Thamel to Pahar Ganj, Enough is Enough

Nice title, it sums up my feelings pretty well I think, or at least I've been led to believe. Who knows, I'm now coming down with a cold, or a cough, or maybe swine flu which with my luck will probably prevent me from being able to come home, are they quarantining suspected cases yet? Ah home, they say it's where the heart is, and that's where I thought I'd left it but when I tried to make contact, you know, just to make sure... it didn't really respond. I'm bummed but a story should be told in the proper order, this blog is about telling a story not whining or venting, well at least not just about those things only when they affect the outcome. Onto the rest of June in Asia . . .

My Final Days in Kathmandu

I left off at the Potala Guest House, a place with a nice triple/suite deal that was out of the way from the craziness of central Thamel, we had it dialed in, the staff were friendly & accommodating however they could be and we had established a decent rep. twelve days prior so they hooked us up however they could. After dropping off our laundry I checked into having my ripped backpack repaired, there are embroiderers everywhere and I had an idea I wanted to see if I could materialize. Two hours later after I enjoyed a nap during another rolling blackout I picked up my freshly patched sack with a silver dragon woven onto the center of the top pocket, sweet.

We decided it was time for more dinner and went

to a place recommended by Andy & I's guide from Rainier, Rumdoodles. It did not disappoint, the food and atmosphere as well as the music were top notch, it was a good start but once we left that place it was so late that the pimps were out and they wanted us in their "dance club." Fine, let's check this place out at least for a beer. We got sat down next to the stage and saw a few cute girls in the corner which we assumed were the eventual entertainment, what was currently on stage did not seem very enthusiastic, more like a practice session than a show. Regardless we had some tall beers to finish, next up was a couple, they did a "bollywood-esk" performance basically acting out a love story... it was ridiculous but I was laughing and curious about what might happen next. So now a girl comes out, actually at least acting like she was excited to be there and what had to be the stripper. Well I guess there's two levels in Nepal: Provocative dancing in just slightly more clothing than a bikini; or interaction with a prostitute, because the World's Oldest Profession can hardly be retained. We had no desire to see what might happen next, I was visualizing a love story between a Yak and a Sherpani but upbeat to hi-energy tablas & sitars, who knows.

Anyway we made it home with a few beers and while enjoying these nightcaps on the patio we met Francesca, a girl who just moved to Nepal for the summer from the U.K. - she was by herself and slightly concerned about the power outages and general darkness that is Kathmandu at night. We reassured her that it's way nicer in the daytime & all decided it was time for an early night, we actually had plans tomorrow.

June 4th... I don't think I've mentioned the date for a while. We woke and enjoyed our Hotel's restaurant for breakfast and figured out how we were going to get to the Monkey Temple.

Yes, there is a temple that has promoted monkey population growth in Kathmandu for several years, and seemingly this was one of the most happenin' things (in daylight) goin' on. We walked, took around a half hour until we got directed up & through another temple, apparently the locals point tourists into this place hopeful for donations, we fell for it and it did prove to have some interesting eye candy, just once we got out of there and towards the real monkey temple, Swayambhunath, it was obvious we'd been diverted.

This place was crazy, beggars & touts, hopeful Buddhist zealots attempting to cure whoever however for whatever they can. The monkeys abounded, everywhere, and I only got hissed at for harassment once :) We climbed a gigantic set of stairs till eventually making it to the main courtyard & viewpoint of the shrine, there were a LOT of prayer wheels, I spun everyone I could get my hands on because I felt this was the shit, good karma from a Buddhist temple high above one of the oldest cities in the world. In retrospect (I'm flying out of here in four hours) there have been many points along this journey that karma has gone my way when it didn't have to and I'm hoping for a good finish within the next 30 hours. So yeah,

beyond the main area you end up in a pretty nice central park hilly forest type of spot where the main monastery is, we roamed around this while taunting the monkeys a bit more.

They love it and are just hoping we let our guard down long enough to pick any food out of our pocket. Down the hill we walked, at the bottom we kept spinning prayer wheels since they were on our way but we soon learned that this entire circle around the largest Buddhism complex in the largest city in Nepal has a never ending wall of wheels around the entire base!

Ridiculous, our hands were sore after ten minutes and it went on for 30, I think we had only made it 25% around. We agreed to stop after an apology to Buddha and cabbed it back to the Potala for our afternoon nap.

(Because the cab rides have been so nuts I spent the entire time getting it on film.)

