Perfectly formed snowflakes fall from the baby blue sky, mountains of all shapes and sizes create a feathery terrain around me. The fresh smell of sweet and spicy curry packs into my nose as the damp heat wraps around me like a blanket. My lips are pale blue and shivering from the crisp climate. “Good morning everyone!,” I hear the Sherpa declare, “Come on everybody it’s time for some breakfast!.” It takes almost all my energy completely to stand but I just about manage to position myself upright. Almost. Sharp pains explode in my limbs like they’ve been stabbed with daggers all over, I gradually limp to the breakfast tent as the snow crumbles and crunches under my buried rubber snow boots. I reach the silky tent and begin serving soup and curry into a cramped bowl but not as cramped as the claustrophobic hut I stand beneath.
Holding my precious food, I limp back to my tent but grab an extra blanket on my ‘hike’ back. Sitting and gazing at the beautiful land before me I take my first sip of the heated broth. It explodes upon my lips like bursts of warm tea encasing my bitter blue mouth. I devour the curry almost immediately but regret how much I’ve eaten afterwards. “Time to start trekking everybody, please stay with your assigned Sherpa. See you at the summit!” The lead sherpa announces. Time to climb Mount Everest!