Namche Bazaar -> Kathmandu, 27 May 2008

Woke up at 03:15 to a knock knock knock on the door, and we were both out of bed like a shot with the goal being Lukla in time for a morning flight back to Kathmandu. Given the sketchy weather over the last few afternoons, we didn't want to leave anything to chance. We packed, I threw half a roll of athletic tape onto my feet and after a quick team breakfast, off we went. The entire team headed off together from Namche with the streets quiet and completely dark, shrouded only in gentle glow of the occasional street lamp.

After no time, we were at the outskirts of town, headed down to the valley floor. Close to 1,000' separates Namche from the Dudh Kosi River, so we took our time, walking carefully on the gravelly and rocky path that became slippery with dew after a little while. Finally, the team made the river as dawn was breaking and encountered our first river crossing of the day.

Over the next several hours, the trail crossed over the Dudh Kosi River at least five times and meandered through villages as life again began to slowly emerge from the closed up shops and sleeping roosters that we passed.

Finally, after close to three hours we arrived back at the site of our very first night on the trip- Phakding. Looking much different now from when we first stayed here, the hotel was awash in green leaves, blooming flowers and open patios overflowing with lawn chairs and umbrellas. How different it looks now, and how glad we are to finally be back, passing through on our way home.

The final leg was finally upon us, and we all knew it. And to drive that point home, we passed a last sign as we were about to leave town: "Way to Lukla". Almost there..

Within 30 more minutes, we started to see signs of how close we actually were- finer, more complex houses made with finer supplies, actual cinder blocks, and store upon store selling various sundries.

Unfortunately for us though, the last portion of the out trek- the trail leading from Phakding to Lukla- is largely uphill and steep at several points. How wonderful. I thought of this last particular leg leading to Lukla to be one last little insult before wrapping up. Great. 80km of out trek, descending from 17,500' and then the last several kilometers have to be uphill. Give me a break, how frustrating. Up, up, up we wind. From the river floor, it must have been close to another 500 or 600 vertical feet back up to Lukla, and along the way we then began to see the flights taking off as the morning flights began to arrive and depart. Man, we better not miss our plane out.

Within 1km of the city limits, we also began to pass trekkers from the planes that had just arrived. How nice they smell! How clean they are! How funny the expressions that they give us, almost as if we were a homeless guy on a street corner. Then again, we probably look like a homeless guy on a street corner, so fair enough. They would zip by in the opposite direction, all new trekking gear, clothes that look like they just pulled the sales tag off, with an uncomfortable glance thrown our direction. Oh well, we are on our way HOME! Assuming we are just a bunch of ratty trekkers, I chuckle and keep on moving since they have no idea of the adventure we have just been on.

And then we are there- Lukla. Finally! We drag ourselves to the airport departures area and relax for a few minutes.. our plane- the last one of the day- is about to arrive and take us to Kathmandu. Only Willie, myself and Bridie have made it on time to make the flight- the rest of the team is spread too far along the trail and well back from Lukla, so when the plane does arrive and boarding kicks off, they aren't even in the city yet. Their flight, they will learn, will come tomorrow.

While at the airport, we had two amusing experiences and thought that at least it was comical that we couldn't get out of town without more stories. One was that despite the helicopter ride to Lukla, Francisco and Lhakpa weren't able to get a flight out yesterday thanks to crappy weather. So they had departed Lukla earlier that morning, meaning that the helo ride had actually only saved them about 3 hours. Then, as we were about to head into the Departures Terminal for our flight, I remembered that I still had a knife attached to my pack. Asking one of the reps at the airport about it, he said "give it to me" and then ten minutes later, after security and inside the secured part of the airport he reappeared and gave me my knife back. I quickly threw it in my pocket but thought for a second about how that was the very first time I had ever been given a knife right before boarding a plane.

Off we shot down the runway. The plane took about five seconds to gain speed thanks to light weight and a downhill angled runway and before we knew it, buildings, the river, trees, and farms were all below us. The plane was loaded to the gills with Sherpa, climbing gear and the three of us, so our Flight Attendant must have been going out of her mind about the smell.. and judging from her behavior, I think I'm right on the money with that assumption.

