Island Peak 2018: Lukla and Blessing to All
The moment I stepped off the plan in Kathmandu last week, I set my internal clock for Sherpa time, bistari, bistari—which mean ‘slowly, slowly‘ in Nepali. This morning as I awoke in Lukla, the gateway to the Khumbu, I smiled and turned over in my small bed in the Khumjung Lodge. I went down for breakfast to be greeted by the strong odor of smoking incense being spread by the owner of the Lodge. Dressed in her traditional clothing, she gave me a warm smile as she swung the copper kettle containing the sweet spices. She said it was to send blessing of happiness to everyone, inside her lodge and out. She wished everyone health, and a pleasant life. Blessed Be. Still recovering from jet lag, last night’s sleep was welcome until the 1:00 am dog barking contest. I’m still not sure who won, but I’m positive that every dog in the village participated. Then precisely at 5:00 am the village rooster decided enough was enough and it was time for everyone to get up. He is a dedicated public employee, and might a treat for someone’s dinner plate as well! Next up in the morning symphony performed at the 9,000-foot Himalayan village was the parade of helicopters and planes ferrying trekkers, climbers, goods and local from Kathmandu. The first chopper landed at 6:15, and it’s been a steady stream since. The monsoons have been reluctant to let go this 2018 autumn so the flights have backed up forcing team after team to make the daily pilgrimage to the airport only to return to their hotel, filled with an equal amount of disappointment and hope. I choose to take advance of an unexpected helicopter opportunity forgoing my seat on a 9:00 am fixed wing flight, thinking I was being clever to use the more reliable helicopter to get to Lukla. Well, best laid plans … the airplane left on time at 9, we left on the helicopter at 11 and my bags are still nowhere to be found! However, I’m told they will arrive on the “first helicopter into Lukla”. Given I was blessed this morning, I’m confident to begin the trek towards Namache, perhaps with an overnight in Monjo at the entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park. Update: Bags will be on 9 am helicopter. They left Kathmandu already! I cannot express the internal peacefulness and joy I feel being here. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund – 100% for Research and $ for$ Donation Match!!! 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. As I previously noted, I’m very excited to announce that through the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Jim and Carol Beers will match every donation from my followers during this expedition up to $10,000, and perhaps even more. You can make a donation at our Crowd Rise fundraising site and also form a team to see who can help us reach the goal of $20,000 (I would love to see $25k!) Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Island Peak 2018 Climb Begins in Kathmandu
Every journey begins with a single step, or flight in my case! After a 48 hour journey to the other side of the planet, I arrived in Kathmandu late night this week. I was surprised how many people were at the Tribhuvan International Airport. It appears the autumn trekking and climbing season is in good health. One of the advantages of coming in after 10:00 pm is that the normal stand-still traffic jams had eased up. However, I was suprised when my taxi was stopped by two different police checkpoints. One even checked my hand luggage. Actually, I have no problem with this and appreciate the protective checks. Weather Delays and Time for Pizza! As usual in the post-monsoon season, some rain hangs on making for muggy days, but coolish nights. However, flights to Lukla have been hampered this week with low cloud hanging over the already, short runway. Word has it, flights are sold out for the next week so it will be interesting to see how everyone gets to the Khumbu – maybe time to walk like in the old days or for those hardy souls. As is my custom, I had lunch at Fire and Ice on the edge of Thamel. Pizza Margarita is my normal selection, and as usual it was great. Flexibility As regular readers know, I will be joined by Kami Sherpa on my trek and climb to Island Peak. Kami was born Ang Chhiring Sherpa and lives in the village of Pangboche with his wife. As a young child, Kami became seriously ill. As is a custom for the Sherpa people, his mother changed his name to prevent the illness from returning, thus Kami. 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.” It 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. 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. 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. The Climbing Community 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 Rick Nooft, contacted me out of nowhere. 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!” 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 The Colorado Trail House, a guesthouse in Leadville, Colorado catering to hikers, bikers, runners and families. He also runs trek in Nepal through iTrekNepal thus our connection. The “New” Plan 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. 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. Thenwe will make our way further north and attempt Island Peak aka Imja Tse at 20,305-feet/6,189-meters sometime around October 21st – give or take. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund – 100% for Research and $ for$ Donation Match!!! 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. As I previously noted, I’m very excited to announce that through the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Jim and Carol Beers will match every donation from my followers during this expedition up to $10,000, and perhaps even more. 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 100% of all donations go directly to fund research projects. Since 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—including a potential treatment selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its elite “Blueprint” drug discovery program, and the ground-breaking “Alzheimer’s in a Dish” study, which promises to greatly accelerate drug testing and was reported by
