I think everyone slept pretty well last night, which is great considering we are actually closer to 16,400ft and came up from 14,500ft the night before.

Conveniently, the lodge next door has high speed Internet, so it’s not quite the journey to get on the information super highway. Only 500 Rupees for 30minutes, or about $6 USD, which isn’t too bad. Plus, they had their stove going sooner than our lodge, so it was quite warm. It was also nice to run into my buddy Dean that I met on Vinson last December in Antarctica. I think our spots at basecamp aren’t too far apart, so we should be able to catch up.

Today, we took breakfast at 7:30, and I think the French Toast has run its course with me and I’ll be moving on tomorrow. One more day and then we get French press coffee on a regular basis instead of the instant Nescafé with powdered milk we’d been having on the way in. Occasionally though, they use Nak milk, which is pretty strong and sometimes it’s just way too much. On a side note, a Nak is the female counterpart to a Yak. If you get Yak milk, you should seriously consider how exactly they got that…

We headed out, and went past the Italian research center and then up along this sub ridge of Lobouche Ri. After a rock scramble for a couple hundred feet, we called it good when we’d got to about 18,000ft or so. When we got down off the rocks, we just chilled out for a bit as some of us (aka Scott) got the data connection on his tablet working and he just sat and did emails for a while. The rest of us headed down the hill and back to the lodge for some tea, a game or two of chum and then lunch.

We’re all pretty psyched to head up to base camp tomorrow where we can spread out a bit more and settle in for a while. Plus, the food situation shouldn’t be so sketchy, and we should be able to take ‘showers’ a little more easily. Allegedly, it’ll be bottomless food & water. Can’t wait to start the next phase of the expedition!

We got up and made our move up to Lobouche today. Great hike up through Dugla (or Thukla) where we took a break for hot lemon tea, coconut crunchies and some candy bars.

One of the more sobering elements of the hike in were when you get just past Dugla at the top of the hill. The area has turned into a memorial for climbers that have died on various mountains in the region. Some more notable ones were the likes of Scott Fischer, who passed away on Everest during that nasty debacle in 1996. Very interesting memorials and chortens that have been built for climbers. Good to go through and have a moment if reality, and pause for reflection.

Then we cruised up the valley which was a super mellow finish for an hour into Lobouche. We got views of Cholatse and the backside of Nuptse. It’s pretty awe inspiring to say the least.

We all were feeling strong today, and ended up getting here in just under 3hrs

Sadly, this morning, Susan Reiter – John’s wife, took a helicopter flight back to Lukla and ultimately on to Kathmandu and on home. She wasn’t feeling very well, and was starting to struggle with the altitude. Topped off with feeling like she was getting the flu yesterday and they decided it would be best if she got a flight out today. It’s really too bad that she won’t make it with us into base camp, which was her goal, but it was great having her along for the ride as far as she made it.

Now, after a ‘bonus hike’ up to about 17,000ft, we’re having a coffee and about to indulge in our now regular card game, chum.

We are here for two nights before we head up to basecamp on Saturday! The closer we get to BC, the more excited we are. Not only to get going on the climb, but to have better food, cleaner living conditions, and overall a more pleasant & relaxing environment, relatively speaking. It’ll be nice to set up shop in my tent, spread out, and not worry about packing up every morning. I’m sure well do plenty of day hikes out of basecamp, but at least we won’t have to pack up ahead of time. It’ll be nice.

No celebrity climber sightings today, but I’m optimistic that basecamp will be an interesting sight.

Looking forward to that stove downstairs when it gets going and warms the place up before we go to bed. The people in the Khumbu Valley are very resourceful, and green! The stoves are all powered by yak dung! Surprisingly, it doesn’t smell at all. Even outside it just smells like there is a fire going, but not like it’s a crap fire.

That’s it for now.

Hope all is well back home.

Wow, what a day & a few anti-biotics will do for one’s spirits. Mostly back on the mend, which makes a big difference for the morale, and performance.

We got to sleep in again, and have breakfast about 7:30 this morning. French Toast again. Can’t go wrong here. We also got lucky enough to get the roast chicken dinner again last night, which was just as amazing. Unfortunately, they’re all out and tonight we’ll have to find some other tasty meal to gorge on.

I know I’m feeling well when I’m back to ordering two meals each time we eat. Fried rice and then hash browns with eggs for lunch. I’m back in the game! I think I’m down 7-8lbs though, so I guess it was a killer weight loss program I signed up for.

We headed out on a harder acclimatization hike today, mostly to see how the group would do and push us just a bit. We cruised up the valley, about half way to where we went yesterday, crossed the river, then started traversing the hill opposite Dingboche. It was quite a nice stroll up the hill, and ended the last few hundred feet by scrambling up some big boulders topping out at about 16,500ft. We were on a sub-ridge of Ama Dablam, which was pretty impressive to get even closer than we had before.

