Day 11 - Back to the Valley

Next morning we wake to blue skies and sunshine which helps somewhat to deal with the disappointment of not being able to make a summit bid. A huge amount of snow has fallen over night and this is bound to make the descent tricky as a few inches of soft, wet snow mask what is underneath and is also slippery in its own right.

This leads to a fairly ungainly descent by everyone - porters and Sherpas included. Being a bit heavier than the rest I struggle more than the others as I continue to break through the thin crust of snow / ice. This comes to a head on a steep section when I take a small ice shelf together with the rocks in it with me and inland awkwardly on my right foot which then folds pitching me headfirst down the slope. I don't go far as the soft snow cushions my fall but I have twisted and hurt my ankle pretty badly. Once we get back to Kathmandu there are a few rest days before we start doing much on Everest but we are at 4,500m and it is a long way down so a long way over which I need to protect my ankle.

The next couple of hours are pretty fraught as the going remains very slippery and I descend very slowly, doing everything possible to avoid a big slip leading to a wrench on my ankle which could be pretty terminal for my summit chances this year. But eventually I make it back to Kanjin Gumpa where we decide to rest for the remainder of the day before heading back down the valley over the next couple of days.

I have also (and perhaps rather less unsurprisingly that my ankle injury) managed to sunburn my lower lip which means that soon it will be a bit scabby and rather unattractive. I thought I had been being careful with the sun up in the mountain but the sun has been so strong there that it was obviously not enough - not exactly what you need just before some R&R in Kathmandu!