Now Ye're Talking - to a Boardsie climbing to Everest Base Camp

9or10 wrote: »

So the coat/jacket you have on now, in the humid jungle type, is the same one that will do EBC with the snow and wind?

Or have I just misunderstood?

Sorry, no. In my bag I have a sleeveless snow jacket for higher up, for the rain u have a very light rain jacket I can throw over myself when hiking. Anything heavier than that is too heavy for me - I'll only end up sweating in it and overheating.

RasTa wrote: »

Just crossed the border, on a bus to ktm. Might cha on the way back. I'll be wearing a DCM 2016 top and Nike runners woefully under prepared

Good work. Pilgrim Guest House in Thamel is a good place to stay - they have cheap rooms downstairs in the back that they don't tell people about. I'll have the red & grey rucksack, black shorts or hiking pants and black baseball cap, and probably sweating like only an Irish man can.

You may want to reconsider the footwear though. The track is sometimes a river of mud lower down - your feet will get saturated. Not to mention grip on the rockier sections. Also, Salleri is now an option as a starting point, due to the new roads they cut in here.

dwayneshintzy wrote: »

Ha well rolling blackouts are one thing, still pretty surprising to have all power going off in an airport!

Saw you said you're in SE Asia, whereabouts are you? I live in HK actually, chose Nepal for my holiday over Easter since there are direct flights to Kathmandu. Kathmandu is easily the most mental, polluted city I've ever been in. Was interesting of course, but much preferred my time in Pokhara (didn't do any hiking/trekking).

Not to give too much away, but I definitely don't live anywhere like HK. Where I live is certainly far more behind the times. Feel free to PM me for more info though.

EirWatchr wrote: »

Trekking to Everest Base Case is *not* the bog standard adventure package holiday it is promoted to be. There are potential health complications from trekking in such extreme altitudes near base camp that can arise both on the mountain and long after. I know of people who have had to be taken off the mountain (and more). If you are not young and fit and - most especially - if you are a parent to young children, I urge you not to consider going on an Everest Base Camp holiday.

I don’t want to scare or rain on anyone’s parade, and I hope y’all have an enjoyable and safe adventure, but I have personal experience of this that compels me to post this.

Nope, that's a fair assessment, and I didn't put it forward as such. A big problem is that it's presented as such, and that you can jump on a plane to get you ¾ of the way there and have your bags carried up removes the need to have the skillset to get there. The stretch from Lukla - Namche Bazaar yesterday was enough for me, which is why I'm changing my route. They have a couple of resort mountain lodges now built in Phadung (halfway point between Lukla and NB) where I passed an older Korean tour group absolutely hammered. An a Japanese guy being led into Lukla on the back of a mule, like Jesus of Nazareth, because he couldn't be arsed walking. That section of the route in particular is pretty shocking.

The rescue chopper that flies back and forth every day speaks a different story though.

Purple Mountain wrote: »

Do you ever get lonely/scared in your tent alone on the side of mountain with the wolves potentially outside?
Also- forgive the intrusion..
Is there any chance of meeting some trekking ladies/gents that you (not you personally!) could 'get to know' in your tent? I'm just thinking, it's so remote and like being in a bubble so it might seem magical and lead to someting!! Or maybe I watch too much TV.

Lonely or scared, not particularly. I think in an area like this, any wildlife stays well and truly away from people, and the tent is only a fallback if I go off the trail or don't want to stay somewhere local. As for “meeting someone” - if you could smell me right now, youd know the answer to that I smell like the Devils arsecrack right now so I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Again though, I imagine if you signed up with a tour group, and were staying in the fancier places, it could happen.

Alerium wrote: »

I don't mean to be pushy, and I understand that internet and signal may be a problem, but when you get back to 'civilisation' could you post pics of your current surroundings (as in tent, food, trail, mountain, base camp etc.)

Thanks

Will do. Putting up images with the phone is a complete pain in the arse (though I did just figure out how to post links from imgur). And the signal is hit and miss - I'm posting a lot of things a day after the fact (at least), and I have to point my phone just the right way even to post tonight.

The airstrip at Lukla, when I passed through this morning. The end closest is a solid wall, backed by mountain. Where the white lines end below, is a drop into the valley below… take off instructions seem to be “gun the engines to the max and bomb it down the runway before you run out of tarmac 

Here's some footage I shot of a plane taking off this morning (I believe it's a Dornier 228)

Alerium wrote: »

Playback error OP.

Should work now.

Started out at 6am - it's about 7:20 now. View from where I'm walking:

Snowing outside now, so the choice to quit hiking a little early was the right one. Currently keeping warm by the stove, the only source of heat here. No timber this high up, so burning yak droppings




While I have signal, and and a little battery left, I thought I'd post a few random photos from along the way.

Some of the earthquake damage that's so obvious along the way. This is by no means the worst, just one of the first I took a photo of.




In the kitchen of the old couple I stayed with in Kinja. I'd met them a few times before, and their granddaughter, and they remembered me which was nice. Kinja was also decimated by the earthquake.



My bed for the night, along the way...



Yep, that is a homemade wooden plough - the same as was used by the first farmers. Life hadn't evolved much up here as people have to be completely self sufficient, but that's sadly all going to change soon...



Somebody asked about homes along the way. Yes, there are some very wealthy Sherpas up here, and their homes/lodges are a reflection of that, however most aren't so lucky.






The donkey highway! Mules are now used to transport gas and fuel to different villages. It's still common to see Sherpas transport full gas bottles on their backs though.



Suspension bridges like this one can be seen throughout the himalayas, to make people's lives a little easier. This is one of the longest, at 105m. My first time here, I was halfway across one when three cows decided to cross from the other side. Whether it was the swaying of the bridge, or a prod from the cow behind, I don't know, but the lead cow startled, and made a beeline for the other side (and inadvertently, me). Imagine the scene from 'Stand By Me' when the kids were on the railway bridge - that was me, running hell for leather for solid ground again, arms flailing in the air as a cow hustled towards me.




Yes, that is what you think it is. Spotted this one this morning - a guide carrying a commode up the mountain on his back so the tourists don't have to squat. Sh1tting in the woods is hard, apparently...