Oct 31; Namche Bazaar, Nepal

Fairly whooshing down the canyons and gorges of the rushing Imja Khola and the churning Dudh Koshi, we are at Namche again tonight, just one day from Lukla, where we hope, perhaps in vain, to fly out on the 2nd.

The problem is, today was cloudy and no planes got in or out of Lukla. Unless it clears tomorrow, there will start to be a massive backlog of anxious Trekkers wait-listed for every available flight. We may be among them.

Today's route, for me, is one of the most quintessentially Himalayan trails in the Solu Khumbu. From our lodge in Pangboche it took us down-river a few miles, then up the ridge to Tyengboche, then plunged crazily back down to the river again, shedding about 1400 feet in a mile.

From there it was across the river and up again, steeply, to our lunch place at Sanasa, and then, finally, a lovely rising traverse along a trail hung precariously on the west side-hill of the Dudh Koshi, shrouded in mountain mist, all the way to Namche. This trail defines Nepali flat: a little bit up, then a little bit down. Repeat.

With access again to banks and ATM's, frenzied shopping ensued, as this will be our last day in this trading cross-roads of the Khumbu.

Tomorrow, one final day of 6 to 9 hours work should see us in Lukla. There we shall wait, until the mountain and weather gods allow us to leave.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Oct 29; 360 view from summit of Imja Tse

Oct 31: Namche Bazaar, Nepal

Back in Namche on a cloudy day, two days down from Imja Tse Base Camp.

Oct 30; Pangboche, Nepal, 13,275'

We are descending fast now, all the way from Base Camp to Pangboche in six hours. Our hope is to reach Lukla in three days, catch early flights out to Kathmandu, and use the extra two days to visit the Chitwan National Park in Nepal's low-lying jungle region along the Indian border, home to elephants, tigers and hippos.

Nepal is a country of contrasts.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Ama Dablam as seen from summit of Imja Tse

Oct 28: Imja Tse Base Camp, 16,800'

Oct. 29: Imja Tse Base Camp

0100 hrs: "Teas, Meesters? Eet ees waking time". With those words whispered at our tent door by our climbing Sherpa we were awakened from fitful sleep to begin the climb that has been over a year in the planning. We struggled into our frozen boots, shouldered our packed and re-packed backpacks and trudged off into the night.

It was pretty easy going at first... for about 10 minutes. Then, the trail leapt upward crazily steep, and for the next four hours and about 2500' we picked our way through scree, boulders, and along ledges that must have been terribly exposed, but fortunately it was too dark to see. Ahead and upward stretched a line of twinkling headlamps, until they merged with the twinkling stars themselves.

Shortly after dawn we reached "crampon place" where we finally stepped off the hateful rock at the very top of a sharp ended ridge (the last 30' "protected" with a loose and worn out polypropylene hand line) and on to blessed glacial snow. We fitted our crampons and roped up into two rope teams of 4, and for the next hour threaded our way through a field of open crevasses, actually stepping over one gap about 3' wide.

At the base of the head wall we traded ice axes for ascenders, and spent the next hour or so jugging ourselves up 100 meters of 60 degree snow and ice to the summit ridge.

Once on the summit ridge we faced another 30 minutes of jumaring up the knife edge ridge to the summit, the slopes plunging away on either side at more than 60 degree for hundreds of feet.

And finally, on the dining room table-sized summit, stunning views of Ama Dablam to the south, Cholatse and Taboche to the west, the massive Lohtse Shar and Lohtse herself to the north, and 8500 meter Makalu standing guard to the East, all seeming so close as to be touchable. Only Everest is missing from this panoply of Himalayan giants, hidden by the closeness of sister Lohtse.

Successful climbers included Jim Ronning, Donovan Pacholl, Mark Koss, Mark Rosolowski, Sandra Volk, and Dick Durant. Time up: 08:30; time Down: 04:00; elevation gain Base Camp to summit: 3,400'; summit elevation: 20,305'.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Oct 28: Chunking, Nepal, 15,705'

It has been a pleasant day of rest here in Chukung, following a trek of 2.5 hours from Dingboche. Having met our climbing Sherpa along the way we were happy to be passed by the porters bringing up our climbing equipment, last seen in the airport at Kathmandu.

The afternoon passed with inspection, sorting and checking of our gear, and running down missing or forgotten pieces at the various gear shops that have sprung up here in the last few years, but mainly enjoying the sun and recovering our strength from the exertions of the last few days and what I hope are the remnants of our URI's.

Tomorrow we advance to Base Camp and, if all goes well, to the summit the following nite.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Oct 27: Imja Tse Base Camp, 16,800'

The gear has been checked for the umpteenth time.

Climbing routines and procedures have been practiced.

