The Gang

June 5

Well, I'm back in Richmond. After 37 hours of transit, I rolled into RVA about 8:00 pm. Fortunately, Therese picked me up at Dulles Airport. I was fading in and out most of the way home. I did get a good night's sleep, however, and I hope that I can get back to EDT quickly. Monday morning and work will come way too quickly.

The cold that I picked up In Dingboche is still with me. It was kind of rough with the plane descents. Fortunately, there were only two. I went to the doc-in-a-box this morning to make sure that I didn't pick up a weird bug, but she said that it probably wasn't bacterial. Only time will tell. I'll just suffer through it.

Throughout this blog, I've mentioned some of the great people that I've met on the trip. However, I haven't pulled together pictures of everyone in one place. So on my long flight from Doha I went through my photos and pulled out pictures of almost everyone on the trip.

Our group consisted of a very diverse group of individual -- age 22 to 73, eleven different nationalities, a variety of occupations, accomplished athletes to adventure travelers. It was an amazing group of individuals.

Of course, being in close proximity with these people 24x7 for three weeks, you get to know them pretty well. (By sleeping in a tent six inches from the next tent, you get to know someone quickly.) The group bonded quite well. Various groups formed with people of common interests, but there was a lot of mixing by everyone. Even the Indian Army guys, who pretty much kept to themselves early on, really opened up by the end. They were the ones who had the most difficulty saying good bye! It was pretty funny. There were really no interpersonal issues that came up (other than Gerry's bodily functions and someone'e snoring -- who knows who).

Anyway, posted below, in no particular order, is the gang from the 2010 Everest Marathon tour. I'll add the few missing picture as I get them from the others.

Mark (U.S.A.) - the Fearless Blogger

Gerry (Ireland)

Phillip and Hazel (Australia)

David (Great Britain)

Denis (Kuala Lampur)

Christian and Christine (France)

Jess, Rich (Australia) and Damche, our Intrepid Leader

Arpita (India)

Martin (Germany)

Richard (Great Britain)

Indian Army Guys

Kay (U.S.A.)

Sanjay (India)

Tony (New Zealand)

Marie Louise (Switzerland)

Frank (Great Britain)

Teddy (Poland)

Peter (Germany)

Toby (Great Britain)

Jose (Brazil)

Need Pictures:

Marie (Australia)

Wilfred (Germany)

Michael (Germany)

Last Days In Kathmandu

June 2

Up at 5:00 for a 5:30 run. Why? Got to get those last experiences in Kathmandu.

Gerry was up and joined Richard from Yorkshire and me on a slow run down to the parade grounds. I wanted to get a video of all the people exercising at the crack of dawn.

We approached the stand of trees where I was bombed by the bird last night. I went out into the street but Gerry proceeded underneath. Bam! He was hit on the thigh. What is it with these birds? Do they know who the tourists are?

Kathmandu was as busy as ever this morning, people going to work, people lining up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a passport, vendors setting up their wares. It was hot and the air was acrid with the burning trash, car exhaust and God knows what else.

We reached the parade ground and it was as busy as before with kids playing soccer and cricket, people running and walking around the dirt paths and hundreds sitting on blankets for their morning meditation. We did a few laps, took a few photos and videos, and began the return trip. For some reason, it seemed busier than usual. Also, more trash fires were burning in the streets adding to the third world feel to the experience.





As we approached the infamous bird-poop trees on the way back, we were again wary. Richard, not really savvy to the mercenary birds ploughed straight ahead. Bam! He gets hit on the front of his shirt. What is it with these birds? They’re three-for-three when we’re underneath.



I spent the rest of the morning trying to get myself organized with all of the accumulated junk from three weeks on the trail. Just before noon, we set out to get some lunch, do a little sightseeing and wrangle with the shopkeepers in Thamel for some souvenirs.

We stopped for lunch at a place called the Garden of Dreams. It was at the intersection of two busy streets where you took your life in your hands trying to cross. It was a typical Kathmandu street scene: honking horns, beeping motorcycles and scooters, dogs lying on the sidewalk, beggars here and there. However, when you walk through a gate in a brick wall, you are taken into some wonderfully restored classical gardens. The gardens are on part of a large colonial estate built in the 1920s. A few years ago, the Austrian government donated funds to have the gardens restored.. They were completed in 2007.



The gardens are very well done and maintained, with restored original elements and plantings and a few modern additions. The outside restaurant is quite pleasant and we had a leisurely lunch there. You could barely hear the hustle, bustle and commotion just a few feet away.

After lunch, we checked out a couple of shops in Thamel, the main tourist area, for some Nepali products to take home. The street vendors selling various junk and trinkets -- beaded necklaces, “singing” bowls, little string instruments, ghurka knives, tiger balm -- are moderately aggressive. You just learn to ignore them. The shopkeepers try to entice you into their tiny storefronts. Sometimes they will follow you half way down the block, “I weell give you best deal”. It’s a chaotic, crazy scene but you just take it all in.



