Blogs from Himalayas, Nepal, Asia - page 3

Before we begin our trek back to Lukla, we thought we would share some thoughts and observations from the top of the world. In no particular order ... In the Himalaya, everything ... absolutely everything ... is transported up the mountain valleys without the use of the internal combustion engine ... that is ... on foot. Yaks or Sherpa carry everything needed to sustain civilization (food, water, fuel, plywood, two by fours and even beer). During the day, there is near constant traffic up narrow trails to the higher villages and trekkers have to get out of the way of these pre-industrial caravans. In addition, because transportation is so labor intensive (or Yak intensive) , things get more expensive the higher up you go. For example, a liter of water that is $1 in Namche Bazaar ... read more

Blog Entry 7. So here's the deal. When we started talking about this trip, we selected the month of October for our journey because October is dry in the Himalaya ... that is ... of course ... unless there is a cyclone in the Indian Ocean (when is the last time YOU worried about the weather in the Indian Ocean?). Anyway, there is a cyclone and it is impacting the weather here in the Himalaya. On day two and day three of the trek we had rains and were all concerned because big chunks of our limited wardrobes were soaked. Luckily, on day four we awoke to clear sunny skies and it has been nice ever since. Our gear has dried out and sunscreen is essential ... beautiful weather. But we are still dealing with the ... read more

If you have not read Blog Entry 5, but have heard about the accident/avalanche in Nepal (apparently 50-60 people may be dead) we want to assure everyone that we are all fine. The accident was not near us. That being said, let's try to catch everyone up. Needless to say Internet access has been sketchy and band width is a problem (so don't expect a lot of photos). Three days ago we met Adam and Susie, two Australians who joined our team. Adam is an industrial electrician and Susie is a nurse-midwife and they were married just over a week ago (insert your own "they said it wouldn't last" joke). Adam and Susie are fantastic and we are glad to have them along. For the record, even though the rooms at the tea houses have two ... read more

Tag 3: Sonnenaufgang über einem 8000er Schon seit 04.00 Uhr höre ich die Chinesen im Haus herumstapfen, sich die größte Mühe gebend, dass sie nicht zu leise sind und sehe die Lichter ihrer Stirnlampen im Flur vor meiner Zimmertür herumgeistern. Hier im ersten Stock unseres Gasthauses gibt es nämlich keinen Strom. Ich krieche also auch langsam aus meinen 5 Schichten Schlafgarnitur und ziehe mich an. Um 04.45 Uhr starten wir im Stockdunkeln - und weder Khel noch ich haben im Gegensatz zu allen anderen Menschen eine Taschenlampe. Die ersten Meter gehen wir also im erbärmlichen Display-Licht seines Neunziger-Jahre-Handys aber dann stoßen von allen möglichen Ecken Menschen mit Stirnlampen auf den Weg, die uns den Aufstieg erleichtern. Nach etwa 40 Minuten haben wir den Gipfel des Poonhill auf 3260 m ( Ein Hill ist hier übrigens alles ... read more

Hi guys, five more days then off to Everest base camp. Hope I have got all the correct gear now. So excited. Will put some more stuff on this spot soon. Edith... read more