Chillin' in Kathmandu Day 38 24/8/08

Day 38 (slide show)
I was so tired last night and I new the best time for me to use the hotel computer would be real early. After being on the mountain so long I needed to post some blogs and catch up on emails. I was in the lobby at 4am. The night clerk thought I was crazy and he was right but with our group and the other guests I knew the three computers here would be full by 8am. So I'm loading up the computer and getting to work. Everything is so slow it took 25 min. to load the blog and email after logging on. I started to work on the Terracotta Soldiers and then WHAM. All the power in the place went out. This had happened before when I was here and some folk were stuck in the elevator until the backup generator could be started. 20 min. later a generator started, I think its a lawn mower engine with a belt on it. Everything was lost. So much for getting up early. Its always something. I think I've said that before. I did get a few emails out like to the Citicard people. What a joke. I just need to chip away at it. Its 7:30 now and I'm having breakfast in the courtyard by myself. Its nice out here after the rain stops. I'm just listening to the Blues and sipping on a cup of morning Joe. To bad its instant coffee. That's all they have here I guess. I sure would love a cup of brewed black coffee, the kind where the spoon stands up straight and salutes. I'll take what can get though. Fells like a good day. I got with Paul this morning and we went out to the Themal Tourist area for some shopping. I needed a new Swiss pocket knife, the Chinese Security had taken mine, and Paul wanted to get some gifts to take home. I told him about a great restaurant we needed to go to called the Yak and Yeti. My friends Sigmund and Gabeielle from the China/Eclipse Tour told me it was a must if your in Kathmandu. I'm glad he wanted to go because I have been wanting to go there ever since I came here. We decided on meeting in the lobby at 7pm. In the meantime I left Paul and got with Arjun who took me to an Internet spot affiliated with the local phone company. WOW some speed. Not great but good enough to get out 110 pic's into the Photo Bucket. Nice. That really helps. So now I'm running late and I got to get to the hotel. Let me tell you about walking in Kathmandu. You have to keep your eyes open and watch everything. Cars, people on bikes and the damn motorcycles are all trying to get past you while your walking. The streets are very narrow. Often when a car or motorcycle goes by you need to turn sideways to keep from getting knockdown. At night its a fight to the death. No streetlights, no I think I saw one. Anyway a long story here to say that I got hit in the wrist by the handlebar of a motorcycle, right above my watch. I thought I broke it but not to worry it turned out to be a big bruise. I was in to much of a hurry and didn't see him coming up behind me. Ya, you need eyes in the back of your head here. So Paul and I headed out in search of the Yak and Yeti. After a few wrong turns and some dark alley's we found the entrance. The place was very impressive. It's a Palace with a Casino at one end. The problem is we took to long to find it. Sorry I didn't get very good pictures but I got a few. The restaurant was to expensive for us so we went to a dinner we had seen earlier. Its quite a place though.

Back in Kathmandu Day 37 23/08/08

Day 37
I had breakfast with my friend Arjun this morning. He came to the hotel to meet me. The hotel scheduled a local Temple tour around Katthmandu but I had already seen them during the week before the rest of the group arrived. They didn't want me around anyway. They weren't to happy with Paul either but he went. He wanted to see the Monkey Temple and get a taste of the city. It was nice of Arjun to come over and get me. As we walked to his office and he told me all the latest news. As it turns out he was made General Secretary of the Porters Progress and Krishna is being put on the payroll to help out in the office. As we were walking he asked me to help out with some people he wanted to talk to about getting some donation money. We talked to a travel agency and a restaurant and talked for sometime about a plan to keep steady flow of revenue coming in. I was glad to learn that my donation had kept them in their offices and helped them get on track again. Arjun told me he was given the appointment because of me but I think he was just trying to make me fill good. Its amazing what just a little money can do here. I didn't give that much just $150.00 and some of my time. Tomorrow were to meet the rest of the members of the Porters Progress because they have something for me. So after spending most of the day with him working on plans and meeting people I was pretty tired. I started back to the hotel around 4pm but didn't realize I was so far away. It took me about an hour to get here. I just realized I didn't take any photo's today. I think that's a first.

