Kathmandu from the air
Kathmandu (Thamel) street
Kathmandu Street Vendors
Kelly in the International Guest House Courtyard
Stuart & Tony Clark, my climbing partners, on the International Guest House Patio in Kathmandu.
Kathmandu Street Vendor
Check out the electric wires!
When we're not pedalling the rickshaw...we're resting!
Yes, do you have ANY singing bowls?
Kathmandu street life
Kelly outside the Agni Air plane we took to Lukla
Himalaya Mtns out the plane window on flight to Lukla
An airplane landing at the Lukla airport runway. The elevation in Lukla is 9,350 feet.
Som, our Sherpa guide, and our porters staging our luggage in Lukla.
One of the best bridges we encounterd just outside Lukla.
A couple cute Nepalese kids just outside Lukla.
Cute kids...resting on hike from Lukla to Thukding.
The view to the south from Thukding (10,800 feet) where we spent the first two nights.
Tashi (cook), Som (Sherpa guide) and Sutraman (porter) on tea house porch in Thukding.
Our 8 expedition porters...what strong guys!!!
Som, our sherpa guide, at the tea house in Thukding.
Thukding was the only place we slept in tea house and not tents.
We all had altitude sickness on Day 1 but we're trying to eat so as to keep up our strength!
The "charpi" or "long toilet"...no seat, just a hole in the ground.
On Day 2 we took an acclimatization hike up above Chhutanga and then came back down and stayed another night in Thukding.
I'm sensing this recurring pattern...up to the top of the mountain and then back down to the river and then do it again.
The Nepalese kids we saw on the trail were all so cute!
Big rain storm on 2nd night in Thukding...but it was all snow above us. This place was called Karthkenteng (sp?) where we stayed for night 3. About 13,100 feet.
Tony and Stuart Clark in Karthkenteng.
Not everyone seemed happy about the snow!
This little girl was fond of us and anyone else who visited them in Karthkenteng. She was kind of (really) obnoxious!
Yak meat hanging in tea house in Karthkenteng...very cool here.
Tea house sleeping area up off the ground.
Tea house cooking area. I'm going to tell Laurel to not complain about her kitchen anymore!
At first I thought these guys were Yaks, but I came to find out that they are a cross between a yak and a cow.
Smooth ground that wasn't rocky was a premium on this trip. We had some pads but I never had any trouble sleeping at night on this trip!
These passes are steep!
Som adding another prayer flag at the top of the pass.
View from yet another pass.
Tea house at top of high pass...notice rock slate roof.
Notice small tea house and buildings below us.
After crossing over the two big passes, 14,800 and 15,000 feet, we went back down to Zetrwa Phuk to camp (13,800 ft).
Dinner in the dining tent at Zetrwa Phuk.
Our camp in Zetrwa Phuk. Notice the nice 2 story tea house and the perfect corners all done by hand.
We had hot water and soap to wash with before each meal. Of course we always used the same towel but that's OK.
Some times we sat on mats in the sun and ate our lunch...it was usually warmer that way!
One thing about the Himalayas...you're almost always going up or down with very little flat in between.
We're starting to get up to where we can start to see some real mountains now.
Today it was back down to the river bed and up the canyon to Kote Mosumkharka. We hiked mostly downhill this day.
Kelly, Stuart and Tony in front of a tea house in Taktha. We stopped here for a boiled potato lunch.
Som referred to this area as the rain forest. There were lots of Rhododendrons and bamboo plants.
Hiking in this area reminded me alot of hiking in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.
Check out the vertical slope on the trail here.
Must have been some river that dug that gorge!
Coming into Kote Mosumkharka.
Resting after just arriving in Mosumkharka.
Putting the tents away after a frosty night in Mosumkharka.
Frosty night in Mosumkharka.
This little village had a beautiful setting and some pretty trees but I thought it seemed cold and damp here.
Very cold here...hot shower is only until water runs out!
Available meat on display.
Different kinds of meat hanging at the meat shop in Mosumkharka.
Meat shop in Mosumkharka.
Leaving Mosumkharka and heading up the river gorge to Tangnag.
On the left is a female porter...sure made me feel like a wimp to see her go by!
The river was pretty but the water was very cold.
Hiking up to the monastery built into the rock.
Kelly and Som on monastery steps.
Snow funnel off North face of Mera.
Snow funnel for avalanche run off from North face of Mera.
Big avalanche on North face of Mera.
Approaching Tangnag (14,300 feet).
Some Tangnag locals playing a board game.
Bring on the hot drink...I'm ready!
