down the valley. All signs pointed to the sensible option - to descend down the valley to lower altitudes, clear heads, better weather and slightly warmer temperatures. Bikram was persuading is to head down to Periche as he said the weather was too poor to do the pass however he left the decision to us. Today was decision day. We both wanted to do the pass, despite the knee, altitude sickness and poor weather but we both knew that it wasn't the sensible option. After numerous "what do you think we should do's?", we passed Lobouche and reached the fork in road. Left lead towards Namche - easy, no headache, all downhill and quite probably some beers with our mates when we got there. Right headed towards Zongla and the daunting Cho La pass - mist, snow, higher, cold, probably more altitude headaches and a sore knee for Helen. Bikram told us that whatever put decision, he would be heading down towards Namche as he was 'unwell' (our suspicions lead us to believe that this was a ploy to make it down to Namche in time for the marathon party, to play cards with his mates and sink a few Nepalese rums) and that Bom, our amazing porter would be guiding us through the pass for the next few days. We had a decision to make and of course, as adventurers, against the odds we elected for the only option there really was in this situation, and adventure and the Cho La Pass! We high-fived Bikram and said our goodbyes as we headed off towards the next valley with Bom. A gentle walk through the valley floor turned into relatively steep climb up the side of a hill. We were both questioning our decision making skills as we strode further into the snow and mist. There were a few "do you think we should turn back's?" along the way as we traversed the 'short cut' that Bom was taking us on. We were literally clinging to the side of the hill as we carefully followed Bom who was now heading into the distance. After an hour of treacherous manoeuvring, we eventually, to our relief, found a proper path and continued for another hour or two up the steep hill towards the 'village' of Zongla. This was hardly a village but two small guesthouses perched on the top of a hill. It was bleak. Mist surrounded us and visibility was less than 100m. As we approached our guesthouse, we came to the assumption that we were alone up here, the only people crazy enough to attempt the pass in such poor weather. We had come to the decision that as no one else was around, we would highly likely turn around in the morning to head back down. As we entered the guesthouse however, to our amazement, the place was packed with people sitting around the blazing yak s*** fire. There were groups playing cards, eating and there was even a guitar out. We saw some familiar faces of some Scottish, kiwi and Americans we had met in Lovouche a couple of days before. They welcomed us all into the place where we spent the evening sat by the fire doing the usual - eating, drinking tea and meeting new friends. Tomorrow would be the pass attempt if the weather was on our side.