Here are Paul Syer's photo's from the Everest Base Camp Trek.
Thanks Paul

Lukala to Kathmandu Day 36 22/08/08

Day 36 (slide show)
We had a 5am wake up call to catch the plane for Kathmandu. I think everyone was begging for good weather. I know I was. I didn't want to miss that first flight out. Lukala is a crazy airport and you just don't know. The planes started to come in from Kathmandu around 7am as the clouds lifted, I was relieved. It wasn't a clear day but good enough to fly. As Paul and I were waiting to go I ran into the Spanish team again or what's left of it. Down to three. We got a laugh out of it. I think I mentioned before that there guide even got sick somewhere around Chiagboche. There were other's I had meet on the trail also like Julian from Belgium. I didn't see him until we both were getting ready to walk out to our separate planes. Each plane only holds 18 to 22 passengers. I asked him what happened when he went on up the glacier. He said they hiked on for about an hour and walked right into the base camp area. There was a sign stating the location for the 2009 season base camp and several leveled area's for the larger equipment, radio and medical tents. He said it wasn't hard to get there and it was right at the base of the mountain side. I was very upset because I had my suspicions but now I have conformation. I gave him my card and asked him to email me his pictures if he could. He took it and ran to his plane as I ran to mine. I was the last one on board too and I almost missed it. On the way back I decided the others aren't going to want to hear anything about this. I will talk it over with Paul and see what he thinks. Landed in Kathmandu and made it to the Hotel Tibet and I still have my own room how cool is that. Turns out my credit card from Citicards didn't make it as I had heard but my Citibankcard did. That was good enough. Hard to figure why one would make it and not the other. We had a dinner planed by our guide at a restaurant in the Thamel district at a place where the different trekking groups could go and all sign there names to a place on the wall. The food was alright but I was tired and I just wanted to sleep for a couple of days. Paul wasn't in the mood to start drinking and neither was I so we headed back early. I had told Paul of my talk with Julian, he said he had his own suspicions so we went to the computer in the lobby to check for any passible pictures but couldn't find anything due to the speed of the thing. I think it hurt him to hear the news.

Special note added: Lukala plane crash 08/10/08

Phokading to Lukala Day 35 21/08/08

Day 35 (slide show)
The group left early for a 6hr trek to Lukala. The trail is wider but there are several steep areas and this last section has a long uphill grade to get past before coming into the Lukala area. I pretty much walked with my friend Paul the whole day. We didn't talk much I think because we were so tired. That was fine because I have a hard time hearing when people are talking behind me. As far as that goes in front of me to, it's better when I'm face to face. When we did stop for a break we had some pretty good laughs. Turns out that Paul is an expert in Ti Kwon Do and has been into it for many years. It was hard trekking today. I just tried to find a zone and focus on where I was stepping. All I can think about now is the next stage of my adventure. I have five days in Kathmandu then on to Athens. I had a conversation with our guide today about some of the problems I have had on the trek but he didn't want to talk about it. I was hopeful that we might be able to talk about a few things but he just blew me off and made no effort to understand where I was coming from. As he walked away I reminded him that I paid for the trek like everyone else. Well its raining again. Paul and I went for a walk around the village. There was a lot of talking amongst the others in the group about the tip. Finally I was told that they had decided everyone was to give 3000 rupees to our guide and he would divide it up. I told them I would not tip that way and I would put in 1000 for the porter pool and tip the people I thought did a good job separately. That didn't go over very well. No one came over to ask why but I could feel it in the evil eyes I was getting. We stopped at the lodge that the Spanish group said they were staying. I didn't think we would see them but there they were, having a snack on some kind of pie and some wine. It was nice to sit and talk for a while. They were real nice folks who I kept running into throughout the trek. Paul left early but I stayed for a bit longer. It was raining so hard I wanted to see if it would let up a little. It didn't so when I proceeded to find our lodge it was quite hard. I had gotten a plastic garbage bag and was trying to see where to go. Idiot, I forgot my poncho. After walking around in the mud for a while I finally found our place with a little help from one of the assistant guides. He is the big guy that was pretty nice to me for the trek. I wish I could remember his name. Turns out he was out in the rain with some friends and saw me walk past the lodge. He lives in Lukala. I gave him a good tip as well as one of the other assistant's. I also gave a nice tip to the porter who carried my bag for most of the way. I did get his name, Dhan Kumar Dui. Real nice people and I wish all of them well. I leave for Kathmandu tomorrow.