Francesca joined us for dinner at La Dolce Vita, an Italian place with a decent wine list and rooftop dining, it was perfect but once again that ended up being the most relaxing and easy part of the night. After that I insisted we go to the local Shisha (Hookah) Bar, since Andy had never been to one. Well after some debate they finally hooked us up with a mango flavored water pipe and we toked away, somewhat enthusiastically since the bar seemed to be closing and when they finally took our hookah away we bounced from that joint and headed for the Jazz. Of course the bar itself was called Reggae but the Jazz was decent, it was an Asian style bar so we had to remove our shoes and jump up on a platform for our table...we ordered Everest's and after about 15 minutes and the band taking what we thought was a "break"- the actual Army came in and ejected everyone from the establishment. (Luckily we snuck our beers out) - no idea why, maybe along with the dignified "dance club" rules they also don't let people intoxicate themselves in large groups in public after a certain hour... interesting, oh well we made it back to the room and since my back hurt I passed out early from too many painkillers mixed with that little booze, I'm such a lightweight.

The next morning I woke up kind of early, jumped online & contacted my girlfriend, I had felt that it had been too long and it was time to see how she's been doing regardless of how bad the web connection might be. Things get a bit real now, and I'm not going to bore you with details of personal problems, let me just say that my belief that everything back home was under control was not true, I found out my plans for three weeks in Central America & three weeks on the East Coast have been canceled & that Dorothy, who I had planned on spending the next few months unemployed with while she was off on her summer break, was now going home to New Jersey shortly after returning from my supposed final trip away from her. Ouch, that hurt. You see, I've been planning travels and time together with her for three months now and to have the carpet pulled from under my feet that swiftly was quite the surprise. So after spending ten times more money than I spend nightly on my room for a phone call from an actual phone bank I met up with my friends for some errands before they're flight to Hong Kong.

We were joined once again by Francesca, she was working for the summer near Kathmandu & her company had informed her that there were Mao-ist protests going on today and that for our "safety" it would be best that the white people stay in their tourist area. These protests usually just put roadblocks up and march around letting the peeps in charge know that their numbers are growing, problem these days in Kathmandu is that there are no peeps in charge and that "protest" is steps away from invading what leadership infrastructure is in place... civil unrest is never a comfy situation & I'm hoping Nepal handles their issues sooner than later, these things are never good for an economy and the Nepalese Rupee, although we are appreciating to the fullest, has been getting weaker every month.

After transferring our picture chips to DVD, handling some last minute souvenir & gift shopping and enjoying another $3 lunch including Everest Beers & Tequila we made it back for one more nap, it had been a long morning and I was exhausted. We woke around four for our last meal together in Nepal for what will probably be a long time, the Everest Steakhouse, this place had the protein we needed as well as the booze for our goodbye dinner and did not disappoint. After dinner Andy & Jabs spent their time finalizing their bags to be checked to Hong Kong, they had a 36 hour layover which since neither had really been in that country before, were going to live up to it's fullest. Off they went in a cab and I checked into an Internet cafe since it was getting to be time for California to wake up. More time and energy for my love, the cafes close at midnight and that night we had a power outage, also at midnight, so I retired to my room for some brainless TV until I eventually drifted into pill induced haze... my back had not gotten any better and seems to be magnified with time spent on the computer, I'm actually missing NBC Darcy and her ergonomics awareness tips right now, although unless I buy them new furniture it won't make even the slightest difference.

The next morning I moved rooms for my final night in Nepal, (for now) I was leaving the next morning and although extremely comfy with the triple suite, did not need it for what I had planned today. I was going to crank out my blog from Everest today, or at least the text since I hadn't found a decent connection yet. Ugh, as soon as I plugged in I wish I got right into Living The Dream but sadly, that was not the case. Sometime that morning I walked to the Jet Airways office to look into how much it would cost be to pause my ticket, it was in a part of town called Hattari & I needed some air. After some more computer time I decided I needed a break, I was freaking out, as time communicating went on more information came to light I was on the verge of losing it. Yes, I am a control freak, and I had trusted my summer to someone that was changing it without even a discussion... and yes again, she has her reasons. I had room service for lunch and found enlightenment after watching Shrek 3 & looking at my journal... I had written words on the cover, not a lot but very important words, and until that moment I never really knew why I had written them in such an open place. (It was because where I was at mentally, opening my "journal" was not something I would do. I never write in there for frustration, and love for me is recorded differently.) PATIENCE -- WISDOM -- Kindness & Charisma -- TOLERANCE -- Will . . . I started adding words, and then circling them and crossing them out: Petty -- Weak -- Forgetful . . . My hand was lying next to me, it brushed against the still new but friendly coldness of my recently purchased Buddhist Prayer Beads, I grasped them and started counting. I closed my eyes, the TV was still on in credits but it didn't matter, after years in that world I could easily tune it out, I started to put myself into her shoes. I didn't understand but came to grips with the fact that I may never, right now that is not what matters. What matters is that I not handle this the way I've been conditioned to and start a new trend (if need be) for the future. I can control that, and I've absolutely endured what doesn't work when dealing with a long-term relationship. I needed to assess before reacting, and my reactions should be completely calm, controlled, I was getting closer...

