[Polandspring88]

So many of you may remember this thread...

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/f2/career-suicide-great-idea-248570/

Here is the story, you'll have to forgive me for the length. This is going to take many, many posts.

 

[Polandspring88]

I got the call on a Friday afternoon as I was coming out of the post office. "Hi Tim, this is Jeremy Farkis from REI. I wanted to let you know that you were selected as a contest winner. You are going to Mount Everest Base Camp."

Re-wind to the prior Sunday. My girlfriend Ashley and I had just returned from celebrating my sisters birthday at my parents house. We sat down to relax and were both busy surfing the internet when she alerted me to a contest that REI was hosting that ended that night at 9pm. The grand prize was an all expenses paid trip for 6 people to Mount Everest Base Camp or a trip for 6 to Macchu Pichu. We fantasized over how cool it would be to visit each with her wanting to go to Macchu Pichu and me wanting to go to Base Camp. Of course, given that someone else was paying for it I had no problems going to Macchu Pichu either. I almost dismissed the contest, after all, I wasn't convinced that anyone actually won those things. Even if they did, lady luck has never run in my favor. In 25 years worth of raffles and contests all I managed to win was an iPod shuffle at a holiday party at work. That I had to pay taxes on.

After a little bit of prodding I decided to go ahead and enter. It couldn't hurt. I submitted the following picture with the title "Between a Rock and a Summit Place".

As to why I should be chosen as one of the folks to go, I wrote a 100 word paragraph about how as children we are told to dream, that we can do whatever we want. When we become adults we abandon those dreams in favor of responsibility. I was not quite ready to abandon my dreams.

Whatever I said must have struck a chord with the judges. I walked around for the rest of that Friday afternoon in a daze, still wondering if it was actually happening to me. My insides were churning as I had a mixed bag of emotions, part of me was ecstatic about the possibilities while the other part was apprehensive. Could I get the time off from work? Could I actually make it to Base Camp? Having never undertaken an adventure of this magnitude I was completely in the dark as to how I would respond.

The clock had started. There was a 3.5 week countdown from when I got the call until the day we were supposed to leave. Between now and then stood a flurry of paperwork, a doctor's appointment, shopping for a bundle of new equipment, and whatever training I could fit in. I also needed to have the all important sit down with my boss to clear taking off 3 weeks from work. I breathed a huge sigh of relief that Monday as he agreed, reluctantly. I started calling around trying to get a doctor's appointment as I do not currently have a designated PCP. After several phone calls I finally found a travel clinic who would take me the following Monday. Confident that I was well on my way with the paperwork side of things, I started focusing my attention on the equipment aspect.

I printed out the packing checklist. I read it through once, then read it through a second time checking off the things that I had. I read it through a third time doing a double take at how much stuff I was going to need. And then the buying began. Hiking boots? check. Backpacks/Duffel bag/compression sacks/ditty sacks? Check. Sleeping bag? Check. Rain gear, long underwear, pants, shirts, hats, gloves, Buff? Check. Memory cards for the camera? Check. By the time I was done I had amassed a small arsenal of outdoor gear. A big thanks to the folks at REI, EMS, and Eddie Bauer for putting up with me as I purchased and returned items. It seemed like I was in one of those stores every other day hunting for the latest and greatest. When all was said and done, I had the following laid out in the dining room.

REI suggests that for this trip, participants begin training several months ahead of time. The fitness regime recommends hiking up to 10 hours per day, doing hills with a loaded pack, and running to build up some stamina. That was all well and good, except that I had three weeks, not several months. I was determined to do what I could however and that next Saturday I donned my cold weather running gear and hit the road. That's where the problem began.

I noticed a twinge in my hip flexor as I took off. Thinking nothing of it I figured it was probably just the cold and that I could push through it. Boy was I wrong. After a mile I was unable to continue running, it hurt too much to continue. I walked the next two and returned to the house slightly dejected, victim of a seemingly insignificant injury sustained during a January mountaineering trip. I spoke to someone far more wise than I when it comes to making good decisions (my girlfriend) who recommended that I sit out the next few weeks to give it time to recover. Despite my best efforts to protest that it would be okay if I just gave it a little work now and then, I was relegated to the sidelines. So much for being prepared physically.

