Six days to go

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Final preparations are under way which have involved making detailed plans for our absence - luckily we have fantastic support from family and friends who will be taking care of our daughters aged 12 and 15 while we are away. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye!

The statistics of our trip can be summarised as follows: we will fly in from Kathmandu  to Lukla (one of the trickiest runways in the world), and over the course of about 14 days ascend to Everest Base Camp at 17500 feet (and back). We will walk about 106 km in total. The weather should be fine to start with but go down to about minus 18 degrees celsius at night at Base Camp. Hence the down sleeping bags.

Preparation

Training today in the Brecon Beacons, 10 miles in varied weather conditions including sun and sleet. Enjoyed the picnic lunch and lovely views of Pen Y Fan. Unfortunately Paul's GPS system ran out of batteries half way round. This was apparently my fault as I brought the batteries in the pound shop...anyhow luckily we found our way back. We have also spent time in the Lake District, South Coast, and more locally around Bath, wearing in our walking boots on various day-long walks in an attempt to prepare for the forthcoming ordeal..