Everest is perhaps the ultimate iconic image. To stand within what seems like touching distance of the black peak with your puny body steadfastly wrapped against the elements it is hard to believe that above you is almost three vertical miles of solid rock. It is almost impossible to comprehend how anyone could stand at this point, cold and gasping for breath, and look at the mountain with conquest in mind. To me the peak seemed as remote as the stars.

It is a long and rough ride to base-camp. If you are lucky Everest pokes its head through the clouds so that beyond a certain point in the journey you can appreciate its gradual approach. Toyota land-cruisers carry you on the first leg to a ramshackle collection of huts and monasteries where you can get a bowl of momo's/noodle soup for lunch and further plumb the depths of Tibetan toilets - which provide a constant source of incredulity. Here you transfer to horse and cart for the final bone-crunching leg. This slow journey through the barren, moon-scape approach to Everest is fun, though, and provides a source of income for the local Tibetans. Presumably much to the frustration of the Dingry Land-cruiser consortium.

Base camp itself is nothing more than a collection of tent 'hotels', trinket shops and bad smells that huddle beside the glacial run-off river from the now not-so-distant mountains. Disembarking from the carts is a welcome relief for ones abused backside and transferring to your allocated 'hotel' and supping on a warm glass of jasmine tea is a pleasant end to the journey.

Once again the toilets here deserve a special mention cos they are, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst in the world. If I were ever to travel this road again I would consider a large cork essential equipment. Avoiding the facilities here is definitely the recommended course of action.

All the time the huge bulk of Everest dominates the skyline; it is impossible to forget that here you sit in the shadow of the roof of the world. A short walk to the end of the base-camp village takes you up a small hill to a stupa which forms the main viewing platform. If you are lucky and the mountain is not feeling coy, the sun transits the sky, clouds roll past and the light patterns change it is easy to lose yourself in the many faces of the mountain.

We have been fortunate to bear witness to many of man's great achievements on this trip but without exception they are dwarfed when compared with one of nature's mighty icons. For me, Everest base-camp has been the crowning moment of this trip. It is all, quite literally, down hill from here.