Peak Promotion

18th April, 2010

Started off our morning saying good bye to Vicki.  The trail started off in a flat river bed.  We then stopped for an early lunch, before the grunt up hill.  Made it to the Everest Memorial, where they memorialize climbers who have died on Everest.  No worse for the wear, we made it to Lobuche.  It took us about 5 hours to go approximately 2.5 miles. Whew!  Now at 16,269 feet.  We then took a short rest and then took about a half mile walk UP.  The views were great of the Khumbu Glaciers.  Definitely a change in the scenery and weather.  Starting to spit snow across the barren landscapes.  Have been enjoying trees  and flowers.  Now harsh in contrast.  Tomorrow we will go to Gorakshep.  If weather is cloudy will go on to Everest base camp.  If weather is clear, will see view from Kalapathar.  We are all still feeling well.  However, do see an occasional person being  “assisted” down.  Feeling thankful and lucky to have such great Sherpa guides.

Stacee, Marcie, Lexi, Jasmina

Read Full Story: 18th April, 2010- Lobuche

Day 3 20th April, 2010

Greetings from Namche Bazaar.   It is my turn (Alan) to do the update.  My wife, Penny, was with me in Delhi and Kathmandu so I missed some of the early group meeting which explains my absence in some of the pictures posted yesterday.

We started off this morning in Phakding with a hearty breakfast of apple porridge, eggs, and toast.  We started the hike around 8:20 am.  Phakding is at an altitude of around 8500 feet.  After crossing 3 suspension bridges which were a bit intimidating for those of us with a fear of heights, we reached our lunch destination around 11:30 am.  By that time, we had reached 9200 feet.  Lunch was great, potatoes, spring rolls, and a vegetable medley.

The hike after lunch was the toughest we have had so far.  Two more suspension bridges (one with a drop of about 500 feet) and a climb up to 11,200 feet when we reached Namchee Bazaar.

Namchee Bazaar  is a beautiful place.  Lots of two to three story buildings built around the mountainside.  Our hotel is first class.  Comfortable rooms, great views, and even a hot shower.

Everyone is doing great.  We all hiked strong, no one is sick, and we are having a great experience.  I don’t know who will do the update tomorrow, (only that it won’t be Dave), but we’ll report in.

Read Full Story: 20th April, 2010- Greetings from Namche Bazaar

Day 2- 19^th April, 2010

Kathmandu – to Lukla & Phakding

Our wake up call came at 4:15 am as we were to leave the hotel for our flight to Lukla. Don and Tim did not set their watches to the correct time so they arrived late and created pandemonium in the hotel at departure time. Now with the group 20min behind schedule the entire trip was in jeopardy due to the tight timing. However due to some creative driving through the streets of Katmandu we managed to get to the airport in time to make our flight. At the airport this time we were met by monkeys and chickens as we made our way to the tarmac.

The trip to Lukla was memorable for the views and the landing. For anyone that has not seen the Lukla airstrip I can only say “holy @#$%”. The airstrip is built on the side of a mountain with about a 25 degree pitch going uphill to help the plane stop after it has basically fallen from the sky.

In Lukla we were met by our porters that would accompany us for the balance of the trip. From Lulka we started our trek up the beautiful chaurikharka valley. After 2 hours of trekking we stopped for lunch in the small village of Thadokhosi. We had a home cooked meal of noodles and enjoyed the views. It was amazing to see local women talking on their cell phones. After lunch we continued our journey up the valley past yaks, chickens, horses and lots of other trekkers.

We have ended our first day of trekking in the small village of Phakding. Here we are staying at the Tashi Take lodge. The lodge is beside the river and we are looking forward to a good night sleep after our first day on the trail. Elevation 8,600ft.

