Expedition Everest

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August 30th 2008

Published: August 31st 2008

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HEINRICHSTEIN

Nepal

Finally in Dubla--4600+ meters.

Kathmandu, I'll Be Seeing You--An Ode to Cat Stevens

We left Bangkok headed for Nepal via Bangladesh on an evening flight--unfortunately, Biman (Bangladesh Airlines) did not get the same memo, so at 4:30 AM, we finally left the Bangkok airport headed for Bangladesh. Upon arrival at 6:30 AM, we found that due to "no fault of their own" our only having 6 hours between connecting flights, instead of 8 hours, we would not be getting a hotel room as promised. We weren't even allowed in their travel lounge--even though, we were given a "travel lounge" button. Once we left Bangladesh (on our 1970s plane), we arrived safely in Kathmandu, Nepal. Billy and Brenda's old guide, Mani, was there to pick us up from the airport. Our luggage, however, had not arrived with our plane. What more could Biman Airlines do to us? Luckily, it did arrive with the next flight. After we got checked in to our hotel and showered, we began to feel more like our old selves. We headed out to book our expedition and to get a bite to eat. Mani recommened a great pizza place called, Fire and Ice. It was delish! After dinner, Brenda and Heather

Nepal

our backpacks

were so jet lagged, and Billy and I had spent 2 consecutive nights in an airport that we were exhausted. We promptly went to bed at 8:00 PM which was fortunate, because we had an early morning the next day.

Lugging into Lukla

At 5:00 AM the next morning, we headed for the airport to catch a small plane to Lukla where our trek to Everest Base Camp began. The runway onto the mountain city of Lukla is small and uphill and where the runway ended a mountain began. Luckily, all went as planned, and we pulled into Tenzing Hillary airport on-time. We had a quick breakfast and then began our first day of hiking. We hiked only 2 1/2 hours from Lukla to Phakding. The sites were beautiful . . . with waterfalls, steep canyons, and brightly colored flowers. The first day of trekking was successful with no injuries and not too difficult at all.

Up, Up, Up to Namche

The second day we climbed 900 meters in elevation. It was a long day. The first part of the hike was easy going and calm. We saw many more of the beautiful sites of the first day. After lunch,

Nepal

There's Mt. Everest! On the left--it's the peak on the left of the dip. On the right is Notse Peak.

we hiked up and didn't stop until we reached Namche at 3500 meters. Namche is a pretty u-shaped town snuggled into the side of a mountain. After a much needed night's rest, we had an acclimatization day there in Namche. During the day, we hiked to the highest airport in the world at 3900 meters. We also went to a National Park and museum. It was nice in the mountains in the morning. The clouds would clear and give way to beautiful scenery of high peaks and deep valleys. Usually, by the afternoon, it was cloudy and rainy--which is why we had to get hiking early in the morning. No one wnats to hike in the rain.

To Tengboche

The next day, we headed off on another trekking adventure. This time we would go down 300 meters and back up 600 meters before the day's end. We had lunch along a river before we began a steep 2 plus hour climb to Tengboche at 3900 meters. By the time we arrived, it was raining and cloudy. It was a long 5 hour day of hiking. Once we settled in and changed into our night clothes, we went out to visit

Nepal

Billy in front of another waterfall.

the one of the highest monastaries in the world. That night was chilly, so we were happy to have the heater blazing in the dining area. That night, we were rudely awakened at 4:00 in the morning by 30 minutes of the monastery's gong show and horn blowing--I had dreams of being in the "Ricola Commercial". It was terribly annoying, and we all were a bit grumpy in the morning.

The Long Hike to Pherioche

We left Tengboche for Pherioche. Again, we hiked down only to hike back up the 400 meters to Pherioche at 4200 meters. The air was getting thin, and we could feel the effects of losing our breath with minimal exertion. Along the way, we stopped to have tea and to take a rest. Billy almost took that literally. He was so tired from the night before, that he almost stayed the night at our tea stop. We were all pretty exhausted that day. After we arrived in Pherioche and ate lunch, we all took a little nap. By the time we reached Pherioche, we were above tree-line, and our dining area was now being heated by dried yak patties. I only hoped that the lady

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On our way to Tengboche.

who collected and filled the heater did not also make my dinner. Needless to say, yak patties do not warm like wood. We were beginning to feel the cold nights.

North to Dubla

We left the next day on a small hike to Dubla. Our two-hour hike became a 3 plus hour trudge through the river--due to the fact that the bridge was "out"--there was no bridge. We had no trail and basically picked our way through the river bed/marsh lands trying to find the best possible route up the side of a mountain. We went way out of our way--it was tiring and difficult. Billy thinks it was the worst trail of our hike. We were happy when we finally made it to Dubla at 4600 meters. Here the group had to leave me--my foot began to swell up . . . for reasons unbeknownst to me. Our team doctor, Heather, said that my hiking boots were too small, and I had probably sprained a muscle in my leg/ankle that sweeps down under my foot compensating for a huge blister I had on my pinky toe. I couldn't walk on it for 2 days . . . but not

Nepal

Some glacial lakes.

being able to continue on the trek was worse than a swollen foot and ankle; I was devestated.