I listened to the hammer from afar, my new room was now overlooking the courtyard and I had grown used to the hammer from next door during my afternoon naps, it soothed me without the sleep this time. My adrenaline was still fired up and I was no where near that afternoon nap, in fact I could actually sense the oxygen in this air and longed for the mountains, the thin air that meant I was there and the distinct smells associated with that elevation. I had no idea that my time there might mean the end of what had been my life for the past two years, but maybe that wasn't what was important, I was seeing the past, it was time to look towards the future, she's been alone for a long time now and all she thinks about is the future, life is still life even if I'm taking time off to play.

I was back at the lab listening to music and writing hard, I got most of it done, handled some other correspondence, spoke with her on the most basic level and charged my iPod. It was a mellow night spent mostly recollecting recent memories (for the blog) and eventually, since I spent over twelve hours on the computer that day, passed out stoned on painkillers for my back. (Or was that just what I kept telling myself ;) I had set two alarms as well as informed the hotel staff that I would be departing in the morning. I was up early, caught a cab to the International Terminal and proceeded through more security than I've ever dealt with. Fuck, three times metal detector/bag search/pat down, I'm surprised I was eventually allowed to bring water onto the plane!

Comfortable in Pahar Ganj, Ending in India

Anyway I started the movie Gran Torino but since the flights only 1:15 I never got to finish it, when we arrived in Delhi I passed yet another health screening, hit customs, picked up my bag and caught a cab to Pajar Ganj. It's such a nice feeling to have been at an airport before and have dealt with their rigmarole, makes one so much more relaxed in handling what can be a very stressful process. After checking around at some other hotels I settled back at the RAK International, for the price it still seemed the most reliable. I napped. When I woke I felt hairy, and hot, so I went to a barber & got my head shaved for $1. After watching the gentlemen next to me get shaved I decided I wanted one of those also, another $1 and yes, I watched them put in new blades and clean everything thoroughly...It was AWESOME,

why don't we do this in the states? They do such a thorough job and I added a massage to the mix so when I walked out I've never felt cleaner or more relaxed. Seems my back issue might be able to be worked out, he had gotten into it but I'm thinking this knot might take more than just one massage to work out. I found some Chai & relaxed for a bit with a cup, it was nice being back in Delhi since my memories after Agra turned negative. I went back to hotel just before dark for a shower & dinner, after that I ventured out for a short time of more web but eventual text messaging from my room while watching movies.

I felt like I was getting sick, the next morning I woke up and knew it, I'm thinking mainly from malnutrition since during travels I find myself not eating regularly when moving from one city to the next, but have not ruled out the plane from Nepal being full of sickies as well, or maybe it was something I ate... I spent the morning watching movies in bed but eventually roused myself to walk down to a friends hotel, I knew Alex was down the street so I went to find him, it took about ten minutes. He was in his hotels lobby when I walked in and he heard my obnoxious American accent within seconds :) We swapped stories since we'd parted in Katmandu and got some lunch, he introduced me to the Kitchen Cafe & eventually we ended up wandering the alleys of our hood while handling errands and picking up souvenirs. Around 4pm he headed to the train for his journey to Mumbai the first stage in his eventual goal of Ahman, Jordan two days from today, he was working his way back to Egypt as cheaply as possible. Again I napped, I was meeting Vivek this evening,

a friend of a friend who had helped me research hotels from here in Delhi. That night he found my hotel and we headed out for drinks, I knew the Green Chilly Bar & we acquainted ourselves in person, finally, while drinking some Kingfischers & eating Chicken Tikka. (The only meat I'd had in India to date, kinda like baked boneless Chicken Wings.) I think we made it till midnight, he was a nice guy who I felt fortunate to have met and wish we would have gotten together sooner, he helped me understand certain habits from the Indian perspective which can be very challenging for a westerner. After verifying my flight at some random web cafe we said our goodbyes and I made it back for a hard night of restless sleep.

The next morning I had some errands I wanted to finish, my man-bag needed mending, I needed pills for the flight since I'd exhausted my valium in the mountains & if I could find something for this cough that would be great, and I wanted to see one more sight, the India Gate.

