Lukla to Phakding

Today was the start of our trek! We left the Kathmandu airport and flew 30 minutes to the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla (the most dangerous airport in the world). The flight and scenery were phenomenal! The pilots are very skilled at backcountry flying and made a very difficult approach and landing on a short strip look easy.

Once we landed, Wongchu worked on the logistics with the porters and then started us up the trail and toward base camp. Wongchu is an excellent tour guide since he has been walking this trail for the majority of his life and is quite well known. As we trek, Wongchu is able to give us a history lesson as we see the sights. What a privilege to have this man as our Sherpa Guide.

Today we started our hike at a out 9000 feet and we will lose approximately 1000 feet upon our arrival to our first tea house. We crossed two suspension bridges today, which were fun for most, scary for some. They do rock and sway a bit! We had lunch at a tea house on the trail, which was quite tasty. Momosare very popular. We had a light rain on the trail after lunch as we made our way to the first stop, Phakding. Our Phakding tea house is beautiful and relatively luxurious. We have bathrooms in each room here. Bob Veno scored the best room with a view with two sets of windows. Our evening consisted of repacking, resting, and a CME lecture. Dr. Tony Islas continues demonstrate his excellent grasp of the material. Tomorrow is a bigger hike!

Day 2 Phakding to Namche Bazaar

Today was a great day! After an omelette and chapati with jam, we were off on the trail. Wongchu lead us on a great hike that consisted of a lot of ups and downs early in the day until we made it to Namche hill. This last little bit was slower going but we all made it! Today we gained approximately 3000 feet as Namche is just over 11000 feet in elevation.

Namche Baazar is an amazing village, sitting in a valley surrounded by majestic peaks. Namche has an impressive market, especially considering it all has to be brought in on foot by porters. Porters are typically low landers who carry huge loads up and down the trail.

Our Sherpa guides, of which we have many, take excellent care of us. We have Wongchu in front, always walking and lecturing on Sherpa and Nepali history. We also have Doma, Mingma, Sang, and Chirri, among others. One Sherpa will frequently go ahead of our group to set up lunch, dinner, and to deal with tea houses. The remaining Sherpas will walk with the group, take pictures, pick up stragglers, and assure our safety. These amazing people are always looking out for us. Lucky for me, they are also happy to teach me as much language as I can learn. I have greetings and a few other basics down. Tomorrow I hope to learn numbers so I can barter even better!

For food tonight, more chappati and some fried rice for me. We had our traveler’s diarrhea lecture tonight, which was earlier than planned due to several people succumbing to it early on. I’m fine, as I’m being extremely careful and even pickier than normal, if you can believe that is possible!

Tomorrow morning we will do some day hikes close by and visit a local hospital, take some pictures, and shop in the bazaar. We will stay another night in Namche tonight.

It is a Blue Sky Happy Day here in the Khumbu!

Today was a tour of two Buddhist temples and a Hindu temple.  The Monkey Temple, aptly named for the multitudes of monkeys, was first on the agenda.  Basically, this is a beautiful temple that is overrun by monkeys.  Don’t let the cute little faces fool you, they are not nice.  Next, we went to the Hindu temple Pashupatinath, where they burn large funeral pyres to cremate the recently deceased.  It is also a beautiful place and has fewer monkeys.  They had two funerals going at the time of our visit, so we tried to stay upwind from the burning pyres.  At this temple, the Holy Man is happy to be in some photo opportunities, as you can see!  Last on the tour was another Buddhist temple, Boudhanath.  This is a World Heritage site and one of the holiest of all Buddhist temples.  All of three of these temples were beautiful and had rich history and amazingly detailed architecture.  All of the holy people, whether they were Buddhist monks or Hindu Holy men, were very kind and patient with all of us tourists.  We all took a lot of photos and will be sorting through tons of them in the coming days.

Our day ended with some free time to finish packing for the trek, rounding up any last minute items needed, and reviewing the itinerary.  Bob Veno and I, along with a small portion of our group, made another trip to Fire and Ice pizza for our last dinner before the trek.  We are all very excited to get started with the adventure up the mountain.  Our flight into Lukla in the morning is bright and early!

Tomorrow, Everest bound!

