In the helicopter on our way down the valley
The popcorn field we make our way through, around and over, up and down large chunks of snow and ice 
I wake early before 6am. We are supposed to have tea at 6, breakfast 6.30 and leave at 7. I can hear Congba’s alarm clock beeping from the next tent. It’s funny because it keeps going off. He must be sleeping really soundly.after a while I start to worry if he’s ok that he can sleep through it in the same tent. Then I can hear Ang Gelu calling “Chongba”. Eventually I hear the gas stove fire into life.
Tea duly arrives. Ann breakfast of boiled eggs. Then we’re off just shortly after 7am. The descent is same same as usual. Just a bit slower through the ice fall. The part called the popcorn field looks quite dangerous this time as obviously something really big has dropped off the western flank of Everest and come tumbling down splitting into smaller chunks upon landing and it’s now like crossing a bit of land strewn with ice chunks the size of boulders. We literally have to pick our way through. Ang Gelu says, “ hurry fast through this bit”, we’ll. don’t need telling twice. My legs are tired and slower today but I go fat through the dangerous parts and we come to a little Flat bit they call the ‘football field’. We can sit down, rest and drink some water and eat some snacks for few minutes. I think they call it the football field because it’s flat because it’s about the same size as a garden of a council house in Peckham.
We return to camp with tired legs about 11am, have some lunch at midday and pack our bags for the chopper to Lukla.
The helicopter ride is quite thrilling. I’ve been on quite a few helicopter rides and the weather wasn’t great. We had to duck under shower clouds, swing sound the Khumbu valley sides and there was quite a lot of air turbulence.
All too soon though we were turning left to land beside the airstrip runway.
Ah, civilisation here we are.