The trip came creeping up before I knew it. Suddenly there were more X's than blanks on the calendar and it was the day before I was going to leave. I packed up all of my gear and set it by the door, mind racing as to what I had forgotten. That part was inevitable, I don't think I have ever gone on a trip without forgetting at least one thing. It was a somber atmosphere that night, I was excited to be off but it had finally sunk in that I was going to be away from home for the next three weeks. They were dropping me half way around the world, in the middle of arguably the most famous mountain range on the planet, and telling me to do nothing but trek and soak in the sights.

I said my goodbyes that next morning, threw all of my gear in the car, and went to work. I took a half day and skipped out around noon to get to the airport. I was lucky enough to have my Mom and Dad drop me off after a lunch at the all you can eat sushi buffet (Oh how I would reminisce about that meal in the next few weeks). I checked my bag at the ticket counter and crossed my fingers as the counter worked told me that yes, my bag would manage to make it from Boston to Dulles, on Delta airlines, then from Dulles to Doha, Qatar, on Qatar airways, then from Doha to Kathmandu, Nepal, on Qatar airways. Yea...I was skeptical too.

I breezed through security and my trip had officially began. It was a fairly uneventful flight over. It was two days of long flights, longer layovers, and sitting around in airports. I kept my eye out for other folks along the way and collected my soon to be roommate Tim in Dulles. I was thankful for that as I had a buddy to pass the time during our 11 hour layover in Doha. We relaxed at the Oryx lounge, feasting on the little snacks and taking advantage of the all you can drink mini-bars. It was only after we had left and were hanging out around the gate that we picked up the remaining guy, Nicky. To be honest, he picked us up. I'm pretty sure he was sitting back checking us out for a little bit before revealing himself. Now that the three guys were all there, we wondered if we would run into the three women as well. As chance would have it, they were all on the same flight as well and we met as we were boarding the airplane (somehow all three girls had managed to find one another as well). 4 hours and 2,000 miles later and we touched down in the capital city of Kathmandu. I stepped off the plane and could tell immediately, this was NOTHING like home. After a brief trip through customs which, thanks to a friendly soul on the ride over (Thanks Nora!), was fairly painless, we stepped outside into the mayhem. We wandered around as a group for a little bit and finally managed to find the guy holding a little cardboard sign with "REI" on it. We loaded up the van with our gear and departed for the hotel.

I'm not sure any of us were completely prepared for it. Driving in Kathmandu is insane. Absolutely insane. If there are rules to the road I'm not sure anyone pays attention to them. I must have slammed on the imaginary breaks 100 times on the way to hotel as we weaved around motorcycles, cut into oncoming traffic, came within inches of cars loaded with 15 people, and played Frogger with pedestrians. It was only later that I learned the Nepali's subscribe to the believe that everyone should go with the flow when it comes to driving. It was an odd scene to see so many people getting cut off or swerved around with no curse words being lofted at the offending driver or middle fingers being thrown around. This was offset however by their copious use of the horn. It sounded like a grand symphony orchestra. Seriously. With their driving and horn usage these guys make NYC taxi drivers seem comatose.

Given that a large percentage of the population cannot afford, nor have a place to park, a car, there was a horde of motorcycles buzzing around at any given time. I saw businessmen in full suits come charging by, families of three riding along, it never failed to surprise me to see what combination of people would be on each and every bike. I spent the whole trip staring out the windows in awe, snapping only this picture to illustrate the circus.

When we finally arrived at the hotel I stumbled out of the van fighting motion sickness. I looked up and saw our accommodations for the next two evenings, Hotel Marshangdi.

We were staying in the Thamel section of Kathmandu and our hotel was like a little paradise off of the street. I was impressed to see marble floors, an outside restaurant and garden, and seemingly luxurious rooms. The rest of the afternoon was ours to wander the maze of streets in Thamel, dodging traffic and dismissing the shopkeepers who were aggressively fighting for our tourist dollars. Everywhere we went was something funny or unique. Take this for instance.

 

[Polandspring88]

It was their version of a telephone pole, strung with so many wires it looked like a spider's web, only far less planned. After seeing the electrical grid it is no wonder that there are power outages every day. It is a wonder however that the place doesn't burn to the ground. I did see a few stores that I recognized however as a nice reminder that no matter where you go, there will always be a Walmart. No dice on the Home Depot or Dunkin Donuts however.

