Entries from Everest BC Trek
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 13,950'
Hello from the "Himalayan Hotel" at Pheriche!
Another incredible day in the Himalayas, dear friends... And we can certainly say now we are going to spend the first night at high altitude, having hiked above the 4,000m benchmark.
After a rather cold night in Pangboche, we were greeted by another cloudless sky, whose sun made us ditch our layers just a few minutes after the start. Headed towards Pheriche Pass, we enjoyed astonishing views of Kantega, Tamserku (two of the most radical 6,000m peaks in the Khumbu,) and of course Ama Dablam. Like on the previous days, the mystique of the landscape is only disturbed by the heavy downhill traffic that we encounter from time to time.
While we await our dinner and as I write this post, we're also getting ready to set up for another session of nocturnal time lapse pictures before the evasive crescent moon we have vanishes.
The plan tomorrow is to rest here, to continue to acclimate taking a short hike, to visit the Himalayan Rescue Hospital next door, and, of course, stay well nourished with the momos and tea that (among other things) make us look forward to every meal.
On a side note, we celebrated on the trails a rendezvous with fellow guide Lakpa Gelu and RMI office staff Bridget Schletty.
Regards to everyone,
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos
On The Map
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 13,074'
Good evening from Pangboche.
It has been a couple of days since our last post, but electricity and internet have been unreliable above Namche. We arrived today to the village where the trail splits between the Ama Dablam and Everest Base Camps' trails. We came here after a short hike from Deboche, where we arrived yesterday after our rest day at Namche.
The clearing skies we have encountered as we have climbed higher have provided the first great opportunities for time lapse pictures of both sunrise and sunset over Ama and the Everest-Lotse-Nuptse group.
Our plan is to hike up to Pheriche tomorrow where we'll continue to acclimatize taking at least one rest day.
We are on schedule for full moon at Kala Patar. We see lots of down traffic as the season comes to a close but we continue up in pursue of the crisp skies of the early winter for the time lapse pictures we're after.
We'll try to report again from Pheriche. Best regards from the Himalaya!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
On The Map
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
"Tashi Dele" from Namche Bazaar!
What a lucky team we are! Scheduled to fly yesterday into Lukla, the morning greeted us in Kathmandu with cloudy skies, grounding the little aircrafts that are meant to bring climbers and trekkers alike to the Khumbu.
After a long hour of uncertainty, (and with the news that Lukla was also shutting down,) we relied on our trustworthy outfitter personnel at the airport; Sagar and Shangkar pulled some magic and about an hour and a half later, we were boarding... a helicopter! This safer vehicle under such conditions, provided us with awesome views of Everest and Nuptse as we approached Lukla above the clouds and we continued to give high fives in disbelief of what we were experiencing.
Soon after we met our Sherpa Nawang and porters at Lukla, we headed for Phakding, where we'd spend our first night at a Sherpa lodge. Continuing today with astonishing views along the lower valleys, we proceeded towards Namche, from where we are writing now as we enjoy a cup of milk tea.
The biggest excitement of the day was provided by the many hanging bridges, the last of which is a new addition to the trail since last season and sits some 300 feett above the river! As the mystique of the Buddhist populated land embraced us, we enjoyed the great hiking trails ornamented with centennial Mani stones and prayer flags.
Upon arrival, we enjoyed a hardy dinner at "Camp de Base Lodge" and we're now ready for a well earned rest. Tomorrow we'll meander in Namche optimizing our acclimating process with hopes of taking some sunrise pictures over Ama Dablam, weather permitting.
Best regards from Nepal,
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andrés Martos
On The Map
Can’t wait to see your sunrise shots!
Have a good trip!!!!!!
Posted by: Tammy Doppenberg on 11/3/2013 at 9:09 pm
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 11,300'
Hello from Namche. This is the Everest Base Camp Trek and we are calling after the second day on the trip. Everything is well. We will try to send more detailed updates tomorrow, even with some pictures as we were having some internet connection problems today. All is well and we will try to update you more tomorrow.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andrés-Martos
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andrés-Martos calls in from Namche Bazaar.
On The Map
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 4,383'
Greetings from Nepal.
Today we officially started our fall 2013 Everest Base Camp Trek!!!
Our team arrived filled with excitement to the small country of the big Himalayas. Great weather accompanied our arrival to a very much alive Kathmandu; the anticipation of the elections that will be celebrated in 2 weeks makes the capital city a unique place. Dodging the different political groups' parades through the city, we visited historical landmarks which made the day of such a photographer.
We enjoyed a great dinner before heading to bed for an early start tomorrow, which with a 5 am wake up call, will take us to Lukla, (weather permitting) to start our journey through the Khumbu valley towards the higher grounds. More to come soon from the unpaved trails, the smoke free air and the inspiration filled mountains of the Land of the Sherpa!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
On The Map
Hello Everyone.
