Hiking to Everest Base Camp sounded just so exotic on paper, but the truth of hiking for three weeks in extreme altitude is much less exotic! Sub zero temperatures, no showers, no washing hair, very smelly frozen pee/poo squat toilets, no sleep, no fresh food and no clean underwear (it's impossible to dry anything you might be able to hand wash, the sight of my frozen knickers tied to my pack has probably sent more than a few hikers into therapy!)
The combination of very cold weather and extreme altitude makes you want to pee constantly, so you spend an awful lot of time not looking at the awesome snow peaked scenery, but instead, keeping your eyes peeled for a rock or bush big enough to squat behind, which are rare I might add and it isn't at all as quick and easy as it should be as you're wearing 4 layers of clothing, thermal underwear and two pairs of gloves. I did try to use those specially designed thingys for ladies to wee standing up, but ended up piddling down my own leg, it wasn't at all attractive let me tell you.... warm though!
Breathing becomes very challenging at anything over 4,000m, I finally gave up my five a day ciggy habit on the Cho La Pass, 5,500m, 1.50pm, 10th November serious bottom lip quiver let me tell you, The Cho La Pass is not for sissies, definitely more painful than natural childbirth! (thank you Andre at the gym for making me do all those awful exercises for months and months and months).
So, two weeks up (the long way round!), a week to get down again, ate like a pig and lost 5kg. It was really hard work, an intense and wonderful experience. My husband, (bless 'im for looking after a packed Backpackers and two kids doing end of year exams while I was swanning off up mountains), was told upon my return; 'I'll never do it again' and he said 'but you said that last time' and I said 'but I really mean it this time' and he said 'you said that last time too'..... Would I do it again? Only when my kids are big enough to come with me.... I miss my family too much to go away for so long again. There's a couple of fab mountains in South America......

        

One of the interesting signs along the way . . .

And this particular loo was one of the decent ones!  It's was the smell of this one that got me, but fortunately my camera doesn't have smellavision!   

                                          Thank you for sharing that with us Hayley!