The street vendors had all kinds of trinkets, jewelry, prayer wheels, masks, scarves, knock off TNF, Mountain Hardware, Marmot, and Mammut clothing for sale. Prices were incredibly cheap compared to what you would expect, and no matter where you went there was the expectation that you would bargain with them. That in itself was an adventure, those Nepali are hard bargainers.

That evening we went to dinner at the famous Rum Doodle. The restaurant is absolutely covered in the yeti feet you can see pictured below. It is a tradition for expeditions heading to the mountains to catalogue their journey on a yeti foot that then gets hung up as a reminder that they were there. We didn't have enough time to go through even a fraction, but I'm told there are a lot of famous names up there.

Dinner was absolutely delicious and we had the restaurant all to ourselves. I had the pleasure of ordering a chicken skewer with bok choy, curried vegetables, and a mountain of white rice. A cold beer to wash it down and I was a happy man.

Much to our dismay, we stepped out of the restaurant to find it raining pretty heavily. With no idea of where we were going and nighttime to confound the matters, we set out in search of the hotel. We finally found it, a good half hour later, after stopping to ask for directions several times. By that point I was soaked, stuffed, and exhausted after being awake for the past 21 hours or so. We all retired to our rooms and passed out. I, of course, fell asleep in 30 seconds, launching an impromptu competition between me and Tim for the rest of the trip to see who could fall asleep faster.

 

[jdcamb]

How was the Hash?

 

[jonKranked]

'bout effin time!

 

[ICEBALL585]

A Wal-mart with no freaky looking people? Never thought I'd see the day...

 

[Polandspring88]

Thursday March 16, 2012

I woke to the sounds of dogs barking. I would later learn that few people in the city own dogs despite their very visible presence. Rather, they are "community" dogs that spend most of their days sprawled out in public places sleeping.*Like clockwork, they would*roam the streets at meal time collecting whatever scraps the people would toss their way. The downside to this is that they are free to bark as they please, regardless of the time of day, and bark they did.

I had heard rumors of a rooftop deck on our hotel where you would watch the sunrise over the city. Tim, Nicky and I all ventured up and were in awe of what lay before us. It was hard to get a good glimpse of*Kathmandu from the airplane but up on the roof the magnitude of the city was before us. Unfortunately, it was also a good platform to see the polution that has descended upon the city in the past 15 years. As the epicenter of the country's economy and one of the only places to offer higher education, a great migration has taken place over this time period. A large number of Nepalis have come from the mountains and villages to Kathmandu with the hopes of providing education for their children. As a result, the crowding and congestion have taken their toll. The pollution is rampant and is clearly visible in both the air and the waterways.

Despite the haze, the three of us stayed up there*as the sun*broke the horizen and*marveled at what a unique and wonderful city this is. Nicky was kind enough to take a picture of me with Kathmandu stretching out behind me (Author's note: Observe how clean I am, it only goes downhill from here).

Turning around I captured another snapshot of the city. The mountains that contain the Kathmandu valley are visible in the background.

Today was designated as a sightseeing day and after a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, and mango juice, we were coralled into a van where we met our tourguide for the day. The first stop was the famous Buddha Stupa. Our tour guide explained that the stupas all start as minature versions of the final product. They are continually added to over time to form a large, completely solid scaled up version. As such, they are some of the only structures in the city to escape the wrath of the earthquakes that sometimes*devastate Nepal.

The unique thing about the stupa is that it is covered with hundreds of prayer wheels where the Buddhists come to worship in the morning. Each of the prayer wheels is covered with symbols and contained within the prayer wheel itself are scrolls with additional prayers written on them. In an attempt to gain an understanding for their religion, we each took a turn spinning the prayer wheels and making a clockwise loop around the stupa. There are literally hundreds of prayer wheels on multiple levels. It*was an incredible sight and a vastly different spectacle than any I had ever witnessed.

Adorning the stupa were thousands of prayer flags. Nepal is famous for their prayer flags and they are visible where ever you go.

It is hard to appreciate the finer points of the prayer flags until you get closer and see that they are all written on. They serve as memorials for friends and loved ones who have passed on.