If you see something that you would like to buy, you ask the shop keeper for his best price. It there is a price tag, they’ll knock something off. If it’s jewelry, they’ll get out their calculator, do some furious calculations, then show you the results.

That’s when the fun begins. You have to haggle on price. It’s almost required. You say, no, it’s too high and counter with an offer a third to a half below the vendor’s “best price”. You go back and forth until you get a price you like. Sometimes you just have to walk out of the store and down the street to the next shop. Prices for the same thing can vary quite significantly, so it’s a good idea to shop around.

Some of the more famous Nepali tourist items are clothing, particularly woolens, pashmina shawls, jewelry, ghurka knives and swords (some really fierce looking ones), and bronze and copper items. It helps to know what constitutes quality when shopping and be willing to compare from store to store. You can get some good buys on quality products, but there is a lot of junk as well.

There are also hundreds of trekking stores on Thamel where you can buy all sorts of hiking and climbing gear and clothing. You can get name brands (The North Face, Mountain Hardware) and knock-offs of the name brands at highly reduced prices. The selection is enormous. It you need something for your trip, you can find it in Thamel.

We worked our way down the busy narrow streets and alleys, dodging trucks, cars, motorcycles, rickshaws and pesky vendors. We moved away from the more touristy area and into the regular commercial and residential sections of Kathmandu. There were not tourist junk vendors and more shopkeepers providing the goods and services needed by the residents of the neighborhood. It was much grittier than where we had been and much more interesting. We also were the only two Westerners on the street.



We made our way to an historical section of Kathmandu called Durbar Square which had hundreds of old temples and religious buildings. Most of them where hundreds of years old. Although the area and buildings were not very well kept, the ornate details and carvings were very elaborate. Interestingly, automobiles and motorcycles were banned from some of the streets which more the area a little calmer and less hectic.





We spent some time wandering around the old buildings and then made our way back to the hotel, getting lost several times in the process.

The marathon organization held a cocktail party and dinner for race participants and organization officials and guests this evening. The cocktail party was in the garden of the hotel, which is quite nice. However, a huge rainstorm blew up, driving everyone inside to where the dinner was held.



There were several hundred people in attendance and we couldn’t figure out who they all were (free food and drink!). However, the alcohol and food flowed freely and well into the wee hours. It was a very nice event and everyone had a really good time. The hotel staff stayed up and served everyone until the last person packed in in at 2:30 am. There will be some headaches in the morning.





June 3

Last day in Kathmandu. Members of our group are starting to depart for the airport in twos and threes. A couple of us are on the same flight to Doha, which leaves at 8:00 pm this evening.

I got up, had breakfast and said goodbye to several who were leaving for the airport. Gerry was under the weather again (he had a fever and gastrointestinal issues -- again) and was moaning and groaning in bed. It took a couple of hours to pack my bag. I’m surprised I was able to fit everything in.

Gerry made a partial recovery, got himself and his bag together, and we checked out about noon. Everyone had some final shopping to do, so we went off in our own directions. Gerry went down past the “bird trees” and, wouldn’t you know it, got hit again on top of the head. Unbelievable! They birds are four-for-four against the tourists.

We spent the last afternoon wandering the streets, buying a few odds and ends, and just soaking in the craziness of Kathmandu one last time. We met up for lunch and then back out on the streets for some final bargains.






Back at the hotel, we had one final beer (650 ml Everests) by the pool, then got our bags and the organization staff drove the three of us -- Gerry, Marie Louise and me -- to the airport. It’s hard to believe that it’s been three weeks since we arrived to start our trip on May 14.

As we drove to the airport, we experienced the same raw scenes that we did 21 days ago. However, we now had an understanding and appreciation for it and the ability to process and deal with it.

Off to Doha, a long layover, then a really long flight to Dulles. I’ll be home Friday afternoon at 4:00. However, it will be 1:45 am Saturday in Nepal.

Going to a Wedding

May 30

We had a lazy morning and late start from Namche Bazaar today. Everyone was just wandering around the village getting coffee and pastries (no porridge this morning for me), checking email at the internet cafes and doing a little shopping. Since this is the end of the spring trekking and climbing season, there are very few tourists left.



We left Namche after lunch for the two day trek to the airport at Lukla. The weather has been good and hopefully it will hold. When we were u the valley, bad weather had closed the airport for two days and hundreds of trekkers were backed up waiting to get back to Kathmandu. Since all flights are VFR (visual flight rules) into Lukla, any little bit of fog or clouds will close it down.

Although the trek out was leisurely, the first two hours was tortuous. We had to drop about 2,100 feet in elevation over a couple of miles. With marathon-sore quads, it was quite tough. This group of fit athletes were grunting and groaning to get down the hill with as little pain as possible.

In contrast to the first two weeks where we were all eager to get to the hike and up the mountain as quickly as possible each day, now there was no urgency, no rush. I think that we stopped at just about every nice teahouse we came across for a drink or candy.



