Maximum Altitude: 5,410m

We were served 'tent tea' at 6:15 this morning which was very sociable I thought. I was already dressed but still in my sleeping bag, enjoying the comfort and warmth until the very last minute. Of course we had to pack all our gear away ready for the porters which is always a pain in a tent, but it was soon done. The sun hadn't arrived in our camp-site so it was still very cold and the nearby lake was completely frozen.

Breakfast was pancakes and omelette which was very nice but again uncomfortable squatting in the mess tent. We set off around 8:15 for the big climb over the Renjo La and our first real test of the trip.

Slow and steady with frequent stops was the order of the day as we made our way up the pass. It was clearly very popular with lots of groups heading in both directions. At one point we met with a couple of our Porters heading down. It transpired that one of them was suffering with the altitude, not surprisingly. We'd already lost one a few days ago so some were carrying three of our bags - we were struggling with just a day sac!

After three hours we reached the summit of the pass and boy was it worth it! Right in front of us was Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Puomori and many others I didn't recognise. It was easy to see why the top of this pass is considered to be the best view of Everest in the entire Himalaya. We paused, taking photos and eating some of the lunch the Sherpas had provided for us. I ate the Sherpa bread which was not really bread at all, but a kind of pancake cross with a doughy something I can't actually think of. Anyway, it was very nice. The rest of the lunch I saved for later as I wasn't really very hungry but with the amount of effort I had put in climbing to the top of the pass, I figured I needed to eat something.

All photos taken, we started down the steep rocky scree descent. I'd bought my walking poles for the descent, but had started using them on the ascent as well - an indication of the effort required. The poles were definitely needed on the descent to avoid falling and I have to confess to feeling a little light-headed so they were also a confidence booster. We had plenty of stops and I consumed part of the lunch at each stop; boiled egg, biscuits and cheese, but saved the Mars Bar for another day although further down I did consider eating my one and only Energy Gel but we were really close to the end and they take 45 minutes to start working anyway.

Finally we arrived at Gokyo Lakes Lodge. I was pretty wiped out and thankful it was over. We soon had our rooms and I immediately fell asleep, woken by Adam and hour or so later with the news that tea was being served.

The Lodge is right on the Lake front and looks nice, although it is incredibly basic - two toilets; one upstairs and one downstairs. The upstairs one is a more conventional design although of course has no means of flushing other than a bucket of water. The Lodge does boast a hot shower for Re700 which I took advantage of. It was nice to be properly clean for the first time in what seems like an age. The temperature regulation of the shower seemed to be non-existent and it fluctuated from cold to scalding. It was an art standing under it at the right time, then stepping back as it oscillated through the temperature range and back again. I managed a good wash, but there was no time to lose drying and dressing as the Lodge was already quite cold.

Dinner was Mo-Mos, which are becoming a team favourite, although I didn't really have much of an appetite so had to force the food down as much as I could. I wasn't really surprised, the combination of an extremely hard day and the current altitude contributing to appetite suppression.

Everyone was feeling pretty tired, some have worsening coughs and the onset of colds. I've so far managed to avoid both, but I think it highly unlikely I will avoid them for the entire trip. The rest of the evening followed a familiar routine of diary writing, relaxing and chatting.

During our evening briefing for the next day, we learned that there were choices; some opted for a walk up the valley to the Cho Oyu base camp which was a five hour round trip, others, me included, opted for the easier walk down past the lakes to the see the Ngozumpa glacier that we would cross the day after tomorrow which would take around 2-3 hours and involve very little climbing. My argument for the easy day was that I'm pretty tired from today and we have the big climb of Gokyo Ri the following day and I don't think anyone will be climbing Cho Oyu at this time of year so the base camp will be deserted anyway, plus we can see Cho Oyu from Gokyo Lakes and the base camp is not that much closer.

I've done okay with charging power so far, charging the solar battery when I can, then decanting into the power pack to keep that charged. Tomorrow I'll put the Solar Panels on to boost that whilst we are out for the day. At this moment, all devices are healthy and the most important ones; the cameras both have spare batteries that I've not touched yet.

Since leaving Thame a few days ago, the prayer wheels and Mani stones have reduced considerably and in fact today I've not seen a single one, although there were plenty of prayer flags. I guess it is probably related to the number of people living in the various Hamlets that we visit.

I really need a good nights sleep tonight and have made up the bed with my liner and the supplied quilt, although I have my sleeping bag nearby just in case it gets too cold for the quilt. The sleeping bag is excellent but of course, being designed for very cold use it is a coffin shape which considerably reduces the wriggle room.

There is no phone signal at this lodge, not surprisingly, the internet is Re2,000 for 20GB which is quite expensive. Previous lodges have been around Re800. There is an 'Everest Link' deal that gives 20-30GB and can be used at all of the lodges, but to be honest I quite enjoy the peace and avoid the 'mobile stare' that seems so endemic these days.