The area surrounding the stupa was filled with pigeons. They actually had a roped off section where people could purchase corn and hand feed it to the birds. I saw a small child actually go and grab a bird from the pack. At some point they all burst into flight and I managed to capture this of them all in flight.

Our next stop was the Boudha Stupa Thank Center which was located directly adjacent to the stupa. The Thanka Center is a school specializing in the thanka style of painting. The painters in this school were master painters. It takes 5 - 7 years of studying under a master painter doing reproductions before they are graduate to a master painter.*

Their work was absolutely incredible. The process includes making their own canvas, fabricating their own paints, and then spending between 1 and 1.5 months, 8 hours a day, creating these paintings. Every detail is hand painted, it is impossible to tell from the pictures the level of intricacy in these paintings. I purchased one similar to the following.

Here is one of the ladies at work. The studio was lit by the sun streaming through the windows in the front and the painters were sitting on pillows in front of the canvas. Despite all of us milling about and looking over their shoulders, their concentration was never broken. Rarely do you get a chance to witness work this beautiful.

 

[jonKranked]

POST FASTER!!!!!11

 

[Polandspring88]

Following the Boudha Stupa was went to the ancient Patan Durbar Square. This is one of three ancient squares in the city. It is a designated UNESCO world heritage sight and rightfully so. The area is a collection of temples in both the Hindu and Buddhist style. All of the buildings are many centuries old and a testament to the incredible craftsmanship of the Nepalis. The majority are inlaid with hard carved wood. It was a real hoot to see that some of the temples had pillars carved with the 24 positions of Kama Sutra. They were...very well done I must say, some of those positions are damned near impossible to get into.

We stopped for lunch at Cafe du Temple which overlooked the square. I had a traditional Nepali dish of curried chicken with lentils and white rice. The food was absolutely delicious and the view was certainly nothing to complain about.

After the Durbar Square we visited the Tibetan refugee carpet center. The place is filled with women who have come from Tibet to take refuge in Nepal and support themselves by weaving carpets.*

Much like the thanka painting center, they are all created from natural and hand made materials. There were four sections to the center, one for weaving the baskets of yak and sheep wool into yarn, one with massive looms for weaving, a store where they sold all varieties and sizes of carpet, and a gift shop with scarves. Here is one of the women hard at work spinning yarn. It was a treat to watch them spin, they were nothing but smiles and laughs.*

Heading over to the weaving center we found more women weaving carpets in a variety of sizes and qualities.

An example of one of the carpets for sale. You take for granted the amount of work that goes into a carpet like this when purchasing it from the store, but it was eye opening to see it coming to fruition in front of you. I have no idea how long these took to weave, but considering the time and effort that went into them they were a steal. I would have loved to purchase one but had neither the funds nor the time to find a place to ship it back.

Following the refugee center we visited the Monkey temple. As you can see, it was aptly named for the hundreds of monkeys that freely roam the grounds. They were very aggressive and we were warned not to look them in the eye or let them see you with food. They will fight you for food.

The Monkey Temple was similar to the Boudha stupa, so I didn't take too many pictures of that. I did happen to catch a couple of the local construction workers restoring one of the buildings that had collapsed. We were told that often times during the offseason the Sherpa porters and guides are forced to take jobs in construction to make ends meet. Construction is a dangerous occupation in Nepal, the scaffolding is all made of bamboo and their construction is downright scary. As raw materials are hard to come by, they are very good with recycling.

 

[Polandspring88]

The following was a cemetery. A collection of mini stupas that were tombstones for wealthy or influential individuals.

Like all of the other tourist oriented locations, there were a ton of stores all peddling the same kind of stuff. I was fascinated by the masks, they were incredibly sinister looking and so vibrantly painted. I wandered into a dark store front and after making my way to the back found a wall of masks staring back at me. Super creepy but ultra cool at the same time.

Our tour guide actually told us a couple of funny stories along the way. Since he was born and raised out in the farmlands, coming to Kathmandu was a shock. Given the trains of yaks and donkeys frequenting the foot paths in the mountains, they assumed that cars and buses were just different kinds of animals. A lot of the people coming from the farms would offer hay and grass to the cars and were confused when they learned that they did not have mouths and ran on gasoline instead.

