Kathmandu day 2

We just have two more days, one night left here in Kathmandu. A few more hours to shop and visit and eat and to enjoy the company here at the courtyard. Last night we had a fabulous pasta feast for 12 people.....Pujan the owner has been cooking for everyone for the past two nights. So much fun.....Michelle puts out candles and we are surrounded by plants and a little waterfall. See the pictures.

This morning after breakfast Domhnall has decided to shave off the beard. I thought that I had him convinced to keep it until he got home but.....?? See the before picture. I think that he should keep the beard but he has to do something about the hair!!!!

Kathmandu

Yesterday We were sitting in our lodge in Lukla when the sherpa woman sat down and had a little chat with us. She said that we should look at an alternate means if getting back to Kathmandu. 4-5 days of walking and then a day long bus ride or helicopter. She said the weather forecast did not look good and the monsoons - rain was coming.
We discussed it and decided that if the chopper ride was not too expensive we would do that.

The sherpa women at the lodge that we were staying at managed to secure us seats on a helicopter for just a bit more money than we would have spent at the lodges and then the bus ride....so it was an easy decision. We are now comfortable at the courtyard hotel with a shower, flush toilet and all the cold drinks we want!

This morning Domhnall was a princess and took a rickshaw ride instead of walking to his appointment.

Latter on we headed to the local spice market and just wandered around.   It was busy and crowded and just a lot of fun!!

We finished off the afternoon at the restaurant Fire and Ice where we enjoyed some brownies and ice cream.

 Now we have a large gathering at the hotel where the owner is cooking for us. Not sure what we are having but last night was a huge perfectly grilled steak with mashed potatoes. We are so glad that we flew out yesterday!!!!

Lukla

The trek into Lukla was another lovely trek. I spent a lot is time just soaking it all in while Domhnall ran all the way!!! I am not sure when/if I will be back this way so really tried to enjoy this last little bit before heading back home and to my real life. We've been gone for almost two months and although this adventure is coming to an end I am looking forward to getting home and working on some new projects.......like learning how to swim!!!
There will be a gathering and slide show/gab session about our adventure - stay tuned for details. Until then thanks for following along on our adventure (s)!!!!!

Festival in Namche

Today is the first day of a three day festival that culminates in the Everest marathon. I should have stayed in base camp and signed up for the race which starts the morning of May 29th.

The festival started off with a parade down main street complete with men dressed in the traditional Tibetan costumes and had smoke from the juniper fires, horn blowing and the clanging of cymbals. The parade continued to the centre of town and there was a huge gathering. Many were wearing the traditional costumes. Women with their fur lined hats and the men wearing either fur hats or the white cowboy hats. The entire grounds were covered with the colorful prayer flags.

There were several speeches, and then two helicopters appeared flying slowly overhead. I noticed that they were dropping something out....it turned out to be flower pedals!

After all the speeches and singing and dancing were over they passed out plates of rice with almonds and raisins. Yummy. A nice way to spend a free day.

Trekking from base camp to Namche

Hi everyone,
Yesterday was a great day of trekking from base camp back to Namche.  I left base camp a few hours before Domhnall and he had finished supper by the time I arrived in Namche but I had a great trek....taking in all the views that I likely won't be seeing again for a long time.
Supper last night was chicken sizzler which was so yummy after a long day on the trail and Domhnall's desert was a pastry wrapped, deep fried mars bar.....just what he needed to replenish the calorie deficit that he is in!!!  I must say that it looked really good as the chocolate was oozing all over his plate, and before I could ask for a bite it was all gone.
As for our plans, well we are sitting still for a day or two....not quite what we wanted but the weather is not co-operating for us to fly out of Lukla.  The planes have not flown for three days now, and who knows when they will be flying.  The problem is that Domhnall doesn't have a ticket, and mine is an open ended ticket, so since we are not scheduled, we are not even on the waiting list.  We just called Kathmandu to have us placed on the wait list....but don't know if that will work.  Stay tuned!  The other issue is that our airline only flies out of Kathmandu three times a week so it may be a little while before we can get home.
As for now we will spend an extra day here in Namche, a likely have a visit of the bakery and then the used book shop so that we can sit on the couches upstairs and read and drink tea all afternoon.....sounds like a good time to me.
From Domhnall - Lhotse trip was good. Really nice to see old friend and make some new ones. I made 1 1/2 attempts on the route and walked away yesterday under a still blue sky. Various general reasons and good lessons to learn. I was happy with the trip, my time on the mountain and the way my body responded to altitude. Looking forward to KTM and then home.

May 25 - Everest Base Camp

Lucille continued up memory lane and arrived at Everest Base Camp, joining Domhnall there.   She visited with Tim Ripple from Peak Freaks, and soaked up a bit of excitement that pervades base camp when climbers are summitting the mountain.

