Author: Vanessa Smith

Today was epic!

I’m so freaking glad Adam and I decided to do the acclimatisation day yesterday because there was a big hill we needed to get up and both our lungs are handling things much better than yesterday!

Today we made our way to Loubuche 4990 metres above sea level. We walked through a valley that reminded me of the hill just before the fire swamp in the princess bride it was magic! The toilets and tea stops are getting few and far between… but our guides are very kind and have helped us stay modest when we need to stop.

Lunch was at a cute little cafe where we bumped into our Dutch friends from the other day, the ones that made fun of Adam’s and I affectionate natures. Two of the men held each other’s hands and kissed and promised we could do a photo with them after lunch.

We carb loaded and off we went up the very large hill i described earlier. It ended at the memorial site for those who had tried the summit and didn’t make it.

We bumped into our Dutch friends and all posed for a photo… see my instagram… and one of the men surprised me with a very impressive headstand.

The memorial site was very cold and there was more and more ice on the ground. As we made our way closer to Loubuche, the landscape changed and we were surrounded by huge Mountains’ 🏔️ and lots of snow. It was pretty great as I’ve never seen snow before and was thoroughly enjoying the awe all around me.

After catching up with a trail of Yacks carrying gas cylinders (there are no roads here) we slowly followed them along some flat terrain surrounded by huge Mountains’. Eventually we arrived at Loubuche, we have been told it will drop down to minus 15 degrees tonight, we are currently sitting by the fire and it is freezing!

I love this experience but not the cold and I do miss showers. However tomorrow we make our way to Everest Base Camp and I’m pretty excited to reach this milestone.

Today we were very lucky as we got to sleep in until at 8am. Quite the luxury!

Unfortunately, Adam didn’t have the greatest sleep, he woke up with a big headache and an inability to breathe around 3am. I taught him the Diaphragmatic Breathing and that got him to sleep. When we woke up at 7.30 though, his head was still hurting. He persevered though, and by 8.30am we were down at breakfast having our black coffee and omelette and ready for today’s hike!

Some of the group decided not to come on the hike. Living at sea level back in Perth, Adam and I are grateful for any opportunity to acclimatise! So we set off with our incredible fit and inspiring guide Garvo and we were so happy we did!

We were blessed with 360 views of Mountains all around us! Every time we gained a little bit of height 4600 metres in total, the view just became more and more spectacular! Garvo patiently tried to educate us on the names of the Mountains 🏔️ but neither Adam or I are very good at remembering, there’s so many!

Garvo pointed out one particular Mountain, Makalu it’s the third Highest Mountain in the world at 8600 metres above sea level. Garvo told us he climbed it, it took 14 days and he had to carry all of his gear, including his camping gear as there are no tea houses available. I’m so grateful he shares these stories with us, I find them so inspiring.

Garvo also pointed out Island Peak a small Mountain that most people who intend on doing the Mount Everest summit begin on. We also learned that out of the 10 highest Mountains in the world, there is only 1 not in the Himalayas, number 2 called K2 is in Pakistan.

This part of the world is just so freaking incredible and I’m so grateful that my amazing body is doing so well!

This afternoon Adam and I will be very very slowly exploring town and doing some light stretching as the altitude has hit us again and we’re both very fatigued. Thank goodness for black coffee!!!

Today we woke up in our cold little bed, with big splotchy wallpapered flowers on the wall, opened the curtin and saw a Mountain starring back at us! Lying there, wrapped up in sleeping bags, blankets and each other to stay warm, we looked up in awe at that giant Mountain and remembered why we were doing this!

So we got up, had our baby wipe shower, packed our bags (sorry porters, ours were heavy as we over packed 🤦🏻‍♀️) and made it down to breakfast on time.

We set off fueled by breakfast and of course our standard black coffee. After finishing our breakfast, we continued onwards on the treck. Once again, we were full of Awe! Our goal was to reach 4400 metres above sea level and the landscape became bushes and it felt like we could just reach out and touch each Mountain.

It really is something, starting out at the bottom wat back in Lukla, looking up at these giant Mountains and then being amongst them. It’s so special and quite a privilege to have this experience and I feel grateful for my pilates breath.

As we wandered on, the oxygen dropped as the landscape changed and I found myself holding onto my lower ribs, breathing deep into my diaphragm and feeling grateful for my healthy lungs and their ability to adapt so quickly.

I found as long as my lungs 🫁 felt good and I was breathing into my diaphragm, the rest of my body had enough energy to plod along. The fact I’m on the high energy part of my cycle is likely helping a lot too! It’s really helping me hold a positive outlook as each group member, explores their own personal challenges.

We arrived at Dingboche just after three and sat down to have a tea. As we sat in the sunroom a wave of fatigue washed over us and we really noticed the fatigue set in. Our lovely guide Ganesh told us we weren’t to nap so we stayed awake by stretching in the hallway, whilst we charged our solar batteries, as it was the warmest spot in the accommodation.

