I was certainly a cold night, though I couldn’t help feeling if my own fears made me feel even cooler. Crampon time, my hands felt cold, and I realized I was nervous, but more importantly I was tired. I’m really tired, not just any tired, I could feel my body wanting to take a nap, specially as I was done...
Day 41 – Part 1: And the real journey begins – NO SLEEP but lots of feelings!
It’s 11:30pm or according to my watch 23:30. I’m beyond overwhelmed, a hold onto my mother’s necklace, I pray to her to help me, to calm me down, to let me know that I’ll be ok. A little sight that it’s working, I somehow feel a tiny more relax. I sit down. Look around me, it’s still dark, however, I...
Day 40 – A stunning surprise
Time to wake up! Today Sunday 15th, our wait time has officially began. The news of Mike from last evening, alerting that we almost departed that evening for a potential push left me a little nervous. I had a hard time sleeping. I haven’t really admit to anyone, but by far lasting this long in Everest is the furthest that...
Day 39 – Weather, Weather, Whether?
Since Wednesday Summit from our brave and resilient Sherpa’s, the Mountain is semi-open for the rest of us to attempt up to the summit. The biggest challenge so far has been the wind making it extremely dangerous at very exposed high altitude. This is when the temperatures will likely be in the -30’s and with additional winds of over 30mph,...
Day 38 – A very slippery Kala Patthar
Per Mike’s (our expedition lead guide) suggestion into keeping my acclimatization and fitness by climbing a peak, today I’d be venturing to trek up to Kala Patthar. Kala Patthar is known as the Black Rock mountain which is just behind of Gorak Shep, the last town before the trek up to Base Camp. Kala Patthar can offer one of the best...
Day 37 – Snow, The Everest Diet and Searching for Mark’s Behind
As we patiently await the right weather window for us to depart into the higher camps, we are trying to recover all of our strength and rest before the intensity of a summit push. Somehow the weather at Base Camp has gone from nice and sunny to mostly snowy. It’s amazing how fast the whole of Base Camp can be...
Day 36 – Cooking skills handy
During breakfast we got word that Dendi’s condition had improved once he landed in Kathmandu. He also had been released from the hospital and was already eager to return back to Base Camp. Though several days of rest will be key before he could get the clearance to return. It’s amazing how tricky any type of small disease can be...
Day 35 – Oxygen Training – a step closer
I slept well after tiring myself the day before. Today we’ll have our Oxygen training class and get at least the practice ready for that opportunity which hopefully will come soon. By 11am, Mike and Dorjee were ready to start. We all got our special set up, a big mask and the oxygen valve that would get connected to it....
Day 34 – A rocky Mother’s Day
Today was a bittersweet day, I got to celebrate Mother’s Day in front of the “Mother of the World” (The Tibetean word for Mt. Everest = Chomolungma which means Mother of the world) though the emotions of missing my mom made it tough. As I got more into mountaineering, my Mama Telle would always have a puzzling look in her...
Happy Mother’s Day!!!
Special Mother’s Day video from Everest Base Camp!