I know it has been a few days since I have posted but wi-fi is spotty and we have been quite busy. First, I wanted to mention some quick notes: 1) In the right-hand sidebar on the main page, I have included the link to the GPS device Brian is carrying with him so you can look at our progress on a map. 2) I have updated the link to the Alpine Ascents cybercast on the main page sidebar. 3) I have more photos uploaded to the Gallery page. Now for the update on what we have been doing…

Saturday, March 31st: Our trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC) began after flying from Kathmandu to Lukla early in the morning. The elevation at Lukla is 9,383ft and we actually lost a little altitude by descending to Phakding at 8,560ft. We had a smooth and quick 25 minute flight and landed on a very short runway built into the side of a mountain. After landing, we had breakfast and trekked for approximately three and a half hours to Phakding. It was a very nice start to our trek – the terrain was easy and there was a lot of activity on the trail between the zopkyo (the horned animals in the attached pictures), porters and other groups making the trek to EBC. We took rest breaks every hour or so at different tea houses along the way – ginger, lemon or black tea was always on the menu. Crossing the suspension bridges was pretty fun especially when the wind was blowing. We stayed at a tea house in Phakding overnight before continuing our trek the next day.

Sunday, April 1st: It took us nearly six hours to trek to Namche gaining nearly 3,000ft. The elevation at Namche is 11,300ft and we are all starting to feel the altitude. We encountered more animals, trekkers, tea houses and suspension bridges along the way. We are staying in Namche for two nights in a great tea house called Panorama. They have private bathrooms in the bedrooms and even hot showers! I have already taken two showers because we are not going to have this luxury very often over the next two months. The food has been great and the owners of the Panorama are very gracious. Oh and…Happy Easter!

Monday, April 2nd: Today we did a short acclimatization hike to the Everest View Hotel a little less than 1,000ft above Namche. We got our first view of Mount Everest. We could see Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam very clearly before the clouds rolled in. Unfortunately, I had my camera on the wrong setting so all the photos I took today on our day hike were blurry, so sorry I don’t have any good photos of Everest to include for you to see. I was pretty frustrated with myself but there will be plenty more opportunities for me to take pictures of Everest. This afternoon we went down to the Namche Bazaar to check out all the activity. It was busy with all kinds of vendors, bakeries, pubs, gear stores, and pharmacies. Some of our group went to the Sherpa Barista for beers, hot chocolate and ice cream. It is a pretty neat area to visit and experience. Tomorrow we are making a slight diversion to Thame at 12,500ft. There we will visit the parents of our Base Camp Manager, Lakpa Rita Sherpa. Lakpa has 17 summits of Everest under his belt. I know…wow. Many of the Sherpa that support our guide service are from Thame so it will be interesting to see where they all grew up.

I will be sure to post my next update as soon as I have Wi-Fi again. We hope everyone back home is doing well. Talk to you all soon.