After 45 minutes of flying between ridges, valleys and then in what can only be compared to a combat landing, we were wheels down at Kathmandu International Airport. We were home! We taxiied, and then finally stopped. When the propellers feathered down and a desperate Flight Attendant quickly opened the rear door for fresh air, we all gave a whoop and clapped. We were back, in almost the same parking spot as the one that we were in at the beginning of our Odyssey.

Now safe, we grabbed our bags, gave an enormous smile to each other, and once again began to move forward. Because while one adventure had just completed, another one was about to begin. It's all about looking ahead, understanding that while the past makes you who you are, the future is what defines an individual through challenge and optimism.

Last: Pheriche to Namche http://landtarget.blogspot.com/2008/06/26-may-pheriche-namche.html

Pheriche to Namche Bazaar, 26 May 2008

After sleeping away the night in the first bed I have seen in two months, I wake up to the thumping, high-pitched mechanical whining of a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter whizzing 300 meters by my window. Whoah.. I guess the flights are going today, no? Francisco and Lhakpa are targeting a 07:30 flight out, so while I stagger to my feet and begin the daily chore of waking up, those two are out of bed like a shot and packed up within minutes. And who can blame them? If I were flying out from here, I'd be motivated too. Not to say that I'm not motivated to get out of dodge, but knowing that we still have roughly 40km of an 80km trek left ahead of us it's not really the same thing. Our goal is to be back on the trail at 08:30 with the ultimate goal of Bridey, Willie, me, G-Man, Lhakpa, Jetta and Lhakpa today being Namche Bazaar. Tendi, of course left with the HAPE-stricken porter at 01:00 and is well down the trail already. And do I have a story for you in a little bit about that one.


Off we went, like a shot. Right past the hotel, we pass a stainless steel monument to fallen Everest climbers, updated through last year's season. Lhakpa's father is on there too. He died in 1982 during a West Ridge expedition when an avalanche came off the LoLa Face. So is Danuru's oldest brother. And there's Scott Fischer's name, along with Rob Hall, now famous from the '96 disaster Jon Krakauer profited on in the book where he talks about how awesome a climber he is but then stayed in his tent when the shit hit the fan. Very few people in this valley haven't been touched by tragedy in some way, shape or form so putting the monument here in Pheriche is highly appropriate.

The trail between Pheriche and Namche.. oy. It's amazing how your brain softens memories over time, glossing over rougher experiences to the point where you only remember the good times. Tame trail? Slow, gentle grade? Not a chance. But fortunately for us, almost every yak train save our own was headed in the opposite direction- looking for Base Camp work, likely.



We passed oodles of porters too, but again, almost all save our own were heading in the opposite direction. This is the danger that caught our porter, where he raced up from the lower valley in just two days because he wanted the work. Taking time getting in to Base Camp, the porters gently acclimatize with western climbers over ten days to build up to the altitude. When left to their own devices, HAPE and HACE become threats to them and they don't even know it. For our porters though, most are ok and continue down the trail, happy to have the work and carrying enormous loads of our gear.

For the one, unfortunate kid who we treated for HAPE late last night. After several hours of up and down, Willie and I learn that Tendi made it as far as Tengbuche. Tengbuche! That's a four hour trek from Pheriche in the daytime, with day pack. Tendi made it with a 140 lb kid on his back. Willie and I get the news and turn on the jets, leaving the rest of the team strung along the trail to catch up. Up, down. Up, down. The trail snakes down through the valley, linking up with the Dudh Kosi River and finally making contact with Rhododendron trees in full bloom. If we weren't so interested in getting to Tendi, we would be at a light clip, trying to enjoy ourselves and suck in the green scenery. How long it has been since we saw green! It truly is beautiful. There is one ridiculous hill between the river and Tengbuche which I swear I hate but push through, finally emerging at the monastery.


