As I said before, the core reason for this trip is to go to the base camp of Mt. Everest. Well, today is that day. The long hours of yesterday were followed by a great night’s sleep so everyone is feeling reloaded and ready for this truly experience of a life time.

Before that I must add that I had a real scare two nights ago night. Before falling asleep I thought I would get down some of my thoughts of our first day. Only problem was I could not find my iPad anywhere. Much like when a parent is out with a child then suddenly can’t find them, the more I looked, the more panicked I became. As I worked through this issue I finally remembered I could track the iPad on Find Me. When I did that I saw that it was at the Kathmandu airport. It then hit me that I must have left it on the plane when we got off.

The next morning I spoke with our guide who promised to take me to the international terminal after our Everest excursion. Lo and behold, we were directed to the Qatar office and there it was ! Major crisis avoided, as well as a cash outlay I didn’t want to make. But, more important it would have meant I could not post during the trip and would have to do all when I got home and got a new pad.

Anyway, all is well again in the universe and I continue…

We met in the lobby at 5:30 for the airport. Navigating Kathmandu at that time is 1000% easier than when the city is up and at ‘em. We got to the airport, went through the necessary security steps, and were taken to our helicopter.

From the Kathmandu airport we are to fly to what was the most dangerous airport in the world – for airplanes. The runway is very short at 8500’, and tilts at an extreme angle so that when planes land they have the benefit of an upward slope to help them stop, and when they take off can build speed for the short runway. The end of the runway for takeoffs is a sheer drop off of hundreds of feet. Plane actually dip down off the end of the runway before beginning to climb up and away.

Of course, those limitations don’t apply to helicopters as they can fly in and plop down.

Due to the thin air weight became more important. So, we had to spilt up with only two, people and the pilot going at once. Jeff and I took the second shift meaning we stayed at the Lulka airport while Shadi and Nicolas went ahead. The airport “terminal” is no larger than our first house, 1200 sq. ft., and is packed with trekkers waiting to be taken to base camp to begin their ascent. We were cordoned off in a small room so as not to contaminate the trekkers with our westernly comfortable physiques and lung capacities. In that room was a blue 50 gal. barrel of fuel and assorted other junk. We sat and prepared when a man came in and asked if he could smoke !! When we made him aware of the fuel issue he replied that it was no issue and at some point he proved that to himself by dropping a cigarette into a barrel with no ill effect. Whatever.

Finally our time to go came and we hustled onto our copter. The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla was completely in the clouds and smog so we saw nothing. But from Lukla up the skies were clear and crisp. It was about 15 mins. to get in the mountain range and it was on !

To say it was fantastic and mesmerizing would be an unfair understatement. While I have been fortunate to have seen the Rockies and Andes, these are another league. There are eight mountains in the world over 14,000 ft. – 3 of the top five were right in our eyesight. And that posed a problem as you are looking at all these majestic, snow covered mountains and honestly it is hard to tell one from the other. Then you really see Everest and know at once it is the momma bear.

Everest is so high that it usually doesn’t have snow at the top.

The wind howls at the tops of the mountains all the time, but not where we were.

Then we flew over base camp, and I was totally surprised by how busy it was. My thought coming in was that it would be 50-100 tents huddled together where trekkers stayed to acclimate and decide if they really wanted to undertake this beast, even though it sounded like a great idea in their hometown pub. No, no, the base camp is approx. a half mile in length, and 300 ft. or so in width. There were hundreds of tents and even some structures. Was kinda of a high altitude city really.

The copter landed on a ledge just above base camp and we were able to get out and take pictures and revel in it all.

Where we landed was just above 18,500 ft. So the air was considerably thinner. I was fortunate in that I really felt no different. Jeff, however, began to feel dizzy and as if a weight was on his chest. We stayed there for 8-10 minutes then jumped in the copter for breakfast.

A short 10 min. Ride away is the Mountain Everest View at 3880 ft. This is a chalet, much like when skiing in CO, where meals, bathrooms, and drop dead views are served.

Our guide was excited to bring us a bottle of champagne to mark the occasion and we were only to happy to help him achieve his goal.

A full breakfast was served, and it was time to head back to civilization after this morning awesomeness.

Another thing I did not know is how many people live very high up in these mountains, many near My. Everest. They have been there for many, many generations and as you can imagine, live very hardscrabble lives. Yak is their primary mode of transport, so much so that those beasts are used to bring all the building materials up the mountain for them to build homes.

Back to Kathmandu and our hotel to freshen up and get ready for the second half of what became a LONG day.

But before I close out here I would be remiss not to offer some thoughts on this morning.

Mt. Everest has always been a mythical place to me, seen only in movies recounting daring rescues or heroic climbs. I have known of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay most of my life it seems. Now here I was, standing on this majestic mountain in person. I didn’t get emotional but did soak in glory of the surroundings. If I were a religious person, I could see celebrating a maker who could think to create such a place. I might then wonder why he/she would create an environment so inaccessible and harsh, and would then see the importance for climate, water runoff, and/or that maybe it really was just shifting tectonic plates at play…but I digress.

I left there feeling an elation, exhilaration, and awe for sure (the helicopter rides were part of that – I have always wanted to ride in one). Whoever created them (?) was having a good day and shared that with the world.

Part two next !