A day around Namche

Aaah! I spoke too soon. Dinner last night was vegetarian! I can't help feeling the previous lodge must have read my blog. That's not to say it wasn't good as it was, even though it was an unusual combination - chips, spaghetti with a tomato sauce and cabbage. Secondly I woke at 1.30 am only to stay awake for a couple of hours. On the plus side the Internet speed was up to 3g! I understand from Henrietta that at least one other person apart from my parents are reading my blog! I've got a mention on Alan Arnette's Everest website for my description of Kathmandu. I've been asked to do the Jagged Globe blog today so normal service (irreverence) will resume tomorrow!

This morning we woke to another day of sunshine and an early breakfast at seven thirty.

The plan was to have a relatively gentle morning walk up another 300 m to the villages of Khunde and Khumjung just to the north of Namche.

The two villages are a far cry from the hub bub of Namche with very limited facilities consisting of a couple of lodges together with a bakery.

Wondering around these two villages you get a real sense of how hard life is for the local inhabitants who aren't involved in someway with the tourists. They eke a subsistence living off the semi fertile land. There's no mechanisation here as everything is done by hand with the help of a yak or two to do the ploughing. It's like stepping back in time three hundred years into a working museum.

The village of Khunde is where Sir Edmond Hilary set up a hospital and a school following his 1953 trip as a thank you for all of the help that the locals provided during that expedition. Both are still operating which is a tremendous legacy.

From Khumjung after a coffee and apple cake stop we continued to the Everest View hotel which has a terrace that enjoys panoramic views of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. Unfortunately for us the cloud had started to build during the late morning so our view of Lhotse was obscured.

Everest is on the left with the cloud blowing off it whilst on the right is Ama Dablam

Everyone commented on what a stunning mountain Ama Dablam is and how was it possible to climb it. So it was with some pride that the short tubby one (that's me!) was able to pipe up and say that I had climbed it two and half years ago. I can honestly say that it is a terrific mountain to summit. Have a look at the Jagged Globe website if your tempted.

On our return leg back to Namche we had an excellent panoramic view of it looking down from above. It's been built within a semi circular hanging valley which looks like a greek amphitheatre.

Looking down on Namche

Namche is full of lodges, cheap gear and souvenir shops, internet cafes and restaurants. It's a fascinating village and the hub of the Khumbu valley. It gets it's name from the weekly Saturday market with traders coming from as far as Tibet to sell there wares.

All of the team are coping really well with the altitude gain and are keen to get to see the monastery at Tengboche tomorrow.

Monjo to Namche Bazaar

I've realised I've not told you who else is on the expedition:

David Hamilton who is our leader
Adam Ward who is our base camp manager and chef. Yes that's right we've got a uk chef to oversee the menus and the cooking.

Team members:
Bruno Baschung from Switzerland
Philip Purdy
Nick Bailey
Cain O'Brolchain of Southern Ireland
Brett Hammond
Warner Rojas Chinchilla who is hoping to be the first person from Costa Rica to summit.

Our ages range from 32 to 52.

Yesterday whilst our walk initially dropped down from Lukla we regained the height on reaching Monjo at 2835m. 

You soon learn to give way to yaks!

I am pleased to say most of the team had their best nights sleep. I had a solid 8 hours which I have to admit I've not had for many weeks. I suspect it's a combination of getting over the jet lag as Nepal is four and a half hours ahead of the UK and just the relief of actually getting here.

Today we climbed the 750m up to Namche which I remember well from last time as being the first really continuous section of up hill walking. I just recall arriving in Namche exhausted and fighting for breath as the effects of the altitude kicked in. This time though I'm pleased to say I arrived feeling so much better - probably the good nights sleep. I say long may it continue.

Along the way we had our very first glimpse through the trees of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam which were approximately 30 and 20 miles away.

We arrived at our lodge in time for lunch and this afternoon we dropped back down into the town centre to do a bit of shopping. A few of us also stopped to have an excellent coffee and cake at a bakery (I've got Ben B to thank for this as we visted the bakery on our Ama Dablam trip in 2009). It must be the best one in town as David H also dropped in.

A couple of guys including Cian and Pasang then decided to go to the Irish bar to play some pool! Hard to beleive but no matter where you are in the world you're never far from an Irish Bar. I've not heard the result yet.

The food has been good. Last night for dinner I had a plate of chips with two fried eggs and not a single vegetable in sight (Henrietta would have loved it), followed by an individual deep fried apple pie! The pie tasted a lot better than it looked. I don't believe the lodges have ovens as most of the food is prepared over paraffin stoves. So the Nepalese have something in common with that alternative national dish of Scotland - the deep fried Mars Bar!

Breakfast was porridge and an omelette on toast whilst lunch was soup followed by boiled potatoes and tinned tuna in tomato sauce with some extra hot spices.

I'm pleased to say the quality of the food is so much higher than that I experienced (endured) in Tibet whilst travelling to base camp on the north side.

We will be staying in Namche for two nights to aid our acclimatisation.

Lukla to Monjo

Having set our alarm for 4.00 am this morning to be ready for breakfast at 4.30am we woke to discover that there was a power cut. These apparently happen regularly in the early hours to try and save not only money but to service the ancient infrastructure.

Kathmandu airport is a hectic place at the best of times but it's just as manic at 6.00 in the morning as people fight for an early flight to Lukla.

Thankfully we were on about the fourth flight out. For those who haven't experienced the delights of landing at Lukla probably the best analogy I can make is that it's a bit like landing on an aircraft carrier except there is no arrester wire and instead of water there is a solid concrete wall if you don't brake in time. I'm sure the run way is shorter than that on the USS Nimitz! No wonder it's been ranked as the worlds most dangerous airport in a recent TV documentary. At least this time there was no wreckage swept off to the side but it is early in the season!

Let's hope that's not aviation fuel beneath our plane

A dusty and undulating trail hugs the steeply sided valley along which the Dudi Kosi flows. It criss crosses the river via metal suspension bridges where if you are sensible you always give way to the yaks. Along the way we've seen stunning flowering Magnolia trees and Rhododendron bushes. Local toddlers appear to play happily amongst the dirt and yak dung outside their single story wooden homes that are more a kin to a glorified shack than a house. They always have the widest of smiles when you say 'hello'.

The afternoon turned cloudy but at least the rain held. We've arrived at our lodge ahead of our main bags and are currently trying to keep warm. The wood burning stove, the only source of heat in the dining room and indeed the whole establishment, won't be lit for another hour and a half. We shouldn't complain as its only going to get colder - its just the extremes of temperature as soon as the sun disappears.

Waiting for the fire to be lit

Looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Don't forget to check out the interactive map page to see exactly where we are.

Spot2 satellite GPS messenger purchased - track my progress

Well the title says it all really. I've just bought a second hand one off eBay. It should be here next week when I can start playing with it.

Hopefully it will allow me to send an update of my location on a daily basis which you can follow on the interactive map page. I'm hoping it will work always to the summit. Yet more technology to get to grips with (and batteries to carry!).

You can read more about it here: http://www.findmespot.eu/en/

Ian

Only six weeks to go until departure

If you're stumbled across this page before it is fully finished, thanks for looking. I am in the process of updating the pages in the coming two weeks as well as getting my Twitter account updated - you'll notice it's very old!

Cheers

Ian