Off to Loubuche

The next day was the easiest hike of the trip. It took only an hour and a half to reach the next destination at 4900 meters. Because they rose 300 feet in elevation, it was not safe to go much higher without experiencing severe altitude sickness. So, they spent the night there. Since they arrived there so early, they had a full day to kill. Basically, all Billy can remember is that they played lots of games and went to bed way too early knowing that the next day would be one of their hardest days of hiking.

Last Tea House--Gorek Shep and Everest Base Camp

In the morning they hiked a little over two hours and climbed just over 200 meters to reach Gorek Shep at 5100 meters. They quickly ate some lunch and then began the long day trip to Everest Base Camp. Fortunately, they were able to leave all of their packs at the tea house. Unfortunately, it was raining, and they had to wear their hot, muggy raincoats. The hike was supposed to take 3

Nepal

Arriving in Lukla at the Tenzing Hillary airport!

hours there and 2 1/2 hours back, but because they were in a crazy hurry, it took just under 4 1/2 hours total. At this time of year, Everest Base Camp is empty, so arriving there is kind of deflating. There are no tents, no prayer flags, and no people. Billy did get to go hiking on the Everest glacier, and he threw a few snowballs. At 5300 meters, the air is super thin, and they were all feeling the need for some thicker air. One of the scary parts was that all along the trek, they could hear and see avalanches coming off of Mt. Everest and Nuptse. Knowing that they would have to wake up the next day at 4:00 AM, they went to sleep at 7:30 PM.

Little Up, Big Down--Kalapathar

They left for Kalapathar at 4:30 AM--5540 meters. It is about a 2 hour climb up and a 30 minute climb down. They were really praying for clear weather to see Mt. Everest, because the past few days had been really cloudy with no visual of Everest or the surrounding mountains. However, once they were half way up, they could see that it was going to

Nepal

Billy with our guide, Kishor.

be a clear day. At the top, they took some quick pictures and video and tried to rest from what might have been the hardest hike of Billy's life. Then they decided to head back down for breakfast. Going down was much easier than going up. After breakfast, they headed back down to Dubla where they met back with me. Then we made our final decent of the day to Pherioche. For the day, they hiked just over 9 hours.

Back Down the Mountain

The next two days consisted of a lot of hiking and a lot of going down with a little up here and there. Between Tengboche and Namche there was a lot of up--which is strange since we lost 400 meters along the way. Back in Namche, we were excited to be there during the time when the bazaar is open. They were selling a lot of things for the locals at the bazaar. We bought some cookies. We did get to see butter being made and compared in a 5 gallon bucket--it looked gross. Namche was great, because this time around, the air felt so thick! We were all breathing a lot better.

The Final Day

Nepal

A cool rock.

Our last day, we hiked from Namche to Lukla. There was a lot more up than there should have been going back down! Especially at the end when everyone was dead tired. The whole day took almost 6 1/2 hours of hiking. When we bumbled and stumbled into Lukla, it was raining, but no one put on their raincoats. No one cared. We did get to watch some Olympic events during dinner. Then we all crashed in our beds praying that it would be clear weather, so we could fly back to Kathmandu in the morning.

Back to Kathmandu

Luckily, the morning brought clearer skies, and we were able to fly back to Kathmandu. We really needed it, because we hadn't really showered in 12 days. Sure, we wiped down and did one "bucket" shower, but we need a real shower--with soap and shampoo. It was probably the best thing I had felt in 2 weeks! That night, we treated our guide to supper at Fire and Ice, and promptly went to bed early! I, unfortunately, woke up in the middle of the night--sick . . . dinner did not look as good coming back the other way. The next

Bangladash

This is the airport in Bangladash. Busy, eh? Just the top floor. :)

day, we did touristy things around Kathmandu. We went to the Monkey Temple, a huge pagoda, and the river where they burn bodies. That was gross, because there were several bodies being burned at the time of our visit. Plus, there were a million monkeys all running around being their curious, nasty selves. That night, we were invited for supper at Mani's house. We were cooked some of the best Dal Baht ever! His wife is a great cook. Unfortunately, it was Brenda's turn to get the sickness. We rushed home, and just in time! We were all still getting to bed pretty early at this point. The next day, we did some shopping, recovering, e-mailng, and packing. It was time for us to get ready to head back to Bangkok. Kathmandu is a fun town . . . there's a lot of shopping to be done, and there's good food all around. We really had a great time in Nepal--we were not looking forward to our stop through Bangladesh on our way back to Thailand.

Bangladesh--One More Time

We had a night's layover in Bangladesh. It took us forever to get through immigration at the airport. I'm not sure

Nepal

Upon our arrival, we got flowers. With Heather and Brenda.

what they thought we might want from this country--there's wasn't much to take. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries I have ever been to--and I had just been in Nepal for 2 1/2 weeks! Our hotel was decent, and our food was veggie! We did have decent TV--we even got a few episodes of Friends and Seinfeld. That night, we walked to a local market and bargained for some bananas. Billy was also followed by some chicken guys who walked around carrying their live chickens to sell. We took a picture with them--but we didn't buy any chickens. 😊 The next morning after a 2 hour delay, we finally headed from Bangladesh to Bangkok. It was wonderful arriving in Thailand--it felt almost like arriving in the U.S. We had bathrooms with toilet paper and soap with warm water. It was incredible. The first thing we did: eat at Subway! In fact, as we leave to the beaches tonight--that's probably the last thing we'll do!

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