He also shared that when they saw airplanes flying overhead they had no idea how people could fit inside them and always assumed that they were just tied to the wings.*

After the Monkey Temple we were done for the evening and headed back to the hotel to grab some dinner and meet with our head guide for the pre-trek meeting. They told us what to expect and and how to pack for the following morning as we were departing the hotel at 5am. We called it an early night, grabbed dinner at the hotel and got ready for the following morning. I took my last shower for the next 16 days and was out battled by Tim in the sleeping contest.

And that's it for the evening folks. I'll do a bit more writing tomorrow night.

 

[jonKranked]

Following the refugee center we visited the Monkey temple. As you can see, it was aptly named for the hundreds of monkeys that freely roam the grounds. They were very aggressive and we were warned not to look them in the eye or let them see you with food. They will fight you for food.

sounds like ridemonkey

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Liking this thread a lot. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[jonKranked]

sl;wr


super long; will read

 

[sstalder5]

Wow.. This thread makes my NZ adventure thread look like a Bightr thread! You're a great writer. Your style is very similar to Bear Grylls (which is surprisingly a good thing). Sounds like an amazing adventure too. Makes me wish I wasn't back in the US right now.

I will definitely continue reading. It's like a RM novel!

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Dude, I hate you!
Awesome looking trip.
And I really do hate you. That trip has been on my bucket list for a very, very long time.

 

[DaveW]

Ahh that brings back some memories.
Thamel new years eve 1995. Best New Years ever!
That was my last trip up there.... Rode mountain bike from Teplejung near the base of mt kanchenjunga down the Singalila ridge thru to Dargeeling down to India then back up to Katmandu and spent another week riding the rim of the katmandu valley. I think from memory that trip was like circa 1,200km of riding?

Your wrong about the pollution though, been up there a few times and it was polluted as f*ck way longer than 15 years ago!
Korea land of the morning calm
Nepal land of the morning pollution..... if you can get out to see Ngarot, very very cool.

 

[Polandspring88]

Your wrong about the pollution though, been up there a few times and it was polluted as f*ck way longer than 15 years ago!

Nepal land of the morning pollution..... if you can get out to see Ngarot, very very cool.

I figured it had been longer than 15 years based on the amount I saw, but quoted what the tour guide told us. Then again, his version of pollution could be vastly different than mine.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Awesome read. Looks like you had a great time.

 

[UNHrider]

killer so far, please keep updating

 

[mattmatt86]

It's threads like this that make me love the

 

[Damo]

So awesome!
Well done good sir.

 

[I Are Baboon]

COOL. Looking forward to more posts in this thread....

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

COOL. Looking forward to more posts in this thread....

Even mine?

 

[insanitylevel9]

dude this looks like it was a epic trip, please post the rest of the story tonight. im genuinely interested in reading the rest of it..... legit i actually couldn't look away reading this!!!!!

P.S. glad you decided to do it!

 

[Kevin]

Simply awesome

 

[jonKranked]

epic thread is epic

 

[Polandspring88]

Saturday March 17, 2012

I couldn't sleep that night. My mind was racing and the chorus of dogs barking meant that I watched the time on my wrist watch crawl by. 1am, 2am, 3am, until I had to get up. We were supposed to get a wake up call at 4am anyway. Luckily both Tim and I were on the same page, too amped up with anticipation to get much sleep in. We got ready and made our way down to the lobby, though oddly, during the 30 minutes we were in our room still never got a wake up call. We found Nicky in the lobby pacing back and forth. The hotel staff were in a dead sleep on the couches in the lobby and wake up calls were the last thing on their minds. After attempting to rouse them, Nicky ended up grabbing the wake up call list and giving everyone a ring. I'm sure it was a shock on their end to hear a, "Wake up y'all!" Turns out everyone in our group was up regardless of the wake up call and after a quick breakfast, we loaded into the van for the shuttle to the airport.

Given that it was the beginning of trekking season, the crowd at the airport was substantially less than it would be a month from now. Even still, it was pretty hectic. We passed through the security checkpoint with little scrutiny and hung out for a half hour or 45 minutes waiting for an airplane. We finally got the call and hopped on a bus to be shuttled out to the airplane. It was a relic. A twin prop, 18 passenger Twin Otter that looked like it was going to disintegrate mid-flight. Too late to back out now. Off we went to Lukla!