We are fed and are in our sleeping bags trying to get some rest, if not actual sleep.

It is snowing, but we can see stars through the flurries.

Tonight, at 0200, we go.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Almost There!

I just got off the phone with Mark who says they are just about to the summit of Island Peak (20,000+ feet). The weather is gorgeous and clear; the view unbelievable. It sounds like they are all starting to recover from whatever knocked the out the past couple of days. More soon.

Erin Koss

Dingboche, Nepal, 14,485'

Imja Tse, as viewed from Hotel Bright Star.

Dingboche, Nepal, 14,485

The Hotel Bright Star, in Beautiful Downtown Dingboche, is our "low-land' base for the next couple days as we recover from our various ailments, sort out the logistics of climbing Imja Tse, and set up a final climb team.

Regrettably, our group has developed some upper respiratory conditions that, while not life threatening and currently being treated, have left some of us a little too depleted to make the climb. Final decisions will be made tomorrow, but it is clear that some of us will remain here at Hotel Bright Star, while the rest will advance on to Chukung, where we will meet our climbing guides.

Cellular service and Internet will be very sporadic or non-existent for the next three day, but I will post if I can. Meanwhile, enjoy the following picture of our objective, Imja Tse, taken this evening from the patio of Hotel Bright Star, in beautiful Downtown Dingboche.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

View from Kala Patthar,Nepal, 18,300'

Mt. Everest...Khumbu Ice Fall...Nuptse...As viewed from Kala Patthar at 18,300'...a pretty intense alpine environment.

Kala Patthar, 18,300'

The Angel of Kala Patthar

A 120 degree panoramic view of the mountains surrounding EBC

Sadly, Sagarmattha (Mt. Everest) hides from viewers at this location. She reveals herself only to viewers from Kala Patthar. Stand by.

A not-so-friendly game of dice after dinner in Lobuche

Gorak Shep, Nepal, 17,100'

We have arrived, quite literally, at the high point of this leg of our trip. At 17,100' The village of Gorak Shep is the highest permanent habitation in this part of the Himalaya. It is the jumping off point for Everest Base Camp, 17,600', which several of us visited today, and it lies in an old lake bed at the base of Kala Patthar (Black Rock, 18,200') a fantastic viewpoint of Mt. Everest that we will climb to tomorrow.

But my, how this high hamlet has changed since I was here last in 2006! An Internet cafe; a
a solar array; cell service; at least five new buildings. All this in a village that a mere five years ago consisted of only two permanent structures and was one of the remotest and least hospitable habitations on the planet.

Technology has come to the Khumbu.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Mark Koss inspecting a solar heat collector

LobucheNepal

We have arrived at Lobuche, 16,100'. Tomorrow we will advance to Gorak Shep, at the very foot of Mt. Everest.

Every one is reasonably healthy, but there is very limited Internet access here. More later.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Dugla, Nepal

Pheriche, Nepal, 4280m/14,042'

There is a medical clinic in Pheriche, run by the Himalayan Rescue Association, and staffed
by a dedicated group of volunteer medical professionals expert in treating mountain and altitude related illnesses. Today we learned, once again, that when you need them you are damn glad they are here.

By now, at over 13,000', a couple of us are coping with mild upper respiratory issues, which this morning, in the wee hours as these things always happen, prompted us to divert from our schedule and split our group in order to allow one party to hurry ahead to this wonderful clinic to obtain advice, and allow the other to delay their departure from Tyengboche a few hours and advance more slowly with
ailing members.

Advice was relayed by radio, appropriate steps were taken, and the two parties were able to reunite before dark here in Pheriche, everyone feeling much improved.

We were very glad to support the work of this fine group through purchase of their logo t-shirts and direct donations, since they charged us nothing for their help and advice. All such proceeds go toward the purchase of medicine and equipment to keep this invaluable service available to the people of this region, as they have done since 1973.

Tomorrow we will advance to Laboche at about 16,000', once again together as a team, thanks in no small part to the docs at HRA-Pheriche.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Tyengboche Monastery, 3860m/12600'

Rain...rain...rain. All day, from Namche nearly all the way to Tyengboche, up 3300' feet of steep trail, we were encased in multiple layers of Goretex, almost as wet from sweat on the inside as from the rain on the outside.

But... just as we arrived, at 14:30 and after 6 hours of soggy trekking, the clouds cleared and blessed us with our first view of Mt. Everest, hiding behind her 8000m modesty skirt, the Lohtse Wall.

To her right stands her 8500m sister, Lohtse; on her left and hidden almost entirely by The Wall, stands little 7800m Nuptse.

