The Matterhorn in Zermatt is more beautiful. The K2 is more difficult to climb. And the picture of Mt. Fujijama is on every yoghurt lid in Japan.  However, there is only one highest mountain in the world and this one is standing right in front of me. Mount Everest.
We find ourselves on 5200 metres above sea level. The omnipresent headache has faded away; after some 5 days above 4000 metres we are acclimatised. The Everest is shining in light blue colours; it is 8AM and about half an hour till the sun is up. We have been able to convince our driver to get up at 5AM and to drive up to the base-camp before sunrise. He was not happy (and still not is), but then again, as the German saying goes: “Wer zahlt, befiehlt!”
The base-camp is deserted – no climber in his right mind would dare to climb this mountain in winter. Only now I can understand how tough the climb must be – even though we are at the base-camp, the huge mountain still seems to be far away. For us, every two steps mean a big effort, and every effort leaves you breathless. No idea how it would be some 3000 meters higher up.
Even though the base-camp is located at a road’s dead-end, there is one thing which looks a bit abstract: The seasonally abandoned China Post office. It seems that in the climbing season, all the climbers write home quite often.
We wait until the sun is up. The landscape around us gets illuminated in warm colours. However, we feel just the opposite: it is really cold up here!

After we have taken our obligatory group picture, Kim, Gu, Arthur and me wait in the Land-Cruiser until our guide has finished his tea with the Mt. Everest frontier police. When he arrives at the car, he hands back our passports – on the way towards the base-camp we have been checked 5 times already. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an “Everst-Been-There-Done-That”-stamp for my passport. However, we are all freezing and even though it is a sad thing to leave that marvellous view after only one hour or so, we are just too happy to have the Cruiser’s heating going once again.

On the way back to Xigaze, a small town with some hotels and a magnificent monastery, we drive twice more up to 5200 metres – three times climbing to 5200 metres above sea in one day leaves you just soooo tired. We pass typical Tibetan villages, people on horse carriages and now and again some men on Chinese motorcycles climbing the passes with stunning 10km/h. Even though we are far away from any civilazation, the impact of the Everest  tourism is visible: whenever the kids spot a white face, they run towards you shouting "money, please". We have lunch in a small restaurant - it's hard to breath due to the smoke coming from the stove - they burn Yak shit... The food is so-so, but what can you expect in such a rough place? When we reach Xigaze we are all exhausted - but happy! Even more so because this is the first night since 4 days when we have a hotel room with heating!

One strange thing about this Mt. Everest excursion: I do not feel any temptation or urge to climb that pile of stones. While any Swiss mountain needs my flag on top, somehow the base-camp experience was just about enough. I think I will settle for Mt. Fujijama instead.