It's only a short walk from Beding to Na, the highest settlement in the Rolwaling. Soon after we leave Beding, the trees disappear and the vegetation consists of scrubby Juniper bushes, a small low-lying and very fragrant rhododendron and other evergreen shrubs.

Na can be spotted over a mile off, due to the large numbers of walls surrounding its tiny fields. It is a seasonal town - in summer, it is occupied and the animals are driven up to graze on the rich grass and to stop them eating the crops below. Now it is a ghost town, all the little stone houses are empty and locked.

A Mani (prayer) wall near Na Photo (c) Alan Geer 1998

Once again, Kami rents a house and field and we pitch the tents on a sloping field in the middle of the village. This will be our base for the next week or so while we climb some training peaks and make an attempt on Ramdung peak. There are a few other expeditions camped in Na, but none of them seem to be in residence.

Above the village, as in Beding, is a radio aerial with a solar panel and other high-tech looking equipment attached to it. It looks like a weather station, but we later learn that they are part of a Japanese flood warning scheme. At the head of the Rolwaling is a large glacial lake, the Tsho Rolpa, which is held in by unconsolidated glacial moraine. Eventually, it will give way and the system should sound warning sirens all down the valley.

Na commands dramatic views of Tsoboje and Kang Nachugo, both near-7000m mountains looking incredibly steep so close up. Tsoboje in particular looks unclimable from this angle, and is covered with near-vertical fluted ice right to the summit. The thin air (we are at 4100m), fragrant vegetation and whispy cloud give Na a surreal edge. Clouds zoom past from down the valley, and by about 2pm it becomes cold and overcast.