Domhnall and Lucille plan to leave in the morning, take two days to return to Lukla, and then they will fly back to Kathmandu on Monday May 28.  If they are lucky, as all the flights to Hong Kong seem to be full for the next week with all the climbers leaving town, they "might" be able to fly out either Wednesday night or Friday night, otherwise next Sunday night.  Cross your fingers for them, they could be home as early as next Thursday night but should be no later than Monday June 4.

May 24 - Update on Domhnall

We have heard from Domhnall.  For reasons we were not able to communicate due to a bad sat phone connection, hey, we'll find out the full story later, Domhnall has abandoned his second summit push on Lhotse and has returned safely to Base Camp.

May 24 - The Energiser Bunny

Today, Lucille trekked from just past Namche Bazaar all the way to Lobouche.  What a difference red blood cells make.  For an un-acclimatised trekker, the distance she has covered, or rather the altitude gain,   in the past two days could only be safely covered in a week or ten days.

She is only 4 or 5 hours away from base camp for tomorrow's trek.

Trekking to base camp

I have decided to give up my super deluxe room here in Kathmandu and start trekking out to base camp to meet up with Domhnall....maybe offer to carry his pack back......no probably not as that would make him too fast for me to keep up!!!
I will leave for Lukla in the morning, and trek hopefully to Namche by tomorrow night.  I am not too sure how long it will take me to get to base camp, but hopefully I am there to great Domhnall as he comes back down.  The plan for now is that he will start going up tomorrow and try to summit in the window on the 25th or 26th.  Plans are of course fluid depending on the weather and how he is feeling and the condition of the mountain.
I will be using the SPOT the next few days as I trek in so follow that.  

 This is a picture of me down in base camp enjoying the luxuries.  A chair with a back, padded seat and of course all the food we could eat.  The boys that cooked and cared for us at base camp were the best.  They provided us with delicious food to keep us going, and when we were up on the mountain they would dig out our tents!

 Above is a view from camp one looking down towards base camp.  There is a faint trail on the far left, but it is difficult to see.  My sister commented that in all of the pictures we have a beautiful sky.  That is because when the snow and wind would come we were too cold to take any pictures!  So I don't have any pictures where the weather is bad....like it was every day, every day starting as early as noon or as late as 2pm.  It would then snow the entire afternoon, evening and night, stopping usually as early as 6am or as late as 8-9am when the sun would shine and it would be unbearably hot.....then a few hours later it would start to blow. 

 This is a picture of Domhnall resting.....yes once in a while he does stop, but not very often nor for very long!  We were on our way to camp two on this day, but we had had a lot of snow the day before and we (he) was concerned about the slopes on the way to camp two.  Concerned that they would avalanche.  It was about 10am and we knew that it would cloud over soon, and that would be good as it would solidify the snow on the slopes.  So we went as high as we dared, then waited for the clouds.  We only waited here about 30 minutes before the coolness solidified everything and we could head up.  I didn't get all the way to camp two when we turned around because there was too much snow to make it all the way.  Only the hearty Polish made it all the way, everyone else turned around.

 View of camp one from above.  On the right you can see the buried tents from the Germans, and right at the bottom of the picture is their snow cave.....collapsed unfortunately.  All that work and they didn't even get to sleep in it!



A picture of us in our snow cave just hours before our oxygenation problem.  I was shaped in a V with our feet in the same spot.  The entrance is between us.  We actually slept here several nights before we had any problems.
A cave is great because thee are all these areas to store things.  At our feet were all the things that we wouldn't need.  Behind the stove is a food storage area.  At our heads and behind our backs were our stuff bags and Domhnall even found a glasses storage place above his head!  It would take a few hours, but once we were settled in the cave would warm up to 0C - plenty warm for us to be comfortable with minimal clothing inside our sleeping bags.

Strange day in Kathmandu

There are protests and strikes here in Kathmandu which means that all the shops are closed and no traffic on the streets.....which makes for a very quiet Kathmandu.  Since I can't shop I may as well post some terrific pictures of Domhnall on the summit of Manaslu.  Sorry to be so delayed with the posting, but we just arrived last night and a cold beer with pizza took presidence!!!


 This is a picture of the sunrise on the morning of Domhnall's summit. The moon rise was a few hours after we left Camp 3, and it lit up the other peaks around us which was spectacular.  Then the sunrise was at about 5am I think, and the view was so beautiful I can't describe it and the picture really doesn't do it justice.  Both Domhnall and I were too cold at that moment to pull out our camera's so this picture is from a friend.  These incredible views are part of the reason that we do climb these huge peaks.  It is a great feeling and in those special moments we feel so alive and so lucky to be able to enjoy nature's beauty.  

