This morning was the bad news my lovely
Roomie had to go down now. She got sick again and had pressure at the front of the head, the start of cerebral edema. I’m gutted. Not just for me cos I’ll really miss the laughs we had but for her. She had bags of enthusiasm and courage. These instances are really sad when you get on really well with the person who has to go down.
But it’s better to catch the problem early before they’re in the clinic here. There is a small clinic here in Pheriche and the rescue helicopters fly often. Today we climbed higher than they fly. It’s weird to look down on helicopters actually flying underneath you in the valley. We did an acclimatisation hike up Nangkar Shtang to 5100 m. (15,300 feet) it was quite steep but I was fine. I was doing the ‘rest’ step where you lock your leg out each step that you can, so the bone structure takes the weight instead of the muscle.
We’re back down now in Pheriche and the clouds come rolling in in the afternoon and it’s freezing. It’s 2.5 hours til dinner and you just lie in your sleeping bag in the room cos it’s too cold to be out of it. And now I have no roomie to chat too. But on the bright side I’m feeling great. Some people felt the pressie today, a little headache, sore legs but I’ve had none of that yet and I feel strong. Altitude is indiscriminate in who it takes down though. So I keep praying I’ll be alright.