Plenty cold up here...see the frost on the tents.
North face of Mera.
My Buddist monk "friend" after I made a donation!
Good view of Mera La (pass) from below.
A view of Mera from Khare.
The tea house we stayed at in Khare (16,300 feet).
Time to rest.
A Rescue Helicopter landing at Khare to pick up a frostbite victim from Mera.
Rescue helicopter landing in Khare.
It was very exciting for all of us to be camped at the base of Mera and be able to see the peak from Khare.
View of Mera (left) and Mera North from Khare.
Camped just this side of Mera La and it was pretty rocky here. the elevation here was about 17,400 ft).
Tashi, our great cook, taking a breather at camp just below Mera La.
This is Jim Dunn's Beef Jerky on it's way to the top of Mera Peak (background).
Stuart coming out of his tent at camp below Mera La. This was our first night to camp on snow.
It was a little slick this morning so we used our ice axes to help us get up the mountain and keep from falling.
Kelly with Mera Peak in the background.
The end of the visible rocks...it was all snow today until we reach High Camp. See path up Mera La in background.
The trail up Mera La (pass) can be seen behind Tony.
Mera La.
That is a big snow wall!
On the trail up to Mera High Camp (19,000 ft).
Som, Stuart, Tony and Kelly on trail up to Mera High Camp.
Beware of crevasses!
Crevasses can be seen but you were OK as long as you stayed on the trail. It was pretty solid!
As we approached High Camp we began to have some great views of the Himalayas up above the clouds.
Kelly, Stuart and Som stopping for a Kodak moment with the Himalayas in the background.
Looking at Mr. Everest for the first time on the trip! Everest is 29,030 feet, the tallest mountain above water on the earth.
Kanchenchunga is the peak in the distance...sometimes called the sister of Mt, Everest.
Mt. Everest
Stuart is pointing to a really big crevasse.
Mt. Everest is on the left with the plume coming off of it.
This is Jim Dunn Beef Jerkey with Mr. Everest in the background. You could now sell it as "Everest Jerky" Jim!
Our campsite at High Camp (19,000 feet). Last camp before summit climb.
Mera High Camp (19,000 feet). Som only brought 3 porters plus Tashi our cook to High Camp. Even then we were passing around the Advil bottle for the porters.
High Camp is the only place at this elevation that is not covered with snow.
Tony at Mera High Camp (19,000 feet).
A view from Mera High Camp of Makalu, the 5th highest mountain in the world.
Mera High Camp.
Some great shots of the Himalayas in full moonlight from Mera High Camp. See Kanchenchunga in the distance on right.
A view of Makulu and Kanchenjunga from Mera High Camp in full moonlight.
Kanchenjunga is the peak in the distance seen through the opening.
On the trail to the Mera summit...it was really cold. We left High Camp at 3:30 AM and I was glad to see the sun!
We're roped together on our way up to the Mera summit.
On our way up to Mera Peak summit.
See the people climbing up to the summit of Mera.
Mera Peak summit.
Mt. Everest in the back, Nuptse is the flat ridge running in front of Everest and Lhotse is the peak to the right of Everest. Lhotse is the 4th tallest mountain in the world.
Kelly making his summit climb on Mera Peak.
Kelly on Mera Peak summit.
Kelly on Mera Peak summit with Mt. Everest in the background.
Som, Stuart, Tony and Kelly on Mera Peak summit with Mt. Everest in the background.
Kelly and Som on top of Mera Peak.
Som and Stuart on top of Mera Peak with Mt. Everest in the background. (Flag of Stuart's company).
Som and Stuart on top of Mera Peak with Mt. Everest in the background.
Kelly on Mera Peak summit with Mt. Everest in the background. Mera Central is 6,476 m or 21,247 feet.
Jim Dunn's Beef Jerky on top of Mera Peak with Mt. Everest in the background. This stuff kept us all going!
Som and Tony on top of Mera Peak.
Tony and Stuart Clark on top of Mera Peak.
Tony on top of Mera Peak with Mt. Everest in the background to the left.
Stuart Clark on top of Mera Peak with Mt. Everest in the background.
Climbing Mera Peak.
Kelly talking with Laurel on satellite phone just after coming off summit of Mera Peak.
Tony is just coming down from Mera Peak.
God created some real pretty places, huh? Notice the unfrozen lake in the middle at left edge of photo.
Stuart and Som coming down from Mera Peak summit.
On the trip down from the Mera summit. Notice the two lakes across the way...they aren't frozen.
Back at High Camp...alive but very tired with several more hours of hiking to get back to Khare for the night.
