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 experiences you never forget. They say driving around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris is dangerous well who ever said that has not been to Kathmandu. Whilst our Highway Code probably extends to 200 plus pages here there must only be one which says ‘when wishing to change lane or direction sound horn and proceed!’. Another quirk is whist all motorcyclists must wear crash helmets their pillions don’t. How mad is that. One of the first order of business for many climbers, and trekkers, these days is to get a sim card for their cell phone. How times have changed 🙂 Ncell is the preferred carrier because they charge 1.99 Nepalese Rupee (USD $0.02) per minute for a call to the US! There is coverage throughout Nepal and up to Everest Base Camp. In 2011, I was able to get a weak signal all the way to Camp 2 and some report a connection from the summit itself! But most people want to visit the sights of Kathmandu including a trip to the Bagmati River which is the home of a significant Hindu temple. Ghats or river steps line the river. You can witness cremations. Bodies are painted and positioned on top of logs and set afire. When all that remains are the ashes, they are put in a small bowl with milk and flower petals covering them, and then washed into the river with an elaborate religious ceremony. Certain areas of this temple are reserved for cremating royalty and others for the lower classes. Pashupatinath is the holiest Hindu pilgrimage destination in Nepal. Boudhanath is among the largest stupas in South Asia and it has become the focal point of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. Monks walk about in maroon robes as well as Tibetans with prayer wheels in their hands. You will also see the ritual of prostration where worshippers circle the stupa on their hands and knees, bowing down to their lord. Another favorite spot is the Swayambhunath or Monkey Temple. This temple is located a short distance from Katmandu. There are over 500 wild monkeys crawling around on the steps and buildings – thus the Monkey Temple. You can get a nice pre-climb workout climbing the 365 well worn-steps leading to the top of the temple. Lots to do once you arrive but not everyone has left their home countries. One climber to follow this year will be 70 year-old Bill Burke. I have been following Bill for years now and he has become a good friend even though we have never met. The Blog of the Day belongs to Bill where he describes what it takes to get his body, and mind, prepared for Everest. Of note, Bill is attempting a double summit which means he will attempt the summit from Nepal, travel overland to Tibet and attempt a second summit from that side. This has never been done in a single season; much less at age 70. I especially like this section of his post on mental commitment: Just before the battle of Agincourt in 1415, King Henry V declared to his troops: “all things are ready if the mind be so.” William Shakespeare, King Henry V, act 4, Scene 3. Mental preparation is far more important than physical preparation in molding fitness to climb. For sure, the mountain takes its physical toll on the body. But, the mind is what keeps you moving in the difficult times. The extreme vertical terrain, the relentless weather, those long and lonely nights in the tent, the sameness of the food, longing for family and friends and fear all conspire to create doubt and temptation to quit and go home. There is no antidote for this malaise in or medicine. Mental toughness, fierce determination and iron resolve are the only hope. We have some early reports of conditions in the Khumbu and on Everest. I had read of heavy snows in the Khumbu in late winter blocking trails and creating havoc. But all this seems to have cleared with reports of warm sunny days this week in the Khumbu albeit some fresh snow at Base Camp. A few comments note that Sherpas are saying there is little snow on Everest proper when viewed on the approach. But as we all know, we are talking about weather and summit days are over 6 weeks away so anything can happen. Finally, The National Geographic team did an interview on Talk of the Nation recently about their non-climbing goals for Everest. Conrad Anker is climbing the West Ridge, and another team is on the Southeast Ridge route plus a slew of scientist are following them to collect rock and human condition samples. Specifically they are looking at sleep deprivation issues. You can read the transcript at this link or listen to the entire interview here: OK, teams are getting settled into Kathmandu, enjoying their last “civilized” meals at sit down tables with glass glasses. Some are having breakfast at Mike’s Breakfast; others a huge pizza and beer at Fire & Ice; yet others taking in the local Dal Bhat – but there will be much more of that over the next two months. Whatever they eat, they are filled with excitement, anticipation, trepidation and a few are thinking “What have I gotten myself into?” Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