We find Tendi and the Porter over by the helicopter pad at the end of town and hear a crazy tale of pitch black trails, drunken Sherpas and life saving that leave us in awe once again of Tendi's strength. Wearing no socks and borrowing a head lamp, Tendi had used a burlap strap fashioned into a seat/head strap for the porter who was completely immobile. He left Pheriche at 1am and walked the narrow path up and down with the Porter throwing up and coughing up on him. Finally, he reached Dingboche several hours later, which is roughly 1,000' lower. The Porter hadn't shown any signs of improvement and the town medical clinic was closed so on Tendi went, bumping into two drunk Sherpas who hassled him for money and were curious about why he was carrying this kid on his back. Tendi asked them for help, which they refused to do, so he continued on. The trail wound up and up, finally emerging at Tengbuche where Tendi found help, including a western climber who used a Dex injection to bring the Porter back from the brink. Now close to daylight, the Porter started showing signs of improvement and the decision was made to use a helicopter to get him down to a hospital in Kathmandu quickly. While the porter continued to improve over the next few hours and actually looked fine by the time we arrived, Tendi's efforts to carry the porter on his back through the night had undoubtedly saved his life.


While we waited for the helicopter to arrive, we learned that Lhakpa and Francisco hadn't been picked up yet, but their ride was soon coming. And that it did. Finally, we heard the whirring of helicopter blades and a white Air Dynasty bird came in on final approach for Tengbuche. When the help touched down, I was standing next to G-Man and we both looked inside. Lhakpa and Francisco! Willie brought the now grinning Porter over to the helicopter and put him inside while Tendi tried to see if he could scam a ride- his reward for the nights efforts. Sorry Charlie, we are at capacity. Tendi smiled and was fine with it, which I wouldn't have been if I were looking forward to a helo ride instead of 40km walk. As the bird lifted up and pointed it's nose toward Lukla, I related to Tendi how many times in the Marines & Seattle Mountain Rescue I have been expecting a helicopter egress and then found myself using black Cadillacs to hoof it out.




The rest of us set back out on the trail for Namche Bazaar- close enough now, but still an ungodly distance away thanks to this ridiculous 1000' downclimb to the forest and river.. followed immediately by a 1000' upclimb back to almost the exact same altitude we were at an hour earlier. Once we made the top of the ridge again, I looked at Tendi, equally out of breath, and said "I bet you are happy you missed that helicopter ride now, aren't you". Dripping sweat, he just rolled his eyes and moved on. It was miserable and the way I found myself getting through it was by saying over and over to myself that I'll never have to do this trail again.




I did pass one sign along this particular stretch of trail that caught my attention though. Wild life conservation takes on such an important tone in this part of the world, where Bengali Tiger, One Horned Rhino and other endangered species are being poached to the point of extinction. The Snow Leopard is one of the rarest and most endangered cats in the world and looks absolutely beautiful from every photo I have seen. They even dedicate an entire segment to it in the BBC documentary Blue Planet. But here in the Nepali Himalayas, it appears to take second billing to the Musk Deer, as seen in this sign where someone penned in a piece on the rare cat with a Sharpie.

Finally, we pulled into Namche for the night. Woo hoo!! Back! Namche! It's warmer now, there is much more green, and it has a much more relaxed tone than just 8 weeks ago. But it's Namche, and it means we are one night away from Kathmandu.

We pulled into our hotel for the night, and I recalled that this city was the last place I found a mirror on my outbound leg. Remembering this, I went into the bathroom of the hotel, found a mirror and took a pic of what closely resembles a Raggedy Andy doll.

Next: Namche Bazaar to Lukla http://landtarget.blogspot.com/2008/06/26-may-pheriche-namche_07.html

Last: Everest Base Camp to Pheriche http://landtarget.blogspot.com/2008/05/25-may-base-camp-out-trek-to-pheriche.html

Out Trek Everest Base Camp to Pheriche, 25 May 2008

Time to say goodbye to Base Camp but not before a quick trip over to Altitude Junkies... an adjoining camp. Why? Because Mark- my good friend from Denali- is there! I learned this yesterday. YESTERDAY! Yep, 200 meters away from me the entire trip and just the day before we trek out I learn about it via Bridie, who did a Name Game and then informed me of the coincidence. Crazy. So, Francisco and I walked over to see him, say hi, have some coffee and catch up, albeit for just a few minutes. Then it's back over to our camp to finish packing and prepare for the out trek.

Yak trains arrive, porters show, and we begin to pile things up into yak, porter, and self-carry.

And then I realize I lost my little iPod Shuffle somewhere in the jumble of glacier rocks. Great. Seriously, now?? Come on, that's ridiculous, but true. My suspicion is that when Tendi went to go break down my tent he accidentally knocked it off the solar charger where I was trying to give it one last tiny charge before we stepped off. I saw part of it happen, but never looked closely at it and was more caught up in getting out of town. I went to go grab all of my gear, and it was gone. Nice.

