I leave for my first rotation to the high camps in about 12 hours. We will get up abut 3:00 AM for a breakfast of toast and a single fried egg, maybe a cup of coffee. Then along with our personal Sherpa we will pass the puja alter and through the smoke from burning juniper. Next is a stop at crampon point at the base of the Khumbu icefall to put on our crampons. From there it is 2000′ through the labyrinth of moving ice and finally into the West end of the Western CWM. It will still take another continue reading
“You don’t look good” said a teammate to me during Sunday’s dinner. We both laughed as I refuted his comment, but he was right. I finished dinner and went to bed at 7:30; normal for almost all the team. A simple gurgle then a swoosh caused my eyes to open with urgency. No, I told myself and rolled over at 10:30, only 3 hours after bedtime. But nature was not be denied. Knowing the toilet tent was down a rocky hillside with no discernible path and loaded with loose rock, I dreaded the trip but knew it was inevitable. I continue reading
Ceremonies mark life. Many come with a birth of a child, a union of a couple or upon death. Today, we had a ceremony to climb a mountain but as with all ceremonies it meant much more. The puja is a traditional ceremony lead by a Lama where the mountain Gods are asked permission for the climbers to climb and forgiveness for the damage caused by the climbing. All the Sherpas, climbers, cooks – anyone associated with the climb participates. This April 2011 Sunday morning was warm and clear, much different from the past few weeks. As we ate breakfast, continue reading
A familiar sound – the ignition of the stoves – after the moon had set and the night was at the coldest and darkest. I rolled over in my sleeping bag. I heard the breathing of my tent mate, the sounds inside the tent a few feet away. The snow had stooped. I pulled my Buff away from my mouth; it was soaked. My sinus had made an executive decision for the rest of my body and was sending a series of liquid orders demanding attention. Following orders, my throat had constricted leaving a raw residue that refused to cooperate continue reading
Everest Base Camp. What does this phrase evoke in your mind? Adventure, Tenzing & Hillary, mountaineering, “Into Thin Air”? No matter your association, it is one of the most interesting paces on Earth for 60 days each spring. I have been walking around EBC the past two days in between getting ready to climb Lobuche Peak tomorrow. This morning we had a fantastic run-through on the ice with our Sherpas and Greg, the IMG Expedition Leader. It was good to get my crampons on my 8000m boots and clip into a fixed line to climb and then rappel down continue reading
As we left the village of Lobuche, the trail was a mixture of rocks, dirt, and a few mud puddles. We gained altitude steadily except for several stretches on steep uphill that reminded us of where we were and the task ahead.The clouds were low, obscuring the view. But the sounds made up for it all. What seemed like endless yak trains; each one made their way ever so slowly up the trial towards Everest Base Camp. Their primitive wooden frame saddles held white rice sacks filled with expedition supplies. Several heavy blankets protected their backs. The yaks moved at continue reading
I am here to climb Mt. Everest but the trek to Everest is always a highlight. Unlike my previous times, we are taking our time with acclimatization days built into the schedule allowing for plenty of opportunity to see the Khumbu in a relaxed manner. Also, I am finding this pace to be very conducive to preparing for the task ahead. We left Namche in a gentle snowfall that followed us all the way to Tengboche Monastery and to our teahouse at Deboche. The section of the trek involves a fairly steep downhill to the river and a corresponding uphill continue reading
Honestly, I am not sure how to start this dispatch. Today was a day full of emotions. I was woken up by the low drone of horns played in unison, almost like millions of bees flying past; only occasionally interrupted by a clash of a cymbal. The soothing sounds were coming from a nearby Monastery here in Namche. The sounds reverberated throughout the earth and rock walls of the natural horseshoe amphitheater holding this tiny village and into my small lodge room. I laid in bed listening to the horns and the Monks chanting letting it sink it where I continue reading
One of the highlights of my first visit to the Khumbu in 1997 was the Saturday morning market at Namche Bazaar. Here, Sherpa and Tibetans traveled for sometimes days to buy and sell all sorts of goods. It was an amazing scene of vegetables, meat, clothes – anything one would need to survive. Neatly laid out on blankets, weighed with medieval scales, commerce took place efficiently. Today, Saturday April 2, 2011, I was fortunate enough to repeat this experience. Namche is the largest village in the Khumbu and generally considered the capital or commerce center. It is located in a continue reading
The phone rang at 4:00 AM sharp, our wakeup call to get to the Kathmandu airport and our flight to Lukla. I was conscious of how I felt as I changed from traveling clothes to trekking clothes – excited, anticipatory, perhaps a bit anxious of the task ahead. But the overwhelming feeling was a sense of deep reflection on the opportunity and the cause. Our team of climbers, trekkers, guides and a few of our Sherpas loaded onto a bus for the quick ride to the airport. It was perhaps the only time to see a quiet Kathmandu. The streets continue reading
Sometimes I think I enjoy writing about climbing more than I enjoy climbing – that is until I start climbing. The truth is I love both. The opportunity to share with anyone about this sport, my passion – alpine mountaineering; is an honor. But it is also work. So my last day in Kathmandu was spent getting some new technology to try out while climbing Everest. As I wrote a few months ago, the Swedish cell phone company Ncell, bought out the local provider and expanded their network in theory to the summit of Everest. I already came prepared with continue reading
I think it was the same dog I heard the last time I was in Kathmandu. His bark was strong, clear, distinctive and continuous. And amazingly enough he was outside my window just like the last 7 times I was here! OK, maybe it was not the same dog but I am positive it was the same one who answered him and the same one who starting to howl at 3:00AM! As the sun rose, my friends continued to act like roosters plus an accompanying chorus from a few thousand birds and some overly zealous drivers who felt the need continue reading
How do you describe Kathmandu? With all the books, songs, stories and legends; the magic and mystery envelopes this place like the afternoon rain shower that just passed through. My Thai flight, TG 319, from Bangkok left almost on time and arrived almost on time – not bad for this part of the world. I was pretty tired from the previous 15 hour flight from LA to Bangkok but stayed awake as I had a window seat on the right side of the plane – on a good day you can see Everest looming high above the clouds. But not continue reading
The time has come for climb number 3 of the 7 Summits for Alzheimer’s: Memories are Everything. I leave for Kathmandu and Everest in less than 24 hours. The Reason Let me talk about the climb but first remember that this is to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s. If you find my coverage of Everest over the years interesting, entertaining or useful please donate today. If you know someone with Alzheimer’s, please donate today. If you cherish your memories, please donate today. I am asking that you donate $0.01 per foot I climb or $196 for Everest. Alzheimer’s is continue reading
Regular readers of my site know the answer to this. However, as I finalize my preparations to climb Everest in less than two weeks, I created this brief video that explains my motivation and plans. I will do everything I can to reach the summit of Everest, but of greater importance is to raise awareness of the growing epidemic of Alzheimer’s and the urgent need for increased funding for research. The Alzheimer’s Association just released a report showing the dramatic increase in Alzheimer’s and thus the urgency for a cure: Every 69 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s continue reading
If you are a parent, sometimes you get that question you can’t answer like “why is the sky blue” or “what is a 64 Chevy that dad talks about” or “ How hard is it to climb mountains?” In that spirit, I created a slide show designed for parents to read with their children about my climb of Mt. Everest in 2002. I simply call it Everest for KiDs It has pictures and a brief paragraph explaining each section of the climb. Written with input from 6 year-old’s parents and educators, it is written at a very simple level with continue reading
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