The last day of ascent!
We were supposed to start strong, but unfortunately for me (Lisa), I woke up with a headache that later turned into nausea… Maybe altitude sickness, or as China reminded us from our short lecture about high altitude: during the night the breathing pattern changes, with fewer breaths, which reduces oxygen saturation. Anyway, it got a lot better once we got up and started the ascent toward the first viewpoint at 4,000 m, just before Mardi Himal Base Camp.

We set off in the dark with headlamps on—some of us wearing merino wool base layers, down jackets, caps, and mittens (Lisa), and some of us only in a windbreaker, with no cap and no mittens (China). We were not the only trekkers up at this early hour; there was a long line of headlamps both ahead of us and behind us, just like a Swedish luciatåg!

The ascent took less than two hours, and we reached the viewpoint before sunrise. We made multiple short stops on the way up to catch our breaths—far more than on previous days—and our pulses were continuously in the upper “active zone.” The views of the peaks were astonishing, but even China’s rented down jacket came in handy, hat and mittens included, because of the cold.

After taking some photos and having a cup of tea—black and ginger—Lisa had already decided on the way up to return to base, even though the symptoms had disappeared. China continued the trek with our guide Pas for another hour and a half, reaching the next viewpoint at 4,200 m. The plan was to return at 8 a.m., and she was happy for that, because the rest of the trail ahead looked impossible—crossing through a landslide. The path to this second viewpoint was quite challenging with some narrow sections.

Good for Lisa, who instead enjoyed breakfast—omelets and Tibetan bread—back at the teahouse. After China returned and had a late breakfast, we continued descending and reached Low Camp at 2 p.m. By then the weather had completely changed; clouds had drifted in and up, covering the mountains, now invisible.