Namche Bazaar to Phokading Day 34 20/08/08

Day 34 (slide show)
We left Namche Bazaar at 8am for a short 4 1/2 hour day we were told. It took us 6hrs. When I asked our guide how long the day would be he said 4 to 41/2 but maybe he thought I meant to the lunch break or something. Whenever I ask him a question he is vague and unclear. Always walking away from me. I'll be glad to get away from this jerk. I don't know how many times I've asked him to keep me informed but I always have to ask him what's going on. Anyway the rain came early. It started at 12:30 instead of the normal 2pm. I don't mind the rain except it does make the trail slippery. You have to take care and watch your step. Most injuries happen on the way down. As Paul and I were walking down the trail we were looking at this mountainside to the left. It was quite green and plush with vegetation. I was pointing to this little farm and noticing how nice it looked. Then all of a sudden we see this big piece of rock fall off above the place. It was quite a loud noise. Below this farmer in the house you see in the picture comes running out trying to get out of the way. The rock and trees that fell stopped just short of his house. As we stood there for a moment the dust was floating above the area then a small waterfall started from the spot. That guy was quite lucky. He came within a few meters of loosing his house and maybe his life. I wonder what he was doing just before he heard the sound. I'll bet he went and changed his pants after the sound. Finally made it to Phokading where we spent our first night. It was strange walking into place again. It seems like I was just here. Well its time to eat this lousy food again Can't wait to get to the hotel in Kathmandu. Both Paul and I were thinking today how nice it would be to get some fruit.

Khumjung to Namche Bazaar Day 33 19/08/08

Day 33 (slide show)
Another long 7hr trek down today with rain and wind for the last 3hrs. I'm so tired. Its hard to write much about this day because it was so hard. My knees and feet hurt. Last night I noticed that I've got some problems with my forth toe on the right foot and my left Big toe. The nails are going to come off soon. Its from jamming into the ends of my boots. We left around 7am which put us into Namche Bazaar around 3:30pm. Long day. When we were going up we did this section in two days. We all made it and it is nice to have the day over. I didn't take to many photo's today it seemed like we were moving to fast. We arrived at the same tea house that we had been in before when we were here in Namche. There were a group a trekkers in the dinning area when we entered. They were on there way up. These folks were with Intrepid Adventures and were also a group of 12. The expression on there faces told it all. We came in all haggard and sun burned, limping and dirty. They were fresh and excited, full of energy. As I sat down I thought to myself we must have looked like that when we were here. After some introductions Paul and I were asked by a few of them what they could expect. We said "try not to get sick and watch your step so you don't fall down." We also told them to get to the bakery and get some good bread before they leave. They said their guide had all that taken care of. They even let their guides fill their water bottles in the back room. I warned them of this but they didn't see a problem. Sounds like they trust the guide to much. As we told them they didn't want to believe us. It was funny. I kept thinking I wish I could have talked to someone who was coming down at that point of the trip. I would have asked what base camp looks like and how far up the glacier it was. It turns out that this group paid a little more the half of the amount I paid. O' well live and learn. Later that night Paul and I went to a "Billiard Room" the sign said. I don't know about that. There was a pool table but the felt on top had to be taped with duck tape and there was no 8 ball. This was substituted with another Que ball which is larger then the other ones. It cost 50 rupees per game I think. It wasn't so bad though when you consider that the whole table was carried by some poor Nepali Porter. For some reason it didn't fill right so we left after one game. I think I turned in at around 8pm that night.
I can't stop thinking what Greece will be like. I'm ready for the next segment of my trip.

