We awoke to a glorious morning at last, after a strange evening watching "The Bourne Identity" on Andre's laptop, with a hushed audience of respectful Sherpas! Surreal.
When we got up, I took the chance to start charging up some batteries as soon as I could, as a crisis is definitely looming...we travel in the mornings when it tends to be sunny, and by lunch-time it's cloudy,or worse, and solar charging is not much use! After breakfast(porridge) we walked for 20 minutes up to Upper Pangboche to visit the venerable Lhama Geshi, to ask for a blessing to protect us on the mountain, and pay our respects to this wonderful old man. Unfortunately, unlike in 2006, when I saw him in his son's lodge, we were not encouraged to take photos in his house. He's been suffering from acute arthritis this week, and has to be helped about, so Rob Casserly had offered him some pain-killers. I was unsure if he'd taken them, nor if he was any better, due to the fact that he only speaks Tibetan, and mine is limited nowadays. I had hoped to post a photo of this man, but we will have to do without. It's a moving experience to sit with him, knowing he has blessed so many climbers before us. He gave us each a personal prayer on a card, to carry with us throughout the climb to help keep us safe, along with a silk scarf and the red string tied by him around our neck for the duration. This must not come off...very nerve-wracking!

After leaving him,full of mystical gratitude, and empty of rupees, we decided to take a short stroll of an hour or so up to a single lodge at 4100m,belonging to Kami, our sirdar...sharing out our favours really. I knew this to be good lodge , and if we later come down to recuperate before any summit bid, we will probably have to choose between this or the Pangboche lodge as a base. Difficult.

Solar panel problems
At Orsho I realised all wasn't well with the solar charging, and detective work between us all revealed that there was a broken connection in the female socket on the panels. Copious amounts of solder suggested a past problem there perhaps? Patient and skillful work by Ray and Greg has sorted this out, at least for now, for which I'm truly grateful, and we hope the repair is satisfactory for the rest of the trip.

It doesn't get much better than this!

As we wandered slowly up the gentle trail this morning (behind a slow yak-train), in perfect light and temperature, with Ama Dablam to our right, and the summit of Everest above us, plume streaming off the top, it seemed to me that it doesn't get much better than this.We'd even had a good wash earlier. I could see the area of the ridge that I'd reached in 2006, so very close to the top,or so it appears from here. It feels very,very different lookiing up there this year, as I know so much more than I did last time, both about the mountain and myself. It is very imposing, and yet there's a chink in her façade somehow. I feel great affection for the hill, no great fear, though I obviously have total mountaineering respect, don't worry on that score!

It feels as though if you give her the respect she deserves, then she will allow you your chance. I will be doing that.I've served a decent apprenticeship, and hope my time is coming. It's all I can do.