We had an early dinner and passed the ice creating a boarder around our accommodation (a first for me) before jumping into our sleeping bags to keep warm and wind down for the evening.

Today we left Namche Bazaar but not before Adam and I got matching tattoos. Unfortunately, we didn’t realise we sacrificed shower time to get them and I learnt the art of dousing myself with shower gel and wiping it off (hopefully) with the baby wipes we over packed.

I’m still finding going up stairs early in the morning quite challenging as I’m still attempting to breathe through my nose. Adam has perfected the art and whilst he genuinely is trying to encourage me, I find it a little frustrating that he can do it and I can’t.

Things improved throughout the day as the sun warmed me up and whilst I still alternate between nose and mouth breathing I found today a relatively achievable treck. The fact that Adam held my hand the entire way up may have had something to do with it. I found it very comforting and it gave me a little boost, although some European men called out that I must be Adam’s ‘second wife’, a comment he didn’t appreciate very much but I found it quite funny.

According to my phone, we completed 22,671 steps and 15.2 kilometres. Most of which was a zig zag uphill. We did have plenty of stops to catch our breath which I was incredibly grateful for. It also gave us a chance to enjoy the incredible scenery with views of Mountains everywhere, including the elusive Everest making an appearance occasionally.

After we finally completed the gruelling stair master, we arrived outside a Buddhist temple, ironically there was a race just outside the gates. It turned out the participants were trekking from Phakding to this temple, about 20 mins away from Phortse, in one day. One of our guides Arlo has completed this race previously in 6 hours and placed 3rd I hope to be as fit as him one day.

Tonight we are staying in very cold accommodation and learning to perfect the art of the baby wipe shower before heading to Dingboche tomorrow.

Today was acclimation day and we’re staying in Namche Bazar again this evening.

We did a short treck up a hill to a lovely Hotel called Everest Hotel View which is 3880 metres above sea level.

It sounds easy enough, but I really struggled with the breathing. We left around 8am and I tried to breathe through my nose but my nose kept running and the steps were very steep. According to my phone we did 10208 steps today. I tried breathing through my mouth but by then I was panicking, the breath was very quick and I could feel a stitch coming on.

Luckily, on one of the breaks, I decided to ask a lovely lady on my treck, who had already completed Mount Kilimanjaro, for tips. She suggested slowing my breathing down so I could feel my lungs expand. Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth if possible but just mouth if I needed and slowing my pace to match my breath.

It worked! I was able to slow my breathing enough that the stitch subsided and I was able to endure the treck and enjoy the scenic views. The views were 360 views of mountains, including Mount Everest! I even managed my yoga pose of the day.

Unfortunately I’m on an eSIM and it’s unable to load photos to my blog, which is why I’ve started on day 3. I have some on my Instagram @move_with_ness

The treck back down was intended to prep us for our decent from base camp, it was much faster, the breathing was way easier and I am extremely grateful for having very strong lower abdominals as they came in handy! A few tender spots in my knees showed up, but I’ve been stretching regularly in the tea houses and it’s really helping to prep my body for each day.

This afternoon we will be exploring Namche Bazaar and stretching for tomorrow’s adventures. Everyday I wake up surrounded by beautiful Mountains I’m consistently in awe. It feels surreal and I’m trying to stay in the moment and appreciate this incredibly beautiful part of the world whilst I have the opportunity.

I’m just about to turn 40 and I’ve spent most of the year doing research on building muscle in the peri-menopausal years. Naturally, I considered the world of fitness competitions. I have always had a slight interest in this area but the idea of extreme calorie restriction and possibly loosing my period just doesn’t sit well with me.

After talking to some strength coaches who are involved with the competition world, I felt disheartened as it was suggested to me that the only way to build muscle during my pre-menopausal years was to gain weight to build bulk muscle.

This also didn’t appeal to me, I am a performer/ dancer who likes to maintain a certain look and the idea of holding extra weight whilst I perform extreme acrobatics just isn’t going to work for me. So I did some research, I mostly asked around and I will be reading more and more peer reviewed articles for my blog as I go along.

The consensus seemed to be, that weight gain was necessary to build muscle as the extra calories fuel your workout. Basically if you eat more you have more energy to lift heavy and will therefore gain more muscle in the process. A really great argument to get those extra calories in. So I thought about it.. I’m someone who trains religiously. I’m a Yoga/ Pilates instructor, Performer and Personal Trainer. I know in myself, I have a lot of energy to train.. except… when I’m coming up to my period. I have low energy, my workouts drop and I really struggle to reach my goals during this time. When I’m ovulating however, I have LOADS of energy! I eat less as I don’t need as many calories to maintain energy, I lift heavier and I have wayyyy more energy to complete all the things I want to.

I decided to write this blog, as I’d like to measure my muscle mass/ body fat percentage over the next year to see, if I am able to gain muscle mass whilst maintaining a lean figure. I propose to do this by regularly measuring my muscle mass/ body fat percentage to record any progress. My aim is to use my natural cycle to help me gain muscle without the need for extreme dieting.