Arrival in Lukla and start of trek

Here is our smallest porter for our first day on the Khumbu trail. We are all happy after a mind boggling flight into Lukla and a sunny trek above the Dudh Koshi River.

Kathmandu

                  The Team in Kathmandu Airport, fresh from the 38 hour journey from SLC to KTM


Kim, Mike, Steve and I arrived safely in Kathmandu, Nepal last night. Our local contact, Jiban, from Shangrila Treks, met us at the airport and shuttled us through the dark, winding, mostly dirt streets to Hotel Manang in the Thamel district, the epicenter of climbing and trekking planning and prep.

We were bleary-eyed from 22 hours on 3 flights with 18 hours of layovers, but Mike claims his back felt alright, although my back was pretty stiff, so maybe its just his mental toughness blocking out the pain! Perhaps our walking tour of Hong Kong's financial and shopping districts and a boat tour of Victoria Harbor actually helped us endure the long journey.

Today we sorted out the expedition plan and logistics bought some rupees, and soaked up the local culture. We'll do a final gear sort this afternoon and head back to the airport at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning for our flight to Lukla, and the start of our trek to Ama Dablam, via Lobuche East, Everest Base Camp, etc.

Ama Dablam Expedition, Oct. 1-31, 2011

Tyson Bradley

Mike Reberg

Steve Gabbert

Kim Wirthlin

Itinerary

Oct. 1, 8:20 pm, Depart SLC

Oct. 3, 9:35 pm, Arrive Kathmandu, Nepal, via LA and Hong Kong

Oct. 5, Fly to Lukla, 2800 Meters

Oct. 6 & 7, Namche Bazar, 3500 M

Oct. 8-12, Trek through Khumbu to village of Lobuche, 5000 M

Oct. 14, Climb Lobuche East, 6,100 M

Oct. 16, Trek to Ama Dablam Base Camp

Oct. 16-25, Climb Ama Dablam, 6,828 M, (22,500')

Oct. 17-19, Camp 1 and Carry to Camp 3

Oct. 20, Move to High Camp

Oct. 21, Attempt Summit

Oct. 22-25, Additional Summit attempt days, if necessary

Oct. 26-30, Trek back to Lukla and RT flight to KTM   

Oct. 31, 7:50 pm, RT to SLC