Day 10 - A Quick Retreat - Sumare 4,000 metres !

With our EBC goal realised and Monika still exhibiting AS symptoms it was time to remove ourselves from the 5,000 metre zone ASAP.

The direct route to Goyko via the 5,300 metre Cho La pass near Labouche was out of the question because of Monika's condition causing us to directly descend the way we'd climbed through Labouche to Thukla for lunch hoping to catch Mark and Katrina who on later reports were holed up in Pheriche with AS problems of their own

Leaving Thukla 4650 metres the weather took its of late afternoon turn for the worse with a bitterly cold headwind signalling snow showers not far away.

Finally we made it to Sumare at 4,000 metres - what had taken us 3 & 1/2 days to ascend taking only 1 day on the downward return.

We'd no sooner settled into our ice cold accommodation when the snow started bucketing down making us glad to have found shelter if you call loosely assembled plywood such.

Our evening was shared with with an interesting young couple (one an Aussie) - polar bear guides during the Canadian season and travellers of no fixed abode for the remainder of the year. With snowboards in arm they have skied the slopes of Afghanistan, Iran and the Pamirs while also recently taking a series of local boats along the Amazon - a book awaits me thinks !

For us we have an important decision to make as with Monika's condition still not on the improve it may mean that we have to split our group into two with the valley that enters the Goyko region only a day away !

For the moment it's time to roll up those blankets, shiver in bed and have some of those weird dreams that only sleeping at altitude (or a drug combo) can bring !