The Tenzin hotel in Shigatse was very good by our diminishing standards – clean and quiet. We slept in a little while our guide went to arrange permits for Everest Base Camp (EBC) and then we delayed the start even more trying to find some palatable breakfast. The town was still waking up so we settled for munchies from a supermarket and got on the road just after 10. The roads all over Tibet have been fantastic with crash barriers and centre lines. Potholes have been a rarity. The weather was perfect with blue skies as we started climbing up towards the Himalayas through beautiful flowering rape fields.

The trip started to drag out as we slowed to 30km/h for the longer and steeper climbs – Our Land Cruiser seems to have a few issues with going uphill. Eventually we reached the top of a pass just over 5000m. V had read in her guide that a view of Everest was possible from this viewpoint. It was a stunning view of snow covered peaks stretching across the horizon but Everest was obscured by heavy clouds to the South. We didn’t last long in the freezing cold before bundling back into the 4×4.

The road dropped down into another huge valley and four hours after setting off we stopped for a quick Tibetan lunch and to buy park entrance tickets in a tiny village followed by a visit to one of the worst toilets we have seen yet. Back on the road we cleared more checkpoints with our ‘Alien’ visa before turning off onto the 100km of dirt road to EBC.

The road was still good (not being in the back of a minibus helped) and our driver occasionally veered off onto side tracks I think to play with or test his off-road skills. We climbed up endless switchbacks past mind-bending geology including towering outcrops of folded rock (need to learn more about this stuff). From a viewpoint at the top of the highest pass we could still not see Everest through the cloud even though we had blue sky overhead. Another two hours of dramatic switchbacks took us down to the valley floor and then slowly up to EBC passing crazy groups on mountain bikes that made us feel even more like soft-core tourists.

We arrived at the lower EBC around 18h30 – only the base of Everest visible though. EBC is a large rectangular, baren and dusty clearing lined by ‘Hotels’ and has a post office but no mains power or running water. Probably will have all that and a cable car in a few years if the rest of China is anything to go by. Our driver pulled up to ‘Holy Mountain Hotel’, a large semi-permanent tent with comfortable sleeping space for 5 and an attached kitchen. Our host provided bottomless cups of green tea as we sat chilling out after the long day on the road while occasionally popping our heads out into the cold thin air to check the view status.

[WARNING: Gush]

Around 20h00 one of the girls popped her head into the tent to announce that the summit was visible. We rushed outside and were joined by tourists from various hotels in the open area, everyone excited and clambering to get photos. If it were possible for me to have a spiritual experience, the sight of that chunk of rock peeping through the cloud would have been it. V and I were ecstatic. We stood gawking in awe. Awesome ! Another highlight, possibly the highlight (haha) for us. We felt very lucky to catch a glimpse. After 30 minutes or so and more than enough photos the clouds shuffled back in and we retreated to the warmth of the tent high on the experience (or possibly the lack of oxygen).

Dinner in our little tent was simple but excellent (not sure if the food was good or it just tasted good after the high) and shortly thereafter our host converted the chairs to beds complete with duvets and 3 layers of warm weighty blankets. Perfect. What a day !

[Pictures: Himilayan view from the first viewpoint. Oxygen anyone ? Cans of air in a shop on the way (just above the chips). The Big E is in those clouds ! V warming up with some tea]

– Posted from my iPhone via Wifi