Keep on trekking

Hi everyone,
Although it may seem like it, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I could give a bunch of lame excuses but why?

Yesterday, I received a phone call from my friend, Jon Miller, (therestofeverest.com) who is on a trek in the Himalayas as I write this. It was so cool to hear his voice, broken from the satellite connection, coming to me from Gorak Shep, that I've spent the last several hours just daydreaming about being back there.

So thanks to Jon for reminding me to post the pictures from a place that constantly tugs at my soul!



Welcome to Tengboche Monestary! Magical seeming, as we walked into Tengboche at 12,887 feet, these monks greeted us with afternoon, call to prayer music. Tengboche is the largest buddhist monastery in the Khumbu region.



A monk prepares to ascend the steps leading up to the monastery.



I had a very rough night in Tengboche. I barely slept due to a terrible gastrointestinal bug. When the sun came up and revealed this view of Ama Dablam, it softened the blow a little.



Mani stones mark the entrance to the Debotche Nunnery. Built in 1928, this convent is the sister to Tengboche Monestary. I remember this day very well. Because I was so sick, I had to walk extra slow to help cope with my bad stomach. Dipendra and I made a pitstop at this place and had a delightful visit with one of the nuns living there.



Nomng Doma Tibeti, 31, prays inside the gompa. Since making the journey from Tibet, she has lived at the nunnery for 7 years.

There are approximately twenty nuns living here. The residents help nuns from all over Nepal, who come to visit, stay and learn different prayers and ceremonies in a kind of religious exchange program. Several nuns from Tibet have endured brutal circumstance in their trip to Nepal. Tibetans literally run for their lives while crossing the high mountain passes, many being shot at by soldiers while fleeing.

During my online research, I found a website that includes a project specifically dedicated to helping these nuns (and others across the globe). Click here for more information.



Part of the alter inside the gompa.



Morning chores at the Debotche gompa.



I gave Nomng a LAF(Lance Armstrong Foundation) bracelet after our visit. She decided she wanted the one on my wrist, not the one I gave her from my backpack. Of course I gave her the one from my wrist! Here we are modeling our matching bracelets. Before we left Nomng said a prayer to help my ailing stomach. I started feeling better that night. (besides the prayers, I also asked several antibiotics to rid me of this plague)



Danika, one of our guides on the trek, makes friends with a horse that was wandering around near our lunch break area. The horse was really interested in her grape juice and ended up drinking it. She liked the juice so much that she ended up searching for more and sort of stampeded through our group. It was one of the scariest moment of our trek!



The new and the old. A modern, new bridge crosses over the old suspension bridge on the way to Dingboche.



Prayer flags greet these trekkers as they descend on the new bridge.



Looks a bit different from the health care facilities in the US.



Service with a smile. Raj, our sirdar, helps serve our midday feast. Despite their assigned jobs, the Nepali staff helped with all tasks. I'm pretty sure you'd never hear a Nepali say: "that's not in my job description."



Sharpening stone...



Surrounded by magnificant scenery, one of our group members, Tracey, takes a nap before lunch. Tracey is an amazing hiker and can hike circles around me, she's very fast! I really enjoyed her company on this trip.



Dorje and Dipendra help prepare our lunch. Despite the rugged conditions, each day our wonderful Nepali staff would assemble a full kitchen and prepare three delicious hot meals for the group. Despite our begging, they rarely ate with us, instead waiting until we were done and then eating only in the kitchen. We finally dined with them at our final meal together, it was very special.



Prayer flags color the landscape as we enter the Everest Memorial area. Located at 15,774 feet, it is a solemn place filled with endless little chortens built to honor people lost in the region.



The memorial area is, of course, surrounded by the beautiful Himalayan mountains.



Weathered memorial to Babu Chiri Sherpa. There are many websites to read about this man and his legacy, you can begin here.



Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer was the first book I read about climbing Mount Everest. Scott Fischer was one of eight people who died on May 10, 1996 in the deadliest single tragedy in Everest's climbing history. It was chilling to see this memorial.



Another view of Scott Fischer's memorial. Fischer was an accomplished guide and climber. He was the first American to climb Lhotse and in the third American party to summit K2.



Leaving the memorial area, on the way to Lebuche, porters and yak hybrids carry their heavy loads in support of many trekking parties. Without them, our journey would not be possible.



From my tent in Lebuche, (16,175 feet) I could see toilet tents and horses right outside my door. Now that is a room with a view! Tomorrow I attempt to climb Kala Pattar, our highest point in the trek. The day after that is Everest Base Camp!

Please stay tuned and thanks for visiting!!

Dipen Bhai (World's Greatest Climbing Guide!)

Dipen is the world's greatest. Ok, maybe I'm a little biased. There are many great guides and Sherpa out there. Here's a story about one of them.



The top of the world--May 25, 2008, 0730 am Mount Everest Summit.

At the beginning of our trek to Mount Everest base camp, we had the option to hire a personal guide. It's now hard to believe I ever considered not doing this! The additional price was nominal and my gear was very heavy. Nikon does not make digital SLR's with trekking in mind! Having Dipen with me was a dream come true. Not only did he carry my pack, narrate the entire trek, answer all questions with expertise and help with anything else I needed, his company was also wonderful. Without him, I'm not sure I would have been so successful. During our two weeks together, I thanked him many times a day. I told him I wanted to thank him at least one million times.

I met Dipen on a chilly morning in Lukla. It was our first trekking day and our group had just flown into town a few hours before. After the trek, I felt I had known him for a lifetime and he will always be my friend. Dipen's real name is Roshan Bhattarai and he's 24 years old. His friends call him Dipen. I call him Dipen Bhai, which is the Nepali word for younger brother. He calls me Didi, which means older sister.


