Pheriche 4200m (Alpine Zone)

We are above the tree lines, in a village called Pheriche. It is cold up here, it snowed as we approached the village today at about 12:30pm. The views are amazing. I am feeling pretty good (ok), I took some pain killers for the knee and am wearing a knee brace (no luxury of ice up here, but maybe I will go grab some snow ;). I am fighting a sore throat, but that is pretty common up here especially with all of the dust. I am drinking a lot of water, and peeing a lot, taking Diamox every morning and night. Previously I said we would be at base camp on 4/2, but it is actually 4/1. Tomorrow is the toughest day, we ascend to 4900m. It will be the true test, if we acclimatize well with that, then base camp shouldn't be a problem. The group has high spirits and we are enjoying each others company sitting around the stove in the tea house, sipping tea. i am eating very well (we all are), not sure if I am losing weight, doubt it. Had veggie burger and chips for lunch. Having noodle soup and chipati for dinner. Keeping this short as the internet rates at this alt are expensive. Miss you all, and I am snapping pictures. I will try to check in the next chance I get. Oh, and I have learned to use the squat toilets (ewwww). And having increased gas is a symptom of high altitude, so the group knows not to trail to close behind me.

Pangboche Village 3:15pm 4000m

We are getting there, the hike to Namche was a very hard full day. This morning was a half day to Pangboche, it is getting very difficult as we get higher with less Oxygen. I started Diamox at about 3700m, my left knee is killing me but we are trekking on. The tea houses are not bad, eating lots of rice, pasta, and potato dishes (and garlic soup). So I am never hungry. Overall we are good, really feeling it. May people suffering from colds and some alt sickness, a lot of people taking Diamox. I will keep this short, paying 20 rupees a minute. Love and miss you. We hit base camp on 4/2, tomorrow is another half day to 4300m, should be interesting. Feels like you just want to lay down and fall asleep while you are trekking. Views are amazing, taking pics. Nepalese people are great. No snow on the ground yet, weather has been good. Chance of rain in our future (nuts). Bye for a while.

Namche 10794 feet

We made it out of Kathmandu on the 3rd try (day). The flight to Lukla was not too bad (45 mins). We trekked about 3 hours the first day, spent the night at a nice tea house in Phakding. Yesterday we hiked 6 hours 700 meters (the 700 was over the 3 hours in the afternoon). Was a pretty tough hike, but I am feeling good. It is 6.30am and my fingers are frozen. Today we have a short hike of 3 hours to Khum Mung, 400 meters up. Originally this would be a rest day, but we are making up for lost time. Yesterday a couple of people had problems with altitude, they are taking Diamox. We will have the afternoon off. I am feeling great, today is a clear day, should be awesome. Love you and miss you all. May not get to post much over the next week.

F Bombs In F’in Kathmandu

Another day stuck in Kathmandu, and nobody is happy about it. Cloud cover over Lukla delayed and then cancelled flights from Kathmandu, including ours. We are learning, that this is not very uncommon. We are back at the Hotel. We are all going to meet at 6pm for dinner and a briefing. We can still make base camp, if we can get up to Lukla tomorrow. We will have to be a little more aggressive on the ascent, as long as everyone is acclimating well. We are trying to stay optimistic. There are a few contingency plans, we will discuss tonight; charter a chopper (about an additional $500+ /person, but not sure if there are guarantees about landing in Lukla, need to find out), trek Annapurna , extend the trip and change our return flights home. We will see what happens, continue to wish us luck. We are all thinking of tossing out Buddhist prayer strings.

Flight to Lukla Take 2

It is about 4am, just got up. Luckily electricity is on, and I have an internet connection. My internal clock is still getting me to sleep by 8pm, so getting up early for these flights is not too bad. We are gonna re-pack our bags and try this crazy thing again. Wish us luck.