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 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 to let the world know they were turning the corner with an endless series of short horn honks. As the saying goes, the car horn is the national bird of Nepal! Breakfast at the Hotel Tibet was excellent. An omelet, some sausage and instant coffee did the trick. We are about 10 minutes outside of Thamel, the tourist section of Kathmandu, so it is bit quieter (however same dogs!), a tad newer and the showers are hot. The biggest difference from my last visit is the availability of wireless Internet however there are still rolling blackouts with no power up to 18 hours a day. The walk to the stores, shops and restaurants are an exercise in focus. One crosses the streets only at intersections, jaywalking is punishable by getting run over. The scooter is the dominate method of travel, closely followed by the tuk-tuk (a three wheel vehicle type thing) that easily exceed their capacity by a factor of 10. Then you have the random car, van and sometimes the white Land Rover which is usually a diplomat feeling superior as they also honk their horn to let the world know they are very important. Needless to say the only reaction is a long honk back and so it goes. Word has it the flights to Lukla are running again as the weather has improved. More of our team arrived today and we have a group dinner tonight. Sometimes I feel like I am in the first 10 minutes of a Love Boat episode with all the meeting and greeting. We are just missing the cruse director! My roommate is Larry and together we ran though our gear with IMG Guide Justin. We pulled everything out of the carefully packed duffles to check and double check we had the right gear for both the trek in and the climb itself. After all the nearest REI is a bit far away from base camp. I am using the same gear I have used for years and most recently on Vinson and Aconcagua so I am good to go. But I did forget a towel and soap so a trip to the local market was on my agenda. As I walked the busy streets of Kathmandu, I am struck by how little has changed since my first vista in the mid 1990’s. Buildings are still built using bamboo scaffolding tied together with twine. Gravel is created by chiseling rocks. Those rocks are moved in woven cane baskets on the back of mostly men. Beggars line the tourists areas in astounding states of impairment. The roads have huge potholes when there is pavement. The air has a reddish tint as the sun tries to poke through the pollution, haze and dust. And kids still ride bikes like kids do. Mothers carry their babies on their backs. Every form of commerce seems to take place in a roadside store that is the width of a sofa. If you ask for directions, it is readily available with a smile. Even the traffic will pause for the unsuspecting foreigner that looks right for traffic that is coming from his left. Nepal continues to be a country in various forms of transitions or chaos. The political environment is ever-changing with factions on all sides debating leadership. The rural areas are slowly migrating to the larger cities in search of jobs, and sometimes safety. The Kathmandu area is now about 1.5 million people. Thus as I fly to the northern part of the county and into the Khumbu area around Everest, I feel like I am in a totally different world. The people are more relaxed, the traffic along the dirt trails consist of yaks and kids late for school. The air is clean and the sun shines brightly. Life seems simpler. But they also have their issues. The climbing and trekking community brings much needed commerce to these areas. Yes, there are the issues that come with more people visiting a fragile ecosystem but the ability for these people to benefit from the commerce bringing a better life to their children seems to outweigh the issues. On my first visit, we bought bottled water and saw wood used for heating water. Both contributed to pollution and deforestation. Today, we use boiled or iodine ed water and food is cooked using kerosene or dung fires. Smoke is ventilated outside the teahouses versus the old systems that lead to health issues with smoke inside the homes. Thanks to foundations like the Hillary foundation, schools have been built throughout the Khumbu and most children receive at least a 6th grade education. Many go on to higher education in Kathmandu. Yet health care struggles. A couple of years ago, I received an email from a young man in Nepal telling me his mother had Alzheimer’s but there was no help available in Nepal. To state the obvious, Alzheimer’s know no borders, politics or economic status. And the world struggles to meet the human need for a cure. Moving on; as I made the rounds today, I saw a few noteworthy people in the guiding community, Eric Simonson, co-owner of International Mountain Guides was chatting with Russell Brice, owner of Himalayan Experience (Himex) in our hotel lobby. I asked them about moving their base camps out of the “main town” at the foot of the Icefall. More on that
