The knock on the door comes at 4am but everyone's been waiting for the wake up call most of the night. It's been cold in the most basic accommodation of the trip, the altitude over 4,000m appears to be the excuse but to be fair we're a good four day's trek from a road, a running tap would be nice though.
This is the biggest day of the trek and it's highlight, walking up to 5,100m over the Larkya La pass which we know is snow covered. Last night we were fitted with micro-spikes for our boots, a reminder if needed that conditions are going to be tough.
And so in pitch black, with a sky full of stars, we pack our gear and head for breakfast. Everyone here is doing the same thing, setting off early avoids high winds later and there's soon a trail of lights snaking up the climb behind the lodges.
Altitude, cold and the early hour means I have no appetite for breakfast so head back to the lodge to check my day-pack and layer up against the early cold, discussion at dinner last night was exclusively about clothing choice.
At 5am sharp we switch on head-torches and set off climbing to the pass, the dark is initially disorienting and everyone moves at their own pace.
The sun rises spectacularly into a cloudless sky and with snow covered peaks closing us in on both sides, the light reflects from every surface. As we walk, my trekking pole occasionally breaks through the compacted snow and sinks to the handle, at places we're walking over snow a metre or more deep.
We reach the pass which gently rises over the relatively smooth, well compacted, snow, a high valley between the towering peaks on either side. Breathing is laboured at this altitude but the clear skies and stunning views in all directions distract us.
As we walk there's a rumble like rolling thunder but there's not a cloud in the sky and we can see for miles. We turn to the direction of the sound and watch an avalanche tumble from the slopes of Manaslu Peak above, it's half a mile or more away but distance is difficult to gauge and it's an awesome sight as a cloud of snow rises as the cascade falls to the floor.
Ahead we spot the final climb to the prayer-flag bedecked rock pile that marks the high point of the pass and the point we'll start to descend. It probably takes us another hour to reach the summit and everyone celebrates the achievement with handshakes, photographs and personally, a Snickers bar!
We think the hard work's done for the day but the most precipitous part of the route awaits as we descend a steep and rough slope to the glacier stretching out below. All the time a sheer wall of mountains extends from right to left ahead of us, giving the impression we’re dropping into a high altitude bowl with no escape route.
I’ve never felt more remote, today’s trek has been a long, gruelling challenge, we last saw a road five days ago and have two more days descending before we see another!
Standing looking up to and across this vast, jaw-dropping wall of mountain I feel incredibly small and insignificant - I already know and submit to the fact that the photos I take here have little context, portray little of the scale and feeling of awe that surrounds us.
It truly could be the end of the world.
It's only as we reach the glacier that we see a path stretching into the distant valley and inexplicably a small square building way below us.
With a relatively smooth, snow free path, we’ve already dropped back below the snow-line, we make good progress slowly swinging around the summit of Manaslu as it reveals it’s beautiful western slope.
The small square building reveals itself to be a tea house - there’s literally nothing else for miles, we still have another two hours of relatively rapid descending to our lodge for the night, along an often steep, narrow path but here sits a brightly decorated tea house, and the best, most memorable, hard earned lunch.
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