We almost literally flew down the hill, and were actually running at several points on the way down. Scott wasn’t super keen on hiking back up the valley to get to the log bridge we had originally crossed the river, so I tagged along with him and we headed straight down the hill to find the “most crossable” section of the river. Of course, John, Trudy and Manoj quickly decided that they didn’t want to walk back up hill as well and followed suit. John made a bet that the last person, or the wettest one back had to buy latte’s for the other. Game on John, game on. We bolted down the hill, and fortunately, I spotted a “bridge” which was simply two, maybe two and a half logs tied together laid across the river. Naturally, I had to go first, as I wasn’t about to be buying lattes, and with a bit of shaky logs and quick steps, I made it across. Now that the rest of the group knew that the bridge was sturdy enough for at least one person, everyone else made it across one by one.

Once we got to within eyeshot of the lodge, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that John started picking up the pace a bit, and before we knew it, we were both in an all out sprint back. I beat him by a gnat’s eyelash. Victory is mine.

Took advantage of the hot, endless shower again, and now I’m just sipping on the sweet taste of success, aka a free latte.

Tomorrow we are leaving the comforts of the Snow Lion lodge and are heading up valley to Lobouche, which is around 16,000ft I think. I guess it’s going to be one of the harder days of the trek so far. We’ll see how it goes. Then we’ll be there for two days before we head straight to basecamp. Looks like right now we should be at base camp on Saturday!

Today was just another day like many we’ll have which are labeled “rest days” and are slightly more like active recovery days. We slept in till about 7:00am today, had breakfast (I had the French Toast again, which was awesome), and French press coffee. Not too shabby here at the Snow Lion Inn at 14,500ft. Last night we had an awesome roast chicken & veggie meal. So far, the best meal I’ve had of the trip. It was amazing!

This morning I felt like I’d recovered fully from my bout with the runs, but fate would have something else in store. About an hour out the village, I desperately had to dash for the closest rock that hid me from the trail. At this point, there is unfortunately little doubt that I should start taking Cipro to get rid of what’s been ailing me for the past few days. Hoping that kicks in quick and gets rid of my special time in these super amazing bathrooms. For what it’s worth, the best bathrooms have a toilet where you have to fill the tank yourself and a bucket beside the toilet for the paper. The not so good ones are simply holes in the ground. If you’re lucky, there are a pile of leaves & pine needles for you to push into the hole after you’re done. Surprisingly, those ones are quite nice, all things considered. No smell.

We cruised up to Chunkung which was a village about 2hrs away and up at about 15,700ft. Good little hike today.

Of course, we were done in time to make it back for lunch, tea, and a hot shower. You never quite appreciate taking a hot shower as much as when you simply can’t. The place we are at has a gas water heater, which is exceptionally rare, but very welcome. 350 Rupees for a shower (or about $4 USD) is the best money you can spend. Wash off the grime, and then do a bit of laundry so that things don’t get too out of control.

We got some amazing views of Ama Dablam, Island Peak and the back side of Lhotse (Low-tsee)which is an 8000 meter peak right next to Everest.

Now, just back at the Snow Lion, enjoying some super tasty ginger & lemon tea, and relaxing before we have dinner and call it a night.

We moved up to Dingboche this morning, which puts us between 14,000-14,500ft. Definitely feeling the altitude, but also feeling better today.

Yesterday we moved from Namche Bazar up to Dobuche where we stayed at the lovely Paradise Lodge. Nothin quite like sleeping on a foam pad in a room built out of plywood. You can literally hear someone tying their shoes in the next room. Leaves very little to the imagination. Fortunately, when everyone is exhausted & adjusting to the altitude, the only things people are doing in their rooms are snoring & packing their bags for the next day.

Just before we got to where we’d be staying for the night, we stopped in Tangboche where we had a latté and a piece of apple pie while we were waiting for the monastery to open. John, Susan & Trudy decided to go up to the monastery anyway, and found a young monk who happened to have the keys to the joint, and ended up letting us all in, all by ourselves to check it out and get some history from him. Tashi, who is the young monk, has been studying there since he was 10yrs old. He was telling us that right now there are 35 monks that range from 10yrs old to 83 although all but four of them were away from town out teaching about the Buddha in the Khumbu valley. Very cool experience to get a personal tour with no one else in the monastery.

When we were walking out, we noticed an older (79yrs old) monk at the bottom of the steps. Although he didn’t speak English, he had an assistant there that did. When we told him what we were going to do, he offered a blessing by giving us a string necklace and some edible seed like things that are to give us longevity and long life. Definitely a powerful moment for the group, as we were not expecting it and it definitely sends good vibes up the hill for us!

