Ka Ka Ka Ka Ka Kathmandu
Bob Seger sang it not sure why anyone would want to go there till now.
I land in Kathmandu after a 28 hour flight including 12 hours layover in Qatar where I was welcomed into the prayer room at the airport in Doha. Fighting off Jet lag I am up at 4am and spent early mornings visiting the Hindu and Buddhist temples in Kathmandu ( pic temples) the city is still devastated by the earthquake last year then spend the day working logistics getting gear checked by our Sherpas and safety briefings.
There are 20 people on various expeditions through and various peaks in the Himalayans through summit climb. Everest can be reached by both the south side which is what I am doing with 6 others or by the north through Tibet 12 people are signed up for this which requires lots of red tape from the Chinese government and unfortunately the north side expeditions are delayed a week and they are stuck in Kathmandu. Some return home and a couple make the jump to the south lots of drama. The city is terribly polluted, crowded, loud and beautiful. Probably one of the most dangerous things is the cab ride to the hotel or walking the streets with no sidewalks dodging cars and motorcycles. I lay awake at night the city has scheduled power outages and the hotel goes dark after midnight. No ac so you hear everything from 8pm to midnight is car horns honking then when they stop its the thumping of the many clubs in the city. When they stop at 2 or 3 the dogs start barking there is about 2 hours of quiet from 4 to 6 and since I am jet lagged I get up look for coffee and something to do until our next meeting. I don't think I would like to be stuck here for a week.
I told Lisa I have been blessed by a Muslim in Doha, Hindu on the streets of Katmandu, and a high Lama in at a Buddhist monastery in Pangboche and I know she has almost burned the church down in Morganfield Ky, lighting candles for my safe return.
The journey began up 2 days ago started with a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla the most dangerous airport in the world. It has a runway that ends at the base of a mountain and only one way to take off and land on a short 20 degree sloping runway (Of course I would love to land on it)We are on 3 different flights and wait for about 4 hours for our luggage load it on Yaks and start our 9 day walk to base camp. We cross hughes suspension bridges that bounce and sway with the wind making it even more interesting is when you meet a oncoming Yack. arrive at our first tea house which are small rooms with 2 single beds no heat but electricity and wifi. For the next 9 days my biggest risk is getting sick from the food or stepped on by a Yak trails are narrow but the views are breath taking.
I appreciate all of the good luck emails,FB, text, it's kind of overwhelming and know all I have to do is to be safe and get back home if I make it to the top that's a bonus. I will try to keep things updated but limited com till base camp which is day 10.
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| Tenzing memorial |
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| Cutting Yak steaks they tell us to not eat due to its been carried up unrefrigerated |
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| Blessing from lama |
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| Me and Yangie on climb to 16500 |
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| My watch showing my altitude |
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| Dal Bhat and potatoes Sherpa food, lentils and rice which is what we will be eating for a while |
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