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 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 today. The flight was full of diplomats, tourists, trekkers, climbers, monks and families. Everyone was in a chatty mood and the flight went by quickly. As I walked down the stairs from the white and purple 777, I took a deep breath of warm, moist air – back in Kathmandu. This is my 8th time to take that first breath; each one unique, yet familiar. The visa process seemed faster than before, perhaps because there were not as many foreigners in the line this year. I got my 90 day visa pasted into my passport and went downstairs to see if my three duffles had arrived. There was the huge black one, and a few minutes later the large red one appeared. So far, so good! And yes, the small blue one. YES! Thank you United and Thai! Denver to Kathmandu, nonstop. As I navigated the helpful kids wanting to push my cart for “tips?”; I stepped through the airport doors to a heaving crowd of taxi drivers and guide companies calling out their names. Alpine Ascents, Himalayan Experience, Adventure Consultants, Jagged Globe, Adventure Peaks, Mountain Madness and International Mountain Guides. And many more with the words guides, mountain, expedition, tour in their names. A big smile greeted me from Jangbu and my bags were whisked away to the IMG van. A fragrant lei was put around my neck to welcome me to Nepal. Soon I was joined by four of our team. “How was your flight? Where are you from? First time to Nepal? Are you the classic or hybrid team?” Getting to know you. Lots of time to do this over the next 8 weeks. Pulling up to the Hotel Tibet, a gaggle of IMG Guides appeared full of smiles, energy and strong handshakes. A nice first impression. The talk was of cold and heavy snow at Namche. That there are 50 IMG Sherpas who will climb above Base Camp. There are about 25 Everest climbers on the team. Eric Simonson will arrive tomorrow for the IMG welcome diiner. The flights were canceled to Lukla today due to bad weather in Kathmandu. Climbers and Trekkers are stacking up at the airport. It is business as usual So it has begun. I a off to get an early dinner, probably at the Fire and Ice Pizza place. It is kind of a tradition for me. I like to go there alone, order a large pizza and beer – carbo loading – my story and I’m sticking with it! But it is time to focus on why I am here. I know the routine. I know the feelings. I have the memories. And I know that I don’t know what this time will bring but have a good feeling. Climb On! Alan
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 on the Lhotse Face due to high winds. They will try again on Tuesday, Nepal time. But as usual, try the Sherpas rarely get a day off as described by Phil Crampton of Altitude Junkies: Our Sherpas have been doing a fantastic job of getting the respective high camps stocked and ready for our anticipated summit bid hopefully in the coming days. On May 1st, six of our Sherpas collectively carried oxygen and tents to the South Col. The weather the following day was not so good so they rested at camp two with the help of our two full-time camp two cooks. May 3rd saw an improvement in the weather but Dorjee Sherpa and myself were concerned about the snow accumulation above the Yellow Band, so the Sherpas only climbed to camp three and dug the necessary tent platforms for our intended stay there. Today they completed another load carry to the South Col and will return to base camp later today for a well deserved rest and plenty of Tuborg beer. They are looking at a summit window between May 13 through the 19th. IMG reports their Sherpas did make a carry to the North Col and expect to see the fixed lines to the summit in a few days. We had 14 sherpas carry to camp 3 today to finish building that camp and support the move up there by the Hybrid team today, for their overnight. The rest of the team has split into three groups and is also moving up towards C3. Greg moved to C2 today with the lead group, we have more climbers at C1 tonight going to C2 tomorrow, and Justin moves up to C1 tomorrow with the last group. The sherpa plan for tomorrow is another big push to the South Col. We have Nima Karma, Phinjo Dorje and Phu Tshering along with 6 other sherpas from Himex and AAI that will try to fix up to the Balcony and then sleep on Col. They will then fix to the summit the next day (weather permitting). The Adventure Peaks team on the north has tagged 7300m and is back at ABC on their way to BC before their summit bid. They also commented on the recent weather: Stu has been in contact this morning to confirm his group have had a successful but wild and cold period of acclimatization on and above the North Col! He described their walk up the North Ridge to 7300m as the worst weather (cold and strong winds) he had ever experienced on Everest during his three previous expeditions. So well done to those who were able to complete their acclimatization. If all goes well, they are looking at a summit on May 16th. Of note, four of their members have decided not to continue their climb based on the avalanche and death lat week on the North Col. This is a bit similar to what happened last year when an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall discouraged several climbers as well. Meanwhile back in Kathmandu, Billie Bierling with Himex and a Kathmandu resident reports on more problems in the capital: While climbers are busy moving up and down Mount Everest to acclimatise to finally reach the summit, the Nepalese capital Kathmandu has completely shut down as the Maoists have called an indefinite strike. They are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and the leadership of a national unity government. Apparently most of the shops in the capital have closed down and only emergency vehicles are allowed onto the streets. “Thousands of people are demonstrating in support of the Maoists but the atmosphere is still quite peaceful,” my friend Alex reported from Kathmandu. Hopefully things will settle down before the teams return for their flights home. But once again, this illustrates the instability in that par of the world. Climb On! Alan
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.