On May 25th, 2008, just months before I met him, Dipen summitted Mount Everest. (Southeast ridge route) He was kind enough to send me these photos and I promised to make him famous by posting them here. (at his request--sort of a joke between us) On our long days of hiking, we exchanged many stories about our lives and he was excited to hear about my websites. He told me he wanted to be famous. I don't know if this will really make him famous, but I hope you'll enjoy the photos. In addition to being my guide, Dipen worked nonstop with the rest of the Nepali staff. Their work ethic is unbelievable. A Nepali would never say: "that's not in my job description." From digging holes for the toilet tent to setting up camp to cooking and cleaning after meals, etc, everyone pitched in on every job. Yak drivers, cooks, Sherpa's, guides, they only rested after all chores were done. That's what I call teamwork!




Dipen carefully makes his way through the Khumbu Ice Fall.



Ropes and ladders are used to traverse the treacherous seracs, crevasses and shifting blocks of ice. This is between camp 1 and 2 at 21,325 feet.



Camp 3-- 24,278 feet.



Dipen summitted with a team from Canadian West Mountaineering School. He has summitted other peaks in the Himalayn region and continues to work on expeditions and train in more advanced mountaineering techniques.



A million thanks Dipen Bhai!!

Going up... to Namche Bazaar

Destination, day 2: Namche Bazaar


On our second day in the Khumbu, we trekked to Namche Bazaar, a tough hike with an altitude gain of 2600 feet. In Namche Bazaar, at 11,300 feet, breathing became much more difficult. To help our bodies acclimatize, we spent two nights there.




My altimeter has almost lapped itself!



One of the many bridges we crossed over the Dudh Kosi River. Bridges come in all forms in the Khumbu, from enormous and well-constructed metal suspension to primitive wooden versions. Awareness of yaks and other animals on the bridges is essential, as they require a wide berth.



Yak train




On their way to school, uniformed children pass trekkers Marie and Tom, who were on their honeymoon. The couple, who live in BC, joined us for the first few days of the trek and then traveled a different direction, toward Gokyo. I really enjoyed getting to know them.




A child keeps a watchful eye on trekkers from the safety of his doorstep.




Tom shares a photo with his subjects. The Nepali people I met along the way seemed to really enjoy seeing themselves on my digital camera screen.




After our long day of hiking, a train of yak hybrids greets us on our way into Namche Bazaar.





One of the vendors at the local market in Namche Bazaar.




As camp takes shape, there's always time for play. After helping to set up our campsite, Dipen and Heather start a game of Hacky Sack.



Room with a view! My home sweet home for the night.




One of our guides, Heather, volunteered to help demonstrate the Gamow bag. Luckily, this is the only time we saw this device in use. The Gamow bag is used to treat serious cases of altitude sickness. It is a large, airtight bag, inflated by either foot or hand pump and can effectively reduce altitude by about 5000 feet. (Check out Heather's very cool website)




I would have to be pretty sick to climb inside one of these! My claustrophobia kicked in just watching this demonstration.


On our rest day in Namche Bazaar, part of our group hiked to Everest View Hotel. In addition to helping us acclimatize, we enjoyed our first great views of the giant mountains. After reading about these places all my life, it was surreal to be hiking in the shadows of Mount Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse and others. To say it was breathtaking is an understatement.




A chorten dedicated to the memory of Tenzing Norgay. Norgay summitted Mount Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hillary. Mount Everest is at the top left of the frame.



During our acclimitization hike to Everest View Hotel, our guide, Danika, an accomplished ice climber among other things, spots climbing guide, Dipen, as he climbs a giant boulder.




A sign along the way. Notice the prices (in Nepali rupees) for food and drinks at the lodge. Currently, there are approximately 77 rupees to 1 US dollar.




Diane and Tracey figure out which peak is Everest.






Mount Everest, at left and Lhotse. Although Lhotse might appear taller than Everest, it is an optical illusion, due to the distance to the peak. The two mountains are connected via the South Col.



The majestic Ama Dablam. Seeing this mountain in person took my breath away. Every angle gives a more interesting view. We enjoyed views of this moutain on most days of our trek. The mountain is 22,349 feet and its name means mother and pearl necklace. (The perennial hanging glacier is thought of as the pearl).




Framed by prayer flags, from left: Tawotse, Nuptse, Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam. What a day!!

Here we go... To Lukla!

Boarding pass in hand, I'm ready!




Flight to Lukla




From the plane we caught our first view of the great Himalayas.




The flight to Lukla was very nice without any turbulence. Just about a month before our flight there, a plane crashed upon landing in foggy weather and unfortunately, 18 people were killed in the horrible accident. My heart goes out to all the families of the crash victims.

This airport, at 9350 feet, requires expert pilots to land and take off safely. The landing strip is short and steep with a big drop-off. Weather permitting, pilots fly in and out of here several times per day. They quickly unload and reload, sometimes not even shutting off all of the engines.

Knowing about the recent accident made the wonderful flight and landing even more surreal. We all clapped upon landing which really surprised our pilot.
Welcome to Lukla!




For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, this is a squat toilet. This is a very nice, very clean one.




I can't believe we are finally here!!




Here I go!




A child, in her mother's arms, makes the sign for Namaste as we begin our trek.




A porter makes his way past mani stones. Mani stones, varying in size are carved with Bhuddist prayers and are all over the region. Sometimes they have prayer wheels around them. It's always a good idea to go clockwise around the Mani stone and spin the prayer wheels. The good luck this will bring is always welcomed!




I have no idea how these people carry such heavy loads on their heads and necks!




Some porters carry as much as 100 kg or 220 pounds in one load! They carry big wooden walking sticks that double as seats to rest on.