Maximum Altitude: 5,380m

Another early start with the alarm going off at 4am. Bags packed before breakfast which was a challenge as there was no light in the room. I tried to have a morning wake up wash but the taps were all frozen so abandoned that idea. We left around 5am, walking up the valley behind the lodge. I'd elected to wear my Rab gloves with the liners but it wasn't the best choice as my hands never really warmed up and I found myself trying to warm them at every opportunity.

We walked in the dark for the first hour but the path was a good one, albeit some ice at times. I wore a thermal base layer, Stellar mid-layer, windproof and Stellar Down jacket and was only just warm enough even with the hard work of climbing. At one point I did warm up so ditched the Down jacket but then on a subsequent stop had to put it back on again and then stayed on all day.

The Pass rises at a good rate, not too hard but we did ascend from around 4,800m to just over 5,000m. From there, disappointingly it drops down quite a bit to cross rocky terrain. From the top of the first rise it is possible to see the Cho La and is quite intimidating as there is no obvious path in sight and the climb looks very rocky. As we approached, we realised that our initial assessment was exactly right! It was a combination of steep uphill, some scrambling and some boulder balancing but eventually we reached the summit in just over five and a half hours which wasn't bad given the estimate of five hours. Up until now we had only a few minutes of sunshine - there was sun, but due to the shape, high sides and direction of the valley, it was blocked from us.

On the top we could see our onward route over the glacier, also shielded from the sun. It was here that I noticed that Siobhans' foot had come off, but I located it caught in the velcro of my bottle holder so stashed it safely for later repair.

After lunch and photos we dropped steeply down - so steep in fact that some down-climbing was required to reach the glacier itself. On the glacier, our Sherpas helped those requiring it with their instep crampons. I had been surprised that we had not received even basic information on how to use them by the Team Leader. I was familiar with them and had taken the trouble to refresh my memory, but clearly not everyone had done so. They are clever devices that will work on any boot, probably even trainers, and provide some grip on the ice. They are lightweight, easy to put on and take off.

Eventually we were all geared up and ready to go. The walk across the glacier only took about fifteen minutes and we were soon off and back onto rocky terrain again, mostly heading downhill which was hard work on the knees. The group did split at one point and three of us were left to route find.

Finally the gradient eased and we walked gently downhill, admiring the mountains in front of us (Ama Dablam) and to the right (Cholatse). I'd expected our destination to be the village beyond the lake but it turned out to be much closer, although out of sight until the last few minutes. A very pleasant surprise. There was a final uphill section which seemed to knock the energy out of everyone, some pausing for a break, others pressing on to get it done.

The Lodge was almost identical to the one at Dragnag i.e. one big common room and small two-bed rooms with not much in the way of facilities. We enjoyed some noodle soup within a few minutes of arrival which went down a treat. Soon after that we headed for our rooms. I decided I needed a lie down and woke up nearly three hours later - obviously the walk had taken a lot more out of me than I thought, but I think everyone had a hard day - I noticed that a couple of Team members had given their rucsacs to Sherpas - the Cho La is not for the faint hearted.

Dinner was hash browns and fried eggs but they managed to make a mess of the hash browns! I managed about half before giving it up as a bad job. We heard tonight that Ken has a potential HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema) and would be evacuated by helicopter tomorrow. Seriously bad news, he's a nice guy and we'd enjoyed some nice evening chats. As a safety precaution they had put him on Oxygen and took turns to visit him in his room to say farewell. He didn't look well and felt very sorry for himself.

Everyone was pretty wiped out so bedtime was around 8pm. I had the worst night so far on the trip, waking four times for the toilet! At least I wasn't dehydrated. I also woke several other times for no good reason. I also had that 'out of breath' feeling which wasn't nice but I've had it before so it didn't worry me. Also, my sinuses were blocked so I couldn't breathe properly. My cold and cough are not helping and at least as bad as last night, but hey, this is a holiday and supposed to be fun!