Goreck Shep to Khumjung Day 32 18/8/08

Day 32 (slide show)
A long 8hr trek down today with rain most of the way. The group split in two this morning. For those who wanted to climb up a separate trail to Kala Pathar it offered a chance to see the top of Everest. As we woke though I went to get coffee at about 6am and several of the Brit's were starting to get ready to leave. I didn't get the word about the 6:30 departure but it looked cloudy already so I didn't think there was much of a chance to get a shot. Paul was just coming out and asked me if I wanted to go but I said no but he went for it. I never did see any of the pictures so I'm not sure if the clouds broke for them or not. I hope so that's a long way to go at 16,000 feet. At 8am the rest of us left to go down. The trail was steep and wet. It is very easy to slip and fall. When we came to the drainage area where the Lambushe Khole River begins it was raining pretty hard with wind. Try walking down this trail with a poncho on. You can't see your feet to know if your stepping in the right place or not. I like the poncho though. It is very convenient and compact. Its from Sea to Summit and has several nice features. A little tip for my friends at REI. . As we approached the drainage area I realised it was much harder going down then coming up. The wind and rain made it hard to pick a spot to place your foot. This went on and on for 3 to 4 hours. I can't remember, I do know I was cold. I'm glad I had gloves. The group of seven was 4hr behind us and the weather kept getting worse. At this point I knew I made the right choose not to go up there. We arrived at Khumjung at about 2:30pm. It was nice to get out of the wind and rain but of course the stove will not be fired up until 5pm. That's all right I'll wait. A little later I noticed a few of the porters sitting and saw that the guy that had carried my bag on several occasion's was there. I went over and talked to them for a while. Real nice guys. Broken English but we got along great. I especially like the guy that was handling my bag. He knew it was mine. I have his name, I'll add it later.
Note: A real nice guy named Juan from Barcelona, Spain was sitting on the trail back up at Labuche when we stopped for a lunch break. He was with his guide Bishnu and he was having problems. Juan had been my card partner two nights earlier when I meet him and the Belgian Julian. Bishnu and Julian took on Juan and I for a great game of Harts Spanish style as Juan said. We had a good time and Bishnu is my friend and the Vise President from the Porters Progress in Kathmandu. Juan was on this wall by the trail having bad chest pains. Bishnu told me he couldn't take the altitude and he had called a helicopter. Juan was apologizing to me for not being strong enough, he felt real bad about it. I knew his age because he told me at the card game. He was 63. He made to 16,000ft I told him that was a great accomplishment. I reminded him that he told me he wanted to get back to the beaches of Barcelona during the card game and now he can be there in a couple of days. As I left him I was thinking, I just hope he makes it, he looked quite pale. Poor Bishnu could do nothing but console him. It's a bad deal.

