Day 9.  Falling snow and old ladies. To Thorong Pedi

510 metres of ascent over 12km.  Slowly, slowly in snow all day.

It started to snow lightly and continued all of the 4 hours we were out on the track today. 

At first, it was lovely, but we needed to stop and get our rain coats and over gloves on as it didn’t look like it was going to let up. It really  was a beautiful sight to see the bushes and hills being covered in snow.

Each time stopped we cleared the snow off eachother.

Kay was quite out of her comfort zone as the track got narrower and steeper. I was feeling quite confident although I was very cautious.  The boys looked after Kay well, although I am sure she was cursing me for bringing her here.

We had to go down a steep part that was icy and slippery, which meant we were not daring to look more than a metre ahead. When it flattened out, we were horrifiednly to see a snow-covered swing bridge that we needed to cross. Ram went first and kicked away snow, I was next and did the same. I actually  felt okay about it. Kay was coming behind with Basu close by her. She was terrified, but she is a strong old duck and had no choice but to carry on over. The look on her face in this photo shows it all.

The day went from bad to worse. Steep drop offs and narrow slippery paths took a lot of concentration but I was feeling good, if not puffed. Kay was way put of her comfort zone.

At one point I slipped, landing very heavily on my  bum. It hurt, and I was surprised that I didn’t get a bit more protection from the good amount of fat I carry in that area.

I stayed on my bum for about 20 metres, sliding along listening to the boys, helping Kay slide along behind me. Everyone else got down and followed suit.

We couldn’t afford to muck around as we were in an avalanche area. The altitude made it hard to go fast, but eventually, we were at the Tea house at Thorong Pedi. Some people were going another 60 -90 minutes up to High Camp, but we had always planned to stay here.

Hugs,  high 5’s, warm clothes and lunch around the fire, a Nana nap, and we were all feeling better.

The big question is what we will do tomorrow. Go ahead, as the snow is supposed to stop  or stay a day. I think most of us just want yo call a helicopter to get us out of here.

After dinner Kay and I put on our microspikes and had a wander around. They really take away the slip and slide and made  us feel better about tomorrow. We went down the hill a bit to another hotel where we caught up with some other trekking  friends, including the Aussie family. Everyone was pleased to see us and their guides have  similar plan to ours. They will see what  it looks at 3am with a 4 am. start if there has been no more snowfall overnight.. They have some experienced parties to send out first to make a path for us to follow.

7.30 pm and I will now read a bit then get some sleep. I hope this is not my last blog