Tuesday, April 1. Phadking 2700m.
This morning at 4:30am my Everest expedition officially began. Our Nepal agent, Kili Sherpa of High Altitude Dreams, brought us our climbing permit last night. It was good to have a real permit in hand and see my name on it.
It was with mixed emotions and a heavy heart that I left Kathmandu. I am very excited to be starting this expedition of a life time. I have been dreaming of climbing Everest for over 20 years and planning this climb for over two years and now that it is here it seems to have come so fast. Am I prepared, is this the right time to go, how will my family handle my time away, how will the business do without me? Questions, questions, questions. Many mixed emotions.
I spoke to Amy and Colin last night. That was a difficult conversation for me. I miss them so much that for most of the conversation I was fighting back tears. It was good, however, to speak to them and I plan to make one call a week back home. I also sent a note home with Susan for each of them that they can keep in their room to remind them of me.
Having Susan here was great, but it also made it an emotional departure for me and I know for her as well. She is on a flight home as I write this and will see our children soon.
Pujan and Michelle (the Courtyard Hotel owners) gave us a great send off this morning with a fresh flower lei, a silk kata, and a personal card each. They are great hosts and I would highly recommended their hotel if you are in Kathmandu. After our send off, we drove to the airport, almost getting in several accidents along the way and coming the closest I have ever been to running over a pedestrian. Kathmandu is a crazy city.
Trekking Map
The airport went smoothly and we were in the air by 6:30am. We landed smoothly in Lukla and waited around for over an hour for our bags which were coming in on another flight. Eventually we got tired of waiting and decided to start our walk while our Sirdar (head Sherpa) Lama stayed behind to make sure our bags caught up with us.
We only had a short walk today to Phadking. I was experiencing some stomach issues today so I was glad of the shorter walk. We are staying in the Sunshine Lodge that is quite plush as far as lodges go. I am sharing a double room with Angus and we have a western style toilet in our room with a sink and a hot shower.
We had a nice dinner and I am now sitting in bed as I write this. Tomorrow we will be on the trail by 8am and plan to make it to Namche in about five hours.