Into the snow

Day 7 - the altitude problems have gone and we're heading up and over to Khumjung and Kunde and on to Kyanjuma. It's not a great distance today, because the plan is to stop at a few places along the way.

We start by heading quite steeply out of Namche Bazaar and are soon in the snow. Clouds come in and we are soon covered - visibility drops and we enter a world that's all whites and greys. Our first stop is meant to be the Everest View Hotel, which claims to be the highest hotel in the world, but as there is quite a lot of snow to get through - and there would be no view anyway - we decide to head straight for Kunde, where we drop in at the clinic for a look at how they cope with the limited supplies they receive.

After Kunde its on to Khumjung. The clouds start to part and we can again see the mountains around us. The view approaching Kunde is quite amazing - seen below.

At Khumjung we stop for lunch, then pop into the school established by Edmund Hillary in 1960 before the short walk to the lodge in Kyanjuma - at around 3700 meters.

On day 8 the aim is to reach Tengboche and beyond. Tengboche is home to the largest Sherpa Monastery in the region and we can actually see it before we start - about six kilometres away and not much higher than Kyanjuma. All is not quite as easy as it appears though, as it is on the opposite side of the Dudh Kosi from us. In order to get there we need to drop 600 meters to cross the river, before climbing the same distance to get back to the height we started. Just when we would appreciate another 'unnecessarily high bridge' there is none in sight.

We will stop for a night in Tengboche on the way back, but for now we just stay for lunch. There is a sign outside the lodge advertising the specialities of the house but we stick to the usual favourites and just have soup. We'll come back to the Snickers and Mars Pies another time.

After lunch its a short, but slow and slightly slippery walk, down to Dewoche to the night's lodge.