A few miles off to the southeast rises the mother mountain, beautiful Ama Dablam. And nestled between this sisterhood of giants, almost too small to be noticed, is our diminutive objective, tiny Imja Tse at 6200m, hiding like a child in a roomful of adults.

This, then, is the panorama that greeted us, like a gift from Buddha himself, as we arrived at Tyengboche monastery.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Visiting the Hillary School at Kumjung, Nepal, 3780m/12,400'

Namche Bazaar, Nepal; Thursday, 20 Oct.

Today was a rest day, a chance to acclimatize to the higher altitudes we have now reached. We spent it doing a day hike of about 2000' up the steep ridge above Namche, stopping for tea on the balcony of the Everest View Hotel (no view today, though, due to early clouds), then on to the pretty village of Kumjung, 3780m/12,250', where in the 1960's Ed Hillary established one of his first schools in the Himalaya, and which is still operating today, the pride of the Khumbu region.

Then, on to the less pretty village of Shyangboche at 3720m/12,200' where the old gravel airstrip is once again operating, (receiving a single fixed-wing flight each day, the pride of Tara Air), and to the non-existant village of Jaro, which the map says is at 3925m/12,875' but which we found no sign of other than a dilapidated gompa at roughly that elevation.

We closed the loop with a bone-crunching descent of about 1000' back down to our lodge in Namche, where we spent the balance of our rest day cruising the stalls of the local merchants, looking for bargains on locally made textiles and black-market counterfeit climbing gear.

Tomorrow we will reach the famous Buddhist monastery of Tyengboche, where we will make offerings to the monks there and seek their blessing of our venture on Imja Tse.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Burning juniper boughs at dawn as thanks to God for the new day, Phakding, Nepal

Nam he Bazaar, Nepal; Wednesday, 19 Oct

We have arrived this afternoon at Namche Bazaar, the commercial crossroads of this Khumbu region, following a seven hour trek from Phakding. We will lodge tonight at Hotel Tibet, perched on the central slope of Namche, directly above its bustling trade center, at an elevation of 11,200', nearly the same as the summit of Mt. Hood.

I sit now in the hotel's dining room, rapidly filling with hungry travelers, eager to place their orders for Dahl Bhat (rice and lentils) or mo mo's (pot stickers). The fire is lit to ward off the gathering chill of the approaching night. It is cloudy now, but we hope for clear skies in the morning for our very first views of Thomserku, Ama Dablam and, of course, Mt. Everest.

It is time to eat, and to enjoy the camaraderie of this international group; from where I sit I hear French, German and Australian accents, but right next to me, not 10' away, sit a group from Seattle.

It is truly a small world.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Namche Bazaar, from my room at Hotel Tibet

Phakding, Nepal; 2610m / 8740'

Today we visited Ken's suspension bridge, built in 1998 for the benefit of the people of Syangma village. At the bridge we were met by Ang Purba Sherpa, an elder of the village and a former climbing guide, veteran of two Everest ascents and one of K2. He had kindly lit on one of the bridge's abutment caissons an offering fire of juniper boughs in Ken's honor, and the two of them stretched a new line of prayer flags across the bridge, then offered a prayer at mid-span for its long life, a hundred swaying feet above the rushing milky-white water of the raging Dhud Khosi.

After, he led us to his house at Syangma, a thousand feet above the river on the steep and heavily forested west slope of the gorge. There, we enjoyed sweet milk tea in the lovely dining room of his traditional Sherpa home, as he told us stories of his climbing career.

On parting, he graciously presented us all with katas, the snowy white silk scarves that symbolize welcome and best wishes for all visitors to Nepal. It is truly said that no one leaves Nepal with a cold neck.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Thank you for blogging about the bridge, wish I could have been there.

 

Jana Stober

Phakding, Nepal; 2610m / 8740'

Today we visited Ken's suspension bridge, built in 1998 for the benefit of the people of Syangma village. At the bridge we were met by Ang Purba Sherpa, an elder of the village and a former climbing guide, veteran of two Everest ascents and one of K2. He had kindly lit on one of the bridge's abutment caissons an offering fire of juniper boughs in Ken's honor, and the two of them stretched a new line of prayer flags across the bridge, then offered a prayer at mid-span for its long life, a hundred swaying feet above the rushing milky-white water of the raging Dhud Khosi.

After, he led us to his house at Syangma, a thousand feet above the river on the steep and heavily forested west slope of the gorge. There, we enjoyed sweet milk tea in the lovely dining room of his traditional Sherpa home, as he told us stories of his climbing career.

