Day 14 over the pass to Gopte
The morning was cold, crisp and clear and we left for the pass before 8am. A cool wind was behind us from the north and our route climbed directly into the slanting sunlight.
A little more ice had formed on the lake next to the Lodge and the ones we passed higher up and towards the pass were frozen solid. Occasionally ice had formed on the path and our Sherpa guides were most vigilant in these places.
A tea stop was planned at the pass but when we got to the col the wind was whistling through so only a team photo was taken with tea reserved for the more sheltered side of the pass.
The path dropped through the sunlit upland pastures to Phedi where the cloud to the south threatened to boil up and engulf us.
Below Phedi the path plunged steeply down and into the forests of bamboo and rhododendron. Then began the long rising traverse that was definitely more up than down. In places the path had been swept away by landslides and often there was a steep slope off to the right. Neil loved it.
Now in dense cloud and forest we laboured our way on for much longer than we expected. Eventually we crested a ridge and there was a closed tea house there to mark the final descent into Gopte. Five minutes before reaching the Lodge we were met by Galtzan bearing a flask of most welcome hot lemon.
The lounge in the Lodge was warm around the log burning stove but the rooms were chilly and ours, next to the toilet, had a door that wouldn’t close. Poor Sally was not only kept awake by fits of coughing but also by the continual procession through the night of those visiting the toilet. For once I slept through the whole thing having had a little of Chris’ Rum with my evening hot chocolate and then chased it down with 30mg of codeine to kill the cough.