There were a few trekkers coming up the trail beginning their hikes up the valleys and struggling with the altitude and climbs like we did two weeks ago (was it that long ago?). But mostly, the trail was populated with porters carrying their huge loads. What they can manage never ceases to amaze me.

We stopped for the night at Monjo and one last night of camping. It was relatively warm. Instead of the freezing cold, our only problem was bugs in the tent that night.

May 31

Our final day on the trail. The hike to day was mostly uphill to Lukla but not too far. Again we took it leisurely.

We reached Lukla at about 1:00 and stopped at the best coffee shop in town -- illys, a European company. They really made quite good lattes and baked goods. (It was better than the “Starbucks” across the street.)

We went to the Shangrila Lodge where we would be staying for the night. It is situated on the top of a 30 ft rock wall at the end of the airport runway. Literally. You sit in the dining room and watch planes flying directly towards you and landing a couple of yards away. They always stop. They have to.

Since I hadn’t had a decent shave since we started the trip (cold water, no mirror), I went to the local barber to get a hair cut and a shave. Sorry Mr. Adams, I couldn’t wait to get back to Richmond. Not only did I get the usual, but he gave me a head massage which consisted of pounding and slapping my scull. I have a video of it that I’ll post when I get back. It’s priceless.



On the way to the barber, we heard some singing and then many very elaborately dressed people began pouring out of two buildings banging drums and cymbals, burning incense, and chanting prayers. We quickly leaned that it was a Sherpa wedding and we were right in the middle of it. Village life went on as usual around them -- porters carried their loads, trekkers came and went right through the wedding party. No one seemed fazed. We watched for a while and then moved on, although Gerry was trying to wrangle an invitation to the wedding reception from some of the old ladies in the group.



Gerry had been on pretty good behavior most of the trip and was ready for one of his renowned “sessions”. We visited several of the local establishments, starting with the outside bars in the afternoon and moving inside when it got dark. Of course, we had to go to the Irish Pub. It wasn’t very Irish; it was more disco.



We finished up at a pool hall with a couple of the sherpas. A bunch of drunk college kids from the U.S. (the institution will remain unnamed) came in. We played a game of pool against a couple of the frat boy types. We had seen them on the trail a couple of times and they were the most out of shape bunch we ran across in the entire trip. We were bad, but they were worse and we beat them. They were not very happy -- beaten by an Irishman and someone as old as their father. When they found out that we had run the marathon a couple of days before, they couldn’t believe it. They were getting rather obnoxious and acting like they probably do in their college bar back home. They did not represent Americans very well.

We left to go back to the lodge and the final gathering of the group and the sherpas and support staff that helped us for the past two weeks. For most of them, this was their last day and they would be trying to pick up another job in the morning.

It is traditional that trekking groups pool some money for tipping the staff at the end of the trip. Fortunately, Sanjay from India took on that task (while we were having fun at the bar -- sorry Sanjay). I made a little speech thanking all of the staff for their help and support during the past two weeks and then one by one they came forward for their tips. It was very humbling experience. We had 53 people supporting about 25 runners and trekkers -- yak men, porters, cooks, cook boys. They did everything for us. Here they were extremely appreciative of a 1000 or 1500 rupee tip ($13 - $20) for two weeks worth of work. A waiter in Richmond gets that for serving a couple of entrees and a bottle of wine. It’s hard to put into perspective.



Afterwards they put on some Nepali music and everyone had a good time dancing or trying to. Most Nepalis don’t drink, however, so there wasn’t the usual carousing and carrying on. Even Gerry was well behaved.




June 1

The morning dawned cool and clear. The planes would be flying today! We packed up and headed down to the airport at 6:15 to await the arrival of the first planes.



The scene was a little less hectic than the Kathmandu airport. Security was as useless as in Kathmandu. (“Do you have anything bad in your bag?” “No.” “OK. Go ahead.”)

The siren went off which meant that the planes had left Kathmandu and would arrive shortly. Everyone was jockeying for the door to make sure that they got on board.

The tarmac is quite small but can handle four planes. They also can turn around a plane faster than any other airport of landing -- 10 minutes to land, unload, load and take off. Southwest Airlines eat your heart out. That’s why everyone was crowding the door. If you go to the restroom, you’ll probably be left behind.

We got in our plane, taxied out to the end of the runway, the pilot revved the engine and we were off. It’s sort of like going off a ski jump: the downhill runway ends at the edge of a cliff and then it’s 2,000 ft straight down. It’s exciting. In about 35 minutes we were back in Kathmandu.

It was a shock to be back in the city after two weeks in the mountains -- the crowds, the noise, the smells. Instead of yak bells, we had the constant blaring of horns and beeping of scooters. It took quite a while to get back to the Hotel Shanker but we finally made it.

The afternoon was spent getting things unpacked or reorganized, taking a long shower, sending some laundry out (poor laundry workers), and catching up on email and blog postings.