Kathmandu
‘popup’, ‘width=300,height=225,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false”>The air was surprisingly cool and fresh as I stepped out of the Boeing 777 onto the tarmac at Kathmandu. After almost two days of travel, I was here. My mind focused on seeing if my three duffels had made it across four flights, four countries and two airlines. But a thin smile came across my face as I stepped into the airport and was greeted by a big Nepali grin. I moved quickly through customs and then downstairs. Grabbing a cart with a serious wheel malfunction, I moved near the door to the snake like carousel. Bag after non-descript bag emerged from behind the black plastic strips. My eyes followed each one even when I knew it was not mine. Then they appeared – the black one, the red one and the green one! Life is good! The streets of Kathmandu were quieter than normal. Maybe since it was Saturday. Maybe because of all the tension in the capital. But some sights were reassuringly familiar – the large cow napping in the middle of the street, women in their colorful dresses with child in tow, men huddled in small groups discussing the world and the national bird of Nepal: the car horn. The Hotel Courtyard is tucked behind several small streets in the tourist area of Kathmandu, Thamel. It was as it was on my last visit only six months ago during my Shisha Pangma climb. The dusty, narrow streets were shared by rickshaws, small cars, bicycles and a mass of humanity. Some how it all worked. As it does in the troubled country. Most of my team have arrived and Thamel is bustling with fit looking climbers and trekkers on every corner. The shop owners are especially pleased to see their future customers and send a friendly shout out to each passerby. The pizza is still good at Fire & Ice. The one legged, nub armed man still begs outside. The dogs sleep soundly in the streets. And the motorcycles take the sidewalk when the roads get too congested. The editorial in the Kathmandu Post tells of the upcoming elections, a time for change and violence. There is a relaxed feeling in the air in spite of the tension this year. Long time expedition leaders, local tour company owners and people in the know such as Ms. Hawley are all nonchalant about the rumors. It is what it is. Luckily here, the rumor mill is thwarted by lack of blackberries and ubiquitous Internet connections. Mostly it is word of mouth. Maybe better or worse but by the time you hear something it feels more solid. The rumor I heard however was that all men would be required to be clean shaven this year! To be fair that rumor came from a newly arrived climber and he had heard it back home. We have our permit. We have our Sherpa team. And in fact some are already at base camp staking out our site. The Icefall doctors are starting their work and climbers are trekking towards BC en mass. We leave our hotel at 5:00 on 1 April for the quick flight to Lukla. We expect to be in BC around April 10 or slightly earlier. Occasionally, I find myself staring at nothing. My mind drifts. I start remembering being here before. I remember the Icefall. I think about the trek to BC. I remember the kids. Then a dog barks or a car honks and I look around. I am in Kathmandu. I am on my way to climb Mt. Everest. This is not a memory. It is real. It is my dream. And I am about to turn my dream into a memory. Remember: Memories are Everything. Climb On! Alan P.S.Please take a look at my Travel to Kathmandu video I created of my travels to Kathmandu. It is fairly large and remember you can start playing it after a few seconds of starting the download. You can view it from the Video Menu on the right column. The video is listed at the bottom of the list. Turn the audio up!