Time goes to fast

      It has been sometime since I stood at Basecamp on Christmas.  I had a chance to look back these past couple of weeks at some of the photos I took and read my notes from my trip as I put together my photo album book thru Snapfish. I found that I really missed all the things I did on this grand adventure and the friends that are still in Nepal! The Everest climbing season is well under way and it is cool to read about the Everest climbers taking the same trail I took before they start the task of climming Everest!  I hope you enjoy these photos? The last three are for my friends in Nepal who at this moment are on the way back up to basecamp again. Enjoy the trip and thank you again!

The Yak did it!

Did you know that the main sorce to burn in the mountains of Nepal is Yak Dung?



   

As the cold weather has hit us here in the East coast this photo came to mind!  As we hiked up higher and higher wood for burning became a real problem since there was little to be seen. Heat was a real need as we moved up the mountain. Well that's one reason they have Yak's in Nepal. Every place we passed we could see piles of Yak dung sitting in the sunshine drying. They then take the dung and store it in a shed like the one I'm standing in. It is a strange source to burn but it really did a nice job to heat the commons room at night and in the morning. It gets kind of smoky in the room but there is no smell. With the thin air and the Dung smoke your lungs struggle to get  the air you need sometime. Guess it is better the no heat!

Home again



Well it was a wild ride and now I have returned home. Just about to finish my first week back to work and I am still having trouble with the time and elevation changes from the trip. I was very happy to see Betsy and Katie at the airport to pick me up.

I spent most of this week showing the students here at school all the things and photos I brought back from my trip. I have found it really hard to explain just what life was like on the trail as well as in the city of Kathmandu! The first question everybody asks is “Was it worth it?” Yes it was!

I think it is going to take me some time to just let it all sink in before I am back to a normal schedule here for the US… The things I saw and did on this trip will be forever remembered! I was able to make it up to base camp on Christmas and back to Kathmandu for New Years Eve with the help of helicopters and a great guide and porter.

In the next couple months I will try to share with you all the different things that I have done in Nepal and the strange stories that I have returned back with so please stay tuned….



Wow......

Today was the first time I was able to see Everest! It looked really far away. This blog comes to you from the Shangri-La guest house and Restaurant in Namche Bazar! Elevation is 3500m and it's only up from here! I did have some trouble getting out of Katmandu (3 days of flight canceled) We were lucky and Pansang hooked us up on a flight with a helicopter to Lukla! I even got to sit up front with the poilet, and he did'd let me fly it.Video to come when I can figure out how! This second day on the trail ended with a sun set over Everest at 3600m. It is something that I could not put into words.
Back to work in the morning with a 4-5 hour hike. Feet are fine and the hight has not been a problem. Let's hope this holds up. Well off to bed and thanks for following!

When the wind blows

Can not change mother nature

Today is the second day that we went off to the airport all set to go to Lukla and mother nature has given us a curve ball! All set on the first day with boarding passes in hand when the first flight comes back due to high winds! We waited about 4 hours and it did not get better. We tried again today but they didn't even give out any boarding passes and we all went home again. If it is not safe to fly into Lukla it's not worth the chance. If we don't get on a flight tomorrow then I am going to fly on a helicopter up to Lukla. I will be on the mountain and hiking on Thurday. Pasang has made some changes to our trip but I think we are still on schedule. Just a little more work then before. This is my last post from Kathmandu before the hike!
Funny thing is that I can fly halfway around the world without any problem but I am stuck trying to fly 45 min up into the mountains! Wish me luck....

In Bahrain and about to fly to Kathmandu. Not much sleep almost there!

Fist post on the road. At the airport and soon in London. Flight is over booked. Will blog soon boarding.