We were foot soldiers today, we marched our way into Lukla in great style. The last hour is all up hill,a nice pump to finish the day. Doctor Scholl's was our best friend. A bit of overcast kept the temperature just right for this lowland trek, 10,000 ft. After about three weeks in this land of giant mountains, for some, it's time to hit the beach. I could call this one heck of a fishing trip. We all received a license, no poachers, played by the rules. We casted our lines, used every trick in the book. Caught some big ones and a trophy for a few. We all leave with more experience and respect for this type of event in our lives. The Dudh river, a constant companion on the hike out,loads of blooming rhododendron a nice farewell. Always a pleasure to work with High Altitude Dreams our local outfitter. The team from the states way to go! Hope to have another chance to play with you all in my office soon.
Thank you all out in cyber land for following this trip, get out while you can. I will start working my way back to the Big E and blog ya later.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
BIG congrats to you all!
Posted by: Caril on 4/8/2013 at 7:04 am
Kathmandu!
It's been quite the adventure the last few weeks. Today the team left the beautiful and peaceful Khumbu and caught our morning flight back to the busy city of Kathmandu. The team spent the day lounging by the pool, resting in our rooms and catching up with emails and news.
Everyone is doing well and excited about returning home to family and friends. We finished the day off with pizzas and long fresh salads.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
It’s so hard to believe the trekkers are already back in Kathmandu. The trek passed quickly but the memories will last a lifetime. Congratulations on a successful trek to EBC.
Posted by: Lynn Via on 4/6/2013 at 11:43 pm
A nice 10 mile plus or minus hike from Chu Kung today. Not quite sure how there can be so much uphill on a descent, who built these trails anyway? Happy to be back here in Namche at the Campo de Base tea house. If you ever are in the area, this is the place to stay. Very friendly staff, comfortable rooms and Hot Hot showers!
We saw a couple of Everest teams on the way today. We had a nice chat with some old friends and made plans for future meetings at Basecamp. We will check out of the park in the morning and finalize our permits regarding the Island Peak climb. The infrastructure is a bit crude but it is so important to keep trying to have an eye on this truly amazing part of the world.
The sky was a bit hazy today but a nice temperature for the trek out. A few of the hillsides had a large number of rhododendron trees flowering, it is so nice to be back in the living zone of the Earth's dirt.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
...lol…I think the same people who named a peak an ISLAND built the uphill descending trails : ) The photo you posted tells you trail story well. That mountain in the background has got to be Mt. Everest…it’s gorgeous. Love your spot tracker maps. I need to find out what time it is in Nepal versus where I live in Southern California. Thank you for your updates…it’s so fun following all of you on your trek.
Posted by: Lynn Via on 4/7/2013 at 11:44 am
Lukla! Back to where we started after another long day hiking. We left Namche about an hour later than planned to get in some last minute shopping, I'm sure everyone can guess who prompted that decision.....
Lucky enough to have another beautiful day for hiking, we were happy to spend all day on the trail again (but actually)! Making our way down what we lovingly dubbed the 'Namche Hill' on the way up, we encountered way more yaks and porters than last week...due to the Saturday market tomorrow, that some of us are sad to be missing!
What goes down must come up....after a quick stop in Phakding for some lunch, we started back up our final hill to Lukla. Although the lower altitude certainly helped, after so much downhill the past few days I've got to say it was tough switching gears again! About two-thirds of the way up to Lukla, Lakpa's two adorable kids came and met us on the trail - what a wonderful surprise! Lakpa and his family then hosted us at their house for some tea once everyone caught their breath, which was another great surprise.
After showers and some dinner, we said many many thanks and gave many hugs to our wonderful porters and Sherpas (see picture!). Our trip certainly wouldn't have been the same without their hard work, and I know that their smiling faces put me in a good mood each and every day. We were so lucky to have them!
Everyone will be happy to know that a dance party just got started in Lukla! Hello and I love you to all my friends and family (Daddy, Dana, Haley, Scott & Bandit - Mommy is up on the dance floor. Uh oh!). --Allie
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
So glad to see the team smiling and dancing in Lukla. Did Missy bring her birthday presents and use them at the dance party? Retail sales in Namche were at an all time high with members of team waki there. Cannot wait to hear all the gory details.
Posted by: Kathryn LeBey on 4/6/2013 at 5:20 am
Looks like the party was a lot of fun. I’m glad you had a chance to unwind and let loose. All of you, have safe journeys home!
Posted by: Yuki Loritz on 4/5/2013 at 10:18 pm
Mark Tucker here, calling from Chukung. My third attempt coming outside here. The satellites have not been too nice to me tonight. Ch-ch-chilly. So we had an unbelievable day. Just everything was going at us. We gave a great shot going for the summit. We were a little bit shy. But we had an awesome time! That mountain is incredible. And we're all down safe and sound. A lot of our staff is going to go to the right and we are going left, headed to Namche tomorrow. It is cold out tonight. Everybody's happy and we're doing well. We'll check in again.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls in from Chukung.
On The Map
Mark and Team- Congrats on a good climb!! Summits are & aren’t everything!! Thanks for the good push! Mark thank you for a wonderful time for Liesl and Pete!!
Love & Blessings to You ALL- M & G (Remember YMNTBP!!!!)
Posted by: Gretchen & Mike on 4/5/2013 at 6:14 pm
Like - more photos.
Posted by: Mary on 11/7/2013 at 7:22 am
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