Yalung base camp after snow Photo (c) Tom Padgham 1998

I wake up several times before dawn, and everything is deathly quiet apart from the occasional rock falls and avalanches in the nearby hills. Eventually I decide that it must be dawn by now, and discover the tent coated in a thick layer of snow.

We shake it off and look outside, where about six inches of powdery snow has fallen during the night. It's definitely time for a rest day. We amuse ourselves by clearing paths and building things with our snow shovel, the only time it was used on the expedition.

A few porters appear, which often happens when they get bored at base camp. We play cards, read books and dispense cigarettes to the porters until the day has been successfully wasted.