Everest Trek Delay

Due to poor visibility, our flight from Kathmandu to Lukla was delayed, delayed, then canceled. We waited at the airport from about 6:00am to about 12:00 noon. We then loaded our bags back on the bus and headed back to the hotel. The good thing that came of it, is that the group got to know each other a little better. We all went out to lunch after we got back to the hotel and got our room assignments. Flights were canceled yesterday as well. Tomorrow we are going to try again, meeting at 6:00am for a 7:30am flight (hopefully). Wish us luck, we can make up the 1 day by coming down a bit faster (less sight seeing) than originally planned. If we lose tomorrow, I am not sure what the plan would be.

Stranded in Kathmandu Domestic Airport

Using a cybercafé at the airport. We jumped in a bus at 5:30am this morning to head to Kathmandu domestic airport to fly to Lukla to start our trek today. Yesterday a bunch of flights were canceled due to overcast weather. This time of year tends to get cloudy. We were scheduled to fly out about 6.45am it is now 10:00am. We sat on the plane for a while. The pilot nodded off (nice). Apparently this airport is tricky, drops down and then an uphill runway..in a valley type setting. You can probably Google a YouTube video of it. So wish us luck, we got Buddhist prayer string necklaces that we got at a Stupa (Buddhist Temple) yesterday, so we should be good. Our guide, Karma, is a very  positive dude (like most of he Nepalese), so he feels we will fly out today at some point. So just wanted to get this quick post out, as it will be a while before I have phone/internet again.

Religious Temples in Nepal

Nepal has a mix of religions, Hindu and Buddhism being the primary ones, from what I understand. Today the group took a bus from the Hotel to a Hindu Temple, called Pashupatinath, where there were outside Pyres along a murky and  polluted body of water, where bodies were cremated when they died. The upper part of the ‘river’ was where upper class persons would be sacrificed and down river would be more common people. There is a general stench in the air in most parts of Kathmandu I have been, but this had a notch up on the small factor with the burning bodies. Morbid indeed, there were also many monkeys swinging around on the building tops and trees. After this we went to a Buddhist temple, called Boudhanath which was much cleaner and nicer :) Many Tibetan Monks, sportin’ the Dalia Lama look, which is money. We spun  prayer wheels and heard prayer chants, pretty cool. Most of us bought Buddhist Prayer Strings that were blesses (see me getting mine here) to wish us well on the mountain. After this cultural emersion we got bussed back to the hotel area where a few of us when to do some last minute gear purchasing (luckily, I did not need to purchase anything due to our diligent and somewhat over preparation before leaving the US). We passed a very American looking eatery (Roadhouse Cafe) that blared American Rock (Alice in Chains, Audioslave..how could we not go in). Joe and I got pizzas (it was a wood fired pizza place) and our new friend (Nadira from Australia got the pasta. I of course had jalapenos on my pizza. Not bad at all, it was a nice oasis from the Nepal that was outside. I did buy a nose/face mask for 40 rupees (less than $1) that many locals sport to help with the pollution and dust. Also we will be expecting some dust action up on the mountain, so that should help.

Kathmandu Day 2

Still adjusting to time difference, slept until 2:30am then fell asleep after an hour until 5:30am. Got up early to shower (which is literally right in front of the toilet in our tiny bathroom…money, so now when the toilet seat is wet, you don’t know why ;) The hotel includes breakfast, not knowing what to expect, we were delighted with decent eggs, potatoes and even pancakes! The instant coffee was not good, but tea was solid. So we are starting the day with a good breakfast in our bellies for our cultural tour of Kathmandu Valley.

Wild Boar per favor

Joe and I lied down for a nap (still adjusting to time difference, sleep) and almost missed the 4pm meeting. So there were 9 of us trekkers (2 more are arriving late Sunday night) and it was led by Karma one of our trekking guides. Karma gave us information about the gear we needed and didn’t need. Also on medications, he said the Malaria med did not mix well with Diamox (the altitude sickness med). So Joe and I stopped our Malaria pill intake and will restart after the trek. There is not really a Malaria threat at this altitude in Nepal anyway. We are allowed to bring up 15kg in our duffel (we are using their duffels for the trek, not our own). And then we also have our day packs (35 liters). Drinking a lot of water helps acclimation, Karma recommended 3-4 liters a day. Since we have 2 1 liter Nalgene bottles, we may pick up an extra bottle today before we leave tomorrow morning. We are mostly good on gear though, a few things we didn’t need to bring (gaiters for example).