While we continue to pack, the Mexican team comes over to wish us well, and we take one last pic with them. These guys are great! What awesome people, it was fun spending time with them.

So, we ended up grabbing one last picture of the collected team.

Tendi went over to disassemble the Puja- if there's one sure-fire sign that the expedition is over, there it is- the Puja coming down. We all received one length of the prayer flags, which is a great memento and is truly special to all of us.

Then it was time- I lit my good luck Cohiba that I have been saving since the beginning of this trip and slowly strolled out of Base Camp for the last time. I met Bridie, Willie and Francisco at the edge of camp- they waited for me as I searched for my iPod in vain- and off we went- past yak trains, past trekkers, past porters. Down, down, out, out. We hit Gorak Shep in no time, stopping for tea for a bit, relaxed as could ever be possible. While there, we saw our pack trains keeping up with us as all of our bags went meandering by on the backs of yaks.

At Gorak Shep, we also passed Carlos, a Spanish climber who had issues on Lhotse and doesn’t climb with oxygen. He and his teammate were waiting for a helicopter flight at the Gorak Shep helo pad and he's still looking completely out of it- or at least that's his personality. After a bit, we were off like a shot. Down, past Lukla. Past the eerie Chultin Park, home to all the memorials of fallen climbers in the Everest Region.

Past that weird little restaurant at the bottom of the hill before Chultin Park, around the corner and dropping again into the valley that leads one to Pheriche. Once we hit the valley floor, we saw green for the first time! Talk about a friendly and welcoming sight! It definitely brought a smile to my face.

In Pheriche, our lodge- the White Yak- is the nicest lodge we have stayed at, both in and out treks. It's ridiculous. Willie met me at the entrance and as we checked in, he gave me the Mount Everest room. It's as close to a suite as you can imagine after a tent for two months. It's a corner room, and even has two windows!! And an actual bed! Talk about luxury. It's warm in here, too.

When we all caught up, we ate like starving people- almost 3,000' lower than Base Camp; your appetite is definitely back. We all sat around a heater, talked, and laughed. Everyone was there- literally everyone. Jetta, Super Mila, G-Man, Tendi, you name it. It was awesome. So, we talked and then it was time for bed- in a real bed. I still can't get over that. A bed! I was out like a light in about 3 seconds.

BANG BANG BANG BANG KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!!

My door opens. It's 1am.

"Willie! Willie!"
"It's Doug."
"Oh!"
KNOCK KNOCK - across the hall, Willie is woken up- Lhakpa and Tendi are telling him that one of our porters- the last one (some took FOREVER to get to us tonight) has HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema). Whaaatttt... Seriously? Willie and I spring out of bed and find him, several buildings down the trail. It's definitely HAPE. We run back to the hotel and dig through bags, looking for anything we can find to help. Bridie has Diamox- used for avoiding AMS and helping with things like this. So we give the pills to Tendi, administer one and force water on the kid, totally out of it. Then Tendi piggybacks the kid, and takes off down the trail for Dingboche and trees- maybe 1000' lower. The amazing thing to me is that even after all we have been through that Tendi has the strength to essentially backpack a 120 lbs. human for several miles and hours in the middle of the night, down narrow trails up and down hilltops.

Man, I tell you what. Not a day goes by where I don't recognize what a great team we have and how well we work together. I also recognize that we aren't out of the woods yet, and we still have a long way to go before we don't have to worry about even things like HAPE. Even here, people are still falling victim if they aren't taking all the proper steps.

Next: Pheriche to Namche Bazaar http://landtarget.blogspot.com/2008/06/26-may-pheriche-namche.html

Last: Last Day at Base Camp http://landtarget.blogspot.com/2008/05/24-may-last-day-at-base-camp.html

Back to Top Ten Stories: http://landtarget.blogspot.com/2009/01/everest-top-ten-stories.html

The Gopkyo/ Yak/ Nak Phenomenon

All along the trip, we have been passed, have passed or walked alongside these pack mules of the Himalayas. But as it turns out, there are actually three beings that we have noticed. We spent a good day talking about these creatures, which are finally starting to take on some identifying characteristics. Willie related a story to us about NEVER walking on the outside unless you want an express elevator ride 30 ft down thanks to a careless animal bumping you in just the wrong place on the trail. As for us, this is what we have been able to glean. For example, Gopkyos are all along the trail from Lukla to Base Camp, while Yak/Nak are only found from Namche Bazaar and higher due to the heat found at lower elevations.

