Monday, May 5, 2008
Contact with the family
Someone asked if I was in contact with the family. Since I left Nepal - the answer to that is no. I read what you read at this point. Once the use of satelite phones is allowed I expect to have more contact but that will not happen until after the Olympic Torch is off the mountain. At least I am assuming communication with teams will improve at that point but you never know. If an emergency should occur I would be contacted immediately.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Best, worst, most interesting teahouse
The most luxurious teahouse I stayed in was at Pheriche. For dinner they gave you a hot towel to wash your face and hands, had candles on the tables, and provided you with cloth napkins. The food was also exceptionally good. There was a plastic sit down toilet that you could put over the squat toilet and a sunroom outside to sit in and read in the afternoon.
The worst teahouse was at Lobuche. The dining room was crowded, smoky, had no windows and mice ran over your feet at night.
The most interesting teahouse was in Pangboche. It was painted pink with a centre courtyard. My room was on the end with beautiful views of two mountains. After supper I was walking back to my room at night and the whole courtyard filled up with yaks returning from their day of hauling supplies. I watched as a man and woman carefully removed their gear and tethered them to a rope just outside my window for the night.
The worst teahouse was at Lobuche. The dining room was crowded, smoky, had no windows and mice ran over your feet at night.
The most interesting teahouse was in Pangboche. It was painted pink with a centre courtyard. My room was on the end with beautiful views of two mountains. After supper I was walking back to my room at night and the whole courtyard filled up with yaks returning from their day of hauling supplies. I watched as a man and woman carefully removed their gear and tethered them to a rope just outside my window for the night.
Teahouses
When I first heard that I would be staying in Teahouses on the way to Base Camp my mind pictured a quaint gazebo type building in a romantic English garden setting. Wrong! The teahouses we would be staying in would consist of roughly constructed buildings with a dining room, bedrooms and a shared bathroom with a squat toilet (more on it in another blog).
The dining room is the centre of all activity. It is the social centre where you eat and meet fellow hikers and hear their stories. It usually has 3 sides of glass windows with terrific views of the snow capped mountains in the area. Benches covered in Tibetain rugs with long tables infront ring the room. A central pot-bellied stove provides the only heat for the entire building. They burn wood at low altitude and dried yak dung at higher elevations. Depending on the wind, the dining room and if you are unlucky your bedroom is quite smoky.
The bedrooms consist of two beds with a narrow centre aisle and a large window with a view of the mountains. The walls are paper thin and you can hear the person in the next room's every move. Sometimes the electricity in the rooms work and sometimes it doesn't so you always have a headlamp at the ready so you can find your belongings and stumble down the hall to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Some teahouses provide you with an extra quilt at night which is a luxury. All this for 200 rupees a night, approximately $4.00. Considering a person or a yak had to carry all the building supplies etc. up the mountain to the building site you feel quite fortunate to be indoors out of the weather. This is all part of the Everest experience.
The dining room is the centre of all activity. It is the social centre where you eat and meet fellow hikers and hear their stories. It usually has 3 sides of glass windows with terrific views of the snow capped mountains in the area. Benches covered in Tibetain rugs with long tables infront ring the room. A central pot-bellied stove provides the only heat for the entire building. They burn wood at low altitude and dried yak dung at higher elevations. Depending on the wind, the dining room and if you are unlucky your bedroom is quite smoky.
The bedrooms consist of two beds with a narrow centre aisle and a large window with a view of the mountains. The walls are paper thin and you can hear the person in the next room's every move. Sometimes the electricity in the rooms work and sometimes it doesn't so you always have a headlamp at the ready so you can find your belongings and stumble down the hall to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Some teahouses provide you with an extra quilt at night which is a luxury. All this for 200 rupees a night, approximately $4.00. Considering a person or a yak had to carry all the building supplies etc. up the mountain to the building site you feel quite fortunate to be indoors out of the weather. This is all part of the Everest experience.
Medical update
I saw the doctor yesterday and I have a ruptured Achilles tendon. I have to have a ultra sound and begin physiotherapy next week. Depending on the results of ultra sound I may have to see an orthopedic surgeon to get the Achilles stitched which according to Dr. Bones is a very unpleasant procedure. For now, I am taking anti-inflammatories and elevating my leg higher than my heart to reduce swelling. I am hopeful time not surgery will be the answer.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Politics, Sickness and Mountain Climbing
Our 3 biggest obstacles to summiting are as above in that order. When we arrived at Base Camp, all cameras and satellite phones were prohibited. The Nepalese army was at the entrance to Base Camp checking people entering and exiting. A Chinese general came in by helicopter to check out the situation. A surveillance plane was circling the summit of Everest recently to make sure there were no unwanted climbers in the area. All climbers were to be off the mountain by April 30, 2008 and we would optimistically be able to go up from Base Camp on May the 6th at the earliest and possibly not until May the 10th, 2008 or later. Also, the Nepalese army were to be looking in all the tents today for satellite phones or video cameras or articles favoring Tibet. All this to safeguard the televising of the Chinese Everest climbers who are climbing to the top of Everest on the north (Tibetan) side and they do not want any interference with the Olympic torch relay or any attention drawn to the ‘Free Tibet’ issue. The delay could cost us the narrow window of opportunity for us to make a summit attempt.