Gorek Shep to Base Camp of Everest Day 31 17/08/08

Day 31 (slide show)
Today is the day. we left at 7am for base camp. It was hard to sleep at 16,000ft. (4877m) Just as you fall asleep you suddenly wake up gasping for air. Then after a few mumbles you fall asleep again. My nose and mouth are so dry up here. I can't drink enough water. So off we go. All 12 of us. Even though I'm not getting along with our guide I have to say that he at least got us all to this point. So many parties I've meet have members who dropped back for many different reasons. Every time I see them their party is smaller. The trail is the roughest so far and it changes due to the rock slides from glacier melt. Were told it takes about 2hr to reach base camp but as we went past this one spot we were told that it was the old camp at about 1 1/2hr from Gorak Shep. It's listed as 16,800ft. (5121m) As we went past it and you can see why it was abandoned. The glacier is melting fast. Now you must climb even higher to reach the new camp. Something about base camp that most folks don't hear about. The main trekking season goes from Sept. to June. The camp is set up and opened for that time. For climbers attempting to summit the season is Mar. through the first week of June. During this time there are way to many people at the camp. Late June the camp is closed and cleaned. Everything is packed and taken down the mountain then the next season it is assembled again. So were hiking along this small trail and it starts to turn out onto the glacier. Just about that time our guide and his three assistants come down the line of our group following the trail. They start shaking our hands and saying "we made it" and "congratulations". I look around at the area. "Somethings Wrong" (Junior Watson, Bluesman). But the camp is always at the base of the mountain I'm thinking. I had seen many pictures of it in the season and there is no way you would set up such a large camp in this area. Now I've been on many high altitude glaciers and camped on them for many nights on Mt. Rainer in Washington. So I know that you don't put a camp where we were standing. As I look around I see the base of the mountain ahead and were still several thousand meters from it. At this spot there was no sign or leveled area where hundreds of tents were just two months earlier. As I look at our group the Brits were all pissing their pants and one guy was crying like a baby. Only Paul was standing there looking like he wasn't sure. Just about then our guide walks by me and I say "this isn't it" he stops and claimed "this is it, yes it is". One Brit named Kevin who was standing off to the side steps in and tells the guide "I guess we would never know if it was or wasn't" the guide says "It is ya, it is" and walks away. Now everyone is very tired, I'm very tired and exhausted so I just stand there like an idiot. This is where I'm very mad at myself for not making a scene and demanding we talk about this. I took a few pic's and then Paul and I switched camera's. You can see in the shots that I'm not to happy. About that time two guy's came walking up. It was the Belgian that I had played cards with two nights earlier in Pheriche. His name was Julian Einhauser. Nice kid about 25 years old, trekking on his own with his own guide. I turned to him and said "our guide says this is base camp" he looked his guide and then pointed towards the base of the mountain ahead. His guide says were about a kilometer short. Julian looked at Paul and I "were going on" he said. I wanted to go with them but just then our guide who was behind me says "no you stay with us". Julian's guide said I better stay too. So I did. They walked away up the glacier. As I watched them I didn't notice that our group was organizing behind me into a group photo. Everything was moving so fast. Paul yells at me to get in the picture. I didn't have time to offer my camera to the pile of camera's. The assistant guide was taking the shot. So I don't have a group shot. I was in total amazement. I really felt ripped off. What do you do I thought. The rest of the group was enjoying the moment and I didn't want to spoil it for them. Now I know I should have. They didn't want me there anyway. But I didn't do anything except stand there. On the way down I was convinced this guide sold us short. For what reason I don't know except he knew he had most of the group wrapped around his finger so I guess he just thought these idiots won't know. I don't want to walk up that glacier. On the way down I was stopped by on of the Taiwan members that I had talked to before, he asked" how is it" I didn't have the hart to tell him we didn't make it. I told him it was Shanghai La. He started to laugh. As we approached Gorak Shep I ran into Goldberg from Israel. He asked "how far is to the camp". I told him "about two hours". He said that another trekker had told him it was 3 to 31/2 hours. "What did you run up there" he asked. I just smiled and walked away. As I entered the Tea House I could see everyone was very tired and so I decided to be quite. There wasn't any reason to ruin their moment and I didn't have any proof. I'm tired too.


Here is a pretty good map I found of the Mt.Everest base Camp trail. Take a look at it. It looks like I misspelled some of the names of the villages along the way but I will change that when I get my computer. It takes to much time and of course in these cybercafes your always on the clock. I just discovered that the spell check on the computer is only in Czech. Its always something.