Gopkyo: Yak/ Water Buffalo hybrid. Useful in the lowlands, can go all the way up to Base Camp but can't carry as heavy loads. Good in warmer climates, more docile. Less hair. Less likely to spear you with a horn or bump you off a trail. Stop for you to pass. Have as much trouble spelling their names as we do.

Yak: Male of the Yak species. Slightly evil. Lots of hair, make weird snorty noises. Have thicker horns, which must be sexy to female Yaks- a.k.a. Naks. Carry lots. Handlers seem to be yelling at them constantly, which is funny to me given that one of their pack straps is right up the base of their tail. If I had a strap up there, I'd do whatever my handler wants. Maybe it's a Yak G-String.

Nak: Lots of hair, but they wear it well. Thinner, more petite horns. Make less noise and from what we learned, they stick around and don't wander off. Graze on anything, must make cheap dates for Yaks. But seem impatient w/ each other at times- I saw one Nak ram another in the ass when it wasn't moving fast enough, unsolicited. FYI Naks make milk, Yaks don't. so Yak Butter? Mebbe not. Nak Butter sounds funnier anyway. Make weird whistly noises in the middle of the night when people are trying to send dispatches nearby.

Lobuche Down Day

-enter cowboy music-

bowm bow bow wow bowm bow bow wow bowm bow bow wow

-enter scene-

Inside the galley, the cast iron stove flares to life bringing faint warmth to the occupants. Dark walls brimming with pictures and drawings of animals, trees line creaky wooden floors. Three hulking men sit menacingly in the shadows, throwing down cards. At another table, more well lit by windows that offer views of not too distant mountains, four play a game of Texas Hold Em to pass the time, sipping slowly on their cups and concentrating heavily as the blind goes up and up. "Check" says Joe. Others read or write as music plays faintly in the background and the cook chops diligently on vegetables right behind a bar riddled with various types of beer and whisky. Another weary traveler enters- everything stops- and then continues when no six-shooters appear.

Outside, a horse whinnies as snow falls on adjacent rocks. The small four building town is almost as sleepy during the day as it is at night, nestled inside a side valley adjacent to the Khumbu Glacier moraine field. Wait.. what!? Where the heck are we?

Thank Callie from PBS Frontline who visited here last year and a down day for that little wild west scene. She put the idea in my head with an email describing this town and she's right on the money with a scene that could quite literally have tumbleweeds blowing down the center of town. Except for the ever present Yaks, I'd totally agree. You can even rent a horse here to get a ride to Base Camp.. Cost? Forty bucks.

Today we did a quick acclimatization hike up to about 16,800' or so. Up top, Francisco offered up "Happy Birthday, Doug"- this has to be one of the most unique birthdays I have ever celebrated, truth be told.

The last picture is looking down across Lobuche toward the IMG tent camp nestled next to the Khumbu Glacier moraine. I'm so glad I'm not in a tent right now.

We then dropped quickly back to the lodge to rest & acclimatize for the rest of the day. In a nutshell, this means that Joe brings out the poker chips and cleans everyone out, there's lots of talking and community movie watching. The Bourne series, we learn- is a big hit with the Sherpas. Later in the day, the team surprises me with a home made cake and "Happy Birthday", sung in Spanish, Russian, English, Australian, and Nepali- truly unique.

Willie rejoined us today, fresh off a quick 3 hr climb from Dingboche. He's doing great and we are all set for tomorrow when we'll continue higher up to Base Camp. Willie did bring us news on potential news blackouts from Everest Base Camp thru the 10th of May.. hopefully that won't happen. Tomorrow, we will be packing away all satellite comm equipment, including the BGAN. There's rumor of a police checkpoint enroute to Gora Shep and we don't want anything confiscated. So unless we learn otherwise it might be a while until we are able to upload dispatches again.