We had decided to meet at a place in Thamel at 6:30 for beers before dinner. Gerry had heard of a “great Irish bar called O’Casey’s”. Although I had a general idea where it was, I wandered around looking for it and kept asking the locals. They kept pointing me around the corner but I couldn’t find it. Finally, I asked another shop keeper. He said it’s right here and pointed up to a sign: “K.C.’s”. So much for the Irish.

K.C.’s was actually quite a nice place. It was an outside balcony about three floors up. It was cool and restful and well above the bustling streets. I found a couple of other in our group there and Gerry came a few minutes later sheepishly. We each had an Everest beer (they serve them in 650 ml bottles; they are like jumbos) and then went on to the Rum Doodle Restaurant for dinner.

The Rum Doodle is a famous Kathmandu restaurant where all of the climbing expeditions stopped at on their way out of Nepal for a little drinking and retelling (and lying, I’m sure) of their recently completed adventures. They would always leave something signed by the expedition members.

The restaurant recently moved into new quarters and doesn’t have the appeal of the quirky old place it used to be. But the food was good, if a bit Westernized, and the beer was cold. We had a good time and signed a big cardboard foot (a yeti foot?) and tacked it up to the wall.



During the dinner the power went out. The restaurant had a big generator that kicked in, but the city power remained off. The walk back to the hotel was darker than usual. There are no street lights in Kathmandu but the shops usually have some lights on which helps to see where you are going. With the power outage, only places with generators had any lights.

We walked carefully back in the black night. As we were passing under some old trees, I suddenly felt something hit my shoulder. I put my hand up and felt a warm gooey substance. Yuch, bombed by a bird at night. It was a white shirt and my last clean one. More on the bird incident in tomorrow’s post.

That’s all for now.

Everest Marathon -- the Gory Details

May 29

Here’s a bit more detail on the marathon a couple of days ago. We’ve been coming out of the mountains and are now back in Kathmandu. I’ll try to catch up on the postings and upload some more pictures in the next couple of days.

Marathon Day

Last night was cold but not as cold as the previous night. Got up a couple of times for nature’s call (tough in this environment), and it was very clear. The moon lit up all of the surrounding peaks. Wow.

There were two avalanches last night on opposite slopes from Base Camp. You hear this rumbling and it gets louder and louder. You hope that it will stop before it gets too loud. Of course, EBC is situated to avoid the impact of avalanches (you assume). One of the sherpas said that there was a huge avalanche a couple of weeks ago and the airborne snow settled over Base Camp. A little too close for comfort, though.

We got up at 4:45 am to begin race prep. That’s difficult to do in a tent and at 15 degrees. Had a little breakfast of porridge and coffee and tried to stay warm but not overdress for the start. Fortunately, the race officials agreed to pick up everyone’s down jacket and transport them to Namche Bazaar the next day, so we wouldn't have to freeze for too long.

The starting line was about 400 meters further up the icefall from the “mock start” yesterday near camp. I was a tough scramble through the glacier to get there. The race officials started calling people to the line about 6:30. Runners started materializing from everywhere. We had our group of about 25 runners and there were a handful of other Westerns who began showing up yesterday. Several of them have been in the mountains several weeks now getting acclimated and training. Must be nice.

The Nepalis were appearing from everywhere, as well. As opposed to the Westerners who were huddled together trying to stay warm and not get too winded at the high altitudes, they were scrambling up and down the glacier and rock piles like it was nothing. We know who’s going to be taking the top spots in this race.

Most of the Westerners were carrying a small bag of garbage down the mountain during the race as part of a publicity effort of the Extreme Everest Expedition 2010, an organization that is trying to clean up the trash that has been accumulating on the mountain for the last 60 years from the mountaineering expeditions and increasing number of trekkers. It was a small token that we could do. It was easy to tuck the baggie inside our hydration packs and belts.

As the start approached, the Nepali runners began to stretch out along the rocky ridges ready to dash for the few “trails” that led off the glacier and moraine. I was just trying to stay upright and uninjured until we got to relatively stable ground.



At 7:00 am sharp, the whistle went off and there was a mad dash for the narrow paths. With the ice and the rocks, it was like trying to run on thousands of slippery softballs and bowling balls. “Run” was relative term, as well. With the altitude and the treacherous terrain, I was just shuffling along.

For the first 5K to Gorek Shep, we were on the Khumbu Glacier and moraine. The group split up pretty quickly and Gerry and I were on our own. Some times the route was tough to follow and we had to stop to check where to go. All we had to do was look for the yak dung.

We reached the 5K point in just under an hour, almost three times longer than a normal road marathon. But we knew that it would be a long day.

The second 5K from Gorek Shep to Lobuche began with two, long cruel uphills. We also got behind some yak trains which slowed us down a bit but provided much needed rest. In this section of the course, we could finally get in some decent running but had to be careful of the footing. At least we were off of the glacier. We reached Lobuche, the 10K mark in about 2 hours. At this pace, we were looking at an 8+ hour marathon, in the range that we were expecting. We passed a couple of the competitors in this stretch, the ones who went out with a little too much enthusiasm.

