Everest 2012: Climbers in Kathmandu
More and more teams are now in Kathmandu preparing to catch their flights to Lukla or Lhasa. Anyone who has followed me or been there themselves know that Kathmandu is a meaningful part of any Everest experience. Ian Ridley captured it well on his blog: Driving through the streets of Kathmandu is one of those […]
The Dogs of Kathmandu
I think it was the same dog I heard the last time I was in Kathmandu. His bark was strong, store 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 […]
Kathmandu – sights, sounds and memories
How do you describe Kathmandu? With all the books, salve songs, case stories and legends; the magic and mystery envelopes this place like the afternoon rain shower that just passed through. My Thai flight, sick TG 319, from Bangkok left almost on time and arrived almost on time – not bad for this part of […]
The Weather Game
Once again we find teams all over the Khumbu. Many are down valley in the village of Periche enjoying some time at the teahouses and the richer oxygen environment but others are still high on the mountain. The weather continues to play havoc with those climbers. AAI reported an aborted attempt to reach camp 3 […]
And They’re Off!
Climbers continue to stream into Kathmandu from all around the world. I updated the expedition count and can already identify over 150 named climbers just on the south side and over 50 on the north. But the true number could easily exceed 350 on both sides. To put this in context, in 2009, we saw over 300 summits and sadly, 5 deaths and nearly 500 summits set a single season record in 2007.