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Thur 7th Feb. Our 2019 blog draws to a close...

7/2/2019

6 Comments

 
What to do in Kathmandu when it’s raining......there’s not a lot you can do. Haunt the local cafes, get lost in Pilgrims bookshop. Dodge the cars splashing dirty water as they drive within an inch of you. You can only watch so many movies on the movie channel in the room.

We’ve been told planes haven’t flown to Lukla for 2 days and the forecast isn’t looking good for the next couple days either. Thank goodness Thai airways can still fly in fog/rain.

Tonight we will catch up with a number of people we have met along the way. It sounds like we are back at the Kathmandu Steakhouse for dinner. Can you overdose on protein if you’ve been vegetarian for three weeks?

Pickup tomorrow morning for the airport is around 11am.

It’s now time to thank everyone for following our journey, your positive comments were certainly appreciated along the way. Thanks to David for filling in the blanks when WiFi or phone carrier wasn’t available.

To those following the blog contemplating a trip next year, don’t be put off when reading our days when we were doing it tough. It really is an adventure and every trip is different. With the right gear, preparation and more importantly mindset, it will be as enjoyable as you want it to be. Check out our 2020 page on the website.

Thanks to James for working around his time off to be home to look after the boys while I’m over here. Home cooked meals and nicely ironed clothes, real soon boys, hang in there.

To Prakash and Shishir. I thank you again for all your help. To Shishir for stepping up and filling Prakash’s boots. To Prakash for organizing the helicopter so promptly to Medivac Lauren and Rhonda out the afternoon of Lauren’s injury. Again to Shishir for running back to Thukla as there was zero phone service, to let Rhonda and Lauren know a helicopter will be arriving shortly. It was incredible how it all unfolded at 4900 metres with the weakest phone signal to make the call, depending on which way you were facing, Thank you again.

To Nabin and his beautiful family, thank you for inviting us into your home yet again. It really is a memorable experience.

Namaste to all who have followed us.
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You can only drink so many coffees when the weather turns bad.
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The wet streets of Kathmandu
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6 Comments

Wed 6th Feb. In and around Kat...

7/2/2019

2 Comments

 
What have we been doing today back in Kat? Not much really. We had a lazy breakfast. Lunch at Himalayan Java, then went to the supermarket and bought some drinks and snacks to have on the rooftop of Moonlight.

We made the most of today’s weather as rain is forecast for the next three days. No flights in or out of Lukla if the forecast holds true. Again I cannot believe our luck.

Tonight we had the privilege of being invited back to Nabin’s house to sample his wife Angana’s cooking, the best Dahl Baht so far, meet his family and have cuddles with Ricky, a well looked after 4 year old Cocker Spaniel. Funny times when we would ask Ricky to “Sit”. But he doesn’t understand English so we tried to say “sit” in Nepalese (Basna) but still didn’t get it quite right.
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​Tomorrow we will do any last minute shopping and we are going to catch up with people we met on the trek. In particular the large group of around 10 made up of Canadians and kiwis who have all known one another for many years and every year come together for a holiday. This year being EBC. A few others we met along the way will join in too.
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Moonlight rooftop
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Dinner at Nabin’s
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Tahlia, Josh and Ricky the much loved Cocker Spaniel.
2 Comments

Tue 5th Feb. Back in Kat...

6/2/2019

10 Comments

 
Today we left the simplicities of trekking life behind us for the chaos of Kathmandu. Oh how I miss the yaks and donkeys and their bells ringing warning you they are just around the corner. Instead it’s the Tiger Balm sellers, taxi operators, horns beeping and the odd Hashish seller that deep down I think Josh wants to cut a deal just to see what he can get it for then quite possible shit himself when the price is agreed.

Again, Prakash had booked us on first flight out of Lukla and the weather gods were on our side with a departure out of Lukla at 7.30am. All I will say is you haven’t experienced Nepal until you experience Lukla delays.

Water was hot at the moonlight and 1 minute in the shower sends your skin wrinkly. Three shampoos later and you manage to get a lather. I no longer have dirt under my finger nails.

Josh, Tess and Tahlia were desperate for KFC, yes it’s here in Kathmandu. Josh managed two zinger burgers which tells me he may have been over trek food. Popcorn chicken and chips seemed popular. I always knew there was a KFC here in Kat but most of my trips have been with 40+ year olds so mention KFC to them and they would look at you funny.

Tess and I have started antibiotics to see if it will shake this dreaded cough. Who knows, anything is worth a try. Gary visited the barber at the Kathmandu Guest House. His beard contained 12 days of snot, food and anything else that thought could habitat in there. Came out a new man.

Tonight was dinner at the Kathmandu Steak House. A little tough but when you’ve been vegetarian for two weeks we didn’t care. Shishir came out with us, gave us all peace scarves and will return to his village tomorrow, a 6-7 hour bus trip.

