Overnight In Dzongla

Brother-in-Law Pemba Sherpa sends this report dated Monday, September 29, 2008 :
Dear Richard I am writing this on behalf of Tenjing. Susan are in Dzongla tonight. They are doing fine and having a great time. Tomorrow they will go over Chola pass and Pemba is taking care of them well. Will write you more when we here next from them. Take care.

The map section shows the trek from Dingboche to the Everest viewpoint at Kala Pattar. The trail doubles back to Lobuche and Duglha, then heads west to Dzongla. I have marked a solid line from Dzongla up to the Cho La pass at 5420m (17,782 ft), where they will cross over into the next valley heading to the village of Gokyo.

Susan Passed This Way Before ... in 1984!

The first week has gone by with no word about our Wild Wasatch Women trekking the well marked trail up the Dudh Kosi river toward Mount Everest. They are accompanied by Captain Pemba acting as their "Sirdar" or guide and one porter. No cook or kitchen boy or half a dozen porters carrying provisions the way we used to do it in the eighties. They didn't even have to carry food. The photo above, just for comparison, is of our exploratory 1985 expedition to the Arun Valley, southeast of Everest. This is a remote area where teahouses are a rarity and we had to carry everything we needed for a month on the trail.
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Rebecca and Susan left Namche on Monday, so they should get to Kala Patar by Saturday. Weather has been rainy and cloudy, but I hope they are comfortable. Everything trekkers need is available from a series of independent guest houses along the trail. I discovered a photo of the lodge at Gorak Shep and observe how times have changed. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/36353

On The Trail

Susan sent a final email before leaving Namche with Rebecca, Pemba, and one porter, to begin the long trek toward Mount Everest. Here is part of what she had to say:
"We are on our way. Pemba slept in because we have had so many false starts. No view of the mountains this morning. It is cloudy and rainy. We are going to Kala Patar first, then the Cho La if there is not too much snow. We are going the other direction this time. That's about five days. Then Goyko and Gokyo Peak and then a new pass called Ranger La and over to the Bhod Kosi about two days up from Thame. They say it is easier then the Cho La, but it is raining here which means the passes might be very snowy. Pemba does not have good shoes. I bought him a jacket in Bangkok."
This is an ambitious trek.
First the expedition is following the main trail up valley northeast to Kala Patar, the principal trekker's viewpoint for Mount Everest across the moraine from the famous Khumbu ice fall. Then they will backtrack and head over the Cho La pass into the next valley west, to a village called Gokyo. From there the plan is to continue west over another pass, Renjo La, whence they can descend into the north-south valley of the Bhod Kosi river coming down from Tibet, two days walk above the same village of Thame where they visited the Gompa on Sunday.
The poor weather will be their biggest difficulty. Several days are predicted with 60% and 80% chance of rain. Seasonal snows may close the passes the team must cross. Fortunately, alternate trails lead back into the main Khumbu valley if they decide to turn back. Check the link at right to Syangboche Airport weather for the latest report from the ridge above Namche.

Crossing the Bhod Kosi

Here are my 2005 photos of the bridge over the gorge Susan mentioned in her last post.

I've never seen a more beautiful place

Wow, the beauty here goes in new directions everyday. Although the helicopter view of Mt Everest was a life experience trekking to the nearby village yesterday was amazing the clouds hung above and sometimes below us the whole way and we followed one of the many rivers they call milky rivers because of all the silt and the fact that it is one constant rapid flowing faster than any river I have ever seen. We crossed a bridge over the river at a point where it was just 15 to 20 feet wide it had carved holes in the side walls. It was loud and powerful and just a bit scary but the bridge was metal and very safe. There are no words or really pictures for what we see every day but I hope the few photos you get to see give you a good look into this beautiful place. The first hike yesterday was long and feet and backs got tired but a lot of sleep and one more rest day and off we go on our next adventure. Once again thank for your comments it's the first thing we look for. Being here I really know what it is like having my head in the clouds. Love to all! Rebecca (miss you James and Bobbi Jo)