A little bit of background on Lukla airport. When I first told my Dad I was going through there he mentioned that he had seen a piece on it on a show about the world's most dangerous airports. I heard this several times from people before I left and it wasn't until we nosed down for landing that I realized why. The airport is cut right into the side of a mountain. Given that the runway slopes up significantly, ends in a stone wall, and begins at the edge of a precipice, there was little margin for error. Apparently there are videos on YouTube of planes misjudging the landing and plowing into the side of the mountain. Not this time however. The pilots made a pretty smooth landing and after romping on the brakes we came to a rest and deboarded.

The view was stunning.

The moment we had all been waiting for had finally arrived. We were at the beginning of the trek and were launching into the relative unknown for the next two weeks.

Here is a group photo, from left to right: Deborah, Nicky, Tim, Me, Ellen, and Jane. Also picture is the videographer Paul, laughing as he attempted to weave his Buff into a skull cap.

We were transferred to a local lodge to repack our bags and make any last minute preparations before embarking for Phakding where we would be spending the night. I spent most of the time outside watching planes land and soaking in the sights. It was very amusing to watch the planes landing and taking off, they were in and out probably every 10 minutes or so with helicopters mixed in.

It was also the first time I had the opportunity to witness the incredible loads that these people carry on their backs. Given that they have no construction equipment and all of the buildings are constructed from stone, these rocks have to be chiseled into usable shapes and then lugged to their final destination. These guys were going back and forth up this moderately steep hill lugging rocks that must have weighed 100 pounds.

Before leaving for Nepal I was warned by the travel doctor to be careful around the animals as they are not vaccinated for rabies which, coincidentally, neither was I. Still, the lodge had two dogs that were too adorable to resist and they deserved a good scratching before we headed out.

As we started up the path we had our first of many traffic jams with the zokyos. They are more or less a cross between a cow and a yak and given that they still have their horns, I was more than happy to scoot to the side so they could pass. The Sherpas explained to us that we used zokyos as opposed to yaks because they can tolerate the lower elevations and higher temperatures better than the yaks can. The yaks typically do not like to go below 13,000 feet and will do their best to run up to higher ground if they are brought too far below that mark. We followed the baggage train through the town of Lukla which I must say, was quite nice.

 

[Polandspring88]

We passed by several pubs along the way and even a Starbucks oddly enough. The trail passed underneath a large arch welcoming us and wishing us a safe trek before descending steeply out into the country. The path meandered through the country, rolling up and down with the terrain and passing through small villages along the way. We faced zokyo traffic in both directions and had to move aside several times to let them pass.

Aside the trail in several locations were heaps of these carved stones.

It was typical to run upon these mounds while walking through each of the villages as they served as a cemetery for the dead. Each village has a location stone mason and when someone passes on the family and friends chip in to purchase them a memorial which gets added to the memorial.

To facilitate easier access in the region the Sherpas had constructed suspension bridges to span the numerous river and gorge crossings. The first notable one spanned a chasm formed by snow runoff from the mountains towering over us. It was surprisingly long yet surprisingly stable as well. Walking was awkward at first as the bridge swayed beneath the feet of the pedestrians and zokyos alike. It only got uncomfortable trying to pass someone because the bridge was not wide enough to pass by without squeezing against each other.

In addition to the carved stones, the Sherpas also paint symbols and prayers on the boulders. Consistent with Sherpa tradition, we too passed by on the left of the carved rocks, painted rocks, and flag poles as a measure of good luck.

We trekked well into the afternoon and around 3pm the clouds rolled in and enveloped the valley in a thick fog, limiting visibility. This was actually pretty neat as many nights we would fall asleep with no idea of what marvelous landscapes awaited us in the morning. Like clockwork the fog would descend every afternoon and this one was no different. By the time we reached Phakding I was pretty spent. It had been a long day and the trek was more arduous than I would have expected due to the elevation (~8,500’ at this point). The Sherpa crew had run ahead in front of us and kindly pitched our tents and put our duffels in them. That established our evening routine of getting to the campsite, washing up in the hot bowl of water provided, and settling down to some tea and cookies before dinner.