It is very difficult to manage disease/sickness at elevation. Most everyone is getting, has, or is recovering from a viral chest infection. Dan has had it and has it. Alan is nearing the end of his sickness. Laura is dealing with the “Khumbu” cough which is widespread. It is easy to get an eye infection which a few have including Dan but he can use sunglasses with a prescription insert (Thanks Doug!) during recovery. A couple of the others are dealing with gastroenteritis with Imodium to the rescue. The immune system is weakened with extreme exertion and high elevations but just another challenge to overcome.
Now the real reason we are here. We did a few acclimatization hikes up about 1000ft. higher on nearby mountains. On Monday April 28, 2008 we were up at 4:30 a.m. with a fresh snowfall and set off after breakfast at 6:15 a.m. from Base Camp at 17300ft. to 19380ft. camp 1 at the top of the infamous Khumbu Icefall. After crossing about 50 ladders strung across bottomless crevasses, carefully placing your crampons on the ladder rungs so they didn’t slip and after 8 hours of this with full packs to leave gear at camp 1, we arrived. Some of the ladders are up to four ladders strung together and vertical to get up and over a serac (a wall of ice). Keep in mind that this icefall is in motion each day!
In 2005, camp 1 comprising 60 tents, was all swept away by an avalanche. Every day and night you can hear and sometimes see these avalanches. They moved camp 1 higher to a hopefully safer location.
The next day, we went to camp 2 (elevation 20500ft.), crossing a few more ladders and returned to camp 1 quite tired. On Wednesday April 30, we descended back down through the icefall, reaching Base Camp after about 5 hours, relieved to be back safe but completely spent.
Since no one can go up for 6 to 10 days we have descended to the “village” of Dingboche at 14300ft. to hopefully rest and get completely healthy before we go back up for our push to camp 3 then back to Base Camp for our summit push after 4 or 5 rest days.
All is well. This internet site is the highest internet café in the world so when we get back up, communication is difficult.
Dan
It is very difficult to manage disease/sickness at elevation. Most everyone is getting, has, or is recovering from a viral chest infection. Dan has had it and has it. Alan is nearing the end of his sickness. Laura is dealing with the “Khumbu” cough which is widespread. It is easy to get an eye infection which a few have including Dan but he can use sunglasses with a prescription insert (Thanks Doug!) during recovery. A couple of the others are dealing with gastroenteritis with Imodium to the rescue. The immune system is weakened with extreme exertion and high elevations but just another challenge to overcome.
Now the real reason we are here. We did a few acclimatization hikes up about 1000ft. higher on nearby mountains. On Monday April 28, 2008 we were up at 4:30 a.m. with a fresh snowfall and set off after breakfast at 6:15 a.m. from Base Camp at 17300ft. to 19380ft. camp 1 at the top of the infamous Khumbu Icefall. After crossing about 50 ladders strung across bottomless crevasses, carefully placing your crampons on the ladder rungs so they didn’t slip and after 8 hours of this with full packs to leave gear at camp 1, we arrived. Some of the ladders are up to four ladders strung together and vertical to get up and over a serac (a wall of ice). Keep in mind that this icefall is in motion each day!
In 2005, camp 1 comprising 60 tents, was all swept away by an avalanche. Every day and night you can hear and sometimes see these avalanches. They moved camp 1 higher to a hopefully safer location.
The next day, we went to camp 2 (elevation 20500ft.), crossing a few more ladders and returned to camp 1 quite tired. On Wednesday April 30, we descended back down through the icefall, reaching Base Camp after about 5 hours, relieved to be back safe but completely spent.
Since no one can go up for 6 to 10 days we have descended to the “village” of Dingboche at 14300ft. to hopefully rest and get completely healthy before we go back up for our push to camp 3 then back to Base Camp for our summit push after 4 or 5 rest days.
All is well. This internet site is the highest internet café in the world so when we get back up, communication is difficult.
Dan
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Arrived home last night at about 11:00 p.m. after 15 hour flight from Hong Kong. Long flight inwhich I had to lie on the floor outside the bathroom with my leg in the air to control the swelling. I am sure some of the people on the flight really wondered what was going on. Doctor appointment tomorrow to find out exactly what I have done.
Nancy met me at the airport and drove me home. It was so nice to see a friendly smiling face and fall into my own bed.
The house is full of clothes and housewares from the children's various households which are all now in Utopia. My tidy instincts are coming into play quickly but there are lots of things I do not know what to do with including the new dog that seems to be protecting the house even though no one knows where he or his food bowls came from.
Nancy met me at the airport and drove me home. It was so nice to see a friendly smiling face and fall into my own bed.
The house is full of clothes and housewares from the children's various households which are all now in Utopia. My tidy instincts are coming into play quickly but there are lots of things I do not know what to do with including the new dog that seems to be protecting the house even though no one knows where he or his food bowls came from.
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