Finally, after Lobuche, we got into the nicest section of the course. We got into a steady pace of running on the flats and downhills and going up the hills as fast as we could but usually not running. The steep downhill into Thukla was tough, especially finding the right line because there were so many paths. It was like skiing through a mogul field.

We ran over the rickety bridge and got onto my favorite section of the course the 5K or so to Dingboche. The trail was relatively smooth, it was gradually downhill and the air was getting thicker making it easier to breath. We caught up with David the Brit and passed him, another overenthusiastic starter.

The views in this section were stunning. The trail was about halfway up a high ridge, with expansive views of the valley floor and glacial river a thousand feet below and snow capped peaks above. Magnificent.

We also began seeing a lot of trekkers and locals at this point and they all shouted encouragement as we passed. For some reason, the Americans were particularly vocal.

Reaching Dingboche, we were at 14,464 ft, a little over 3,000 ft below the start. This is at the height of the highest peaks in the continental U.S., but boy did it feel good with the thick air. We began thinking that we could finish in a pretty respectable time, maybe under 7 hours.

Wrong. By 25K, the fun was over. We had dropped down to Deboche at 12,329 ft and crossed the river. Then we began a short, but steep climb to the Tengboche Monastery, at 12,664 ft. Only 335 ft, but it seemed like forever. Gerry was struggling to pass the lead yak on a yak train and I was pulling up the rear trying to stay out of the fresh dung. It seemed hopeless.

Topping out at the Tengboche Monestary, we immediately began the long, long and steep, steep downhill to the Imja Khosi (river). It was a 2,000 ft. drop over about 4K. I think that it was tougher than the uphills. And dangerous, too. Some of the steep sections were essentially jumping down from rock to rock and hoping not to go over the edge. We were down in the wooded terrain by now though, so any fall would be eventually stopped by trees.

We reached the bottom and crossed the swinging suspension bridge. We knew the next section of the course would be tough, but we were in the home stretch now. How wrong we were.

We reached a medical check point at the start of the long climb to the Khunde Hospital above Namche Bazaar, the finishing point. We worker said that we had about 6K to go. It was about 1:05 pm, a little over six hours into the race. Hmmmm. . . maybe we had a shot to get under 7 hours.

Wrong again. Right after the medical station, we began another uphill section that went on and on and on. The only relief was the occasional switchback where the trail leveled out a bit. We just kept going up and up. I was looking at my watch and seeing the minutes slip away. So much for sub 7:00. Maybe sub 8:00. Gerry was always up in front of me and I got tired of looking at his skinny Irish backside.



We finally reached the upper valley and the villages of Khumjung and Khunde on the far side where the hospital was located. The route was a confusing maze of rock wall lined paths between fields and houses. The race organizers had marked the route with flags from Coca Cola, the race sponsor, but the local kids had snapped them up as souvenirs. We had to stop at each fork in the path and ask directions, but the locals always knew the right way. “Marathon?” They’d point us in the right direction. It was always the uphill path, unfortunately.

We reached the hospital and began the long gradual decent back to Khumjung and to our final two obstacles. We ran past a couple of rather large stupas and long mani wall. There were lot of locals in this area shouting encouragement. At least I think they were. At one point, a young boy with what looked like his mother and grandmother were coming toward us. As I ran past, the boy jumped up and rubbed my chin. I have no idea why. Maybe it was because I had been shaving and didn’t have the typical two-week old beard that most the of the trekkers had. In any event, it was pretty weird.

At the end of the mani wall, we started up the climb to airstrip at Sangboche. I had walked this section earlier 12 days ago so I knew what we were in for -- 315 rock steps. We did no running here. Just walked up step after step to the top.

Ahh. We finally reached the last step, went around the stupa at the top clockwise (didn’t want to tempt fate), and began a slow run across the airstrip to the edge of the ridge above town. Two workers at the last aid station ran with us for a couple of hundred meters to show us the right path.

We had reached 40K and now faced our final obstacle: a 1,400 ft. drop back into Namche Bazaar and the finish line. This section was a steep maze of winding and intersecting paths and could be difficult to get off target and end up at the other end of town. Fortunately, they marked this section with white chalk or flour (no flags!), so it was easy to follow. No guessing. Down, down down to finally pop out on a wide flat path that circled the upper part of Namche.

No more uphills or downhills. We had 400 meters to the finish line. We slowly made our way around the upper part of the village, around a stupa, between two houses and into a small field which was the finishing area.

Finally, we were there. Done. Seven hours and 47 minutes. We had completed the Everest Marathon, the highest marathon in the world.

Post Marathon

It was good to be finished with the race. I’ve always thought that the best part of a marathon is when you are done. Some people like the experience. I guess that I prefer the end result -- accomplishment.

