Lukla, Day...something...4, maybe??

There has been little change in the weather forecast or prospects for getting out of here today. The latest forecast shows no improvement in the outlook until mid-next week. We believe our best bet may now be to descend, village by village, hoping for helicopter pick-up along the way. Failing that, we will walk out to Jiri, a 5-6 day trek.

Mark Koss opted to leave for Jiri today, hooking up with another party of high-speed hikers aiming to do the 58 mile, six day trek in three, hoping to be in Kathmandu by Monday. The rest of us still do too, but by aircraft rather than on foot. We'll see who wins that bet, but either way, it's good fun in the Himalaya.

Once below Lukla, access to Internet and e-mail will be very unreliable. I will post whenever possible, but may not have the opportunity until late next week. We are healthy, well-funded, and there is no reason to have concern for our safety. Many other stranded Trekkers are doing the same, so we will not be alone on the trail.

Namaste,
Jim Ronning