Advdnture Thank you so much the the blogs and the beautiful pictures. I loved checking every day to see what was happening. Congratulations to all on this trip of a lifetime!!
Really?? Fortunately, I am only mentioned a few times in this wonderful blog! My card playing improved with descent to lower altitudes by the way. Jeff's goal for the blog is to find something funny/unique each day to talk about in the blog. Trust me when I say, my goal was to get through the day/trip without creating a "blog worthy" moment. Other then one day I can say without hesitation that I was successful in my goal! I asked Jeff in the beginning of the trip if he himself creates "blog worthy" moments will he enter them into the blog. Without any hesitation he stated NO! I asked how is that fair??? Jeff just smiled and said nothing more. So ok I thought, he writes the blog, he gets to choose what is put into the blog. Now that our great adventure is over and I look back at the "blog worthy" moments we all had, Jeff hands down had the most "blog worthy" moments!!! To Jeff's credit he has now entered those into the blog-maybe my question of how is that fair maybe him rethink his stance on his blog entries, IDK. But really Jeff!!!! Not only did you dump a liter of water into your bed in the middle of the night-I thought that was the most "blog worthy" moment of the trip-untillllllll, you stole someone nice young mans passport!!!!!!!! Really! So in my mind Jeff wins the contest for the most "blog worthy" moments during our great adventure! I can't wait to travel with Jeff again so that he can make me feel less ridiculous for the bonehead things I do on trips. Thanks Jeff, your favorite roommate, Jim
What a trip! Just caught up on everything post-avalanche, and it sounds like a fantastic ride! Kudos to you all for undertaking the adventure, and thanks so much for the heroic efforts to blog it along the way. It is phenomenal to be back here in Madison enjoying the "view" from the other side of the world (metaphorically, at least. My geography's not so good, so I'm making no claims as to literality). Safe travels home!
Now that your back.... For those of you interested - Discovery Channel did an unbelievable 3D video of Mt Everest with elevation levels noted....regarding the avalanche tragedy. They even let you navigate a 360 degree view form the top. //everestavalanchetragedy.com/mt-everest-journey.html Even appreciate more what you all accomplished - amazing! Congrats!
The trip down I was worried about that Lukla Airport thing. :-( Glad you made it. We're really excited to hear & "see" about this adventure. You're probably somewhere into your 17 hr flight home. Hope you're enjoying it. It must be sort of sad to leave your new friends behind knowing you'll never see them again and at the same time be excited about getting home. Oh well. Len
John Bodilly Hill How cool is that! John will have a hill named after him. I hope that hill will always be a memory and a hill he will not want to see again! AMEN!!
Congrats! Congratulations to everyone. Regardless of how things ended, you all will have wonderful stories and incredible memories to share for a lifetime! I am proud of you dad. On a positive note, only people doing extreme things can get extremely sick like you did, so you have a lot to be proud of! Enjoy your time spent and cherish your memories. We will see you all soon :)
Better late than never! Hi to all! I know you've made the climb but we are all still proud, impressed, awestruck, and occasionally envious (especially Sue Loch, Kathy Bodilly and Teresa Levin who have been inspired to embark on a trekk of their own to a local liquor store, resting at a quaint 100ft above sea level, for wine and spirits) of your adventures! I'm here in Minneapolis, looking at the skyscrapers and thinking how you all have climbed the equivalent of 200 buildings covered in mud and rocks. WOW! As Joe Dirt would say, "Keep on Keeping on!". Good luck and stay safe out there, and a special shout out to my dad, Matt Loch... Keep it up Superman!
Blue cruisers, blacks or double diamonds? Jeff and fellow trekers: Glad to hear you on the descent and all is well. I pose the following question to the group: Is the dowward trek simliar to blue cruisers, blacks or double diamonds on your favorite CO ski hill? Just a discussion topic I toss out across the world. Stay safe, SAA
News from wisconsin Football Sunday had Peyton manning breaking Brett favres touchdown record with 509 in Denver. Packers also had an amazing day. This weekend near Westfield was peak fall colors....beautiful....lots of deer moving. Your blog makes me appreciate my hot shower every day....wow. Stock market is bouncing back after a record bad week last week. Walker makes front page of New York Times today. Please be careful on trek back!
Trekking in South Carolina After review of all your adventures, we would like to share our adventures in the flat lands of South Carolina.
Armed with our Camel backs filled with Chardonnay, we set out on foot to hike the Hilton Head Nature Preserve. Using Tarry's fitbit, we managed to make our 10,000 steps every day in the sweltering mid 80's heat. We encountered turtles, birds (egrets, blue heron), and other trekkors. At one point Ellen and Kathy were sitting near the water's edge and were scared off from a slapping sound of a tail hitting the water, it was an alligator, and they ran for their lives!! We too, enountered large animals of the 4 legged variety, horses, leaving a trail of dung for us to weave around. Due to the sea level altitude, we never lost our appetite. Although we did have issues getting vegetables with our fabulous filet mignon. We had the best steaks at the Hall's Chop Steak House, where Teresa commented, "this is the best steak I have ever had!" She states, she wants to do it again!!!!!!!
Always nice to hear what is going on there. So happy you reached your goal and the Packers had a great game on Sunday! Cheers all around! Safe travels downhill. I checked the weather for the area, will be warmer so hopefully no more ice!! Hopefully John will start sharing the goo he calls sunscreen!! :)
For this you are missing the Pack? Ok, so you are a different kind of Packer. You all continue to amaze me. You also raise my status greatly in this little town. When somebody complains, I smile wisely and say "I know it must be hard. But my cousin is climbing Mount Everest. You see, it is all a matter of perception." I am so excited for you all. You are a great inspiration. I'm sure you know the Packers have won two in a row, while the Seahawks lost twice. Warms the heart, though I dare not mention it to anybody here. Keep one foot in front of the other, cuz.
Coming to a close Hope all is well with the group....missing your blog today..checked weather out and hopefully you are all not wet or cold...Take care..until the next blog.... :)
Great job! Very proud of all of you and especially my big brother John for making it to the top! What a top notch adventure that sounded way harder than I ever imagined! Did John fake a back ache so someone would carry is stinky, wet clothes?
No excuses Super Congratulations on reaching your goal!!! After reading your inspiring blog at the top of the ridge outlook my husband asked me if I wanted to go for a walk outside(our usual daily exercise). It was cold out, less than 50 degrees, and I looked out at the sunless day and replied,"no way! it's too cold out. He retorted, WHAT? after all your brother John has been through! I felt like I had 'wimp' written across my forehead. You guys really raised the bar!!! Time to get out my long johns and tough it out.
Success So happy for everyone! You all must be so very happy making this very difficult journey. Looking forward to seeing pictures of the awesome views! Will continue to pray for all on the downhill trail and reading the daily blog. I hope Matt and John are not causing too much trouble...
Connie
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Advdnture
Thank you so much the the blogs and the beautiful pictures. I loved checking every day to see what was happening. Congratulations to all on this trip of a lifetime!!