Everest Base Camp Part 4

I awoke on EBC morning having slept soundly. I felt calm and relaxed as I began the now familiar routine of packing my bag for the porters. Outside, the cold air held a pungent aroma that seemed part butane and part breakfast. Yak bells rang and birds chirped in...

Everest Base Camp Part 3

We would arrive at Dingboche on a bright Thursday afternoon after an incredibly scenic yet undulating trek from Tengboche. At around 4400 metres, we felt tired on arrival. The hot showers advertised in our tearoom turned out to be little more than a trickle of cold...

Everest Base Camp Trek Part 2

Himalayan mornings are incredibly cold. Our room at Phakding had no heating to speak of, so we were reliant on our sleeping bags and a musty old quilt to resist the cold. We could see our breath in the air as we quickly scrambled into our walking attire. I shivered as...

Everest Base Camp Trek Part 1

Kathmandu to Phakding A grueling flight ended as we passed groggily through the terminal in Kathmandu. The contrast to Dubai airport where we had spent an arduous 12 hours in transit could not have been greater.  I likened the passage through the airport to a...

Unearthing

The metal detector lay against the garage door gathering dust. A Christmas present that had scarcely been used. I felt guilt at my negligence but it did not outweigh my laziness when it came to doing the requisite research and finding more experienced metal...

Addicted

When I was a young rascal, runny nosed and dirty from playing out in the back street, I’d run into the kitchen and lunge for the bottom drawer. My gran usually kept it stocked with sweets: sometimes softmints,  sometimes chocolates,  other times fudges. Grabbing...