I left Darchen at 6 am and this was probably the hardest start. My mountain guide was in the hospital on an IV due to a severe cold... I could hear a rattling sound coming from my lungs when I was breathing... but that's a good thing because I've had a dry cough and pressure for the past 2 days, now at least it's gone and I've been coughing up the "green stuff" from my lungs regularly... at this time my lungs don't work 100% because of the mucus in them and less oxygen gets to my muscles, which makes me more tired... I reached Derakpu 2 hours later than before, but I was greeted by a magnificent sight.

Kailash was shining crystal clear in the sunlight. I spontaneously made a few video calls and showed Kailash live. After the cold morning walk, I set off for the Dolma La Pass in beautiful sunshine.

The schedule usually looks like this: on the first day, it takes me about 6 hours to get from Darchen to Derakpu shelter, here I have an hour's rest and lunch. From there, it's 1 hour to Dolma La shelter, from where it's another 2 hours to the top of Dolma La Pass, then 1 hour of descent to the first shelter on the other side. You can reach the other side by about 5 pm. Since the shelters on the other side are not that good, I take on another 3 hours of walking and usually sleep in the Dzidüpu Temple. So on the first day, it's 45 km, and on the second day, the remaining 12 km in about 3 hours.

So, the current 6th day was a struggle with my wheezing lungs, but with the constant coughing, it seemed like I coughed my lungs out pretty cleanly and after Derakpu I had clear lung sounds...

At the Dolma La rest area, the sun is still shining and half an hour before the top of the pass, raindrops start falling in the sun... by the time I reached the top of the pass, pea-sized ice crystals were falling from the sky accompanied by some rain... I put on my wind and waterproof jacket and continued on my way. The top of the pass is about 150 m, and a monk was standing in the middle of it. I can't forget this image, it's probably burned into my brain for the rest of my life. The monk was wearing immaculate white trainers, his red monk's robe on but his shoulders bare... he was holding a piece of paper in his hand and looking at it... while nature was doing its thing around him, it was raining and pea-sized ice crystals were falling... And I was wearing a cashmere polo underneath, a warm fleece top, a wind and waterproof technical jacket on top... a buff pulled up over my neck, a baseball cap with the fleece top hood pulled over it, the wind and waterproof hood pulled over it... and... I was shivering. People, I was shivering. I tried to tuck my hands into the sleeves of my jacket as much as possible, but my fingertips were frozen blue.

The monk didn't pay attention to the weather or anything. His shoulder and half his arm were bare... I didn't stare for long because at 5,800 you try to get lower again before continuing. I look at my boots and the many gullies, sometimes dust, sometimes mud... the many stones that eat your shoes, even good boots... but the monk's white shining white clean trainers... it was like he had just bought them... There are things I don't understand...

As I started to descend on the other side of the pass I had to stop to rub my hands because besides being frozen blue I couldn't hold my stick, and without it it could be a big fall if I slip on the stones. As I rub my hands another monk comes and stops in front of me on the rocky path.

He looked at me and took my hand. It was raining, the wind was blowing, the temperature was about 3C, there were even some ice chips in the rain... I couldn't even move. The monk's clothes were like the other ones on the pass, half his shoulder and arm were free. His hands were so warm that as soon as he took my hands one by one between his two, he quickly warmed my hands and the ugly blueness disappeared from my fingers. His textured hands were extremely well-groomed, soft, incredible. I tell him it's raining and it's cold... he replies in fluent Chinese: "no problem"... then he adds: "Your hands will be fine now. Have a good trip."...

Well, things like that on Kailash that I can't put anywhere.

But there is something else I don't understand. I can say by now that I know every shelter, teahouse... I'm going down and a fashionably dressed Tibetan woman comes towards me with her little girl, about 5-6 years old, and they go up the pass... where I just came across and it was raining... to cross the mountain and get to the nearest shelter on the other side takes at least 3 hours... They are not overdressed... but then how...???

I get from Derakpu to Shaptin shelter in 4 hours. Dolma La rest area and Shaptin are about 3 hours. They don't go faster than me, but it seems that the mountains are their natural environment... like when we went to school when I was little... Interesting.

I had a two-hour delay, so I arrived at the first shelter on the other side after 7 pm... full of pilgrims... no space... and I was tired from all the coughing and oxygen-deprived walking in the morning... never mind, I'll walk another hour to the next shelter... everything there was full too...

Well then, let's go to Dzidüpu, which is still a 3-hour walk...

I pushed as hard as I could to get a good dinner before the generator shut down.

I admit I really wanted to buy yogurt made from yak milk, but every tented place said they were sold out... there are a lot of pilgrims. But every pilgrim goes for 3 days and they reserve the shelters. I didn't bring a light tent or a sleeping bag... I'm betting I'll outrun them because no one goes to Dzidüpu, and those who do go don't go up the mountain to sleep in the temple, but sleep in the big lodge next to the road. I already know that you have to go up the mountain and I know the staff... but going up the mountain... few people like that... but the temple is on the mountain.

I didn't feel like taking my bag off my back or taking out my headlamp, it got dark after 1:30... so I walked in the dark until 10:30 at night.

I watched the shadows, those dark demons... a few times I felt like there was something on the road in front of me in the dark, like a bush or something... but it was more like the outline of what I was walking through because there was nothing in fact... it was more like a game of the senses in fatigue. 45 km from Darchen to Dzidüpu via the Dolma La Pass is not a lot.

Finally I arrived at the temple where Milarepa meditated so much in his cave. There were surprisingly many people here but I had a place. I ordered a vegetable noodle soup, with a Chinese bagged spicy JinZhenGu mushroom and a spicy bamboo. These are Chinese food in bags, like pickles in bags. I love these tasty things. I also took 2 bottles of Tibetan glacier wine off the shelf, and got into a conversation with a Tibetan mountain guide whose group had just gone to sleep... The generator shuts down at midnight, and there is no electricity from then on, so I took my bed and went to sleep.

In such places there is no brushing, bathing, washing... I just throw off my boots, pants... underwear and polo shirt remain... get into bed and sleep. By the time I pulled the blanket over myself, the generator had stopped.

The next morning from 8 am there was communal life in the kitchen, I asked for sweet tea which is not yak butter tea, sweet tea is black tea with milk and sugar. There were Tibetan people in the kitchen, one of them asked for my mala and looked at it for a long time then blessed it and gave it back. Yesterday's mountain guide also appeared, we had tea with him too and a group of 12 white people emerged. Czech, English, Belgian...etc. of mixed nationalities. They are walking the holy mountains of the world, now 3 days around Kailash... I was in no hurry to leave, it was well past 9 am by the time I left... the last 12 km section was done quickly, by noon I was already in Darchen.

Here came the problem, there was no room in the hotel building because a group of 7-800 Indians arrived... Since I had planned a normal rest in a hotel room for today and tomorrow, working a little on my computer, a good bath in a normal bathroom... so I had no desire to live in a Tibetan yurt for 2 days... I called the travel agency and made a fuss... God willing, they immediately arranged a very nice room in the Himalaya Hotel, this is the best hotel here.

Now I am writing this with the heating set to 3o C, I am drinking my lemon tea and I am very well. I have the 6th kora. The day after tomorrow will be the 7th kora if the Gods of Kailash also support me.