A member of the Walking With The Wounded expedition team was today reminded of the perils of climbing Mount Everest.
Captain David Wiseman, one of the five injured soldiers hoping to reach the 8,848m peak in May, visited a memorial site for some of the people who have died on the mountain.
The married father of two stood silently in the snow among the plaques, tributes and prayer flags for fallen mountaineers near Lobuche Base Camp (4,910m), where the team will stay for the next two nights.
Capt Wiseman, 29, said afterwards: "At the top of the climb we got to these really eerie memorials.
"People have put some plaques up of people who have lost their lives on Everest - and there are a lot of plaques there.
"It really brings it home that this mountain, it takes a lot of people's lives.
"We're not messing around on this mountain."
The team woke up in Pheriche (4,240m) this morning to a frozen landscape, with snow and ice scattered around the Khumbu Valley.
The biting cold wore off as the eighth day of the charity team's trek to Everest Base Camp progressed, and the members enjoyed stunning views of the Himalayas.
They climbed almost 700m in altitude on their way to Lobuche Base Camp, which was blanketed in snow when they arrived in time for lunch.
Capt Wiseman, from Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, added: "We've come a bit deeper into the Himalayas, a little bit higher up, there's a lot more snow and it's a bit colder.
"So we've started to get on with the expedition now.
"Today's walk took us along a spectacular U-shaped valley.
"All around us, for 360 degrees, were really nice looking peaks."
In two days the team members will arrive at Everest Base Camp, where they will begin training for their assault on the summit.
Tonight will be the first night of many they will sleep in tents in freezing temperatures, but Capt Wiseman said he was looking forward to settling into the next camp.
He said: "It will be good when we finally get to Everest Base Camp, when we can make our little tents our homes, because that's what they'll be for the next seven or eight weeks."
Martin Hewitt, 31, from Widnes in Cheshire, Captain Francis Atkinson, 31, from Swindon in Wiltshire, Karl Hinett, 25, from Tipton in the West Midlands and Private Jaco van Gass, 25, from Middleburg in South Africa are the other four team members.