More to follow on the permits and the stipulations going along with them- rumors are swirling but the good news is that despite all that, the climbing part is still a go.

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAPPY WANDERER!!!

WISHING YOU AN AMAZING (AND SAFE) JOURNEY UP EVEREST.
WE HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY OF CELEBRATION.
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT YOU TODAY AND EVERYDAY!

LOVE,
YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Lobuche

Left Dingbuche this morning at 8 for the trek to Lobuche at 16,100'. The team moved strong, and we moved quickly across the wind swept Phuung Karka Valley where we gradually gained altitude and were mashed in with oodles of other trekkers. It's funny how we all seem to be on the same schedule, and we constantly see the same band of IMG, three Russians, and even the German lady who is absolutely in love with Francisco. Every time we see her, she gets all sparkly eyed and says "what beautiful black eyes! and black hair!" It's funny to the rest of us, but I think it weirds out Francisco who patiently smiles back and steps up his pace. The trail moves along the edge of a steep drop-off on the east side of the Lobuche Khola valley, the head of which is dominated by the massive Chola glacier moraine. We all move along, iPods cranking as we wrap around the corner and vector in on the little village of Dughla- a two hotel/ tea house destination midway to our objective.





In Dughla, Francisco, Lhakpa and I grabbed a quick lemon tea before continuing up and bumped into one of our cook staff enroute to Base Camp. He's friendly, energetic, and Lhakpa tells us is among the best. Francisco jumps on his sat phone to make a call while Joe continues on up the hill where the trail gains 600' in altitude. It's not a lot all things considered, but at 15,000' it's a serious lung buster.




After clearing Thokla Pass, site of choltins to fallen climbers, dedicated to those who have died on surrounding peaks. We continue on, slowly, entering another valley and hiking along/ through the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. This is the glacier dominating the entire southern flanks of Mt. Everest, as known from the Khumbu Icefall and Western Cwm that we'll soon be climbing. No more trees or even Junipers now, we only see grass and snow hidden among the rocks.




Finally, we make the Eco Lodge at Lobuche. To our right, Nuptse dominates the horizon, and we are only about a 6 hour trek from Everest Base Camp from here. The lodge is amazingly nice, including a menu that has Grilled Cheese and Chicken Cordon Bleu! The lodge manager is unfriendly and Lhakpa tells me that last year in Kathmandu the teams tried to get her fired, but no luck. Guess finding lodge managers to park themselves this far out aren't exactly growing on trees. Joe whips out his poker chips and takes us to town, insisting that he's all about putting on the world's highest World Series of Poker in a few weeks. He also pulls out another contraption- an Oximeter (?) which measures oxygenation and pulse rate. It's truly a hit as one after another puts it onto their fingers to see how much oxygenation is going on in each of us. Kathleen, an Australian nurse who has been trekking along with us is surprised to see all of the people who just arrived pulling in numbers like 72% oxygenation, 110 pulse and mentions that a 75% oxygenation rate in her hospital back home would result in a person being thrown on O2 immediately. Then does the test herself and comes in with a 71%. By tomorrow, as we acclimatize our oxygenation rates should be somewhere in the 90s. The human body is such an amazing machine.

Dingboche Down Day

With the exception of an acclimatization hike along an adjacent ridgeline, today's a down day in the lovely urban metropolis of Dingboche, population 200. This town is above the tree line in a wide open area of the juniper scrubbed Imja Khola river valley, in the shadow of Lhotse, due north of us. There's an Internet Cafe' here, advertised as the world's highest and a scattering of hotels are here, too. As with everything, costs have gone up as we continue to trek further and further from civilization. Recharging a laptop battery costs you 250 Rupee here, versus 100 Rupee in Tengbuche. Sodas, candy, etc all increase in cost understandably. Sending two emails, I learned, cost you 500 Rupee- just short of $10.

Yesterday after we rolled in, both Francisco and I had raging headaches that we worked through by hypersaturating with water. It took me about four hours to get over mine, Francisco had his a little longer but was the savior that volunteered up Tylenol that finally kicked it for us. I credit my headache to the speed hike to the monastery yesterday- a dumb move in retrospect. Given that my last name isn't "Sherpa", I deserved what I got.