Somewhere between Namche & Dobuche, I got food poisoning of some description. I’ve been bolting to the nearest “toilet,” which is often a hole cut in the floor with some leaves at the bottom, about 5-6 times a day. Great fun. Yesterday, as a result of my Himalayan quick-step, I had a real slow-going day. I pulled up the rear of the group all day, and was struggling to keep stepping forward. It sure takes it out of you. Literally and figuratively.

On the upside, I was feeling a bit better today, and at least got some of my energy back and we headed up to Dingboche where we’ll be staying for the next three nights while we further acclimatize. On our way up, we took a detour through Pangboche where we got to get a special blessing for our climb from the Lama Geshe. The whole process took about an hour where he chanted some prayers, blessed us with rice, water & string necklaces. He also gave us these little paper prayer flags that have been folded and have been tied together with multi-color string. Any time we are getting nervous, we just need to put that by our heart and we’ll be reassured. We also got another Kata (khada?) which is a silk scarf that is typically given along with a good luck wish & blessing. So far, I’ve collected four on the way in, but today’s was the most special so far.

En route I had a celebrity citing! I got to talk to and get my picture taken with Ueli Steck. He’s a total climbing badass. Last year he climbed Everest without Oxygen, and this year he’s working on a different route that they are keeping under wraps until they do it. He’s climbing with Simone Moro who is another Himalayan climbing hero. Ueli was also set a speed record for climbing the most difficult route on the Eiger (the north face) in something like 2hrs 57 minutes when the standard attempt by most climbers ranges 12+hrs or more. He’s dubbed the “Swiss Machine” given his prowess at high altitude. Look him up, impressive dude. Super nice too.

Then we headed out and up to Dingboche. When we arrived, Mingma whom owns the SnowLion lodge where we’ll be staying, greeted us with ginger & lemon tea plus a plate of french fries which were hands down the best I’ve had in recent memory. Maybe it was the altitude, maybe it was getting my appetite back, or maybe it was this special place, it’s hard to say. All I know is that I wolfed a bunch down. Tonight, we’re looking forward to roast chicken which apparently is quite infamous. Generally, on the trek in it’s advisable to be vegetarian and only eat cooked veggies. Deviating from that and you substantially increase your odds of getting something as awesome as what I’ve had. Apparently, though, eating the Yak steaks is almost a sure fire for getting deathly ill. I’ve talked to several folks that were put down for 24-48hrs and literally they did not think they were going to make it. With that, and as much as I like to eat weird stuff, I’ve steered clear of the Yak.

Everyone says hi to their families back home and hopes all is well.

Another day down, and another day closer to the hill.

Today we ended up getting a fairly early start at around 6:45ish. Today on tap for breakfast was French Toast. Not too shabby, considering we’re several day’s walk from anything.

After breakfast, we packed up for our acclimatization hike for the day. Namche sits about 11,200ft, which is a great place to start feeling the affects of altitude. Even just a few steps up the stair case in the lodge, and you’re taking a few extra breaths. We headed up to the Everest View Hotel, where we got our first view of the mountain itself. Very cool to see Everest, Cholatse, Ama Dablam and the back side of Nuptse as well. All impressive mountains in their own right.

Apparently, that hotel pumps oxygen into the rooms for their guests enjoyment. With it being about 12,700ft, it wouldn’t make for a very fun night if you came straight in there. Apparently the oxygen is a result of the Nepali royal family wanting to take a helicopter straight into that hotel and stay. Going from 3,500ft in Kathmandu to the Everest View Hotel would be absolutely miserable without it.

From there, we walked over to the Khumjung village, which is a very traditional Nepali/Sherpa village that doesn’t see many trekkers or climbers as the route from Namche to the next town generally bypasses Khumjung. Conveniently, for the Sherpa, there is a medical clinic that has western doctors that do rotations offering their services as well as getting experience with high altitude ailments.

We left the Khumjung village and passed through Khande on our way back to Namche Bazar. Sadly, the bakeries were all closed down today, so we didn’t get to get our fill of apple pie, or cheese croissant until we got back to town.

Tomorrow, we’re off to the next village for one night before we head to Dingboche for three nights. The name of the town escapes me, but I’m sure it has something to do with “che” Maybe, Someche?

Made it to Namche today after about 4.5-5hrs of walking. We gained a fair bit of elevation today, and are currently sitting around 11,500ft. Starting to feel it a little bit, but still feeling great overall!

Just before we got to our hotel for the night, we stopped at a local bakery for a coffee & pastry, which were both awesome. Super rough program we’re on here – as you can tell. Then we made our way up the stairs to our lodging for the next two nights. Great location, with an amazing view of the village.

