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We wrote the diary at 4,900m – Thorung High camp – higher than either of us have been before (not in an aircraft). It was a tough day to get to High Camp; we started as normal with tsampa porridge and were on the road by 8. Unfortunately, the Israeli brothers decided to stay on in Yak Kharka for another day having succumbed to the stomach bug and not feeling up to the climb – a wise move as it was totally exhausting even at full strength.

It was a gradual climb of about 600m for 2½-3 hours up to Thorung Phedi. At this altitude it is becoming quite tough to climb and you have to work hard at taking it slow and breathing deeply. The fantastic views always provided a good excuse for a break though. After a brief rest and refreshing cup of tea at Thorung Phedi, we had an arduous 500m near vertical ascent to the high camp along a path zig-zagging slowly up a steep, scree slope. This was trying on the legs as well as the hearts which were pounding very fast and lungs gasping for air. Having got to the top however, we decided to continue on up to a view point about 100m further on – the views were definitely worth it with clear skies and few clouds to interrupt the mountain panorama.

All of this was achieved before lunch. People seem to have appeared out of nowhere in High Camp where the lodge is quite busy (has the added benefit of making the dining room nice and cosy). Exhausted, we spent an uncomfortable, frustrating afternoon trying to sleep, read and recover. Not sure whether it was the altitude, but we found concentrating very difficult so reading was no pleasure, we tried to play cards but dealt the wrong number of cards and couldn't quite focus on anything properly. Added to this, we couldn't sleep – a common problem at altitude – so spent a lot of the time in a stupefied daze.

Dal Bhat for dinner; 8 out of 10 - not bad considering where we are... nothing grows up here so all portered up the steep slope. Generous portions.

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