​Prakash has had another X-ray and his ankle is healing nicely. His next trek is March 17th so his goal is to have it good by then.
10 Comments

Mon 4th Feb. Namche to Lukla...

4/2/2019

10 Comments

 
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Our last view of Everest
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Where it all began...minus Rhonda, Lauren & Prakash.
Full on sunshine. We left Namche at 7.45am. Lunch at Phakding and arrived into Lukla at 3.30pm. Our last night on the trek and we get en-suite rooms. Promises of a hot shower. It’s been sunny for two days so solar should mean hot water right??? No...! No hot showers at Paradise lodge. Hotel Moonlight back in Kathmandu has been very hit and miss with hot showers too. So if we get back to Kat tomorrow and find no hot water there, I think we will all have some complaining to do.

Not much to report on today’s trekking. Everyone feeling strong and very glad to be back at Lukla. Our in sync coughing fits haven’t eased and we hope once we get back to the milder temperatures of Kat will help.

Have heard from Rhonda. Her and Lauren have managed to change their flight and left Kathmandu for Bangkok today.

We have just been told we are on first flight out of Lukla so if the planes are on time we need to be at the airport by 6.15am. Fun times of Lukla airport. Forecast is looking good from both ends but it only takes a bit of wind even with the bluest of skies and they close the airport. Let’s wait and see.
10 Comments

Sun 3rd Feb. Breathing easy at 3400mts...

3/2/2019

13 Comments

 
Breathing easy at 3400 metres. A cold night in Pangboche, but nothing like Gorak Shep. We started at 8.30 and were in Namche by 2.30. One guess where we are now. Yep the Bakery. My first cafe latte in 10 days.

Gary seems to have improved somewhat and although still didn’t have lunch, he tackled the steep hills....not all down without a problem. Tahlia is pleased she didn’t amputate her foot as Josh’s runners have worked a treat with a big descent down from Tangboche she was right behind us.

​The trail is still very icy from the dump of snow on our way up and we have managed so far without crampons but spare a thought for Lauren who happened to find a patch of ice half a meter long that resulted in evacuation.
13 Comments

Sat 2nd Feb. Back down to oxygen...

3/2/2019

8 Comments

 
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Gorak Shep
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Looking down on the village of Thukla where Lauren and Rhonda were helicoptered from.
Back down to oxygen in Pangboche. Sorry I haven’t replied to everyone but these conditions sends your phone from having 60% battery life to zero in around five minutes. To give you an idea on how cold Gorek Shep was, I went to bed wearing icebreaker 260g thermals, a polar fleece, an insulated vest, my down jacket, my sleeping bag, a blanket over the top and a nalgene water bottle full of boiling water. I was the cooler side of comfortable. Not to mention a resting heart rate at midnight of 102 bpm, normally around 57 bpm. In the morning there was ice crystals on the ceiling of my room.

The team opted out of KP so we decided to try and make it to Pangboche. A different stop to normal.

Gary is still battling illness and can’t eat anything. He claims to have lost a power if weight. Tahlia would amputate her foot right now than battle the blisters and the fact it looks like she will lose a toe nail with her toes hitting the end of her boot on the downhills. She is going to try Josh's runners tomorrow to see if that eases the pain. There’s always a bright side....pedicures will be cheaper with only 9 nails to work with. We all have a dose of Trekkers cough. We pity the poor people sleeping in the rooms right next door to us.

Tomorrow should be an easier walk back down to Namche having come this far today.

Ps. The Gman has been very quiet about any "back end illness". I think he was pre warned not to say a word for fear it will end up on the blog.
8 Comments

Fri 1st Feb. Back on the air...

1/2/2019

20 Comments

 
Tue 29/1/2019 - Tengboche to Dingboche (4400 metres) .....today we woke to everything frozen. Water bottles, toothpaste, baby wipes and even my roll on deodorant. Today’s walk wasn’t too cruel just the altitude to battle with.
Quote of the day goes to Tess. We walked past a local home and a mother was helping her maybe 2 year old take a leak. In full view Tess comments “gee Josh, he has a bigger one than you”. Poor Josh is copping a bit.
The team still walking strong, Gary and Lauren feeling a bit blah today. We had sent our porters on to secure rooms on the sunny side of our lodge. Boy does this make a difference. Our rooms are actually warm. The lodge is quite busy tonight. Everyone will be fighting for space around the fire once it gets lit.

Wed 30/01/19 - Acclimatisation day - Dingboche to Chukhung (4745 metres). Gary still not 100% and said he was feverish all night. He hasn’t eaten much in the last 48 hours. Lauren seems to be better after a nights sleep and Rhonda not 100% today.
We started our acclimatisation walk which is a 2.5 to 3 hour walk up the valley to a village called Chukhung. Gary got about 45 minutes into the walk and lack of energy turned him around with one of the porters. Everyone else continued on feeling the altitude with every step. The sun was shining and warmth was in the air. Lunch at a lodge before a quick descent back to Dingboche to get the last of the sunshine pouring into our rooms.