Our three porters that made the trip to High Camp with us.
A look at Mera La (the flat snow covered highway we hiked). We had to get above these mtns here to see Mt, Everest.
The prettiest places in the world are the hardest to get to!
Stuart and I are just finishing up breakfast at Khare at the base of Mera (background).
Getting ready to leave Khare (16,600 feet). In Nepal when the sun is out it's warm, when it's not it's cold!
The small snowy knoll just to the left of the highest point in center is known as Mera Central that we summited.
The water was very cold but washing our feet in the river was quite enjoyable after almost two weeks without a real shower!
Som in the foreground and Kelly in background sitting on a rock while washing feet in river.
Looking back up the valley to Mera La.
There's no shortage of riverbed rocks around here!
Stuart waiting outside the monastery for Som to return from praying.
Typical fare available at one of the little tea houses we saw all along the way.
I was impressed with their lettuce garden here!
Careful you don't twist an ankle.
Look closely and you can see the Himalaya peak rising above the cloud behind Kelly.
Yaks grazing across the river gorge.
Let's take a rest! These rocks look nice.
Can you believe it? All this good food and Kelly lost weight on the trip!
Kote Mosumkharka in the early morning hour before sunrise.
Kote Mosumkharka in the early morning light. Steep mtns on both sides of this village leave it w/out sun much of the day.
Kote Mosumkharka in the early morning light.
Two of our porters, Kami and Milkratz, with Tony in Mosumkharka. Everyone washed their hair this day! That was so nice!
Tony and Santa Claus...I mean Stuart Clark at Mosumkharka.
These momos are delicious. Tashi, our cook, made some great momos!
The moss on the trees was an interesting site.
See the bamboo growing next to this hollowed out tree trunk?
There were lots of log bridges over creeks and rivers.
Boiled potatoes for lunch at the same place on the way down as well.
Tony trying out the porter job. He was all too happy to give the load back to the porter. Those guys are strong!
Up and down, up and down. Many of the trails over the passes were quite steep.
It would get a little eerie in the afternoons sometimes when the clouds would come up from the south.
The Nepalese people put prayer flags over the tops of the mountain passes.
Dishwasing...it looks sterile doesn't it? We never got sick from the food so it must have been!
Kelly, Stuart and Tony at Thukding, the last stop before arriving back in Lukla where the expedition began.
The last night Som and his crew made a real bonfire for us to get warm around! That was great, the warmest I was except when in my sleeping bag at night.
Ahhh...this feels so nice!
Tashi made a cake to celebrate our successful climb. He had no oven but did this with just a kerosene stove...amazing!
Do they get any cuter than this?
Hiking back into Lukla, and a couple days ahead of schedule as well.
Trying to see if we could bum a ride from Lukla on a helicopter since we arrived back two days early.
No helicopter so we are waiting it out at the Lukla airport hoping to get on a flight early...which we did.
Everest Steak House...we also loved orange Fanta. After 2 weeks of hot lemon, hot Tang and hot chocolate this tasted great!
Filet Mignon at Everest Steak House in Kathmandu for $5. you can't beat that anywhere on the planet can you?
The International Guest House, our residence in Kathmandu. It was a nice place for $22 a night with breakfast!
Watching the monkeys grooming each other at the Monkey Temple in Kathmandu.
Mom and Dad sit on the cement while the kiddies play in the trees nearby.
This was at the top of a very long, long flight of stairs up to the Monkey Temple. This sits on a hill overlooking Kathmandu.
See the prayer wheels to the right. The worshippers believe that each time they spin around a prayer is sent to heaven.
They start training them very young here...she was actually sweeping...I saw her. Amazing!
What would a Monkey Temple be without monkeys?
Can you guess which of the Buddist monks didn't want me to take his picture?
She did this prayer ritual all the way around this circular dome.
Say the prayer then lay flat on the ground. Then get up on her knees and start again.
Kathmandu street entertainers. The big guy would play the drum while the two boys perform (only 1 boy in this picture).
Check out the mustache and gotee (sp?)
They very quickly picked up on the fact that some white foreigners were watching. They came to us first with their plate at the end of their performance.
Kelly meeting Kailas, Som's son. Kailas successfully climbed Mt. Everest from the Tibet side in May 2007.
Som invited us to his house in Kathmandu for lunch on the Saturday before we left for home.
This is a Hindu Temple where many marriages are performed.
Som at the Monastery outside Tangnag.
Big Avalanche outside Tangnag.
Kathmandu street entertainers.