Back to Nepal for Alzheimer’s
My passion is climbing and my life’s purpose is as an Alzheimer’s Advocate. In that spirit, I’m excited to share this announcement with my friends, supporters, and followers that I’m returning to Nepal in October 2018 for the 12th time. I will be climbing again and raising money for the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research with the highest probability of preventing, slowing or reversing Alzheimer’s disease through venture-based philanthropy. I’ve worked with them since 2008. This will be a personal milestone for me as well. On February 10, 2017, while training for the 8000-meter peak Dhaulagiri, I was on a simple 11,000-foot peak here in Colorado when a wind gust cartwheeled me into a scree field breaking my right tibia and fibula in three places. A full year went by before I started to feel like myself. However, I was nowhere near where I was or where I wanted to be. Over the past 18 months, I have had some serious questions to answer about my physical future and it required digging deep into who I thought I was. The October 2018 Climb Plan I will join with Kami Sherpa to climb the relatively simple peak Island Peak aka Imja Tse at 20,305-feet/6,189-meters. It is located just over the ridge from Everest and Lhotse and you reach it by trekking through the Khumbu. As you may remember Kami and I have summited Everest (2011) and K2 (2014) and had two attempts on Lhotse (2015/2016) that were stopped by the earthquake and me getting sick. As usual, I will be live blogging throughout the trek and climb. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund – 100% for Research and $ for$ Donation Match!!! Also, I’m very excited to announce that through the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Jim and Carol Beers will match every donation from my followers during this expedition up to $10,000, and perhaps even more. 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 100% of all donations go directly to fund research projects. Since 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—including a potential treatment selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its elite “Blueprint” drug discovery program, and the ground-breaking “Alzheimer’s in a Dish” study, which promises to greatly accelerate drug testing and was reported by the New York Times as a “giant step forward”. Charity Navigator scored the CAF with 100 percent regarding its overall financial health. Form or Join a Team! You can make a donation at our Crowd Rise fundraising site and also form a team to see who can help us reach the goal of $20,000 (I would love to see $25k!) A Long Journey Anytime there is a major trauma in your life, including watching a loved one go through a horrible disease, it requires time and support to cope and recover but most importantly it requires maintaining a positive attitude. For me, with my injury, this meant being patient, open and vulnerable. I surrounded myself with positive people from whom I could learn, depend upon for support and open myself up with admissions of my fears. I found professionals that could help me with the physical recovery. In addition to my orthopedic Doc, Riley Hale, who put my leg back together, my physical therapist, Nina Patterson took theory into reality with a deep understanding of sports injuries and how the body responds. Simply put, I wouldn’t even be thinking about climbing again without these two professionals. It also required that I be honest with myself. This is very complex. While I have framed my incident as something that happened and I could choose how I responded, I was also honest that it was not something in my “plan.” I strove to not position myself as a victim or a martyr AND at times I simply gave into the feelings of despair. I gave myself permission to go into that pity party, let my emotions flow freely AND to pull out after I had had enough. For my 62nd birthday, I was planning a climb of Longs Peak, my favorite Colorado 14,000-foot peak. As I was falling asleep a few nights before the climb, I suddenly woke up saying out loud “I don’t want to be in the rocks. I don’t want to be in the rocks.” Diane, my wife lying by my side, gently talked me through the experience and soon I fell asleep in her loving arms. The 2018 climb on Longs was another step in progress. Surrounded by dear friends, we were stopped by rain and snow – in late July. But it was a “non-summit” and not a failure as we all learned and grew through the experience. Not to give up, I summited Longs today 18 September 2018 for the 43rd time. The summer of 2018, I have been focused on regaining my fitness through losing the weight I gained through almost a year of inactivity and doing active triggering of the deep memories in my essence of the sport I love. I set a goal of climbing back to back 14ers in July – something I have wanted to do for years. Over a five day period, I summited 4 of 5 14ers coving over 50 miles and 21,000 feet in vertical gain. It felt good. In August, on the 9th anniversary of the death of Ida Arnette from Alzheimer’s Disease I hiked to the summit of Mt. Ida in Rocky Mountain National Park. The 12,840-foot peak was not difficult but a year earlier it took me 10 hours. This year I cut that time in half. Yes, I felt the progress and now could measure it. However, the real victory was connecting with my mom, Ida, who died in 2009 from Alzheimer’s Disease. As I said, in 2017 her memory pulled me to the summit of Mt. Ida as