There were a few people in the finish area -- a couple of participants who finished just before us, a few non-competitors who were on the trip, race officials, some spectators, Extreme Everest officials, etc.

We were immediately taken to the medical tent where a doctor checked us out and gave us a massage -- a nice touch. He gave us some awful replacement fluid. One sip and I asked for a Coke. Hey, they’re one of the sponsors.

We received the usual race swag, Nepali style: a ceremonial white scarf, a burlap knapsack from the Exteme Everest group, a finishing certificate, a certificate for carrying a half kilo of garbage out of Base Camp, and a warmup suit. The warmups were nice because fog was coming in and it was getting chilly. Most of our cloths were only about half way down from the start at EBC.

There was a little Nepali boy, maybe three or four, at the finish line who was hamming it up with everyone. He was really full of himself. He wanted to know my name, my age, if I had any children his age, whether I had a dog, etc. At one point, he came into the medical tent and began to give a massage, just like he was a doctor. I think that he must have been the son of one of the medical personnel His English skills were excellent.

The guest government official was also at the finish line greeting everyone -- the French ambassador to Nepal. Don’t ask me why he was all the way there from Kathmandu. We couldn’t figure out the connection.

We were starting to get cold, so they got us organized and one of the sherpas escorted us to the Namche Hotel where we would be staying. My first bed in 14 days. Ahhh.

The problem was getting there. The race finished in the upper part of town and the hotel was in the lower part of town. So it was down hundreds of more steep steps. The sherpa was kind and went slowly with us.

The Namche Hotel was quite nice. It was en suite (no outside toilets or showers tonight), and Western style (no more squat, pit toilet tents). Yipee. I took my first hot shower in 10 days. It was wonderful.

Once we got cleaned up and into some warm clothes, Gerry being Gerry wanted some craic. So we decide to go to the regional entertainment event of the season, Musical Everest 2010. Unfortunately, the concert was at the Himalayan School near the finish line. So we had to drag ourselves back up all of those stone stairs to the top of the village.

The concert cost 400 rupees (about $6) to get into, a huge sum for locals, but they were coming in droves. Gerry, Tony the Kiwi and I were the only Westerners there at first. Nepalis of all ages were attending -- from grandmothers to teenagers. They had a DJ going, but no live bands. They did have a pretty elaborate sound system and speakers (which had to be carried in by porters from Lukla 8 miles away).

They were selling beer, but we were the only ones buying. The school choir sang a couple of songs which was quite cute. They were in their British school uniforms.

We wanted to hear some bands play, but they keep making announcements and giving awards so we left. It was difficult to leave, however, because of the throngs of people coming in. The security was pretty intense and they didn’t let us out for a while. So we put Tony at the front and he got us through.

As it turned out, we were way too early. The concert went n until 5:00 am. We were way too early.

We walked back down the hill to the hotel (ouch, ouch, ouch all of the way down) in the dark which was quite an accomplishment. The race group had just finished dinner so we ordered dinner from the kitchen. I had a yak pepper steak. Not too bad. It was my first meat since I arrived in Nepal. A good change from rice, lentils, bread and beans.

I talked to a Nepali Olympian at dinner who ran the marathon in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics against Alberto Salazar. He was quite interesting to talk to and very personable. At 58, he was my age, but no longer running.

I finally got to get bed (in a real bed) about 10:00. It was quite a day.

P.S.: Unfortunately, I have only these two still photos from the actual race. I was otherwise engaged. I do have some low-res video, but most of that is from about 4 feet in front of me as I was looking down mot of the time trying not to stumble. I'll post some video when I get back in the U.S. and have a chance to edit something viewable.

The local media coverage was quite good. All of the major Nepali new organizations had reporters on site. They were quite amusing. Apparently, there was some video on race day of Tony the Kiwi taken from a helicopter coming down the Namche hill near the finish several minutes before us. We're trying to find it.

Everest Base Camp

May 28

Everest Base Camp is a brutal, brutal place. Not only does the altitude (17,500 ft) leave your breathless, but just trying to move around is difficult and taxing. EBC is on a glacier. Basically it’s ice and rocks constantly moving and changing. Just moving around is like trying to walking on loose softballs and bowling balls going up and down to do mundane tasks.



Even the yaks seems to dislike the high altitude and environment.



Although it was snowing yesterday, last night turned cold and clear. The temperature got down to about 10 degrees last night. With the moon out, it was amazing bright last night with the high peaks surrounding the Khumbu icefall.

I had a little headache buth that was resolved with a little Advil. With the altitude, though, I was a bit dizzy and didn’t have much of an appetite.

At EBC, the runners not on the tour (mostly Nepalis) are beginning to show up for the race tomorrow. But there are a few westerners as well, the ringers. Some have been in Nepal for several weeks training for the race. The race organizers had a “mock start” today for the benefit of the media so that they would have some video footage foe their reports on the race tomorrow. It was very disorganized with a lot of yelling and shouting but eventually they got their act together.



