Coordination

Woke up after a restless sleep, walked through my gear and stared at the ceiling for a few hours before the sound of Kathmandu city street noise forced me from bed and down to a vacant breakfast hall where I sat tight until 9am, when I was able to link up with the guys all climb logistics are being coordinated through. This conversation went smoothly enough, and was introduced to Tenjing, my climbing Sherpa. As it turns out he and I were on Everest together in 2008 when he climbed with an adjacent Spanish team and recently returned from Manaslu- another 8,000m peak and the 8th highest in the world. All told, seems like a great guy and I know we'll have fun together.

Did bump into Willie and Damian Benegas in Hotel Yak & Yeti- Damian has just returned from Amadablam and Willie was leading a film team on Everest, so it was a bit of a reunion in the Yak & Yeti lobby coupled with some real good route intelligence in what turned into an hour long catch-up. Damian's recommendation, which I will definitely be following is to acclimatize on Island Peak, then make a fast strike on Amadablam when we can find a window of opportunity.

Rest of the day was hectic in a way- time just whiled away downtown and in the Thamel corridors as lunchtime came and went.. and then dinner did the same. Final packing of equipment into separate gear bags (one for Ama, one for Island Peak, one to accompany the trek in) and then it's off to bed for a last night sleep before things get uncomfortable for a few weeks. Next post from Namche Bazaar, the capital of the Khumbu Region.