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<\/a>Yesterday, I was scheduled to meet with Kami but to my surprise his two youngest children, daughters Dawa and Karma, came to the hotel. I met them last year, finding them ambitious, smart, quick and a true delight. Dawa in fast speed cadence blurted out “Father woke up with a sore leg and went to the doctor so he cannot walk for a week or more.”<\/p>\nIt seems that Kami had developed gout in his lower right leg. He went to the hospital and they gave him medicine and again today when he received a shot so he was able to join us today for lunch.<\/p>\n
Over ice cream with 17 year-old Karma (her birthday was yesterday), I told him that his health was priority number one. He has taken care of me so many times, now it was my turn.<\/p>\n
We went to the agency organizing travel and climbing permits and made all the necessary changes to give Kami time to recover and, if he can, join me later in the month.<\/p>\n
The Climbing Community<\/h3>\n
With the poor weather in Lukla, only the first flight of the day for fixed wing planes are scooting in while helicopters are getting in on a slightly more regular basis. Resolved to make the multiple round-trips from airport to hotel for the next week, I was pleased when\u00a0Rick Nooft<\/a>, contacted me out of nowhere. <\/span><\/p>\n His message began, “Hi Alan, my name is Rick Nooft. You don’t know me but I live in Leadville, Colorado not too far from you I understand. I’m in Nepal quite a bit as well, I run a trekking company here. Would be cool to meet you sometime, maybe when you’re back from your climb we can meet in Kathmandu, I’m here until October 30th. Good luck on Island Peak!”<\/span><\/p>\n We exchanged a few messages and then he offered up a spare spot on a helicopter at 6:30 tomorrow morning. I had a “reserved” seat on a 9 am fixed wing flight but it was almost certain not to go. Over more ice cream, Kami and I discussed a highly revised plan and soon I texted Rick that I would take the spot. I love how the climbing community works together. Thanks Rick! He owns\u00a0The Colorado Trail House<\/a>, a guesthouse in Leadville, Colorado catering to hikers, bikers, runners and families. He also runs trek in Nepal through iTrekNepal<\/a> thus our connection.<\/p>\n So if the weather Gods are happy, I will arrive in Lukla tomorrow morning, Saturday October 6, 2018 and meet up with Mingma, Kami’s son and begin the trek.<\/p>\n With the changes, I decided to make one more change. Instead of the traditional the regular “Everest Base Camp Trek” with a plan to veer off at Dingboche and trek to Chhukung and on to Island Peak, I’ll take a few extra days to go by way of Goyko Lakes. I first did this route in 1997 so am eager to return as it is simply stunning with the 5 Lakes. From there I\/we will take the Cho La Pass at 5300-meters\/17,388-feet to the next village.<\/p>\n Thenwe will make our way further north and attempt\u00a0Island Peak aka Imja Tse at 20,305-feet\/6,189-meters sometime around October 21st – give or take.<\/p>\n Please remember that this is not only about me getting back on the climbing horse after breaking my leg last year but also to honor Ida, my four aunts and the millions across the globe impacted by Alzheimer’s.<\/p>\n As I previously noted, \u00a0I’m very excited to announce that through the\u00a0Cure Alzheimer’s Fund<\/a>\u00a0Jim and Carol Beers will match every donation from my\u00a0followers during this\u00a0expedition up to $10,000, and perhaps even more.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I’ve worked with the CAF since 2008 finding their research model both effective and efficient. All of their overhead is underwritten by their founders so that\u00a0100% of all donations go directly to fund research projects.\u00a0Since it’s founding, the CAF has funded more than $74,000,000 to 337 research project. Their funded initiatives have been responsible for several key breakthroughs\u2014including a potential treatment selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its elite \u201cBlueprint\u201d drug discovery program, and the ground-breaking \u201cAlzheimer’s in a Dish\u201d study, which promises to greatly accelerate drug testing and was reported by the New York Times as a \u201cgiant step forward\u201d.\u00a0Charity Navigator<\/a> scored the CAF with 100 percent regarding its overall financial health.<\/p>\n You can make a donation at our Crowd Rise fundraising site<\/a>\u00a0and also form a team to see who can help us reach the goal of $20,000 (I would love to see $25k!)<\/p>\nThe “New” Plan<\/h3>\n
Cure Alzheimer’s Fund – 100% for Research and $ for$ Donation Match!!!<\/h3>\n