It is an interesting group of people, 2 other guys close in age to Joe and I from Alberta, Canada. Both are married and they been thinking about this trip for a while and finally did it. They were glad their wives were cool enough to let them go (like mine). Another guy/girl coupe from London, that were in between jobs and are taking 5 months to travel the world. They were in India before Nepal and heading to Thailand after this, as well as many other destinations. Another guy/girl couple from Germany (the girl is at least) that seem to travel a lot and then live somewhere for a year or two. And then a guy from Dubai, India that is in Finance that it taking this trip on his own, and a girl from Australia. The girl from Australia and the guy from the guy/girl nomad pair are actually climbing to one of the summits (Olympic I believe). So they are trekking up with us, and will part ways at some point. They need additional gear like gaiters, ice picks, crampons, etc. Overall a fun and interesting group of people.

After the briefing and receiving our duffel bags, Joe and I ventured out to change some USD to Nepal Rupees, and buy some water. When we returned to the hotel we met our group and walked to a really nice Traditional Nepal restaurant. When we were greeted at the door, we were all ‘dotted’ :)

We received many courses, first was a plate of different little appetizer type foods (including a sardine…ew..but I ate it). Then dumplings (yum), soup and then main course, which was rice and a mix of different meats and veggies. One of the meats was Wild Boar, so of course I tried that. It was pretty fatty, similar to a pork/bacon cut that you might expect. I did not love it. Overall, it was very similar to Indian cuisine/dining. We did get some Everest beer, which was definitely nice. They also served us this alcoholic drink (like a shot in a small clay dish), which was made from rice and tasted like tequila (not good tequila). After the meal and the beverages I was ready for bed. We all came back to our hotel and bid adieu, until 8:30am tomorrow morning when we head out for our cultural tour and Kathmandu Day 2!!

Arrival in Kathmandu (Day 1 of Tour) - 1330m

A person from Mountain Monarch met us at the KTM airport today after we arrived and got through the Visa process ($40) and Baggage Claim.  The airport is pretty basic, not as nice as BOM. More people wearing face masks (pollution here and India is pretty bad). It was interesting to see the large number of ‘improvised baggage’ items. Why pay money on a fancy suitcase when you can just wrap some twine around a cardboard box (or around a blanket), innovative people..these Nepalese. We then were escorted in a small white Nissan to our Hotel (Shakti). The ride was interesting, similar experience of driving through Egypt and India. Lots of dust, pollution, no good street signage and  just pure craziness. The hotel is nice and very basic. We met Pradip (who runs Mountain Monarch) at the hotel, to review the itinerary and also settle up our tab. It is now 2:30pm local time (4:45am Eastern). Apparently we have a very large group, 11 trekkers + porters and guides..adding up to about 20+  people. We will meet the group at 4pm in the hotel lobby for a full Trek Briefing (including getting our kit – sleeping bag, down jacket, etc.) and then a traditional Royal Nepali welcome dinner. So there will be more to come. I will hopefully get Wi-Fi at some point, apparently here in Nepal the electricity goes on and off at different time, since it is cycled to different parts of the city. Our room is pretty basic, will do the job for these 2 nights before we fly to Lukla to start the trek.

Hello Mumbai!

We got to Mumbai (BOM) without any problems. The flight was long, but I watched 3 movies (Men Staring at Goats, Precious, and Couples Retreat). The food on the plane was pretty good (Indian food, made in the USA). I chose vegetarian for dinner, and had eggs for breakfast (I guess that was American). It was recommended we use a ‘Prepaid Taxi’ to get from the airport to the Hyatt Regency hotel (which is very close). This just cost us 190 INR (which is like $4.40). The tax was tiny and our 2 duffel bags didn’t fit properly in the trunk so it had to be tied down with a cable, oh good times. I think Joe caught a snap of that. The driving here seems similar to Egypt, CRAZY. When we just pulled into oncoming traffic to turn around I almost sh*t. When we got to the Hyatt (which is beautiful), it was a little scary when the 4 security guards at the locked gates did a bomb scan of the taxi we were in. But we made it, and we are in this beautiful hotel, which I think will be the nicest accommodations we will see until I get back to Hoboken :) Well time for a hot shower, maybe a scotch, and then going to bed for a 5:45am departure (it is about 10:30pm local time here now). 

