Dive bombings, friskings, and yak!

Westermeyers made it safely in Tuesday night. Then we were up early to begin the trek! We got to the airport before 8am to catch our flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. First order of business at the airport was to go through security. Our bags went through an X-ray machine, and we walked through a metal detector archway (I'm not sure anyone was watching the x-ray) And no one empties their pockets so the detector goes off for everyone! Then the guard proceeds to frisk you... more or less. Really just pats your pockets, though when he finds something in them, he smiles and moves on to the next. I think the deal is that you should have things in your pockets, and if all pockets are found empty, they must feel very sorry for you and give you something with which to occupy your pockets. (that's my guess anyway) After we got our boarding passes... all info blank except destination: Lukla... no departure time, no flight number, no date, no passenger name, no nothing except Lukla. Then we proceeded to the "gate" another security check, much the same, again they checked to make sure our pockets were occupied and passed us through. We sat in the gate for a couple hours. The flights are often delayed... we just hoped we'd get out the same day. Last week we met a guy who was leading an Everest expedition and they had been waiting for four days to get to Lukla, the weather had been bad.

Once we finally boarded the plane around 10:30am, we then sat in the plane for a half hour or more before the engines were even started. Another 15 min and we were finally taxiing towards the runway. The flight was spectacular... seeing the Himalayas out the windows was entrancing. I rather expected Everest or Sagarmatha as it is called in Nepali, to be rather less impressive than it's made out to be, I mean there are plenty big peaks around it. But I must say it is very impressive and really stands out from the crowd! The Himalayas as a whole though, are absolutely breathtaking! Rather put the Oregon Cascades to shame! ;) Actually I think they rather put the Rockies to shame too! Well we flew through a mountain pass... cool to look out your window and see rock mountainsides directly on either side... then we were into the mountains... and the turbulents. Had some good turbulents and the plane bounded, dropped, swivelled and bucked along. Pretty good ride actually... reminded me of the aerobatic flight in New Zealand last year! Then there was a mountain face looming up ahead. I could look straight out the cockpit window and all I could see was a mountainside. And we seemed to be continuing in that general direction... Then we dove! I guess it makes sense, there really isn't a lot of distance within to loose elevation, but I have never dropped quite so fast in a passenger plane before. The airstrip in Lukla was a sight to behold (as we dove towards it). The strip runs from the edge of the cliff inwards and upwards straight into a rock cliff. We cut power (I say we, actually it was just the pilot) and dove towards this short length of pavement, pulling up just before impact and actually pulling off a rather smooth landing, then braking as quickly as possible as the cliff ahead leapt forward, turning just before the wall to turn towards the airport building. What a landing, the plane erupted into applause and there was a collective exhaling of held breaths. We made it!

Claimed our bags, ate a hearty breakfast (or lunch, depends who you ask) and started the trek. The path was much better than I had expected. It's a cobbled highway really. The views are stunning, and the loads carried by porters are more so. Four or five doors lashed together and carried with a strap across the forehead, steel pipes a foot in diameter and eight feet in length are carried down the trail. Also loads of two or three giant duffel bags are lashed together and carried up the trail for climbers and trekkers. Mule trains carry propane tanks up to upper villages, and trains of a cow/yak cross which I don't remember the name of. No yaks yet, they're further up in higher elevations.

It was a lovely hike up the gorge, huge mountains on either side and a beautiful alpine river flowing through the bottom. We stayed in Phakding. At supper time we were sitting outside enjoying our tea when it began to sprinkle. We all scurried inside... after several minutes Ann came into the dining room we were in laughing. She had been directed inside when it began to spit, but had gone into a different dining hall... there she was sitting all by herself with her cup of tea when one of our guides NP found her and directed her to where we were! lol

Our two guides are awesome. Chet is our head guide until we meet up with Jagat in a few days, and NP is the second guide. I spent Thursday trying to learn some Nepali... but mostly just entertaining (or maybe annoying, with my constant, repetitive questioning) our guides. I have learned a few phrases, good morning, good night, what's your name, where are you from, how are you, and maybe a couple more I can't remember. It was fun and a good hike. Had the best dal baht of the trip so far for lunch just before Namche. Dal Baht is the typical Nepali dish. It is dal - lentil soup and baht - rice. Dal baht is usually served with curried potatoes and sometimes fried veggies. Each place it is slightly different, but is an all you can eat meal, so for the hungry, it's the best option.

Namche Bazaar is a beautiful town. Situated on the side of the mountain it has an incredible view. We woke up to an inch of snow but the skies were clear Friday morning. It was spectacular. We hiked up the hill to watch the sun rise on the mountains. Saw Sagarmatha from the ground for the first time, impressive! But even more impressive and stunning was the view of Ama Dablam! That has got to be the most picturesque mountain I have seen. Incredible... we are now truly in the Himalayas! All around are huge, imposing mountains. We hiked up over 12,500 ft today... more than 200ft higher than Mt. Adams, and yet the mountains all around tower thousands of feet over us. It's amazing to be here and just to think of the scope of these mountains. Tomorrow we head on to Dole, then Machhermo and on to Gokyo where we'll climb Gokyo Ri and spend two nights in Gokyo before heading over Cho La pass. Not sure when I'll update again. Til then... Take care!