 

[binary visions]

Please sir, I want some more.

 

[insanitylevel9]

moar moar moar

 

[insanitylevel9]

Moar!!!

 

[Polandspring88]

Sunday March 18, 2012

I woke up the next morning around 6:30 in the morning to find the Sherpas knocking on the tent flap and asking if I would like some tea. Why yes, yes I would. This was proceeded by another bowl of warm water for washing up and would become our morning ritual.

After shuffling out of the tent and stretching my legs, I wandered around a bit marveling at the scene the departing clouds had left us. I got to watch the sun as it crept over the top of the mountains enveloping us and begin to bask the valley in warmth. Being that we were at the bottom, we didn’t get to feel its rejuvenating effects until mid-morning when it was high in the sky.

It was slightly chilly that morning though not uncomfortably so. Although I started off donning my insulated jacket I soon put it away, a long sleeve shirt was all that would be required today. We packed up our belongings and after a hearty breakfast, hit the trail on the way to Namche Bazaar.

The butterflies had yet to settle down and I was still looking around every corner, eager with anticipation to see the fabled peaks of stories. I knew from some background research that given a clear day and the right conditions, we would be able to see the tip of Everest peeking over the mountains in front of us at some point. Off we went. The day’s itinerary called for 4.5 miles of hiking with 2,700’ of elevation gain.

We wove our way amongst the pine forests, up and down the rolling terrain us New Englanders are used to. There were plenty of sights to see along the way as the clouds burned off and the valley unveiled itself for us. Along the way we passed through small villages; almost every building advertised itself as a lodge and had a storefront that without fail would feature the following: Snickers, Mars bars, Coke, Fanta, and San Miguel beer. It was only later that I came to appreciate this.

At one point during my trip I got a request from my mother to see what I could do to track down some traditional Sherpa clothing. Having been trekking for a while and seeing what the Sherpa’s wore, I had to chuckle to myself over that request. Here is a perfect example.

Much like the folks back in Kathmandu, they were primarily clad in TNF, Mountain Hardware, Mammut and Marmot. This little girl was absolutely adorable in her fleece jacket holding a Citizen calculator.

Of course, there is only so long that one can defy the calls of nature. When that time came, and passed, and then reared its ugly head, I was forced to pull aside to what the Sherpas jokingly referred to as the “Happy Room”. The traditional Sherpa toilet was…interesting. In this case, it was a rickety wooden shack off on the side of the trail.

If one were to venture into the Happy Room, they would find a toilet much like this in front of them.

This one was a real treat by comparison. Not only did you get a couple buckets of water to wash down any remnants, there was also a scrubbing brush AND a bin for the used TP. See, they bury the TP the majority of the time as it doesn’t degrade as fast as required. They burn it instead. It is times like these that I thank God I have a penis. The poor girls on the trip, they quickly adapted to squatting behind boulders.

 

[Polandspring88]

The views along the way were breathtaking. We followed the Milk River as it meandered its way down from the hills and whenever there was a break in the trees, we were treated to vistas like this.

Or this.

Talk about mountain views. Along the way I witnessed more feats of architectural wonder. The majority of the buildings were built out of hunks of rock with no mortar holding them together. In some of the larger cities along the way I would witness the stone masons hard at work, but at one of the small villages we passed through I witnessed these guys working as part of a 4 man crew.

We all joked that OSHA would pitch a sh!t fit if they saw that guy down below with no protective equipment. After several hours of trekking we reached the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park. Sagarmatha is home to the majority of the Nepali Himalayan mountain range and the real beginning to the trek. There was a graphic in the welcome center that revealed how popular the trail had become. The number of trekkers making the journey exploded from 20 in the 60’s to over 30,000 in recent years. Top 3 visiting countries were the UK, Germany, and the US, in that order. They also had a scale model of the Everest region in the visitor center and we marveled at how far we had come, and how much further we had to go.

Still fresh! It’s hard not to smile when your mind has been absolved of all work related responsibilities and your only job for the next several weeks is to enjoy the time with newfound friends and love life.

