Climbing@alanarnette.com

Soon her big brother and a few other children came to see what she was getting. The oldest was wearing a uniform of sorts and I asked if he was gong to school. He nodded his head and then said "fish" as he looked at the Crayola crayon box. There was small fish on the box. I gave him four packages of pens and he smiled knowingly at the usefulness of the present.

My pace picked up as I walked away. They have so little and yet are so happy.

Somehow snow in the trees make for a nice start to the day. We woke up Friday morning to a gentle snowfall. The trees were loaded and the ground was white. But the yak trains had already marked the trails as we left our teahouse for the next village.

We continue to move up valley. Everyone is in good health and we are right on schedule.

The email read in part "can you see if his memorial is still there?" The trek to Base Camp takes you through 30 or more stone memorials built to honor climbers who have died on Everest.

This email was from the 80 year-old Father of such a climber.

Alan describes the views of Everest from the summit of Kala Patar and his feelings about the upcoming climb.

To hear this Everest audio dispatch, just click on the play button. Thanks for listening and following Alan on The Road Back to Mt. Everest: Memories are Everything. This is about more than just climbing mountains....

Climb On!

Alan

OK, left side is best. No, on my back. Right side - yes, that is it. Ugg, the crocodile roll begins.

The last night in a tea house was supposed to be comfortable - a quasi mattress, walls, a roof. But three hours of sleep was the best I could muster.

The Lama said Thursday the 10th between 7:00 and 10:00 AM is best for the Puja.

OK - who would argue with that?

The Khumbu Icefall – 2,000 feet of moving ice – serves as the gateway to almost all routes on Everest’s south side. It is incredible to think that the early Swiss and British expeditions made this ascent in leather boots with nails for crampons and trees for ladders.

Today we made our entry into the ice fall.