 Domhnall on his way up, I am not too sure of the location but the smile is probably because he is warm.  His hood is down and the zip is also down a bit.....good enough reason for the big smile!  He must be close to the summit.

 Domhnall on the summit.  Great pose!  He did say that this was the toughest day that he has had in the mountains......enough reason for his big grin!  Awesome achievement my friend!!!

These pictures are a bit older, and I have posted them just so that you get a bit of an understanding of how much snow we had to deal with on a daily basis.  This photo is taken from our cave in camp 1 looking down at the tents of the other teams.  The snow is almost up to Domhnall's thighs as he is walking up!  When we slept in a tent, it would not be unusual for one of us to get up during the night to clear the snow from the tent, preventing it from collapsing on us.    In the morning there would always be more shoveling, and it was for this reason that we built the snow cave at camp one and two. 

 This last photo is us showing off the snow cave to some Sherpa visitors.  Not a great view, but my sleeping platform is where Domhnall and the Sherpa are looking, and the stove was against the wall right behind the Sherpa's shoulder.  The cave was great because we didn't have to dig it out every day and it was warm and quiet in there. 

Update From Domhnall

Domhnall climbed above 8,000m, but found he just didn't have the stamina in his legs for this attempt, and so he turned around and retreated to Camp 2. He will return to base camp and consider his options, which include a second attempt when the next weather window comes along.

May 19 - Kathmandu

I am now back in Kathmandu with some new friends, the group of 8 Italians that have been sharing base camp with us. Houssein should already be here as he was helicoptered out with another teammate from Sama Goan as they had frost bite on their feet.
We just enjoyed a supper of pizza and beer and spent the evening wondering how Domhnall is doing. I haven't heard anything and am waiting to hear how his summit attempt went.
We are all wishing him well and we can't wait to hear how things are going.
An attempt without oxygen of an 8000+ meter peak is so much more difficult as is it so much more difficult to stay warm.
On Manaslu during the summit Domhnall was having difficulty keeping his feet warm, and I was having difficulty keeping my hands and core warm. This is because we were stopped for 60 minutes while the Sherpas fixed a small piece with fixed lines. 60 minutes was a long time to wait in the predawn cold and contributed to the reason that I turned around.....I couldn't warm up and was afraid that I would sit down and not get back up. The biggest danger on an 8000+meter peak.
I will post summit pictures of Domhnall in the morning.....watch for them! Until then thanks to everyone for watching and thanks for all your positive energy!
Lucille

May 18 - Update

No news yet from Lucille whether she only made it out to Arughat, or all the way out to Kathmandu.

Domhnall has arrived at Camp 3 and is resting for about 6 hours before proceeding on his Lhotse summit push at around 2:00 am nepal time.  He will make contact next when he is back down to Camp 2.  The weather looks promising.

May 17 Update

Well, we have heard from Domhnall and we can see Lucille's progress, so here is an update.

Lucille appears to still be 1 day away from getting back to Kathmandu, so by this time tomorrow, hopefully, she will have internet access and will post some blog entries, and perhaps even add some pictures.

Domhnall flew out of Manaslu to Kathmandu with another climber and her Sherpa, also relocating to climb Lhotse.  Because of Domhnall's contributions to the cost, they were also able to arrange a helicopter flight from Lukla to Everest Base Camp, which saved them about 2-3 days of trekking.  They have arrived just as the first summit window is opening up.  There are many climbers on Everest targetting this first window as well.

So Domhnall reports that he is currently at Camp 2.  He will begin his Lhotse Summit push tonight by climbing to Camp 3, where he will rest for a few hours, and then contiunue through the night to the summit, and then descend.  He did not take a tent for on the mountain, but he has reconnected with friends there and has made a bargain to carry a camera tripod to Camp 3 in exchange for a spot in a tent to crash in for a few hours.  Our thoughts are with Domhnall now for best wishes for his safety and the success of his climb of Lhotse without Oxygen.

So the schedule appears to be much accelerated.  Lucille will barely have a chance to enjoy Kathmandu before it is all over, so they may just be returning three weeks earlier than planned.  Anyone need a shift covered?

Day 30 - May 12

Lucille called early this morning after they made it down to Base Camp. 

She let me know what their plans are.  Domhnall will leave later tonight or very early in the morning to catch a helicopter ride back to Kathmandu.  He will spend hopefully one night, maybe two, before flying to Lukla and hot-footing it up to Everest Base Camp.  Domhnall has Base Camp support and a permit to climb Lhotse, which he should be able to do in a single summit push as he is already acclimatised from summitting Manaslu.  Yes, it's official, after what he himself described as his hardest day in the mountains, he did successfully sumit Manaslu.  Congratulations to him.