Comforts of Namche

So we haven't left for our trek. Yesterday we did a practice hike to the village of Thame. We visited one of the oldest monasteries in the Khumbu area and watched the monks say their prayers. They were surrounded by very old Tibetan manuscripts which they were all reading and chanting out loud. It was a holy time and the readings would continue for 16 days. Tibetan books are rectangular shaped with no binding. The stack of papers have a leather cover and backing then they are wrapped in cloth. The walls of the room had little rectangular cubbies which stored each book. They are ancient books which are treated reverently.
I have tried not to make the blog all about the food but I feel I should mention it because it is superb. On the day of our arrival we were survived fresh tomato soup. Creamy and delicious with a wonderful smell of garlic and ginger. It was divine. The rice and lentils which can be ordinary never is. There are carrots and spinach, cilantro and green beans mixed with potatoes. A fresh meat delivery came up with us and we had beef momos with the wonderful chili sauce. In the morning we have eggs and toast, hash browns and oatmeal. The variety and the preparation is perfect. Today for lunch we had mutton curry, rice, a pumpkin sauce and sushi rolls. Rebecca brought the seaweed wrappers and they made vegetable sushie with soy sauce. Everyone enjoyed rolling the sushi. The kids love the nori snacks that we brought. There are not too many trekkers here this week but next week the schedule board is full. Utten, Pemba and Tenzing's daughter has a cousin here the same age and they are having fun, fun, fun. This is family time before the busy season. I'm so glad we are here.

Acclimitization in 48 hours

At 6:30 am we went to the airport. We boarded the cargo flight to Lukla. If some of you have been to Lukla you will remember how the airstrip suddenly appears out of the clouds and you land on a short runway going uphill. To the amazement of all the trekkers we walked over to our private helicopter. We want to thank whoever ordered it because we were able to hitchhike a ride up to Namche instead of a two day walk. Pemba's company was able to arrange for us, his wife and daughter, sister in law and nephew to ride the empty helicopter up to the village. We got a wonderful scenic tour over Namche , Khuni and Kumjung. People in their fields were waving to us as we swooped low over the ground. Rebecca was in the front seat with her eyes wide open. The two children in the back with their moms took it all in like it happens every day. We arrived like celebrities but the only person to meet us was the National Park Officer who wanted to make sure we paid our entrance fee. We walked to the nearest hotel and had some milk tea while Tenzing called her mother in village who was already sending porters to meet us. After a steep, rocky decent we arrived in the Sherpa village known as Namche in 30 minutes. No uphill for these divas.
The scenery is spectacular, our hotel faces a huge waterfall across a deep river valley. No exaggeration the waterfall is 2000' long and that's the part we can see. We were given the Sir Edmund Hillary room with two windows filled with scenery beyond compare and a view of the happenings in town. Then the tea drinking and food consumption began in earnest. I feel like I have returned to my mother's house. The mother of the house Nandu is so happy to have her daughter Tenzing home again. Tenzing has happily resumed her post helping with the trekkers and in the kitchen. Daughter Utten has already declared she likes this place more than Kathmandu. Big hugs for everyone.
We went to bed with the singing of the Irish team who were celebrating their return from base camp. I slept about 11 hours. Long enough that Tenzing was worried that the crooning of the Irish had kept us awake. Not so, we slept well at our first high altitude stop.
Pemba took us visiting around the village today. Everyone laughed when they heard that Captain Pemba was going trekking. Tomorrow we set out with one porter and the three of us to Kala Pater (above base camp) and Goyko famous for its glacial lakes. This will be our last post for about 10 or 12 days. Don't worry, we are in good hands and will even have cell phone reception for another 2 days.

