Tibet

I flew past Mount Everest in 2016. Her perfectly shaped snow-capped summit jutting out of the fluffy white clouds on my Bhutan flight back to Nepal. The sight of this incredible mountain captivated me immediately. My nose pressed up against the tiny plane window, mouth gaping, eyes wide and heart beating fast. From that moment I knew at some point in my life I wanted to stand at the base of her and look her square in the eye.

Most people will travel to see Everest from Nepal. The trek to that basecamp is very popular but ironically I’ve read you may not even see her summit when you reach there.

But I am not most people. So I am not going back to Nepal. I have heard Everest’s North Column is somewhere not many people consider, because it is very hard to get to with all the permits and faffing required from the Tibetan side. This is perfect!

For ten years I have been dreaming about driving across the Tibetan Plains into Everest National Park taking in mindblowing, vast and humbling scenery along the route. Tibet also has the best views of Everest and more chances of viewing her in all her glory!

No planes are allowed to fly directly over the Himalayan mountain range. So to get into Tibet I have to go through mainland China. For an ex journalist that is no easy task; but thankfully having been a dive instructor for a while, this was my choice of profession to declare on the visa. Last week they gave me the stamp and 15 precious days entry into China.

My flights are booked and now I am waiting for the two permits to travel into and through Tibet.

The trip is a pilgrimage of sorts. It is not about trekking, a lot of it is a road trip. I have stage 2 cancer, I cannot make haemoglobin at the rate of a healthy person so trekking 20km a day above 4000m is simply not realistic at this stage in my life. Summiting Kilimanjaro in 2015 (5895m) was incredible and that’s not a bad height to bow out on.

A lot of people regularly forget that I live with difficulty everyday. It irks me they cannot be bothered to remember. These days I prefer to stay away from those people and plan adventure which is what life should be about.

I feel triggered by pain everyday now and my patience is wearing thin each year. I have lost more people to cancer in the last 2 years since Dad died and I know of two new cases amongst my friends and another person with my disease is planning her end of life already. All of this is heartbreaking and reminds me to make the most of mobility even if it is with hardship.

Mentally I am stronger than anyone I know. But my body sadly is not. It doesn’t mean I am about to give up, roll over and stop taking chances and chasing dreams. Never!!!

Lhasa already sits at 3700m, so there is no gradual acclimatisation. It is straight bang into altitude. I am not fazed by this. When my bloods fall every other month I have to cope with these exact symptoms for five awful weeks: exhaustion, confusion, dizziness, blurred vision, brain fog, shortness of breath. It will make no difference mentally to me to go through this in Tibet. I am planning a blood boost before I fly, and for 10 days, it will be worth the struggle.

I am excited to see the highest monastery in the world, visit some of the stunning turquoise high altitude lakes. Mosey about the Dalai Lama’s former residence, Potala Palace, bear witness to elderly pilgrims twirling prayer wheels while chanting and see alpine forests that resemble Europe. I imagine a lot of the landscape will look and feel like Mongolia.

The count down begins today, in four weeks I will be on a flight and I am ready for my next slice of a giant adventure at the “Roof of The World.”