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We had a bit of a lie-in this morning. The wake-up call was scheduled for 07H30am but I was the lucky one as my room mate (Gemma) woke me up at 06H30am. It was very considerate of her as she thought I might have liked to get up early and pack my gear up!

After breakfast we took a walk through the village to Khumjung School (also known as Hillary School). It was founded by the famous mountaineer Sir Edmund Hilary in 1961. The school has gradually expanded from its small but celebrated beginnings as it endeavours to keep up with the demand for education from the local people. It now has an enrolment of over 300 pupils from pre-schoolers through to Grade 10. This school is the only High School in the Khumbu region which is fed by six primary schools in the nearby villages. The school sits at a height of 3790m from where impressive mountain views, including Mount Everest, can be seen.

The day was once again very hard for me. Our head Sidar, Tek, made a plan that I finish my lunch early and head out with Sila the Sherpa and also with Jazzy. We set off about 30 minutes before the rest of the group which was great as it allowed me to walk at my own pace and not feel as though I was holding the group back. I had plenty of rest stops going up the side of the mountains and Sila was very understanding as I am sure he listened to my breathing and then would just stop for a minute or two to allow me to recover. I was very lucky to have Sila with me as he was a man of very few words – in saying that english may have been a bit of a struggle for him or on the other hand why waste time talking when there is a bloody big mountain to climb!!!! Either way he saved the day for me.

We got to the top of the pass and arrived at Tengboche. Wow! Awesome place and it even had a bakery that sold “Rum Balls”. I bought three of them against the advice of our Leader (food posioning?) and ended up feeding the local dogs. So much for my sugar rush! We all went for a tour around the Monastery – this time we had to remove our boots – worrying as my socks were about 3 days old by then. Thank goodness for good quality merino socks with liners. The monastery was lacking lamas and nuns as they were just down the road at the other village doing their “stuff” which we had the honor of witnessing.

One of the ladies from our group loves animals and went and had a chat to a Yak that was trying to get in through a side door – maybe he needed to do some meditation too? Our head Sidar reminded us all that those yaks are “pesky critters” and can’t be trusted. I love it when a leader is aware of what is going on around him. It’s the only way to be certain that things are happening as planned. This is the area I love to work with – getting leaders out of their offices and into the field to talk with the team and learn from the guys/gals on the job. “One Team! One Dream! I say ?

That night I shared a room with Angie – Angie is a real power house almost trampling on the heels of the lead Sherpa every day so far. Respect! Anyway – I warned her that I am a snorer and offered her a set of ear plugs which she declined. Madness I think but lets see how it goes as the plan is an early start to see the sun rise and views of Mount Everest.