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Tue 3rd Mar - We Came, some conquered.

3/3/2020

21 Comments

 
So sorry for going off the airwaves, but all carrier services have been down up high.

Wow, so much joy.......and heartache...!!!!
We successfully completed our acclimatisation day at Dingboche a few days ago, with a good solid climb to Chukung at 4800mts. Highlight? Eliza gets a Coke with a best before date 2006.!! The team continue to be surprised at the quality of the lodges deep in the Himalaya.
Our climb to Lobouche the next day was uneventful. 
The weather has been absolutely amazing. Cloudless skies right through to around 3pm, then some clouds and very light snow fall to sunset, before clear night skies from around 8.
Temperature from a 12 time visitor has not been too cold.
Yesterday was our big day. The day we ascend Kalar Patar. The team decided they wanted to do it the hard way this year. Loboche to KP then back to Loboche. This avoids a night at Ghorak Shep which despite only being 200mts higher, always feels 10deg colder.!! But it means a monster 10hr+ day, with a departure of 6.30am in around minus 10 and of course the lung busting KP climb in the middle.!
So how did it go, I hear you ask?? Tears of emotional success for Matt, Eliza, Pawan and Mandeep. Tears from KP failure due equipment breakdown for the trek leader..!! 20min into the climb, the sole on my trusty right Scarpa boot separated away from the boot with only the front and back connected..!Due general wear (their 4th trek), the punishing landscape, or drying them in front of the heater the night before, I was in a bit of strife. At this part of the trek, there are no replacement options, no shops, and no repair points. And the trek section between Ghorak Shep and Lobuche is the most punishing on boot and feet.!!
So I not only lost the chance to join this wonderful team on top of KP (and I’m told it was a special time up there) but also had the very real likelihood of having little choice but be helicoptered ($$$$) back down to Namche (for new hiking shoes and await the team) or even Lukla.
BUT, when you have a porter Iike Ngima, anything is possible..! While the team were trudging up KP, and while I was hiding red eyes, she was searching the 3 lodges at Ghorak Shep for Super-Glue. She found a half frozen tube and then spent the next hour thoroughly cleaning and drying the boot surfaces and placing what little glue she had into carefully selected areas. We tested it on the 3hr return leg to Loboche and the boot held up. She saved me a $2000+ Heli-evac. Marvellous..!!
The team were beside themselves with their effort on KP yesterday. A lot of emotions and tears. Nepal, the EBC trek and our incredible porters have truly touched each one of them.
We are now on our 3 day return to Lukla.
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21 Comments
Matt Mee
3/3/2020 09:59:18 pm

Congratulations guys!

Some beautiful photos!
I am very jealous! Its SO clear!

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DGaul
3/3/2020 10:07:44 pm

I’ll pass on your wishes Matt

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Bill
3/3/2020 10:07:35 pm

Mate, the sky looks amazing. What a way to say farewell to the high point of the earth for possibly the last time. Your story of the boot brings back memories of you old sandles back in Kat! Probably the guy who grabbed them off the street did the same repair job & is still wearing them. Sue, bless her, has done a great job of keeping those following the blog informed of what you might have been encountering through the blackout times. Read my old mate Latches comments early on, sounds like he has become a grumpy old man! I'll have a go at him when we next catch up. Go luck with the down hill dash back to Lukla.

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DGaul
3/3/2020 10:14:47 pm

Hi mate. Short of the massive snow dump we had 6 days ago in Namche, weather has been amazing. Yes, I remember the old “SandleGate”
Some of the partners of the team have really appreciated Sue’s updates

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Sue
3/3/2020 11:10:14 pm

Is this the real Bill. It can’t be. The real Bill believes paybacks a bitch.

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Bill
4/3/2020 11:07:47 am

Sure is baby, the one, the only, the original and the best! But the then again, could be Wine or Didi or Ray or Basha or Nicole or Latch or Sue...???? Is this the real Sue

Jeff Gaul
3/3/2020 10:26:04 pm

Looked amazing!! But disappointing dad but we will convince mum to let us go hahaha one last time
Still yet to get the photo of you and me with Everest

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DGaul
3/3/2020 11:36:21 pm

May need to talk to her mate.!!!

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Brian@weeroona
3/3/2020 10:41:40 pm

You should know better than to dry boots next to any heat source. That's a really good way to bugger the adhesives!
And I don't understand why you didn't borrow a pair of thongs from one of the porters, you're getting soft!

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DGaul
3/3/2020 11:01:27 pm

Perhaps, although they weren’t that close to the heat..!! Maybe 4 x EBCs may have gone beyond their life. Should have handed them over to you for a full pre-departure inspection.

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Sue
3/3/2020 11:18:46 pm

Brian, I think he’s borrowing the porters thongs to have another hot shower at Namche.........soft. There’s nothing like getting back to Kat boasting you haven’t showered for 12 days....Pfft.

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DGaul
3/3/2020 11:30:48 pm

I officially stink, but am NOT alone.

lost in the desert
4/3/2020 03:56:57 am

Gaul ...a long long long time ago you lost your wallet on that mountain ..think very hard! ..now your boots ..everything has a begining and an end....that's pretty philosophical for me! safe travels home

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Wine link
4/3/2020 07:45:28 am

Congratulations to your team, Dave. Great photos. Hope the boots last the return journey. Does the barber still exist at the Kat Guest House? Those grey whiskers need attending to.

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Khumbu
4/3/2020 07:56:49 am

How anyone can think they can put a pair of boots through 4 treks to EBC plus preparation defies logic. As you didn’t get there you are going to need another trip so that you finish properly. Great effort from the rest of the team.

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DGaul
4/3/2020 06:48:25 pm

Thanks “mate”.
My previous Scarpas - 6 Nepal treks
Sister Sue’s previous - 7 Nepal treks.
Perhaps send any further damming comments to my email.
You know it.

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Spanner
4/3/2020 02:23:31 pm

Gee David. Looking at that boot it looked so cactus, how lucky that priceless bit of glue did the job, hop it held out the rest of the way, every one looks so calm and relaxed, hope the rest of you trip goes without hiccups , congratulations to all of you, you will have a wonderful story to tell, take care. Spanner

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DGaul
4/3/2020 05:21:21 pm

Thanks Span

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DGaul
4/3/2020 06:45:15 pm

Thanks Span

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Veals
5/3/2020 09:55:17 pm

Hey David, I bought my latest pair of scarpas in 2017. After about 2 months of training walks, the glue gave way on front left side of left boot. Took back to point of purchase where they gladly exchanged them. 2 months later same thing with new pair. This time I got it glued together by local cobbler. Held together for trek and still ok today although tread is worn down heaps.
Wonder if there were a dodgy batch?

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DGaul
6/3/2020 06:48:23 pm

Now that’s interesting Veals..! I accept that boots don’t last forever, and there are some tough sections of the EBC Trek (Lob, to GS) that are torture on boots, but I didn’t expect a de-lamination like I did.
I've always been (and still am) a massive fan of Scarpa, but reading your experience, perhaps there was a dodgy batch that snuck through...!
Hindsight is always a factor. Should have given them a more significantly look-over before they went into the bag. Most important item of your kit by far...! Having said that, I’m convinced the de-lamination was not present prior to that eventual day.
Cheers mate.

Reply



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Point Cook. Vic. Australia