I hired a tuk-tuk to take me roundtrip, I'd heard this sight is an easy one to knock off and I felt I had barely seen anything in Delhi so after 20 minutes we were there. I saw the President's House, plenty of a better part of Delhi with manicured lawns and security, and a huge archway similar to the Arch de Triumph named the India Gate. It was fine, I was sick and tired so after taunting the touts we tuk-tuked it back to Pahar Ganj where I picked up my mending and had some lunch. I had paid the hotel for a late checkout so I spent my final hours packing my bag and showering (yes, multiple times) before I was checking out and heading to the airport for my 10:30pm flight to Newark.

After walking through what turned into one of the craziest parades ever, (if only for the narrowness & conditions of the streets) I took another tuk-tuk, I should have taken a taxi but this guy was adament & an hour later we finally pulled up to IGI (India Ghandi International) Airport. Security was more organized so once through I charged my phone and pod while trying to figure out the best foods I could bring onto the plane.

I had no appetite but made attempts, it was not happening, I was a mess. I ate the antibiotic I'd obtained for my cough, the benedryl I'd saved for my head, took pain pills for my back & swallowed valium while sucking on cough drops just before entering the plane... is anyone doing the math here?

After what seemed like an hour taxi the Boeing 777 took off and I was immediately in the planes bathroom relieveing myself of everything I'd eaten that day as well as the pills. Don't take medicine on an empty stomach, especially when you feel like crap! I pushed the airplane food into my mouth and swallowed as much water as I could, simply took two valium and woke up with two hours left till Newark, (14 hour flight) apparently I was exhausted.

We arrived and I cruised through immigration at Newark International, I had an eight hour layover till my flight to San Diego so I immediately hit the Continental counter, and yes they had an 8:30am flight I could fit onto, awesome. I waited and had some McDonalds, I hate McDonalds but that bagel sandwich went down smooth and gave me the energy to make it onto my final flight, which was delayed an hour due to fog. After the longest flight across the country I've ever made we landed in SD and I cabbed it back to my place, I missed home pretty bad this time and although I was sick as a dog I was amped to be in my space. After unpacking I showered and Dorothy was home, she immediately recognized that I was sick and insisted I take it easy, I listened to her on many levels while the 1st of many naps in my jet-lag recovery began.

The next morning I went directly to my doctor, he agreed that I may have contracted some sort of parasite so I was directed to produce specimens for testing. After turning them in, forcing down some toast and banana (for the meds) & getting a little rest I felt a lot better, so much so that the quarantine placed on me by my family was lifted and I was able to spend Friday night with Avery... she seemed to enjoy the gifts I had gotten her but who ever really knows with a little girl pushing two years old? I continued to get good rest, spend time with Dorothy & find windows of energy for the fam throughout the weekend, today is Monday and I've been home five days. I'm hopefully a little closer to an answer from my love than before I returned but it's the kind of thing that can not be defined, it just needs to be lived.. I'm not sure when or if the next blog will materialize but until that point it's been fun and I've enjoyed your attention.

Till next we meet remember, Carpe Diem!

Trekking Nepal: The Khumbu & Kala Pattar

Kathmandu is crazy, but more of a fun crazy than a scary crazy. I was finishing up purchasing some last minute supplies and ended up leaving my ATM card in the machine, great. I called the number provided by the security guard (every ATM machine in these countries has private security) and a few hours later the machine's owner showed up and retrieved my card for me. So I had everything needed for the mountains & decided to go out to the airport early to purchase my ticket back to Delhi prior to my friends arrival... problem, the Kathmandu airport doesn't let non-ticketed passengers inside their airport, all ticketing is handled at the airline offices in the city or online, so I spent the next two hours making friends with the Metropolitan Police. They taught me more Nepalese & wrote down some "must-see" sights for me to check out when I get back from the mountains. Finally Scott Jablow & Andrew Gough arrived, I had been led through the normal waiting spot ahead of the rest of the taxi drivers and hotel touts so when they made it through immigration I was waiting with a cabbie and direction to our Hotel. After a short but exciting cab ride we made it to the Thamel District, exchanged some money & made it back to our suite for some drinks & reacquainting... we got a few hours sleep but it was an early cab ride back to the airport for our flight to Lukla. Once checked in we took a bus to our prop plane, loaded up and took off for 9200 feet. According to the pilot when we were seven minutes out our plane turned around since they couldn't see the runway, I guess this is a normal occurrence. We came back to the Kathmandu airport, chilled for a few hours before they canceled that flight, switched us to the next morning & after collecting our baggage it was another cab ride back to the hotel. We checked back in, found some lunch and after a nap wandered around an area called Durbar Square. (Considered one of those "must-see" attractions in Kathmandu.) Once the sun went down we caught a rickshaw (with the three of us in the carriage, that poor kid) back and passed out by 9pm since we had another early flight attempt the next morning.