About to get airborne...

Lots of people trying to cram bags in the overheads. I am 35D and boy Joe is 35L, a comfortable distance..we can still sign language. The flight is mostly people from India. So here we go kids...I got my Wired magazine, Kindle, netbook (damn I should have installed vs 2010), mp3 player, crossword puzzles...lets rock. Oh good;a screaming baby...yay. Well..off to Mumbai...wish us luck...13h 50m...oy.

Whew...

We came in under 50 lbs..Joe was about a pound over me (in more ways than one...heyoooo).

The adventure begins...

Joe aint happy about the tardy taxi...but we are rollin' ladies and gents.

Packed and ready...

I am heading out at 2pm to pick up my boy Joe in Brooklyn, then heading back to the 'Boken compound so we can be whisked away by our Egyptian Taxi service to Newark Airport. This is my last blog entry from the comfort of home. They should get more exciting starting tomorrow when we land in Mumbai. I only have 3lbs to spare in my duffel before I meet the 50lb limit, so don't expect any big gifts when I return ;)

No pizzarias on Everest

Getting my fill in Hoboken

da plane, da plane…

Wow, we leave tomorrow. So a few of you have asked about the flights, well here are the deets. Today just finalizing packing, running to CVS for a few last minute toiletries perhaps a massage is in order :)

Continental (Flight CO48)   
Depart (EWR) 19-Mar-10 (Fri) 08:20p
Arrive Mumbai, IN (BOM) 20-Mar-10 (Sat) 08:40p
Flight Time 13hr 50min

Jet Airways India (Flight 9W266)
Depart Mumbai, IN (BOM) 21-Mar-10 (Sun) 08:05a
Arrive Kathmandu, NP (KTM) 21-Mar-10 (Sun) 10:55a
Flight Time 03hr 20min

Royal Nepal Airlines (Flight RA205)
Depart Kathmandu, NP (KTM) 07-Apr-10 (Wed) 09:00a
ArriveDelhi, IN (DEL) 07-Apr-10 (Wed) 11:15a
Flight Time 01hr 45min

Continental Airlines (Flight CO83)   
Depart Delhi, IN (DEL) 07-Apr-10 (Wed) 10:50p
Arrive (EWR) 08-Apr-10 (Thu) 04:25a
Flight Time 16hr 05min

I love Joe, but I hate sharing sleeping quarters with him!

Having been on many a ski trip with my boy Joe, I know he is a snoring machine. In fact everyone else in the same condo knows this as well. Since we will be sharing hotel rooms and tea house accommodations, he reminded me I may want to invest in some ear plugs. I was super impressed with CVSs selection of ear plugs. The standard soft disposables seem to be the best call, rated at 30 DB seems to be the max on most. I am sure there are even quieter ones, but these should help me catch some zzz’s.