Monday afternoon was spent walking a few of the nearby streets of Kathmandu.  This city is, bar none, the craziest and most charming place I have ever been.  The van trip from the airport to our hotel was a huge event!  There are motorcycles.  There are cars.  There are no rules.   It is utter chaos out there.  The cows laying in the road, stray dogs, humans, bicycles, and the occasional monkey all add to the mystique and craziness that is Kathmandu traffic.  I have never seen anything like it.  This unforgettable “road trip” ended abruptly as we pulled into the safety of the “Yak and Yeti“, our hotel for the next 2 nights.  The Yak and Yeti is the climber’s hotel of choice and Peak Promotion pulled out all the stops, with Wilderness Medical Society and Peak Promotion banners decorating the entrance and the lobby.  Today we had a little time in the afternoon and so we took a palace tour and shopped a little on the streets of Kathmandu.

Today, while touring our hotel, I ran into our trekking leader and legendary Sherpa, Wongchu.  While I had heard much about this man, it became rapidly apparent that the man with him was impressive as well, because standing to Wongchu’s left, was David Breashears!  What an amazing experience, talking with these two men who had been working together in the Himalayas since 1981.  I of course had to get a picture with these two legends!  The very photogenic David Breashears is on my left, with Wongchu Sherpa on my right.  Apparently, David recommended we don’t take the elevator in the Yak and Yeti.  I learned this while standing inside the elevator from a colleague as we were stuck between the 2nd and 3rd floor during a power outage.  I now heed David Breashears’ advice and take the stairs to our 5th floor room!

Tomorrow we will tour the streets a little more and take some time to prep for the trek.  The following day is planned for a formal city tour, with our sights on the Monkey Temple, the Hindu temple, Boudhanath, and the Buddhist temple, Pashupatinath. 

Lots more to come!

I made it!

I said goodbye to Boise and my beautiful wife at 0640am Saturday April 7th and traveled through Salt Lake City to JFK airport where I awaited my international flight with Qatar Airways.  JFK was not the best place to hang out for 4 hours, as the “sports bar” was lacking and the most popular place to eat was the food court and McDonalds!  I was saved by the European bakery, however, so all is good!  I left JFK at 1150pm Saturday night, and as it turns out, Qatar Airways is an excellent choice for international travel.  A new 777 was my ferry from JFK to Doha.  The enormity of the plane was impressive, but the service was definitely the highlight.  I was especially thrilled by the middle-eastern themed gift bag that was presented to me as I found my seat.  This little goody bag contained a pair of socks, ear plugs, a tooth brush, and a night mask.  I didn’t use any of it, but still, how cool is that?  All of this was followed by some earphones and a hot napkin!  US domestic flights could really learn a thing or two from these folks.  Due to the service, in-flight entertainment, and ample leg room (a biggie for a 6’8″ guy)  the 12 hour flight time was actually quite pleasant.

Once on the ground in Doha, Qatar we were bussed from the plane to the terminal.  The Doha Airport is mostly runway, tarmac, fencing, concertina wire, and a building seemingly meant only to house the duty free shops.  These shops were hopping, with people buying Jack Daniels, powdered milk, space legos, and iPods at all hours.  There was no Easter Bunny, but the people were pleasant and accommodating.  Once I got my bearings, I was fortunate to meet up with a colleague, fellow trekker, and new friend from Boston and Global Rescue, paramedic Bob Veno.  Too bad all New Englanders aren’t as friendly as Bob (not to forget Trooper Hare up there in Maine)!  He and I swapped stories, watched people, and excitedly spoke of the days to come while we enjoyed  some Arab coffee.  It wasn’t Starbucks, but it hit the spot.  The 7 hour layover went fast, and on Monday at 0240am Qatar time (Sunday 640pm MST) we were on the plane to Kathmandu.  This plane ride wasn’t on the big boy 777, but the service was still top notch.  After leaving Doha, we flew over Dubai at night (wow!) then north of Karachi, over Delhi, and on to Nepal. Nice little geography lesson.  By the way, the plane food was even edible.  I ate an item that resembled a pear/potato cross but tasted like bread soaked in maple syrup. And some garbanzo beans, I think.

Having a window seat for this flight was sweet, as my view of Nepal and the Himalayas as we landed was…. well, lets just say I am in awe.  More to come, with pictures, I promise.  Its Monday morning in Kathmandu baby!  Here we go….

Blue Sky Happy Day