Thur 31/01/19 - Dingboche to Lobuche (4900 metres). Still no WiFi or local carrier.
Today seven of us left Dingboche but only five made it to lobuche. Lauren slipped on an icy section coming up into Thukla. She felt her knee pop out and although popped straight back in there will be swelling and pain over the next few days. Sadly she was struggling to walk and knew she would have to call it quits. Rhonda made the hard decision of not continuing on and staying with her. Thukla has no WiFi or phone carrier. We knew lobuche would at the very least have a satellite phone if nothing else working but being around 12 noon and knowing the weather starts to close in around 2-3 and rescue helicopters won’t fly we had to make the painful decision of leaving them in Thukla while Shishir and I upped the pace to get to Lobuche with the others not far behind to try and get a chopper this afternoon. Sadly we couldn’t communicate with them so had to tell them if one doesn’t turn up this afternoon they need to wait it out until the next day. We were told a rescue helicopter turned up at around 2.45pm for them but we don’t know anymore at the time of writing this.
Note - as soon as a helicopter was booked, Shishir ran back down to Thukla to let Rhonda and and Lauren know. Then came back up to Lobuche. This would take a normal person 5 hours return..!

Fri 01/02/19 - just arrived in Gorek Shep and about to head to Everest Base Camp.
Later. All five of us plus Shishir have just returned from Everest Base Camp. I won’t say blizzard conditions but not far off. The prayer flags were released and we are now sitting back down in our lodge around the heater that rarely gets lit before 5pm but I think they are feeling sorry for us.
Communication from Rhonda says Lauren is still in hospital waiting for an MRI. The team will decide tonight if they do Kalar Patar in the morning but I think EBC was higher on their priority list.

Sue

20 Comments

Fri 1st Feb. Update coming...!

1/2/2019

2 Comments

 
Have just received a message from Sue. "Big update" coming a little later..!

David
2 Comments

Thur 31st Jan. Still no news...

31/1/2019

4 Comments

 
Hi everyone. David here again.
Still no news from our trekkers. I'll take a guess that the consistent clouds and snow falls that they have had to deal with over the last few days has resulted in very little sunshine to solar power the mobile towers, hence no phone signals, and no update.

The Himalayan whispers have however filtered back that their Nepalese head guide Prakash (who they lost on Day2 of the trek) has indeed fractured his ankle (thanks for the confirmation Khumbu). Speedy recovery Prakash.
We have also heard that Garry (or Gman as he is often referred to) has been battling an upset tummy..! Hang in there mate. Flushing toilet only 3-4 days away...!!!! I trust your trek leader has been giving you ample sympathy...!!

If everything has gone to plan, the team will be in Lobuche tonight (@4900mts). Best way to describe Lobuche is "COLD". Everything is iced up and the lodge owners are reluctant to use up their precious yak dung to fire up the lodge heaters before 6pm. 3hrs of sleep at night is considered a "good night's sleep", and that mild headache just won't go away. But the scenery is breathtaking, as the village is surrounded by some of the Himalayan giants, and Everest is only 5hrs walk away.

Tomorrow they will head up to Gorak Shep @5100mts. It's only a 3hr hike, but it's arguably one of the hardest days of the trek. They will then decide on climbing KP in the afternoon, or sleep the night there (did I say "sleep"??) and tackle it the following day.

Gorak Shep normally has a fully functional communications tower, so we should get an update tomorrow.   
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Lobuche, up high in Nepal
4 Comments

Wed 30th Jan. Update from David...

30/1/2019

11 Comments

 
Hi Bloggers. This is Sue's brother David.
​Like many of you, I was eagerly anticipating an update from the team last night. That update may still arrive later this morning, although I do know that their scheduled stop last night was Dingboche (4,400mts amsl, refer map), where they will stay two nights to acclimatise. This village (from years of experience) is notorious for providing no communications to the outside world. Fixed-line telephones stopped above Namche and the mobile signal to this general area is both very poor and highly dependant on continuous sun to solar power the communications equipment. (no signal at night, or during cloudy days).
All going to plan, the team will spend todays acclimatisation day climbing to the small village of Chhukung @4800mts, then returning back to Dingboche for a second night (approx 4-5hr round trip). Going higher, and then returning back to the same altitude of the previous night helps to ready their bodies to break through 5000mts and beyond from tomorrow.
Hopefully an update from the team later today or tomorrow.
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Dingboche @4,400mts amsl. Everest is now hidden behind the rock/ice wall in the left background
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    21st Jan - 10th Feb 2019
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