Hey this is TA calling in from day 58, April 27th from an elevation of 5149 m at a place that we think may be called noisey (inaudible). It is kind of like a penthouse actually. We were coming down off the one glacier and the (inaudible) is pretty bad so we didn’t quite get to totally take in the view but we’re definitely elevated and we hope it doesn’t get too windy tonight or our tent could take flight. We’re probably near the edge.

We’re tucked in all nice and delightfully. We just had coco and oreos after a big day crossing the Tashi Labtsa. It was a great day, we had weather that ranged from anything to beautiful sunshine to a thunderstorm that was delivering snow when we got here in camp. We left camp fairly early this morning, about 7:30 and had some deep ground over talus to gain and then a snowy little ramp that was protected with a little bit of a handline and then a long gentle Nepali, almost sort of flat, kind of really not really up to the pass. Now we didn’t spend much time on the pass. It was pretty windy but we had big abseil down and then we were following Lhakpa Yetti. He was helping out some of the kavasa’s and when he came to us. He actually went into a kavass about midway so then we looked at some other options and then finally they stuck out their handline out and off we all went down and then another maybe an hour, hour and a half of coming down the through first glacier which is called the drolampao glacier.

We’ve left Sagamartha national park and we’ve now entered the Garoshanka conservation area and we’re now officially in the Raowali valley and tomorrow we will probably pass the actual Raowali glacier. We will also pass the Solapa and that is one of the glacial lakes I know in Nepal that there is some concern about, that it may at some point overflow its banks and flood the valley. Some of you may remember last year when we went to the Mara peak, we passed the Sabataso and it was one in 1999 that blew its Moraine banks and flooded that valley. Fortunately there was no loss of life. We will probably walk by, we can see the lake in the distance and I am not sure if we will walk, I think we will walk to the one end of it tomorrow.

So we were out about 7 hours today. I had 11 626 steps, Marian had 10 524 steps. Cam’s tent isn’t near ours so we can’t quite get the data at the moment and there is about 8km and about 100 floors of elevation gained. So we’re out of breathe, a little hypoxia you get after the big day crossing the pass but great day crossing the pass and it is pretty exciting to be in a valley that I’ve been wanting to be in for over a decade. So we will tell you more about it tomorrow when we can see it because right now we’re in the middle of a whiteout in snow. Alright. Take care! Bye!

Total Steps for TA: 11 626 steps, 100 floors

Total Steps for Marian: 10 524 steps, 100 floors

Total Distance for TA: 8 km

Total Distance for Marian: 8 km

Great Big Walk acknowledges the support of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Quick Start Fund for Public Engagement in making these updates from the field possible.