On parting, he graciously presented us all with katas, the snowy white silk scarves that symbolize welcome and best wishes for all visitors to Nepal. It is truly said that no one leaves Nepal with a cold neck.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Roughing it in Lukla

Waiting out the weather holds to Lukla

Street scene, Bahktapur, Nepal

From Lukla...finally

A frustrating day today, spent in the Kathmandu airport waiting for weather holds to clear our flight to Lukla. Finally, at 2:00pm we heard our flight called. 45 minutes later we pancaked onto the uphill runway of Lukla, and our trek had started.

It has been six years since I was last here. Things have changed. There is cell service. There is a rocking Irish bar pouring draft Guiness. I am in a Starbucks, sipping a Flat White, and blogging from their free Wi-Fi. I'm not sure I like all that change, but I'm pretty sure I'll get used to it.

Tomorrow we start north, with a quick side trip to the nearby village of Syangma, where a few years ago one of our group, Ken Stober, funded the building of a bridge over the Dhud Koshi, thereby saving the children of that village a daily walk of several hours to get to school on the other side of the river. Good stuff, good karma.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

2nd Day in Kathmandu

Today we toured several sites in and around Kathmandu.  I have too much to say about each location to ever fit it into an email or blog post in the time I have internet access.  The tour was completely enlightening, overwhelming, and shocking in a strangely positive way.  I've got lots of photos and stories to share when I get home - just from today. See below for a few details from Jim.  Tomorrow we are scheduled to leave Kathmandu for Lukla at 7:00 am.   Mark K

Dateline: Kathmandu, Nepal

Another grueling day... of sightseeing:

First, Pashupatinath, a Hindu site of ceremonial cremations on funeral pyres along the holy Bagmati River, which flows into the even holier Ganges River.

Then, the medieval town of Bhaktapur, one of the original three kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley, featuring palaces and temples dating to the 12th century, and a lifestyle dedicated to the preservation of traditional cultural ways and skills; a Nepali Williamsburg, VA.

Last, a visit to Bodhnath, the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal, third largest in the world, a captivating and tranquil place.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

From Kathmandu, Nepal

Finally this long, single day, one that started at 6:00 Thursday morning in Portland, is showing signs of ending at 10:00 Saturday evening in Kathmandu, having skipped right over Friday as though it never even happened, courtesy of the International Dateline.

Someone asked me the other day what Kathmandu smelled like. I had forgotten, but now I remember: It smells like sandalwood incense, marigolds and Daphne. And also like diesel exhaust, concrete dust, and over-ripe bananas. Like cooking oil, saffron and butter candles, and sometimes like fermenting garbage. And now and then, like weed. An odd mix, but I like it.

Oops...about that "day finally coming to an end" thing earlier?...nope. 2:00am now, wide awake, re-packing gear.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

We have arrived in Kathmandu . . .

We arrived in Nepal around 1 pm on Saturday, gathered our bags, stood in line for visas, and checked into the Malla Hotel (which is a very nice place).  We walked for several hours through the streets of the Thamal checking out the local shops.  Shopping here doesn't work the way it does in the states!  MK

From S. Korea

We just arrived in Incheon, South Korea...I was surprised to learn it has recently been moved here from North Korea. (-;

Next stop is Kathmandu, but right now...breakfast, stat

Namaste,
Jim Ronning

Jim doing battle with his phone

Jim is furiously tapping away at his phone trying to find out who moved North Korea.

Arrival in Korea

We just arrived at Incheon International Airport in Korea at 5:00 in the morning. We just met up with Sue and Marie who arrived yesterday and were lucky enough to get some sleep in a hotel room in the airport. The plane leaves for Nepal in another 2.5 hours :-) Mark K

GPS Waypoints

I recently added some GPS waypoints of interest to the website in the area of Lukla to EBC, Imja Tse, and Kathmandu.  All were taken from various sources so their accuracy hasn't been confirmed, but they are worth downloading to your GPS if you don't have some already.  They are in GPX format.  Use the following link to get to the correct page.  Mark K

https://sites.google.com/site/imjatse27n86e/misc-3

Satellite Phone Update

Dick Durant and I have rented a satellite phone which should arrive in a few days.  Anybody still interested in sharing the cost is welcome to participate.  See a blog post below for more details or email me at mele34@gmail.com.  No pressure, just putting the information out there . . . Mark K

10 days to departure

Well, we're getting pretty clos to departure now, only about 10 more days. I think I have most of the details corralled, but who knows? We've added a new traveler in the last couple days, Rachael Cadden, from S. California, so interest in the region continues, despite two other Mazama groups heading there within a few days of each other.
I will be reminding our group of this blog site in the next couple days, so I expect blogging activity to increase as others share their last minute thoughts.
Meanwhile, Mark Koss has added a regional weather link to the website, so we can all check it compulsively and fret about weather conditions in Lukla.
Good cyber-fun.
Sent from my I-Phone...
Best Regards,
Jim Ronning