Now Day One: After the same airport ritual I had a front row mountain-view seat in our ride up into the Himalayas, it was gorgeous although I wasn't sure exactly what peaks I was seeing. After 45 minutes and the craziest airstrip I've ever touched down on

(it's on the side of a cliff and uphill, probably only 100 yards long) we were in Lukla gathering our bags and heading to a tea house for some breakfast & repacking. Once on the trail we had our first experiences with Yak's, an animal very similar to the cow but with more dexterity & potential anger. (I hear, one of the trail warnings was that we were to always pass uphill since the yak has a tendency to check hikers off the side with their horns or massive loads.) The beginning was simple, mostly downhill since Lukla is situated on the side of a mountain and most of our trekking was in the Dudh Kosi Valley. (Kosi means river) This was also our first impressions of the local Himalayans, (a.k.a. the Sherpa People) who have the worldwide reputation as the toughest climbers that can tolerate the heaviest loads. They did not disappoint, because of the lack of funds and supplies in these higher regions they actually wear a strap connected from the bottom of their basket or makeshift framework around their forehead, an interesting method that contributes to some of the most developed neck muscles I've ever seen. This combined with the shoulder straps is the system that has been used for decades to deliver supplies to climbers and their supporting villages all the way up to over 18,000 feet. Anyway, down and up and down and up, winding our way through the small villages, across bombproof suspension bridges made for overly burdened yak herds and their handlers while spinning Buddhist prayer wheels for luck and staring up the valley at Kusum Kangguru, (20,889 feet) an amazing peak covered by snow reflecting the morning sun.

There are so many differences here, details only a culture this old and established could develop into a style that can always be added to, but never look unfinished. Huge boulders would mark important areas, and each of those boulders no matter what size would have carved & painted what I'm assuming Buddhist lettering hopefully protecting or blessing whoever might pass by. Broken stone tablets would line the path dividing herds from walkers, and prayer flags... I can't even begin to tell you how many of these colorful Tibetan banners were tied to the trees, roof tops & bridges everywhere we looked. It was unreal & overdone, but not in a trashy way, more like an overly protective way which in a range as serious as the Himalayas can never be a bad thing. After about three hours we passed through Phakding, our original first nights lodging but since we were now a day behind schedule we decided to push through to our second nights accommodation and location of our first rest day, Namchee Bazaar. It was far but we felt great, Jablow had over packed so we spread his load around and made a push past the gorgeous rock faces with their thread-like waterfalls through an ancient pine forest into the town of Mondzo. (A place we were warned not to go past on our first day since the final uphill to Namche is a bitch.) Anyway, we did and paid our 1000 rupee toll (just over $13) into the Sagarmatha National Park winding further up the valley and across a long bridge to the start of the final uphill where two rivers converged. I'm not gonna lie, this killed me, it was the end of a nine hour eleven mile day hovering around the 10,000 foot mark and my steps were small. Additionally every time I stopped gnats would swarm all over me and they bite! So the gnats would whip me on as I followed my friends slowly up the mountain's switchbacks for over 2300 feet of elevation gain till I finally rounded a corner and saw we had made it near the top. We saw a large guesthouse near the center of the village called the Khumbu Lodge and found three beds for just over $1 a piece, the catch is for that fantastic discount they expect you to eat there, which was fine since the weather was turning and the smells from the kitchen were intoxicating to our starving stomachs. We ordered the Yak Sizzlers, a cast-iron skillet with strips of yak steak, noodles & veggies brought out piping hot, it was awesome and when we asked if this was the type of dinners to be expected along the way they told us that the meat any higher can't be relied upon, bummer but a good warning none-the-less. We met several climbers who had just summitted, one was 17 named Johnny from Malibu, we were impressed and spent some time chatting about his last summit in Australia, (He's about to finish the seven highest summits on the seven continents) and what's been going on in the outside world since he's been on Everest for the past month and a half. That nights sleep was solid. The next morning my co-trekkers tried to wake me for a morning rain hike, I wasn't in, I needed some good food and chill time. During that rainy rest day we boiled water since the prices on bottled water were rising with the elevation, purchased some "waterproof" pants since the weather seemed to be leaning that way and had another great dinner before an early night to bed.
The next morning (Day 3) we had some breakfast, packed for a wet walk since the rain hadn't let up & stashed some extra gear we figured was not needed for our trek at the Khumbu Lodge since we knew we would be coming back that way. We were doing quite a bit of uphill this day & with all the rain came what looked like rivers of diarrhea from all of the yak dung liquefying on the trail... so glad I had decent boots with me. Even with the weather we got some decent views while traversing the valleys through a rhododendron forest and climbing another steep hill to Thyangboche, that nights destination four hours from Namchee at 12,687 feet. We found some cheap beds at the Thyangboche Guest House, warmed up by the yak dung stove with some mint tea & RA RA Noodles and spent the night drying all of our gear that had gotten soaked on the way up. During the evening our host (Lhakpa) directed us to the local monastery to watch a ceremony that was supposed to help the weather clear, higher elevations were still getting snow and this was messing with the yearly crop, it was an interesting mixture of monks praying and playing instruments. We went to bed with our own prayers that the weather would clear and around 5am we were not disappointed! There it was, straight north up the valley Mount Everest was visible to us for the 1st time! We packed our bags and got on the trail wanting to take full advantage of this break in the weather as quickly as possible.