It was also yesterday at the height of our headaches that Joe volunteered up about something called a "Hypoxemeter"- you wear this contraption while working at home, etc and it can simulate up to 29,000' or so. Joe had been wearing this thing for weeks leading up to the trip, and feels great! Francisco and I feel like a truck ran over our head yesterday. Thanks for keeping that a secret, Joe. We love you anyway. Francisco and I hydrated like crazy and finally pushed through mid afternoon. You could tell when we were doing better because we sat there like lumps until the headache broke, and then -poof- chatty. True to form, Francisco found four great trekkers to talk with: Anna and Xavi from Catalan, Federico and Luisa from north of Lake Como. They are staying in our hotel and are headed along the same schedule to Everest Base Camp. They left this morning for Lebuche, so we'll see them again tomorrow.

Spending the rest of the day lazing around and preparing for tomorrow, the weather turned quickly- which seems to be a trend. This morning we didn't even have a breath of wind. By noon, clouds had formed in the upper reaches of the hills- specifically Lhotse, which is right in front of us. At 4pm, snow was falling and the temp dropped like a rock. Then by 8pm, the wind had died off and it was fairly pleasant, although still cold.

On our acclimatization hike, we ascended up to around 4,800m, or 15,700'. This, to prepare our bodies for higher climes as we go. All along the ridge there are mini stupas and cairns to mark our path, which made for a nice measuring stick as we went.

14,137'- Dingboche

Everest with massive winds on the summit as seen from the trail.

Starting to wind our way higher into the Himalayas, we woke this morning to cloudless skies. Our team set out ahead of the massive numbers of IMG (International Mountain Guides) clients that were sharing our hotel last night. After a few minutes, we came to a stop in order to visit a local Buddhist nun. Lhakpa explained that for the last 20 years she had been living in what can only be described as a Spartan shed- one bedroom, one story, made of wood and stone. Unheated, half open to the elements. She looked completely cheerful, despite also looking sun weary and leathered over. She asked Lhakpa where he was climbing, and after he told her she brought out the special blessing guns- she tied a special red string around our necks, gave us an apple, and then a mint throat lozenge. She also gave us three orange colored balls that were powdered and about the same size as a BB. "You eat it" Lhakpa said. Ok, bottoms up. They were sour, tangy and indescribable in overall taste. They were for good luck, so I ate 'em. But I'm not pulling them out as party snacks any time soon.

After about an hour, Everest came into full view- complete with massive winds raging off the summit. Joe commented that we still have close to two months until we are going for the top, which is good- given that today we were seriously feeling the altitude. Francisco said at one point "Yee! And I'm having trouble at 4,000 meters!"

It continued to turn into another lung buster- Lhakpa wanted to go see another Lama enroute, and at one point he said "let's go"- branching off the main trail on one that was noticeably more steep and putting it into high gear. Joe and Francisco wisely declined but curiosity got the better of me in what would become a been-there-done that experience. "Wait.. what?" Why can't the Lama live on the trail? Oh man. here we go. By the time we reached the Lama's monastery, we had put on 600' in elevation and I was a breathless, sweaty mess. We entered the monastery of the Lama and grounded our gear. I met another guide- Tim, from Canada. Really nice, he was much more grounded than some other guides we have come across so far. He has been guiding in the Himalaya since the early 90s and just came off Ama Dablam a few weeks ago. He chuckled at how wiped I was but talked with us about some of his experiences, which are many.

After the ceremony, the four of us rejoined and continued on our way. As we ascended higher, we basically said goodbye to trees.. this is the last of the ones we saw before vegetation eroded into scrub. The remainder of the terrain is rock and wind-swept sand. And man is it windy today.

After a few hours, we topped 14,000' and started dialing in on Dingboche. The trail wound down toward a river and then shot straight back up the side of the opposite hill which was cold, dusty and windy. Not exactly a morale booster, but still- we knew we were close. Here's a picture showing how excited we were when we first saw that the trail didn't stop where we had hoped it would.

Finally arriving an hour later, we grounded gear and had a great lunch at our stop for the night.- the Snow Lion Lodge. How awesome would it be if we really saw a Snow Lion. Our team has a rest day here tomorrow, although Joe is thinking of doing an acclimatization hike up to one of the stupas a few hundred feet above us. He's a madman.