BIG THANKS to Mountain Equipment in Manchester & Global Adventurer in Forest Row who kindly gave me discount on equipment - it was very much appreciated.

There were ten people in our intrepid group. A great mix of young and not so young (26 to 57 years). I was truly blessed and couldn't have wished for a nicer tent-mate in Dorthe. A lovely Danish girl who was always fun to be with and had a smile on her face - even when it was -20C at night...brrr! A big shout out also to the rest of the so-called "A-Team" - Ruth and Sukhpal, it was fun trekking with you guys. I look forward to meeting up again soon.

After being woken up very early in the morning (we'd get used to that over the coming two weeks) we made our way to Kathmandu airport for one of the most amazing (and scary!) flights I've ever been on (and I've been on a few now). We were delayed a couple of hours, but then after the Kathmandu mist had cleared we flew to Lukla 2800m (9186ft), at the end of the Khumbu valley. Stunning scenery of the Himalayas including a glimpse of the third highest mountain in the World off to the East, Kanchenjunga (8598m) was the order of the day. The pilot probably received the biggest cheer of the expedition when he successfully landed the plane on the tiny air strip on the side of the mountain and successfully avoided hitting the brick wall at the end!

All our gear was being carried by Yaks - well, actually "Dzopkyo", a cross-bred Yak-cow. Yaks are very useful to the Sherpas. In addition to their role as load carriers, their wool is woven into blankets and ropes, dung is burned as fuel and female yaks give high quality milk. Since Yaks are relatives of the cow, their slaughter is prohibited in Nepal, but when one of these sure-footed animals "falls off the trail" their tasty meat makes it's way into steaks and burgers - very nice it was too!

Each morning the Sherpas would wake us at approx 6am with a cheery "Namaste", a cup of tea and then bring us round a small bowl of warm water to wash with. They would then pack up our tents, whilst we ate Breakfast - what great service!
 

The climb to Namche takes you from a "safe" altitude to one in which altitude sickness is a real danger, so because of this we had an "acclimatisation" day the next day. We thought, great a chance to "chill-out" but no, this meant climbing to a higher altitude and then coming back down to sleep that night. We therefore climbed to the Japanese "Everest View Hotel" for a cuppa tea. This gave us our first view of the mighty mountain (hence the name!) and what a view it was. This is where we first felt the affects of altitude - headaches and shortness of breath, but the stunning views whetted our appetite for the days ahead.

This was also the place where my "gut" (the politest way to describe it!) problems began and would continue to plague me for the next five days, sapping me of much needed strength. No matter how much imodium or other weird and wonderful stomach remedies that were kindly given to me - nothing would stop the flow. Frequent dashes to the toilet (if you can call it that - basically a hole dug in the ground which you crouched over trying your hardest not to fall into!? - there was a tale we were told about an unfortunate American girl and a rotten wooden toilet floor, but I won't go into that!) and the nearest convenient boulders en route - enough said, me thinks!

On the sixth day we stayed put in Dingboche and had our second acclimatisation day. Those who were up to it (sadly not me), which included the amazing mountain goat Dorthe, climbed up to the Namartsang Peak 5083m providing views of Makalu 8463m - the World's fourth highest mountain.

On the seventh day we watched the stunning sunrise through Ama Dablam's twin peaks and then trekked to Lobuche 4928m (16167ft) beside the Khumbu Glacier. We were now well above the tree line or where anything could possibly grow and survive in these harsh conditions. There were amazing views of 8000m+ mountains in all directions. The day was rounded off by a gorgeous sunset on the mountains opposite our tents.

Every night it had been getting increasingly colder and we'd spend the evenings huddling around the Yak-dung stove in the local tea house trying to keep warm. Everything would freeze in the tent overnight - including the hot boiling drinking water (all water was boiled to get rid of any nasties that lurked within) which was given to us the night before, my contact lenses, soap - you name it, it froze! We would wake up in the night with ice on the inside of the tent from our breath and our sleeping bags covered in frost - the frequent trips to the loo (Diamox makes you pee a lot) were a pain to say the least . We all also took our cameras to bed with us, trying to preserve the batteries which get drained at such very low temperatures (-22C was reported!) and suffered from sleep deprivation and when we did sleep, the weirdest of dreams - another side affect of altitude sickness.

We had now also not washed properly for nearly a week (it was too cold to expose any amount of flesh - so your "base layer" stayed the same), but hey, everyone smelled the same - my cap was stuck permanently to my head, well that was my story anyway. My hair felt so gross, I doubt anyone complained!?
 

It certainly was hard work getting up there, but the amazing views of Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse made it all worth while. It has to be said, by now, I was severely struggling with lack of energy having been bothered by the "runs" for so many days. It was only my fitness - the hours spent running early in the morning at weekends, in the pouring rain, training in the UK - that got me to the top. I literally had to climb up ten paces and then stop to catch my breath from the oxygen-depleted air, before continuing. My legs felt like lead weights and every single movement was a major effort. You can do nothing but stand back and admire Sir Edmund Hillary and others like him, who have climbed to the summit of Everest itself. It is a truly amazing achievement.

Over the next three days we made our way back along the same route, elated and enjoying the ever-increasing oxygen-rich air, as we descended back to Lukla. Much fun was had by the "A Team", in one of Lukla's bars, knocking back a few cocktails between happy hour (3-5pm!) and dancing to Bob Marley before the curfew kicked in at 6pm, because of the threat of Maoist terrorists in Nepal at this time. That evening (those of us who were still able to stand?!) enjoyed a party with the Sherpas and presented them with their very well-earned tips. We also enjoyed the luxury of not staying under canvas and sleeping in a tea house that night ...but did anyone hear the rats scampering around during the night, like me?
 

We met so many lovely, happy, smiling children along the way on the trek, and thanks to so many people's generosity, the money raised will hopefully put a smile back on the faces of other children across the world ...THANKS :-)