A number of Everest climbers were coming down today and thy brought two bodies down. It was somber but things went on as usual.

The weather was sunny and quite warm this afternoon. Everyone was down to shorts and tshirts. Or in the case of Martin the German, down to nothing. I’ll spare the blog the photo. Check with me later if you want to see it.

Gerry and I walked up to the edge of trhe Khumbu icefall where the climbers start their Everest climbs. This is where the danger begins with is seracs and crevasses. We could see the paths that have been established for the climbers into the icefall. You could hear the creaking and cracking of the icefall. I’m not sure that I’d want to go in there.



I don’t know how the climbing expeditions can spend two and a half months here. Even the simplest tasks such as going to the bathroom can be difficult. We’ve been here a day and want to get out as soon as possible. Everest Base Camp: been there and done that. No need to do it again.





Everyone wants to get the race underway. We will have dinner at 6:00 pm tonight and then to bed. We’ll be up at 5:00 am tomorrow for the 7:00 am start. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

High Up In The Himalayas

We haven't had internet connectivity since Dingboche. Since we've finished the everest Marathon and are back to civilization in Namche Bazaar (even with the yaks running through the streets), here are some posts of our adventures up high in Lobuche, Gorak Shep, Kala Pattar and Everest Base Camp.

May 25

It rained most of the night. The sound of the raindrops on the tent was soothing and helped to drown out the night sounds that sometimes keeps you awake -- the snoring of the other campers, the clanging of the yak bells, the tent zippers from other people getting up.

The morning broke clear. The rain from the night befor froze on the tent. We got up at 5:00 am and climbed to the ridge above camp to watch the sun rise. The glow of the sunbeams over Nputse was beautiful. I just haven’t been able to capture it on a photo.



The clouds began rolling in up the valley, so we went back down to camp, had coffee and got a bowl of warm washing water. Even though it was in the 30s, I stripped down to my waist and washed my hair, face and upper body, and shaved. It’s been six days since I’ve had a shower.

We hike to Lobuche today, a climb of 1,641 ft to 16,105 ft. This is higher than any point in the continental US, I believe. It’s at this point that people really start struggling with the altitude. We’ll see how it goes.

The first part of today’s hike is to Tukla, where we will stop for lunch. It’s the same hike we did yesterday in the snow. Along the way, I talked to one of the sherpas, Dogha, who has summated Everest twice. He showed me a picture of him on the summit. After being a Sherpa on a mountaineering expedition, it’s hard to believe that he is a porter for a trekking group.



The walk to day was slower than yesterday because the rest of the group was along an there was no snow to slip and slide on. There was a lot of helicopter activity in the valley, evidently some rescue operation. The copters have been grounded for two days, so someone could have been in trouble for quite some time.

The skies was partly cloudy so the views were once again amazing, You just don’t get tired looking at the scenery.

More trekkers were on the trail today almost all going down. Many of the Everest expeditions are starting to break camp and head back to Lukla and Kathmandu.

We made it to Tukla by 10:30 and had a leisurely lunch. It was sunny and warm and it was nice just to lie around for a couple of hours.



After lunch we had a tough climb up to the edge of the Khumbu Glacier moraine. With the increasing altitude and steepness, it was quite difficult. At the top, there were memorials to many of the climbers, sherpas and foreigners, who have died in the surrounding mountains. It was a very somber place, almost like a church.



The remaining hike to Lobuche was gradually uphill next to the glacial moraine. The landscape has become very barren, mainly with rocks and sand. In a few places where soil has gathered, some small grasses and flowers manage to grow.

Got to camp feeling good -- no headache, nausea, stomach issues or anything. Several in the group have had various maladies along the way. I hope that I can last for a couple more days.

Once in camp, we grabbed our stuff and dove into the tent for a quick nap. A cloud rolled in and it began to sleet and then snow a bit. That’s mountain weather for you.

After the afternoon tea, Gerry and I hike up to the ridge across the valley to see the Khumbu Glacier. Since the glacier is retreating, there is a lot of rock and gravel on top of the ice underneath. The glacier is about ½ mile wide. Even though we were 300 feet above it, you could hear the ice cracking and groaning as it moved slowly downhill. Or the rest of the hike, we will be following the glacier up to Everest Base Camp and the Khumbu Icefall where the climbing expeditions begin.



From the ridge top we could see a large glass pyramid, know as the Italian Pyramid, where scientists study the effects of high altitude. It looks bizarrely out of place here but they do good work there.

I ran into Rob the Hungarian in the lodge. He’s been staying here for a couple of days getting some running in for the race on Saturday. He said that he ran up to Kala Pattar today in 58 minutes and ran back in 19. I think that he wants to give the Indians a run for their money in the foreigners category.

Tonight will be more of the same: dinner at 7:00, Damche’s briefing for tomorrow, a little reading and in bed by 9:00 or so.

