Renjo La ou Pas

We got up early and met over breakfast. Chapati and eggs. Do we have a much needed rest day in this place? Or do we make a pitch for Renjo La, the first of our passes? In French, Renjo La ou pas? Aren’t I a clever little chap. Thank you Lord for sending me such a son, such a son, such a son, such a bum. Thanks Kevin.

We’ve seen some great wild life, eagles, beautiful little golden robins, Tibetan snow cock, wild goats, a high altitude mouse called a pica and a yeti. Yeti Dave? Yep, I’ve shared a room with Dan and seen him with his make up off.

We decided to go for Renjo La. Looking down the valley the morning was dry but cloudy as we set off at a steep incline.

The first half hour is very tough, gasping and aching, and then the rest is the same. It’s difficult to describe how we felt. I was lucky only to be carrying a day sack loaded with water.

To help avoid altitude sickness one needs to drink a lot of water and pee out something. Pee I suppose. But it’s something like carbon dioxide that causes the sickness and water drains it.

I didn’t think I could make it. At points the slope evened a bit and we could walk and breathe without too much pain. Count your steps. Try to do 20 without a stop. Short shuffles. Avoid steps and stick to slope. The pass is somewhere behind Dan.

It’s up there. Nir will find it. He’s crossed it dozens of times.

And eventually the final wall appeared in front of us. Dizzy and fatigued the sight of this brought quite a bit of demoralisation to two puffing Yorkshire Billies. The pass is just to the left of the notch in the middle.

It sure looks steep Danny Boy but if anybody can climb this maggot farmer then it’s me and you! May the Lord be with us on this day. Amen and pass me a semi automatic rifle in case we meet a group of people we don’t like.

It started to rain, and as we dragged ourselves upward the rain turned to snow. Not heavy snow but pellets of snow that didn’t settle but nevertheless made themselves felt.

Looking back down, the lake below which we’d passed an hour ago was still visible in the cloud.

We shuffled and as we got higher the path became paved with rocks. This made it so much safer than we had thought. Only one place where a small landslide forced us out to the edge of the abyss, and that was passed safely. A few steps and a breather, repeated a hundred times, and we were there at the top. 17,537 feet.

Dan was elated. I was relieved.

And the view was amazing.

Now we had a long journey downhill to Gokyo, and this was not an easy track either. But we were fuelled by having achieved the top and made it in two days less than were scheduled. We dragged out the reserves of energy like men possessed. Yomping as I used to do in the special forces, which I am not allowed to write more about. (Special Forces my arse you bald, fat, elderly midget).

We sped down a boulder covered glacier with hanging glaciers either side.

But had time to stop to admire beautiful flowers. What sensitive souls we are.

Gokyo lake appeared through the clouds, like blue opal in Lightning Ridge. We might hit target, ay.

It wasn’t record time but we hammered it.

And we were hammered too. Without a drop of alcohol!

Night night.