Firat Eren

From a series of dispatches from the Alpine Ascents 2007 Everest Expedition team.

A big hello again from Namche!

Today we had another nice day in the ‘big city’ before heading out of here tomorrow. More hot showers and internet. I even had a dental appointment and had my teeth cleaned! Where are we again? Anyway, tomorrow we’ll be heading onward and upward and those luxuries will slowly slip away.

After breakfast this morning we went for a stroll up to the Everest View Hotel. As you may have guessed we had great views of Everest as we sat having tea on the stone patio. Ama Dablam, Tawoche, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Shartse, and Thamserku all sit either on the sides or head of the valley looking up from the Hotel. It’s more than impressive.

In the afternoon the team finished up some shopping and had tea with some of the people they’ve met in the village so far. Our trekking team, who were turned around on their first attempt to fly to Lukla, made it into Namche. Despite being a day late the team was all smiles and already joking about little things that have happened on the trail. Just after our trekkers pulled in the last of our climbers walked in with Pete Athans. Bill and Pete flew into to Lukla in the morning and made quick time catching up. So now the entire team is here waiting to be called to another tasty dinner from our hosts, Lhakpa and Sherap.

Amy Bullard and Ellie have been leading the trekkers so Pete will now take over from Amy and she will join the climbers’ trekking group. Tomorrow the climbing group will head to Thame while the trekking group takes an acclimatization day in Namche. We will all spend the following night in Thame together and then we will be all caught up and spend the rest of the nights on the way to BC in the same location.

We’re having a few glitches with sending photos but working on it- we hope to get them out soon.

We’ll be in touch!

All the best,
Dave

From a series of dispatches from the Alpine Ascents 2007 Everest Expedition team.

Hello friends, family and loved ones,

Up at the crack of dawn, we were treated to a wondrous sunrise over the high Himal. Most of us were already awake at 6 am due to our incomplete adjustment to Nepal time, so we had no problem getting out and hiking up to the top of the hill behind Namche. Our efforts were rewarded with crystalline views Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Mt. Everest. This of course necessitated rounds of photo with every camera we had. It was very satisfying though a bit comical to watch. All of this activity aroused our appetites and we descended to our hotel where Lhakpa Doma greeted our arrival with a fine breakfast.

For fun and acclimatization we trekked up to Khunde, a farm village 400 meters above Namche. We stopped in Syangboche to meet with some our Sherpa team as they prepared loads for the waiting yaks. Opportunities for photos were everywhere as we casually made hiked mountain trails around Stupas and through forests of Fir and Juniper. There is still snow on the ground where the shadows are deep but it’s obvious that Spring has indeed come to the Khumbu. Another delicious meal awaited us upon our return to our Panorama View Hotel. We had the afternoon was free to explore the neighborhood. And tonight climbers are looking forward to our discussion on Altitude. Oxygen Is Good!

Namaste,
Vern Tejas

From a series of dispatches from the Alpine Ascents 2007 Everest Expedition team.

Namaste from Namche Bazaar!

It’s 6 pm here in the heart of the Khumbu. All 3 of our Mi-17 Heli flights made it into Syangboche and we’re celebrating our first night in the mountains. Yesterday our first group was unable to get out and was bumped to today so we all ended up on the same schedule.

The flight in was a wonderful spectacle. It was the clearest skies I’ve seen in my multiple Everest seasons giving everyone a perfect view of Chomolungma as we landed. The fact that this particular Mi-17 had windows that you could actually see out made a difference too I guess! Other peaks like Thamserku, Kusum Kanguru and Kongde Ri were also out in all their glory.

At this point the gear has been unloaded and stored for the night up at the airstrip and the army of Yaks will arrive tomorrow to start hauling it up to BC. Namche is a buzz with the Everest season in full swing. Teams are milling around purchasing last minute supplies and getting their bakery fixes before heading onward and upward to higher elevations. The paths in the heart of the village were filled this afternoon with Westerners checking out the latest and greatest in Chinese made knock off outwear and Yak bells which seem to get larger and larger each season.

Our team is healthy and smiling. Everyone is happy to be up in the hills after the sights, sounds and smells of magical Kathmandu. In about 15 minutes we’ll be sitting in front of some Yak steak and fries and settling into life of the Khumbu that will be home for the next couple of months… hard not to smile thinking about it.

Once I’m able to download some photos from our day today we’ll get those sent out on the cybercast. Please note family and friends that our BC email address will only be checked once we’re at BC so don’t be surprised that you’re being ignored!

All the best,
Dave