A short while and several suspension bridges later we stopped for lunch. A typical lunch went something like this. A bowl of soup to start with, typically garlic (supposed to help with elevation) followed by a plate piled with veggies, potatoes, and in this case, a sardine and cheese sandwich.

Following lunch we found ourselves wandering the banks of the Milk River once again. It was only a short while later that we would deviate from its rock strewn river bed to climb high into the hills.

The Sherpa guides had been telling us that we were approaching the “Hillary bridge”, named after the great Edmund Hillary. He is revered in the Everest region having not only been the first to climb Everest, but the first to provide the means for development in the region. We came around a bend to find it dangling precariously between two sections of mountain. Over the centuries, the river had eaten its way through the hillside and never was it more apparent than in this section. We stopped for pictures and you can see scale of what we were about to traverse.

The guides estimated it was ~200’ up and pointed up to the white rock above the landing on the left. Due to erosion the current section of trail is supposed to be closed and the new bridge will span from the mountain on the right over to the white rock on the left, probably putting the bridge a good 350’ above the river.

It was at this lookout that I had the pleasure of running into a Japanese man who spoke no English but motioned to me that he wanted to take a picture. Apparently he didn’t want me to take the picture as he put his arm through mine, and Nicky’s, and posed with us while one of his friends took a picture of the three of us. It was supremely random and I have now have the pleasure of saying that my smiling mug is probably displayed in a photo book on a coffee table somewhere in Japan.

As we climbed to the bridge entrance we got a better look at the adjoining river and its accompanying gorge.

 

[insanitylevel9]

no please post moar!!!! i have a in school suspension and all i get to do all day is sit in a room on my lap top.

 

[Echo]

Stickied.

 

[jonKranked]

Stickied.

a wise decision!

also, hi John!s

 

[Pesqueeb]

no please post moar!!!! i have a in school suspension and all i get to do all day is sit in a room on my lap top.

Well, who's fault is that?

 

[Pesqueeb]

no please post moar!!!! i have a in school suspension and all i get to do all day is sit in a room on my lap top.

Well, who's fault is that?

 

[jonKranked]

Well, who's fault is that?

nubby refused to take off his hat

 

[Polandspring88]

Simply beautiful. After filming a couple of shots for the promotional video (REI didn't send us over here for nothing), we began the 1,800' climb to Namche. If any of you ever decide to do this trek, bring a Buff. I repeat, bring a Buff. It spent the majority of the time around my neck or shielding my head, but the ascent was super dusty and had I not pulled it up over my mouth I probably would have come down with a serious case of Khumbu cough.

It seemed like we churned upward for hours, winding our way up the hill through switchback after switchback. We huffed, and we puffed, and we got passed by Sherpas in sandals carrying over a hundred pounds on their backs. We even got passed by young children on their way home from school. Convincingly too, it was quite humbling.

As the early afternoon transitioned into late afternoon the clouds rolled through the valley and eventually overtook us.

Looking across the valley we could see the remnants of ice sheets still clinging to the sides of the mountain. In winter they are quite popular for ice climbers and offer a great training ground for those looking to practice their skills in preparation for the larger peaks.

Rounding a bend we saw Namche stretched out before, seemingly precariously placed on a network of terraces carved into the hillside. Nowhere was it more apparent the skill the Sherpa have in working with stone, their retaining walls are works of art. The village roofs were a myriad of colors and made for quite the sight.

Namche is the economic hotspot along the Everest trek. There are a slew of lodges and internet cafes to cater to the trekkers. We even spotted an Irish pub and a German bakery that tempted me with donuts, pastries, and all kinds of confectionary delights. I begrudgingly resisted knowing that consumption of the local food would more than likely result in a serious bought of intestinal distress.

Once the adrenalin from the trek wore off the altitude began to kick in. Having never been at 11,300' before, even walking up a flight of stairs left me gasping for breath. Despite the weariness I took the time to wander through the village and marvel at what it had to offer. The stores were packed with exquisite wood carvings, all kind of jewelry, and piles of counterfeit clothing. I was amused to see that there is a legitimate Mountain Hardware store up here.

I went into an internet cafe to fire off a quick email to my folks and girlfriend to let them know I was still alive and headed back to the lodge for dinner. Once again the kitchen staff served up a delicious meal and I went to sleep stuffed and content.