A day of shopping in the Garden State

Today Joe and I jumped head first into a day of shopping here in NJ. Joe picked me up here in Hoboken at about 11:30am, and we started with a delicious breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. Our first stop was Sport’s Authority, Joe had taken advantage of their ‘Spend $100 get $25 Gift Card’ special and wanted to cash in. They had some North Face stuff marked down (a find), so picked up an extra pair of hiking pants and a couple of shirts, as well as 1 more pair of light hiking socks. Joe was also good enough to bring me my Passport with India Tourist Visa that he picked up for me earlier this week, as well as an AC/DC 2010 Calendar that he had gotten me for my birthday (not bringing on trip). Another good he brought over was our M-Edge Kindle covers (booya). After Sports Authority we headed to EMS but ended up stopping at Campmor on the way (score). At Campmor I picked up a Kelty Camp Pillow, that coupled with the Coolmax Sleeping Bag Liner I got there, should help ensure a good nights sleep in the tea houses along the trekking route. I also grabbed a North Face sun hat that was marked down to $19, and the most exciting and key purchase of the day…Ex Officio underwear, which is advertised as “17 Countries, 1 Pair of underwear. I went with the Men’s Give-N-Go boxer briefs. I guess these are supposed to be trail friendly and not retain order and are easy to clean/dry. I will let you know how that works out. We finally made it to EMS, I almost bought a new tech fleece, but I really didn’t need it (was a good deal), but I have been spending so much money and things are adding up. I did end up picking up a splash guard for the Nalgene water bottles, because who wants to get splashed when they are just looking for a nice cool drink? It was about 4:30pm at this point, and we had not eaten since our DD visit, so since we were driving south in Rte 17, I thought we should stop at my favorite Mexican chain restaurant in this neck of the woods… On The Border My wife, things I am too sophisticated for this place (god bless her) but I love it. This is the first place I had portabella mushroom fajitas..so good. Tonight I had the carne asada steak tacos, money. After fueling up we headed to Target in Jersey City near my home in Hoboken. The windy and rainy weather had taken its toll by this time, and the flooding in the area was pretty bad. We had to take a few detours around flooded area to eventually make our way to Target. Luckily we made it and the store was open, but not very busy (score). We made a dent at Target, picked up a box of Clif bars, sun screen, lip balm, had sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, margarita mix (not for the trip), trail mix, travel size shampoo (yes I use shampoo). Finally at 8:30pm I got home to my waiting and patient wife. It was a good day with my buddy Joe, and we are pretty much geared up for our Trek. The countdown begins, as we leave on Friday…it’s getting exciting.

Something Borrowed...

There were a few gear items, that I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow from friends for the trip. The type of items, that I would probably only use once. Gaiters, head lamp, and water bottles (I have a few water bottles, but needed some Nalgene 1 liter bottles). Today Joe and I went to Travisa Outsourcing to get our Tourist Visas for India. This is a private organization that the India Consulate outsources to for Visa processing. It was a quick and simple process, and we will be picking up the Visas tomorrow. From what I understand it was quite a hellish experience when people had to deal directly with the Consulate. So there are just a few minor gear items for us to get, which we will tackle this weekend. I cannot believe we leave next Friday, the excitement is starting to build. I am reading more on other people's travel blogs about this trip. One of the things we are really curious about, is what the tea houses will be like.

Visas and Passports..oh my!

Our layovers in India are about 10 hours in each direction. On the way there we are stopping in Mumbai and Delhi on the way back. As you know we are staying at the Hyatt in Mumbai (see Confusion in Mumbai) On the way back Joe has set us up with extravagant accommodations at the YMCA near downtown Delhi. Since we will be leaving the airport and touring around a bit in Delhi, we are getting Visas for India. We are just getting the Tourist Visa (as opposed to a Transit Visa), since it is more flexible and just an extra $20. We filled out the application online, and have an appointment at 11:00am on Tuesday March 9th at the office at 316 53rd Street. Pradip told us it is easier to get the Nepal visa, when we arrive there. This is what I did when I was in Egypt, the travel company handled it all.

Gear Talk

Today two new pieces of gear arrived, my North Face XL Base Camp Duffel Bag and the Julba Sherpa glacier glasses.

I went with the yellow/black color scheme. Easy to spot on a luggage belt or on the mountain. And it says “Hey everybody, I am here!!”.

The glacier glasses have the leather covers on the sides to protect your eyes from glare off of the snow/ice in the mountains. They look pretty sick too, I scared my wife last night while wearing these and my pajamas!!

How High can your hard drive go?

Katmandu is about 4,400 ft in elevation, but Everest Base Camp is over 17,000 ft. Apparently hard drives can have problems at higher altitudes, due to low pressure not allowing the drive head to float properly. Devices with solid state storage (e.g.. flash drives) would be fine. A lot of people claim their laptops worked fine at higher altitudes, and up to 14k seems reasonable safe. Most manufacturers rate their devices to 10k feet. When I get deeper into our trek itinerary, I will see what elevations we will be at each day leading up to base camp. I will just use the net book up to the 10k elevation level to be safe. Here is the little guy we are looking out for, the Seagate Momentus 5400.6 3gb/s 160-gb Hard Drive.