Day 18/April 8, 2009 (Wednesday) Even the best-laid plans require rethinking when conditions merit, and today was just such a day. Another chilly and snowy afternoon led to more of the same last night, making the trek up rather steep terrain to Pumor Ri Camp I ill-advised. With climbers and trekkers coming and going from IMG‘s [...]

To bed at 8pm the night before, I had the “intention of considering” waking up early to visit the Tengboche Monastery for morning prayers — with a pre-dawn and pre-warmth start of 6am. I rustled at 5:30 am to the sounds of gongs nearby, and then whispered over to my roommate Steve to see if [...]

Firing on all cylinders today, we saw a bit over 13,000 feet in very good form, along with some of the most spectacular scenery on earth. Everest and neighboring Ama Dablam peaked out of the clouds for a brief period, their faces looking forbidding and their summits impossibly distant. Strange to think that in just [...]

The alarm in our room shrieked uncomfortably at 4:15 in the morning, but I was already wide awake — and had been for 30 minutes or more. Today was the day we escaped the bustle and chaos of Kathmandu for the mountains, The Himalayas! We boarded our twin turbo Dehavilland, run by the appropriately named [...]

Day 3/March 24, 2009 (Tuesday) Deja vu all over again When you go across the border to Canada, as an example, subtle things make you feel like a foreigner: the way certain words are said or written, the availability of certain foods (have you ever tried poutine?) or the fact that some signs are bilingual. [...]

Day 1/March 22, 2009 (Sunday) The first steps are some of the hardest Every journey begins with a single, critical step. Once in motion, keeping your heading and inertia becomes much easier, the goal more in focus. I am now thankfully very much in motion, half a world away from home, blogging from the comfort [...]