Standby in Kathmandu

This morning Pemba called to tell us we may be going to Namche by helicopter. Could we be ready in a half an hour? Bags were packed and unpacked, gifts counted, high altitude pills put in day pack, batteries charged and we are ready to go. Now we are waiting for confirmation. Rebecca and I had already decided to spend a quiet day reading and writing. Pemba's company is going to keep a helicopter in Lukla for rescue this trekking season. The monsoons are not officially over but we are dry here in Kathmandu. It will be really spectacular if we arrive by helicopter.
Sadly everything people said about Kathmandu is true. A few days here are enough. Twenty five years ago Richard and I really enjoyed our time here wandering around the city. There are far fewer begging children in the city. The paper estimated about 1000 homeless children in Kathmandu. Many children who live in the orphanges are begging in the streets. Lots of criticism about the protection that the orphanges alledgedly provide but I for one am happy to see fewer kids on the streets. There are many more people selling things. Toiletries, batteries and snacks all are available. These are all good things. The newspaper is regularly carrying editorial comments about the progress of the new government and I hope that they are listening. Social changes are coming and that can only mean a better quality of life for the Nepalese.
And I don't miss news of our candidates at all but if we wait here any longer I probably will turn on CNN. Last chance before we begin the uphill part of our trip.

Bed , Blog and Beyond

We are exhausted.   I mean that in the carbon monoxide sense of the word. We traveled today with the Room to Read organization to visit their libraries. ( See the photo of the road with the dust and exhaust hanging over it.) The children at the school were happy to have visitors. We took a few photos and crawled back to Kathmandu in the most sickening of traffic. As Rebecca said afterwards "I would rather have seen the movie." Rebecca sat in the back of the van and got airborne a few times.

Room to Read is doing remarkable things with their local language publishing and scholarships. We traveled with a few other people who were working in development in Nepal. We got to view some of the great efforts people are making to improve literarcy in Nepal. The paper today said the population of Nepal is about 27 million with a 53 per cent literarcy rate.

We have mastered crossing the street in Kathmandu. We hold hands, count the cars, wave our arms, yell ready and go quickly. Rebecca likened it to a live action game of Frogger. And we do get to the next level alive. Everything that moves in this city can hurt you. Even the bicycles are an obstacle for the pedestrians. We saw a motorcycle leave the road and ride on the sidewalk today. People jumping out of its way and the motorcycle kept on going.

We are tired and giddy tonight. Tomorrow we may start our trek. Pemba is hoping we can hitch hike a ride on a helicopter up to Namche so we will wait for a few days to see if that is available. If not we will have to go by airplane like everyone else. Can't wait for the fresh air of the mountains. Here are some more of Rebecca's photos. My camera has not been recognized by the computer. I am waiting for the expert help of Tenzing's brother to help me with my camera in Namche.

So we head back to our room now and pack our bags for trekking. Pemba will call tonight and let us know if we will leave tomorrow. If we have to spend another day here we may just sit in the hotel garden and rest.

Another beautiful day in Kathmandu

Just a shorty its late here. We just got back from having dinner with all the Sherpa family members that are in town. It was great seeing all of them together. Thanks to all who are commenting it is just as exciting for us to read from you!

Namaste

The Kathmandu arrival was a happy one. No one questioned all the crazy things we have in our luggage, bras, jams and sharp knives all went through customs just fine. Pemba met us with his own car and took us to the Yak and Yeti hotel which is showing its age. Aren't we all. Then to Pemba and Tenzing's house for a fine dinner and great reunion. Ang Rita was there and his children too. We met the second daughter Tashi Utten and she was like all almost three years except she speaks a few more languages. We sang Old McDonald and Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes. It was wonderful.
Next day and the chaos begins. This city is pretty overcrowded. And they are all on the streets. We wove our way up to Kopan Gompa outside the city to go to a Dharma talk at the monastery for Westerners. The talks are not scheduled this week so we got to walk back to town. Great view of the green Kathmandu valley and the first of our purchases of souvenirs were made. Then to the Bhuddist temple of Bouhdanath and a few turns around the stupa. Absolutely as divine as it was 25 years ago. Pemba picked us up and took us back to town where we recovered from the car exhaust before heading back out to Old Kathmandu and Durbar Square. We arrived in time for the Hindu festival and a viewing of the Kumari, the living goddess who is about 5 years old now. You'll have to google Kumari because it is too complicated to explain what a living goddess is. First one I've ever seen and the crowds went wild. Then we went back to the hotel to recover. Kathmandu is best viewed in 3 hour bites otherwise you suffer from car exhaust, sensory overload, hoards of people practicing their English with you and the rapid depletion of rupees from your pockets. We are slowly acclimatising.
Genuine smiles from lots of people though. I think they are happy to see the tourists come back. It means security for them and hopes for a legitimate government some day that will install traffic signals. We can only hope. There didn't appear to be any anywhere. The newspaper is full of car and pedestrian accidents. We congratulated ourselves after every street crossing.
Happy 7 years of marriage to Rebecca and James today. James did get a little something in honor of the day and the shop keeper gave them his blessing.
Rebecca still does not have malaria and her bug bites are too many to mention. I am watching her closely. The food is good, the beer is warm and the humidity is not so bad here. It was actually a perfect day and we are ready for another day in the big city.

