10 October 2018
Hello everyone from Pangom at 2,800m in the Himalayas. It is a tiny farming village with a local Tea House where we are staying.
I slept well, after the adventure of yesterday, albeit it was cold. I am quite nervous about the cold as we head further up, particularly at night. I have lots of layers and some gloves which look like huge oven gloves and are meant to be suitable for the cold on the top of Everest, so I’m hoping they help me cope!
We set off and have trekked uphill for four hours, gaining 800m in altitude. It was hard but good fun. The most challenging part was crossing a steep slope where there had been an avalanche in the last few days. We were only allowed across two at a time. I led the way in my pair, joined by a Scottish mountain rescue expert who kept my mind off the incredibly steep slope with a very dark sense of humour of what could happen to us!
We have now entered the valley which will take us to Mera Peak and it is a Buddhist valley, compared to yesterday which was Hindu valley. This means we have seen the beautiful stupas and the prayer flags. It is a stunning place.
Our guide was bought up here and showed us his family home – a very small hut high up in the mountains. He was very proud of his family and upbringing, which was lovely to see. He has made it to the top of the world ten times and wanted to talk about his parents and what they had done to bring him up – a wonderful message for us all. It made me miss home. I’m so grateful for all of your support – I couldn’t be doing this without it.
We get to rest this afternoon, which will be lovely and we’ll keep going uphill tomorrow! I’ll keep you updated as much as I can. Thanks for all your support and messages, which are giving me a huge boost.
Don’t let your dreams be just dreams 