The Kongma La is the highest, longest and least used of the three high passes we hope to traverse on this trek. That’s a good thing, as our transit of it yesterday was the toughest day’s walk I can ever recall.The walk did not start on an auspicious note. The braided stream that we had easily crossed the previous afternoon had partially frozen overnight, creating ...
Three blogs to be published today now that there is Wi-Fi again. November 10th We have spent the last couple of days climbing towards the first of the three high passes on our trek. This morning we parted company with the principal trail to Everest Base Camp and worked our way up a side valley to the cluster of trekking lodges known as Chhukung. Located at ...
We are slowly climbing and acclimatizing as we head toward the first of the high passes that we will traverse. We have been pacing ourselves so that we are now at almost 4000 metres without any symptoms of altitude sickness.Last night we stayed at Tengboche, the site of the largest monastery in the Khumbu. We attended the afternoon prayers, where two dozen monks droned their ...
Namche Bazaar is the largest town we will see on our trek. Nestled in a horseshoe shaped hillside at 3400 metres, it has most of the amenities a trekker could desire. There is a hospital, innumerable shops offering trekking gear, several banks and money changers, a (Canadian trained) dentist, and, near and dear to a trekker’s heart, at least three bakeries. What makes all of ...
At two o’clock in the morning, 30 hours after arriving in Kathmandu, we were on a bus speeding (literally) towards an airport at Ramechhap. The four hour ride took us along some truly unnerving stretches of road hanging over cliffs and fording rivers. At dawn we suddenly found ourselves in a world of tourists at a small, remote airstrip. Catching a flight at a small airport ...
Nepal 2019Last year’s trek in the Annapurna region was such a great experience that I have returned for another trek. This year we are three. My nephew Matthew is back for some more well-earned beer at altitude, and we are joined by my old friend Bruce, who walked a portion of the Appalachian Trail with me two years ago.This year we are hoping to walk ...