It's now Day 4 and we were able to get some great pictures, the yak trains were moving past at regular intervals and we couldn't stop staring to the east at Ama Dablam, (22,493 feet) considered one of the world's most beautiful mountains... it has a very unique shape which changes significantly depending on where your looking from. We also passed many trekkers & climbers taking advantage of the weather break and descending along the Imja Khola River until we came within sight of a mountain I'd only ever really read about, Lhotse (27,890 feet) which we knew dominated the valley of our next destination. Once we crossed that river we ascended to the Snow Lion Lodge in Dingboche at 14,272 feet. Mingma was our host, we were the only inhabitants of her establishment and we threw our stuff down in a triple before ordering some food & taking a nap. We were getting up there and waking up meant a dry throat and minor headache which in turn meant dehydration due to elevation, time for dinner and lemon tea, it seemed to solve our problems. We made it another early night since Mingma had warned us that the weather would be turning bad again and if we wanted a view of the "big one" we might want to fore go the acclimation day and push forward, strange advice from someone who had no customers and seemed to enjoy our company, but she was a Buddhist Sherpani and we figured it best to heed her advice.

Day 5 started out overcast, but we pushed forward up the valley after a nice breakfast of apple pancakes. Our trail started past a few "Chortens" - Buddhist shrines on ridge tops seemingly built to watch over things. We traversed the Khumba Valley as a storm moved in and dumped mild snow, passed through the Yak Herders Village of Dusa and then dropped down to the main trail which crossed the glacial torrent (a rippin' creek) near the town of Dughla. Since the weather was turning for the worse we stopped into another tea house for some, and potatoes, then prepared for the more serious weather which we would be dealing with on our way to the next village. We hiked up a moraine, which is basically a random rocky creek bed created by the receding glacier, but at this point it was in white-out conditions and a creek had formed in the main trail. At the top were many memorials to lost Sherpas & climbers, the most famous one (that I'm aware of) being Scott Fischer who died in the 1996 disaster portrayed in Jon Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air," my first inspiration towards the Himalayas. After some chill time we progressed through the valley as the weather cleared and we had our first real experience with that thin air, or lack of atmosphere. Scott had been the only one vigilant against the harsh UV rays reflection off of the snow but Andrew & I’s noses both saw some sun. Along the way, since the melt was on and the snow was over (for now) I started to see some of the various wildlife as well as Pumori, (23,494 feet) the peak that towers over our eventual elevation goal of Kala Pattar. Additionally it seemed the Sherpas loads kept getting larger as we moved up the valley, this guy was taking a break every five minutes or so.

With plenty of daylight left we stumbled into Lobuche, almost another 2000 feet above our previous tea house at 16,175 feet… we had had the Sherpa Lodge recommended to us so we landed there for some more Ra Ra Noodles, Lemon Tea & what was turning into our daily nap. I was surprisingly refreshed when woken up for dinner which eventually turned into chatting with other trekkers about the Everest Marathon the next day, potential upper mountain conditions & surprisingly the regularity & consistency of bowel movements. (Yes, I guess these things do become general discussions among men AND women when over 4000 meters.) That night turned into our coldest nights sleep yet, I was very happy to have my down bag with me.