Namche Bazar is a fairly major trade village for the local sherpa people. This is their Walmart. Never mind the fact that in order to get toilet paper, shampoo or beer takes someone nearly a week of carrying it strapped to their head to actually get it to the “market” It’s also the last bastion for buying any needed items we wished we had. From here on out, everything will carried in or in the case of Everest Base Camp, it’ll be flown in.

The higher we go, the more that basic things cost, like charging electronics (about $2) to boiling water or anything else. Even within the village the prices change as you go up the hill. $2 for 30 minutes of internet access in town to $2.50 a few feet up the hill.

We made it from Kathmandu to Lukla today, via helicopter, which was very cool. Not a shabby place to go on your first helicopter ride. The Himalayas are breathtaking. It’s hard to process just how massive they are.

After we landed, we collected our gear, had tea and momos, then started the trek in. Today was really mellow. Three hours of mellow up & down, although mostly down, and we ended up in our first destination which was Pakding. We’re at a great hotel called the Star Lodge. We had a great lunch, and of course more momos, then headed up the hill for a quick hike up to a monastery about 20 minutes up the hill.

It’s also a school for kids training to be buddhist monks. I think there were 16 kids that lived at the school. One of them was nice enough to unlock the actual monastery so we could check it out. Tons of prayer books, written in Tibetan, and buddhist deities all over the wall. Very peaceful place.

We’re back down in our rooms, sorting what we may want for the next day, then eating some dinner and going to bed.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Namche Bazar where we’ll stay for a few days to acclimatize and check the scene out.

What a wild place. Very chaotic (although somehow, it seems to be controlled chaos), dusty, busy, intense, dirty, parts are smelly and overall a very interesting place to be. The horns on the cars are a constant, pedestrians do NOT have the right away, and you learn that fast. If not, well, I guess you can have your body burned on the side of the river.

We went into a little market area called Thamel which was pretty cool. Just about any buddhist or Hindu deity, or tool for worship you could want. Not to mention cool masks of various deities to scare off the evil spirits. There were legit North Face & Mountain Hardwear stores that were right next to a shop that would sew any brand logo you wanted on their pants. You could get North Face pants with your name sewn on if you wanted, and for a fraction the cost of the real deal. They may fall apart in the first couple washes, but who cares?

We got to check out a few places which were former royal palaces that have since been converted into high-end hotels. It’s an interesting experience to be on one side of the wall where the horns are maddening and the sides of the road are just a mere suggestion to the other side of the hotel where it’s a peaceful sanctuary that smells of jasmine and has fountains that are a few hundred years old.

Yesterday, we went up to Swayambhu temple, which was amazing. A few stupas that had the eye of Buddha on top keeping a watchful eye on everyone. Tons of buddhist and hindu statues adorned the temple along with countless prayer wheels all of which say “Om Mani Padme Hum” written in Tibetan, which you turn as you walk by to send the prayer to heaven. Prayer flags were strewn everywhere in between trees, connecting to the top of the stupas and anything else they could be tied to. On both the way up, and the way down were plenty of merchants trying to sell anything from handmade bracelets to hand carved stones, or pieces of fresh coconut.

After a really mellow meal, we sorted the last of our gear, and went to bed waiting for our 4:45am wakeup call to head out and try to fly to Lukla

Since I have a few days here before I head to the chaos of Kathmandu, I figured I should take in as much of it as I can.

I think I gave it a red hot go, and fortunately, am back in the hotel in one piece.

I went and checked out the Royal Palace, which was pretty cool. Walked around there checking out temples (wat) and doing the tourist thing. Pretty cool to check out all the ornate design & decoration on all the buildings. One big massive structure (amongst many other things) was covered in gold.

Just across the street was the Pho Wat (pronounced Po Watt) which has a HUGE “reclining” Buddha. This is generally representative of a dying buddha, but the feet alone were about 16 or so feet long. The thing was massive, and completely coated in gold. It was pretty incredible.

Conveniently, just across the street is a Thai massage joint. Let me tell you, there was nothing happy about this massage. I felt like I had been beat up by a Thai kickboxer. I was punched, slapped, kneeled on, poked, prodded and kneaded. It was quite painful at times. After all was said and done, I felt awesome, and ready to back out and continue sweating my brains out. Best $18 I’ve spent in a while. 1hr in the ring with a dude who smiles at you’re wincing in agony while he’s got his whole body weight on a leg muscle, or jabbing his thumb in your neck.

The ride home was even more exciting. I took a jeepney, which is basically a cab put on a three wheeler, back to the hotel. That guy didn’t blink at splitting lanes, driving on the “wrong” side of the road, or taking a space in between cars when there was barely enough room for a motorcycle, let alone this thing. He did not give a shit about anything, and I’m glad I didn’t have a seat belt, because if we crashed, I’d just be turned into a vegetable. Better to let go, and enjoy the ride…

Back in the room, and needing to figure out what’s for dinner, then do it all over again tomorrow.