March 31, 2008 - 9:39am — MountEverest2008
The Streets of Kathmandu
Kathmandu, Nepal
After I think what was a 40hr trip, I arrived into Kathmandu. I’m staying at the Yak & Yeti hotel, a pretty nice place with a comfortable bed and a hot shower. This morning, after a short video conference via Skype with Hlee (technology is cool!), I met up with guides Jose Luis, Vern, and Dave… all really nice guys and each possessing a ton of Everest experience and know how. Later in the day, the other climbers in our group arrived as well. Seems like we’ll have a strong group… maybe half of the other climbers have been on Everest before.
I spent part of the day once again sorting my gear, the other part exploring Kathmandu. If you’d like to see a rather raw two minute snapshot of the city, please check out the video I just posted tonight (see video section of this site). If you were in my shoes today walking the streets, this is what you would see and hear. Sorry I cannot share the smell… though on second thought you may consider yourself lucky on this front! This city is highly interesting – nearly everything I see sparks questions to better understand and appreciate what I’m viewing. The locals are very friendly, the traffic fairly insane, and the people watching potential possibly unmatched by any other land.
Good news came in that we officially got our official permit today. So, yes – it is now official – we will be climbing Everest! In the same breath, the permit came with restrictions. I’ll outline these in later posts, but the impact of these restrictions may hit two key areas.
First, our acclimatization schedule will likely need to be modified. This is not ideal, as the acclimatization schedule guide groups such as Alpine Ascents would normally use is one that has been well honed over several climbing seasons. This experience driven schedule helps you win the acclimatization game – doing so gives you a much better shot at a safe, successful climb. The restrictions in our permit will likely drive change… so we are kind of tampering with something that is known to work. More on this later.
Second, there appears to be some ban going into place regarding communication that can take place from the mountain during a specified time period. Potentially, this could mean a noticeable blackout period where no web updates like the one I am sharing now would take place. This is directly related to the Olympic torch activity taking place on the north side.
So, in sum: I’m here, my gear is here, the team and guides are here, and we have permission to climb. How we climb and how frequently I may share progress are question marks at the moment. The city of Kathmandu is an interesting place. And I posted a video to give you a peek. Finally, I am increasingly certain this season on Everest will be a memorable one.