Day 6, we woke up semi-early to an incredible morning, Nuptse, the eastern cousin of Everest at 25,791 feet, was glorious. The sun was out and it was the 56th anniversary of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent of Mount Everest. (May 29, 1953) First thing we pumped water, but the water we found had a fuel-ee smell so we searched for "their" source and discovered it... there was no aroma which was an improvement I guess? No worries. Next I snapped some shots since the air quality was clearer than I've ever seen until the sun was fully up, ordered a pot of coffee with our breakfast & thought about continuing although officially today was supposed to be another rest/acclimation day. While waiting the marathon started running by, these guys are amazing, it had been 50 minutes since they'd left Base Camp (running down) and it was going to take us at least an additional six hours to ascend to that same spot! Later than usual (11:30am) but with a gorgeous day spread out before us & things seeming to run smoothly we decided to make the attempt on our final base camp, two hours north up and down ridges competing with yaks for trail space and forcing our lungs to breath the thinnest air we've ever hiked in, it was intense, and surreal, I'll never forget it. We knew that once along the Khumbu Glacier and into the valley at the base of (barely visable at the time in the clouds) Kala Pattar, our summit trail was waiting, and we were ready to summit whenever the weather offered the most likely view of Chomolungma. (The Tibetan name for Everest) We descended into Gorek Shep and checked into the Buddha Lodge, the highest place any of us have ever slept at 17,008 feet, and since the rooms were directly above the stove and warm we did just that after a small hike wandering this three teahouse village so close to the roof of the world while listening to the avalanches falling off of Nuptse.

NO REST DAYS, NO PROBLEM, mostly, I mean headaches are normal so if that's all that happens and we accomplish our goals does it really matter? I guess we shall see, that night I drank more Lemon Tea with a light dinner and passed out around 8pm.

It was Day 7, 4:30 am and was already starting to get light out. Gough was waiting at the base of the trail before 5am, Jablow & I met him there, it was clear and promising and looking like an amazing day. The three people ahead of us on the trail stopped at the first saddle, we powered through them since icey snow or not, we were getting up this supposed walk-up conditions trail weather permitting or not. Two hours later and my boots only slipped when I was busy staring at the amazing black pyramid called Sagarmatha by the Nepalese, and Mount Everest by the World. (29,028 feet) It's by far the highest and most windblown causing it to stick out from whichever direction it's being viewed... brilliant. I saw a brief cloud threaten to cover and sprinted to the summit of Kala Pattar, (18,448 feet) it nearly killed me on two accounts: Sea level dwellers should not run over 18,000 feet; and the western edge is a shear drop which thank the Buddhists, is well marked by prayer flags and stacked rocks. I shot some video and took way too many pictures as usual, high-fived my friends and enjoyed the hell out of the next hour or so. It was only the three of us on this summit with the most glorious sunrise over a mountain range I've ever witnessed, and we lived it up. Pumori, Nuptse, Llotse, Everest, all the great ones right there in my face. I knew this would be amazing but the shear magnitude of their presence was overwhelming in the most impressive way possible. As soon as someone else ascending came into view we started our descent, the one time I wished I had some sort of mountaineering protection on the entire trip - it was icey and my boots were worn smooth from years on SoCal rock, but I made it down with no problems and back to the Buddha Lodge for PB & Honey Pancakes.

OK then! Two hour nap, we were on a fucking mission to get to base camp and back before the weather closed in, it wasn’t looking good. Base camp was a four to six hour round-trip on rough terrain, right on, it was not easy especially at 18,000 feet. For those of you that have read my blog from New Zealand’s Mount Cook/Hooker Glacier area you’ll remember that I was in this situation before: Sometimes trails aren’t perfect, we ran into some acquaintences (Paula & Al, who just happen to be from New Zealand as well) and they warned us that they had just witnessed a rock fall (small avalanche) from above the trail hit a yak, no shit, we saw the blood on the rocks and everything! So of course we were very careful to always have an escape route should a boulder decide to drop onto the trail or further down onto the ice. Who would have known such a popular route could be so treacherous, we made it onto the glacier with no problems.
We passed the lower camp and made our way to the icefall, we were all draggin’ and by some miracle three plastic chairs materialized… we made good use of them while staring at the Khumba Icefall and the impending storm. After chatting with some local guides that seemed to be living up there we started down, and so did the snow. It got pretty thick so we made sure to stay close through the “danger zone” and after two hours and some swampy trails we made it back to our Lodge for some warming up & dinner with the Kiwi’s which we were now fairly chummy with but for some reason I never got their email address...

Anyway, the next morning was rough, we hadn't really gotten much sleep due to the headaches so we got our shit together to move down. It was crappy out, no summit views for anyone that day, and definitely not a time I'd choose to hike because, well, basically it started as a wet blizzard that tapered to a thick cloud, over four hours, down what it had taken us two days to ascend, our goal was Pheriche (13,911 feet) - somehow I was mostly dry at the end, but because we had come down so fast I was really sore for the first time. I think moving up so quickly numbed my nerves so physically I felt fine, as soon as they were bathed once again in o2 I was hurting, but the Himalayan Hotel, a decent grilled cheese and a nap made things quite better. This place, although we didn't stay very long, was classy and tasty, twas a shame the room was so cold even for a triple. We hung around the dung furnace till we hoped the headaches would stay mellow and made it an early night. It had cleared so we had high hopes of the next days conditions.