Read Full Story: 19th April, 2010- Kathmandu to Lukla & Phakding

The Adventure begins

Day 1- 18^th April, 2010

Delhi & Kathmandu

Here we go…..Dave Carters excellent adventure

We all arrived in the Delhi airport on Saturday night after our 14 hour flight with the lone Canadian on one flight and the rest of the crew lead by our fearless leader Dave Carter on the other.  The adventure started with Jay’s bag being picked up by another traveler with a similar bag. So we did what any smart adventure group would do. We headed to the hotel bar to have a beer. After a few beers were we all started to get to know one another.  Jay eventually got an email saying his bag had been found and off Jay, Dave and Bob went to retrieve the bag through the streets of Delhi at 2 in the morning.

After only a couple of hour’s sleep (who needs sleep when you’re an adventurer) we jumped on a flight to Kathmandu. At the airport we were met by the lead guide of our trek and the owner of the trekking company.  It was a 30 minute trip to our hotel through the streets of Kathmandu. We were greeted at the hotel with a sign welcoming our expedition. After unloading our bags we headed for our first meal together as a group. We had an adventurous lunch of Nepalese rice, nan and curries and of course beer.

After lunch Dave lead the groups to Thamel (one of the famous shopping center of Kathmandu) were some last minute shopping and haggling was done.

Before we headed out for dinner we had a trekking briefing. Dave and our trekking leaders explained about the dangers of the trip including altitude sickness, wild animals, poisonous water and extreme weather.  We ended the evening with a traditional Nepalese dinner complimented with a demonstration of some local tribal dancing. The dinner was attended by a local reporter that was in attendance to cover our trip. The reporter planed to do a story for a local newspaper.

Read Full Story

April 17^th 2010

This morning we woke up enveloped in clouds. It was the first morning that was not clear, but it gave a very surreal feeling. We had our usual breakfast at the tea house and then hit the trail. We went on an acclimatization hike to Nakarsung dada which is a “hill” reaching 16,400 ft. For the first few hours we were in the clouds and then we rose above the clouds and saw a glimpse of the mountains. The views of Ama Dablam and the surrounding mountains were spectacular….we even saw Island peak for the first time!  We hiked like turtles in molasses, but eventually made it to the summit and managed to “stay within ourselves”(don’t worry Dr. Rich!). It took us 4 hours to get to the top and only 40 minutes to get down…..that gives you an idea of the effects the altitude has on our ability to hike uphill. We all still feel strong, other than an occasional headache.  After returning from the hike and drinking some ginger tea, we went to a lecture that the Himalayan Rescue Association put on to educate trekkers/climbers about mountain sickness. We sat inside a sun room….which despite the name was FREEZING and learned some new things about high altitude medicine as we listened the rain on the roof.   We checked our O2 saturations…right around 90%….not too bad!  We just finished a wonderful dinner of dhal bhat, momos, garlic soup, french fries, rice and ginger tea.  Vicky will depart tomorrow after breakfast to head home and return to work. It has been fun having her along this far and we hope she has a wonderful safe trip home. Tomorrow we head to Lobuche to gain some more elevation and get closer to Everest base camp. Thanks for following our adventure and stay tuned!

Marcie, Stacee, Lexi, Jasmina and Vicky

Source: 17th April, 2010- Nakarsung top

16 April 2010

Namaste from all of us at Pheriche!  We all just enjoyed big plates of Dalbaht (lentils w/ rice) and are involved in a heated card game.  Our Sherpas, Ang Dawa and Ang Karma picked-up the rules fast and are winning most of the rounds now.  We had another beautiful hike along the river up to Pheriche.   We were treated to a tour of the Pangboche Monestary this morning.  It is a very old Monestary ( 600+ yrs old) and considered a very spiritual place.    After hiking today, Stacee is now nicknamed “beautiful meat” and I am “the boob”….don’t know how those might stick..??  Vicky will travel with us tomorrow as we take a day hike and then she will head back down….returning to work.  We have been lucky to have her fun spirit in our company and she will be missed.  Jasmina is planning to continue up with us to Everest Base Camp and then to Island Peak.  We are all still feeling very well and laughing a lot!  What a fun group!  We are thankful for the hot showers here in Pheriche and will be staying here tomorrow night also to acclimatize.  We wish you all the best and ask for your support (prayers to God, Buddha, Shiva, Allah, or whoever else..) in our coming journeys.

