Up, Up and Away - Jules meets Everest, 2023

Wrapping up an extraordinary couple of weeks in the high Himalaya with this incredible crew. Now, a bit of time for us to play in Kathmandu before big planes take us back to our respective corners of the world and real life resumes. 🙂

Kala Patthar, 5660m This was the last morning before our descent and as Everest has been hiding in the clouds, we hiked up to Kala Patthar (pitch black at 3am…) to perhaps catch a glimpse of her amongst the cloudy haze at sunrise. The clouds broke ever so briefly, and for 90 breathtaking seconds we were face-to-face with Mts Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest - Sagarmatha, Goddess of the Sky. It is a moment I will never forget, the gift of a lifetime.  . xo

 

Thukla Pass - 4800m So, the term “rest day”, as it turns out, is a misnomer, a fallacy, a blatant lie. We dragged it up (read: burning lungs/vertigo/delusions of grandeur…ha) to Thukla Pass at 5am to acclimatise and it was absolutely worth the effort, not only for the O2 training but the mesmerising, almost eye-level view of Ama Dablam peak. The photos don’t do it justice…some memories are just for me. 🙂  Out of range from now on, pls save a good thought for us on Sunday, the final push  to Everest Base Camp.  Jules xo

 Dingboche, 4400m This altitude has attitude! Definitely isn’t for the faint of heart, will need to earn it every step of the way. We are high, high, high and the air is thin, thin, thin. Unimaginable beauty, unequivocal evidence that we’re not running the show. 🙂 Bod feels great, just really tired after 9 hrs of hiking at altitude. It would seem we are human after all. xo