Lucille will trek out with the porters and the Italian team and get back to Kathmandu in 3-5 days, where I am sure she is looking forward to that free meal at the Rum Doodle that her Everest summit from 2010 entitles her to.  Afterwards, she may also trek up to Everest Base Camp and hopefully her and Domhnall will trek out together after his Lhotse climb.

Afer all of that, Lucille also left this message on the voicemail.





Namaste everybody. This is a followup to my previous podcast. Today was kind of a very different morning, it was the first time that no one was asking "well what's the forecast, what's the forecast?". That was always the first question that always goes around. We have all of these various forecasts, we'd have the German, the Italian, the Polish, and they would all say something different. So one would say, "Oh we're really going to have nice weather for three days", the other one would say, "Oh, worst weather for the next three days, and then it's going to get really nice". No one ever knew really what to do. And then after the question of the forecast was answered then "Oh, what is everbody going to be doing, what is everybody going to be doing?

And so, I look around and I see, you know, how many people there were on this mountain, how few even attempted the summit, and how few of those that attempted actually made the summit. I think I would have been a bit more successful if we'd have had a bit nicer weather so that I could have been a bit better acclimatised. Not being able to go much above Camp 3, which still wasn't very high, it was only 6,800 metres, you know, really didn't help me out. And, of course, not having any Oxygen, that would have helped out as well, but that was a personal choice.

So, right now what we are doing is, we just had some supper, we're getting kind of all packed up and the porters are coming at 8:00 tomorrow morning, which is really, you know, just a few hours sleep from now, and picking us up, picking up our stuff, and then we are heading out to Kathmandu. I will be out of cell service, even email and stuff for the next five days. But I will have the spot, so you can follow that, but Domhnall will have the satellite phone and hopefully he will be doing some updates.

Alright, love to you all, and thanks for listening. Bye.

All back safe at Camp 3

Dom and Lucille are both now safely back to Camp 3. They will stay for the night and descend in the morning.

Have not heard definitively that Domhnall summited. It is my assumption that he was on top with the Adventure Consultants group that was on the summit at 2:30, but that is not confirmed yet.

The sat phone performs very poorly from Camp 3, so we only get little bits of information before the call cuts off. All we know for sure is that they are safe and well at Camp 3. Lucille did say she was glad she turned around but didn't get to explain why.

Ted

Check-in/OK message - Camp 3

This is Lucille back at Camp 3 after turning back.  Still to hear from Domhnall.

It loooks like Lucille made it up to about 7,575m, or 24,850'.


Go Spot Go
Latitude:28.56725
Longitude:84.55209
GPS location Date/Time:05/11/2012 12:37:03 NPT

Message:All OK

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/7r-le/28.56725N/84.55209E

If the above link does not work, try this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=28.56725,84.55209&ll=28.56725,84.55209&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Update - 1 up, 1 down

I just got off a brief phone call with Domhnall, and he confirmed that Lucille was heading down, and the spot is with her.  Once she reaches Camp 3 we will see an OK message from her.  Domhnall, on the other hand, is still on the summit push and is carrying the sat phone.  There may still be a call from the summit tonight.

Unfortunately, the call was interrupted before any reasons for the decisions or any other details, so don't go assuming Lucille is descending solo, because she probably isn't.  He just said they had a lousy morning and then the call cut off.

Ted

Dispatch from Camp 4

Namaste everybody, this is Domhnall and Lucille, we are on the summit push. We left at about 11:00 last night, climbed through the night. It's now about 5:00 in the morning and the sun has come up, thank goodness, it was windy and cold. We are at about 7,400 metres, Camp 4, desolate place for a call.

And a beautiful night full in the stars, we've got low cloud down at about 6,000, 5,000, 5,000, 5,500 metres, and we've got clear skies above....garbled.... Wind chill is pretty cold, cold feet. But Lucille's doing well, I'm doing well, and we're out with a bunch of Italians, a bunch of good friends.

Yah, we're going well so far, you can follow us on the spot. Climbing with all of you guys in my heart, especially Paddy, figuratively and literally and ah I will try to give you a call when I can, update you.

From Camp 4 here it looks like we've got a plateau, and then a little summit ridge maybe six hours from the top if all goes well, and then we've got to get ourselves out of here. It looks pretty good, Oxygen is doing fine, we're not climbing without it. Yeah it's just difficult to keep your hands and feet warm but the sun is a great benefit for that and yah (reception cuts out)

(Note from Ted: As far as I know they are not climbing with supplemental Oxygen.)

Breaking News. Summit push appears to be on.

The tracking feature on Lucille's Spot has been activated at a time she would normally be sleeping. The only conclusion to draw from that is that they are joining the Adventure Consultants team on a push for the summit. Watch the Spot today for a blow by blow. Ted