Lexi, Stacee, Marcie, Vicky, and Jasmina

Source: 16th April, 2010- Pheriche

15 April 2010

Another beautiful day, although not quite as clear. Glad that we got to see Everest on a perfectly clear day yesterday. Today we had spectacular view of Ama Dablam as we started out on our way to Tengboche. We sent Ang Karma on ahead to find us rooms to stay the night. Amazing Sherpa that he is, he made it in 2 hours. Took us 7 hours?! Got to see our first Yaks. Marcie is still a little confused between the difference between a yak and a Nak. Made it to the Tengboche Monastary, which was very colorful, peaceful and asthetic. We ended up hiking past Tengboche to Deboche, because there was more rooms available there. I think our sense of humors are catching on. Ang Karma was dusting off our boots at the end of the day and ended up smacking us each on the rear end. Hopefully, that will make us move faster tomorrow. Strong as Nak, slow as Yak. On to Pheruche tomorrow, where we will spend 2 days to acclimatize.

Stacee

Source: 15th April, 2010- Tyangboche

April 14^th 2010

Today we saw Mount Everest. It had rained overnight, calming all the dust, which made for clear air and blue skies.  We crawled out of our sleeping bags at 5:30am to scarf down breakfast and get on the trail. We took a very nice day hike to an Everest  viewpoint.  On the way up, there were a few inches of snow on the trail, which were melted by the time we came back down.  Good thing we had the snowball fight on the way up! The mountains are so tall, it is hard to watch the trail and take in the mountain scenery without tripping over the rocks! We saw a number of peaks including: Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Thamserku,Kongde, Tauche, Cholache and many more. In my opinion, the best part of the day was having milk tea at the Mt. Everest viewpoint restaurant. We sat at an outside table with the most spectacular view imaginable. We also walked past Syangboche airport which is the highest airport in Nepal at over 12,000ft.  It is only amenable to small planes carrying no more than seven people. Sometimes Everest expeditions use this airport to bypass Lukla. We happened to see a small plane landing…..better them than us as it looked a little rocky!  After we returned from our hike, we spent the rest of the day walking the streets of Namche Bazar and thinking about what we were going to eat for dinner….its seems like we are always hungry!! Stacee is sure enjoying the Snickers and Pringles. We just finished an excellent dinner of garlic soup, momos , popcorn, rice pudding and ginger tea. Tomorrow we will wake up and head to Tyangboche. So far everyone is feeling strong!

Marcie, Vicky, Jasmina, Lexi and Stacee

Source: 14th April, 2010- We saw Mt. Everest

13th April, 2010

12th April, 2010

“Hey Marcie, are you awake? Its 4am and I don’t think we have electricity….or phone. We better go see if Lexi is awake.”  This was what I woke up to this morning. We then dug out our headlamps so we could see and proceeded down the hall half dressed  to make sure Lexi was awake.We knocked softly and heard her rustle around and try and turn on the light switches with no luck. She made her way to the door and then the lights turned on. We then met up with Jasmina and Vicky at the hotel and drove like mad through town to get to the airport to catch the first flight to Lukla.

The flight was flawless and the white topped mountains poked through the clouds . We were all amazed by the size of the mountains, truly unbelievable! We then hiked to Phakding which took about 3 ½ hours-slow and steady.

Along the way we saw a monastery, the Dhudkhoshi  river, and may outstanding views of the mountains.  We are staying at Tashi Tagey Lodge in Phakding and will head to Namche tomorrow. We have the best Sherpa guides, Ang Dawa and Ang Karma and they are taking very good care of us. We are resting and eating in preparation for tomorrow.
Marcie.

Source: 12th April, 2010- Kathmandu to Phakding