Labuche, Nepal 16/08/08 Day 30

Day 30 (slide show)
I was quite worried about my right heel last night, it had gotten quite a bit worse yesterday. I didn't sleep well partly because of the altitude and I keep thinking how bad it would be to spend this much time and money only to let my blister problem stop me. I thought of several ways and I have quite an array of remedies to solve the problem but only one try at it. Remembering some of the conversations I had at REI with Tammy, Nance and Drew I settled for putting a shell over it. I decided to cut a piece of water bottle to the size of my blister so that I could put the duck tape over it. I tried several sizes of plastic. The one that worked the best was just the size of the blister. If the plastic it to large then it can rub in another spot. This was going to be a good day to try it. Today is a 6hr climb with steep terrain. Well see how it works. Just as we were about to leave I found out that there was a marker for the foreign climbers that have died on the mountain. I frantically searched around and found it just in time to grab my pack and get in line. Well it has been a tough day which included a 3 to 4hr climb through the valley river drainage of a giant glacier. The river is named Labusha Khola and I think the glacier is named the same I have to look it up. If you look at the pictures you can get an idea of the immense size of this area. Looking at the pic's we had to hike up the right side where for hours you have to jump from rock to rock or step in 6in of mud. I'm glad I had my trekking poles they saved me several times from falling in. As usual the rain came in at 2pm so the last part of the climb was very wet. As the rain was at its worst we came to the Tukla Pass which was very steep and the toughest part of the climb yet. At the top was the monument area where several dozen, maybe a hundred it was hard to see due to the rain and mist. These monuments were for the fallen climbers whom have died on the mountain. I tried to find the monument for my friend Marty Hoey who I new from when I worked at Snowbird Ski resort in Utah. I couldn't find it but the rain was coming down so hard that I couldn't look at them all. This is the worst rain I've seen yet. I'm sure some of her friends at Snowbird would like to know if the monument was in good shape or not. I will have to look on the way down because its just to foggy and rainy to see much. Damn this is tough. As we approached Gorak Shep we were looking down on a dry sandy area where the glacier had left what might be called a small lake bed with no water just dry light sand. Quite strange. Also on the right I could see a small hill across from the Tea House where we are staying at. It is the view that I've seen so many times. Its the same panoramic view that REI uses to promote its memberships. They have a member standing as I am with the description that its Base Camp of Everest. So I got a picture of myself in about the same spot. The problem is that it isn't Base Camp. I asked our guide how far it is to the actual base camp. He told me about two hours. There are several tea houses in Gorak Shep where many climbers and trekkers decide to cry uncle and call it quits. I meet many. Anyway I'm going to make it tomorrow. After that I don't care about my right heel, I'll limp down if I have to.

Pheriche, Nepal 15/08/08 Day 29

Day 29 (slide show)
The temperature this morning is 7 C. Its cold and no there isn't any heat for us. Were are staying an extra day here to acclimate to the altitude. That's a good idea. You can feel the lack of oxygen. Last night I woke feeling like I was drowning. I told Paul about this and he said he could feel the altitude also. Paul and I are starting to get along pretty good. Last night he made a point to invite me to play in a group question and answer game with the Brit's before turning in. It was the first time I had been invited to participate. It was pretty fun but didn't last long. Sometimes I can't tell what they are saying because of there accent. This morning is one of the few mornings where we had a clear sky. The peaks were beautiful and the air was crisp. This makes for some great photo's. The guide didn't make sure that all of us knew we were leaving so soon again. I asked him to keep me informed but I think he tells some of the Brit's whats up but if I'm not standing right there I don't here about it. I told him not to do it again and he just turned away from me. I wasn't the only one that came running out late this time either. Anyway I didn't get a chance to get my boots tied right so of course right away my blister got a lot worse. I was told last night that we would go for 500m and if we didn't fill like going that was alright. I almost walked back in right away. But I didn't and keep going even though I could feel the heat from the blister. Well as I'm climbing and getting mad I decided to stop when I got to 15,000 ft. When I did you would have thought I was some kind of mutineer. Our guide was all surprised and I told him I had a blister problem earlier but for some reason he didn't like that answer. He looked at me with a smirk look like I was having some kind of altitude problem. I didn't have anything to prove on a stupid climb like this and I certainly don't have anything to prove to the Brit's. My watch said 15,022 so I stopped and told them I would wait there. They all went on for about 100m more. One good thing was that the guide asked his assistant to stay with me and we started talking for the first time. I brought out my binoculars and we took turns looking at all the farm houses below. He seems like a nice guy. I'm back in my room now and my heal is pretty bad. Two blisters one on the other. I will need to do something about this or I won't make it. My duck tape won't go on top of the blister's so that's out. It's about 5pm now and I'm going to rest and clean this blister up.
Note: These guides are comical. They remind me of some sheep herder dogs I've seen. If you get out of position then they snap at your heals to get you back in position.