Day 9 WAS gorgeous, I was actually motivated to purify water and get the party started. I ordered some Chipati Bread, an onion & cheese omelette and with a little chili sauce had a makeshift burrito to start the day. We packed and got on the trail, again descending seemed like a healthy move and taking advantage of good weather is never really a bad idea, none of us were feeling more than muscle tendernous but it was "painfully" obvious we could use some advil or something to ease the aching. We crossed the creek from Pheriche (this is the view back up the valley)
and had an easy walk down until we came to the hill heading back up to Thyangboche, ugh. My motivation was a 60 year old woman carrying her 40 pound load and passing me, once to the top we could look back at where the black pyramid rose through the clouds, and the rest of the valley we had just walked through. We strolled back through the monk-filled village on our way to the edge of town for a lunch stop. (We still had some camper's meals to finish up before heading out of the mountains.) After that it was down a big hill, pump some water and up another huge hill passing sherpas carrying tremendous piles of wood on their backs. We had light loads so time seemed to be going fast, until the turn for Kumjung, a village a few thousand feet above Namche Bazaar with a good reputation that we felt we had time to check out. Serendipity placed us outside of the same Guest House our New Zealand friends were staying at, but we were on a mission to get down to Namche that night to collect our gear and be ready for a morning phone call to verify our flight the following day.
So on we hiked, up over the hill through a concert with some pretty hip house music if I do say so myself, (we were in the middle of Nowhere and anything short of Monk noises would have satisfied my thirst for something with more feeling, no offense Buddha!) over the hill and down into the Namche Valley, such a picturesque city from this vantage I had to include this shot.
So another hour or so down into the village known as the Sherpa Capital and again we run into a trail acquaintance, Mischa who we had helped out in Thyangboche seven days earlier with some Cipro, was wandering back from a monestary. So after checking back into the Khumbu Lodge and eating some dinner I joined him for a drink at the local watering hole. It was here I discovered Nepal has no drinking age, as twelve year olds played pool while I did whiskey shots. I didn't last long since we'd done nine I think? miles that day... so after a quick high altitude buzz I was in bed by 9pm.

The next day I wandered out early for some souvenirs and pastries since this area claims bakeries, the one I found open was nothing special and the trinkets I picked up to carry down the mountain have left a much more positive memory in my mind. We got a message through to Yeti Air with the help of Pemba (our host) and started our eleven mile descent to Lukla. I was too exhausted to enjoy this forest on my way up but I sure enjoyed it on the way down, the pine smell actually overtook the yak & mule scents and there were waterfalls drizzling down from the canyon walls to the west. Half way down we came to a small clearing and saw "it" one last time. Mount Everest with a pine frame from maybe fifty miles away? Here it is with mild zoom and no effects looking due north. Today the yaks seemed to have off but we saw plenty of mules and more sherpas carrying wood, I'm thinking their cold season is lasting longer than they had planned for. Eventually we came off the hill and hit the park gate, I snapped a picture of the trekker's totals board and it's ever increasing numbers, over 30,000 in 2008! Crazy, glad I'm getting up here before it turns into 60,000. A few more miles and we stopped for lunch, it took forever, over an hour and we were more tired when we walked out of there than ready for our last stage. At the top of one of the last hills we pumped some water since that was long gone and around 6:15pm (ten hours after we had started) we stumbled into Lukla and found the North Face Resort, an establishment recommended by our previous nights host. It was a nice place and we got a suite, some filling grub AND we got to DJ our dinner, it was a nice landing to what we knew would be a crazy morning takeoff.
5:30am Day 11, time for a makeshift breakfast burrito and an early flight, we were at the airport by 6:00 for our 7am flight. Security was as lax as ever, I actually had a switchblade in my carry-on, but whatever, I just wanted off this mountainside as safely as possible ;) Two planes came in from another airline before our green Yeti twin prop Otter strolled onto the tarmack... Yes! We loaded up and coasted off the cliff into the southern valleys of the Himalaya, 45 minutes later we were in Katmandu airport looking for a cab to take us back to Thamel, the Potala Guest House and our beds for some rest & refueling. We were back in Kathmandu two days earlier than scheduled and by my calculations some celebrations (as well as getting some laundry done) were in order... Rumdoodle here we come!