Bangkok in 8 hours or less. We did stop to eat.

This morning it is the speed tour of Bangkok. We only have 12 hours of daylight here and we slept through the first four. So in 8 hours we saw the Grand Palace, the Emerald Bhudda, the Reclining Bhudda (His feet were 9 feet tall and his head 45 feet tall), Wat Arun and a tour of the river front on a water taxi. The steps up to the top of Wat Arun were as steep as any wall. Actually the incline was anti vertical. We hung on with both hands and cheered for people behind us who made it to the top as frightened as we were. A few people were down right giddy with relief when we got back to terra firma. The view was spectacular. The Wat was in Thai fashion covered with tiles, mosaics, sculptures, mirrors, gold leaf, pom poms and barb wire. Just about every fashion of decorations was used. Gloriously decoriusly over the top.

Did we mention the humidity? The moisture will be on our clothes and stinking up our duffle bags for the rest of the trip. It was well worth it. Now we're out to experience Bangkok in the dark. We're averaging about 200 pictures an hour and we need more camera batteries before we get to Nepal where we won't be resting much either.

And we want to thank the nice woman at the computer center who helped us post these pictures. This is a learning experience on the road. Hopefully there will be helpful people in Nepal.

Cambodia in 36 hours or less

We traveled for 35 hours and arrived here. Here is a great place called Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. There are over 200 temples in this area and we tried to see them all in the 36 hours we had in Cambodia. There were jungle temples and elephant temples and giant face temples. The great smiling stone face of Bhudda was on all 59 towers with four sides each. 236 faces of Bhudda in just one temple. It was mind boggling and we can't decide what was the most impressive. What a great side excursion to our excursion.

Arriving in Bangkok

We are on our way. We lost September 10th. Hope it is a good day for everyone. It is the 11th here and we want to wish Richard a happy birthday. We celebrated by having a foot massage. It is raining here and I think Cambodia maybe be awash in tropical rains. I think it will be a good way to see the temples. Our first day will be extended by about 12 hours but the foot massage should help with all this airport time. Susan

No bag left behind!

All our bags are packed we're ready to go, or so we think. 136 lbs of cargo and counting. Getting ready for our first 2 hours of flight which should be easy compared to the next flight at 17 hours and 40 minutes to Bangkok.

136 lbs will be great to come home with on this body. Susan

Last minute good byes

Wow, what a day. Last minute running around, where's the camera, where's the passport and how is all this ever going to fit in that bag. Susan come here and sit on this while I pull the zipper! I called James for the last time to say goodbye tonight , although he's sure i'll call a couple more times. I also got to hang out with Bobbi Jo all weekend and today. It was great! I already miss them. 

Someday We'll Come Visit You

Pemba and Tenzing Sherpa came to Salt Lake City on their honeymoon. They arrived at our front door in the autumn of 1995 on their honeymoon.

I still remember their smiling faces, eager world travelers willing to take on any challenge. They came for a week and stayed a year and a half. Pemba learned to drive a car by commuting up and down Little Cottonwood Canyon. Pemba learned to fly an airplane and then a helicopter. Tenzing helped with everything and loved and cared for Henry and Joslyn in the most generous of ways. It was an astounding 18 months that all began 35 years ago when Richard met Pemba's father. This accomplished and loving family now has a second daughter who is two years old.  Now after many years I am going to visit in Nepal with all the families who have been knitted together. Rebecca, my sister friend (We in Utah know about sister wives and I think sister friend really describes how deep are women's friendships.) is going with me. Less than 24 hours and we will be out the door. Now that I have started the blog I have to pack and learn how to use my camera.

Thinking of Namche Bazar