May 26

Had kind of a rough night last night. I had a headache and sore throat and didn’t sleep very well - signs of mild altitude sickness and pretty typical.. Most of the people in the group are suffering from something. A couple of folks have been told that they will have to go back down the mountain and not run the race. So I guess things are not too bad for me.

Got up a little later than I have been -- 6:00 -- washed up, had a cup of coffee and felt a bit better. The weather is partly cloudy this morning. A lot of copters are flying up to base camp again. I wonder what’s going on.

The hike today is a relatively short one to Gorek Shep. At 16,859 ft., it is the last stop for most trekking group who will make day trips to Kala Pattar or Everest Base Camp. We will spend one night here before going up to Everest Base Camp for two nights before the race on the 29th.

Several in the group want to climb Kala Pattar because you get the best views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse there. At 18,185 ft., it will be the highest point on the trek as well. We’ll climb it at the end of today’s hike or first thing tomorrow morning.

The first part of the walk today was up a gradual valley. About a half mile in, a couple of us turned up a side valley to visit the Italian Pyramid, a modern glass pyramid that was built as a research station in the upper Everest region. It is so bizarrely out of place in thus desolate landscape. The facility manager gave us a tour of the labs. They do meteorological and geological research at the site.




The remainder of the hike constantly steepened as we crossed the glacial moraine and a finger of the glacier. The last bit up the steep, rocky trail was difficult. I was huffing and puffing and struggling for breath. You can really feel the thin air at 16,800 ft.

Although it was partly cloudy, it was cool and windy and snow fell periodically. After lunch, I tried to take a nap but my cold and the effects of altitude made it difficult to sleep. It was snowing lightly all afternoon.

A couple of people climbed up to Kala Pattar, but it was so cloudy that they could not see anything. We’ll try first thing tomorrow.

There was a lot of yak and porter traffic today, mostly going downhill. EBC is beginning to break up for the season.

I wandered around the other lodges at Gorek Shep looking for an Internet café. I found one but their satellite was not working. I’ll try again at EBC.

May 27

We climbed Kala Patter first thing this morning for the best views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and the Khumbu Glacier. A group of us left at 6:30 with Doghe, the Sherpa who has climbed Everest twice. At 18,159 ft, it’s a climb of 1,300 ft from Gorek Shep and the highest point that we will reach on our trip. We will actually summit a peak in the Himalayas.

It snowed last night but was cold and clear when we started. The lower part of climb was not particularly tough but at this altitude, we were sucking wind right away. The snow got a little deeper at the top and the climb got a bit more technical be we summitted in about an hour.

The weather was clear so we had great views of Everest, Lhoste, Nuptse, the Khumbu Glacier, and the other surrounding mountains. It was the prototypical pictures that you see of Everest. Just indescribable. This is what we came to Nepal to see.



The weather was good so we spent over an hour at the top taking in the views and taking pictures. A couple of other groups began coming up and it was getting crowded so we decided to go back down to Gorek Shep for breakfast.

The morning was pretty leisurely because we would not be leaving for Everest Base Camp until after lunch. We spent the time in the dining room of the lodge since the porters had already taken down the tents.

Although it was only 5K to Base Camp from Gorek Shep, the hike was tough because of the altitude and the terrain. We climbed about 700 ft across moraine and the Khumbu Glacier. At the end thee really wasn’t a trail, just areas where you had to climb over the rocks and boulders. It was like trying to walk on loose bowling balls.

There were a lot of porters and yak trains coming down fro EBC because most of the climbing expeditions are done and breaking camp. The helicopter traffic was again very heavy due to some of the more well funded expeditions ferrying their members to Lukla for the flight out rather than making the four day trek.

Everest Base Camp is quite a large area -- probably a half mile long by 200 yards wide -- on the Khumbu Glacier at the edge of the Khumbu Icefall. The ice fall is where the climbing expeditions and danger of Everest begins. The ice fall is a maze of towering seracs and crevasses that much be negotiated to reach the higher climbing camps and upper slops of Everest. The icefall is constantly changing so ropes, ladders and bridges must often be replaced or repositioned.

EBC has tents strewn all over the place with little apparent organization. Wherever a flat spot is or can make made relatively easily, there was a tent -- a sleeping tent, a dining tent, or a toilet tent. Our camp was on the site where an expedition group had just left, so there were several flats spots for tents.




Getting to your sleeping tent, the dining tent or the toilet tent was always an adventure. You had to scramble over rocks and boulders, down slippery ice and across glacial streams. At the altitude, it was all you could do to stay upright. Everyone was worried about injuring themselves just trying to move around. To add more difficulty, it began snowing putting slick coating on everything.

We all were tired from the climb and the altitude (17,500 ft) made you breathless and dizzy most of the time. Just a little exertion had you panting. I wonder what the race will be like. We spent most of the first afternoon in our tents just resting.



In my next post, I'll describe Base Camp a bit more, the "mock start" we had the day before the race, and trying to run on loose, bowling ball size rocks for the first 5K of the Marathon.