Above the clouds at High Camp (3760m)

This morning we set off early and trekked for a few hours to Low Camp (approx 2700m). As we arrive, so does a helicopter to pick up the dead body. The story keeps changing and now it appears he is an Irish man in his fifties who probably had a heart attack but, again, we are unsure. The body is laid out on the floor and the Police are examining it as we arrive which makes for a slightly odd atmosphere. The locals camped out in the forest all night with the body, lighting fires, to keep animals away. Apparently there are tigers in the woods we have been walking through and we saw some evidence in the form of tiger poo.

On a lighter note, the scenery is spectacular. We have been trekking through rhododendron forests and they must be an amazing sight when they are in bloom which is March time. As we emerge into low camp it is suddenly clear and we have a great view of Fish Tail.

We have lunch and relax for an hour or two to get used to the altitude then we're off to High Camp which is at 3760m. As we get higher we can feel the altitude in that its getting harder to trek and the sun is getting hotter. As we are arrive we are completely stunned as we are way above the clouds and the peak of Fish Tail is much closer than it was this morning.

We are staying in very basic accommodation. There is a toilet and that's it. Water is also scarce up here and has to be fetched from 30mins walk away although there's no guarantee even then. Everything is brought up by porters. We share a bucket of hot water and take a shower in the loo before the sun disappears. We then put on all the layers we have, grateful that we have borrowed coats from the trekking company. Poona, who runs the lodge is an old friend of our guides and is a lovely guy. He's only been running the guest house a few months and the accommodation consists of one very small dining area with a log burner (which smokes out the area half the time) and a wooden/corrugated iron shed like structure with dividers to make rooms where we will sleep tonight. We have a bed and blankets and our borrowed sleeping bags but its going to be cold. This pic is Freddie standing in the doorway of our bedroom. You can see the clouds in the background with the mountain emerging from them.

Poona cooks up a lovely dinner of fried potato mono and mixed curry and even makes a cake in a pan as he's so happy to see his old friend Dharma. We are the only people staying in this lodge and there are two guests in the other lodge, one Austrian and one Norwegian guy we saw on the way up. Its pretty remote here!

We retire to bed, fully clothed (including hats) and wrap up with just noses poking out ... lets see if we manage to get any sleep. Up early for sunrise tomorrow anyway.

Haiku
Wood stove, hot cabin
Talk of this and that
As diamonds pierce the cold black void