We’re squatting at the airport waiting for our flight to Lukla. 0530 does not feel like an early start at all with the whole place teeming with activity and lots of people with backpacks getting set to get out of Kathmandu and into the mountains. We had a final and slightly late addition to the gang last night – Nimah from Ireland joined us – she’s tall! Might be taller than me and reminds me of a family joke about how I could be the tallest in the family from Ma’s side.
The flight to Lukla is not until 0830 and the famished part of me is wondering how soon food is going to come around. Meanwhile, Kathmandu / Thamel is extremely touristy. Dinner last night was actually stupendous with ham and salami pizza and beers flowing all around. Certainly a very different start from mountaineering course or even the climb to Machoi. Makes me think this is quite tourist friendly and a do-able climb.
Otherwise Kathmandu is old school and quaint by the first look. A little like small town India or how big cities were a while ago. Dharamshala may be a very good parallel – cosmopolitan, good food, lots of different nationalities but the town shuts early and everyone knows each other – familiar good feeling.
Like I mentioned yesterday the preponderance of teachers in the group is amazing. Between special ed, middle school, language teachers, college lecturers and primary school there is a lot of experience in this gang.
1020 hours
Still at the airport! No breakfast yet. Without a phone and hence not fiddling with it all the time. Wise decision. Also met a gaggle of 7 indians climbing to EBC. Actually people from across different cities in India but ones who live outside the country right now. While there have been snatches of time to think I seem to not have sunk in yet into thinking mode. A friend said turning 25 is contemplative. Wonder how contemplative it is going to be for me.
1842 hours, 2600 meteres
Phakding
Trekking = a shower and meal well earned. We just wrapped up the first three hour leg from Lukla to Phakding along the Dudh Kosi river. Great views and fresh legs put to good use. I am looking forward to my Nepal set meal and garlic soup.
Before the 3 hour stint we took a teeny 16 seater Otter plane from Kathmandu to Lukla. On a depressurized plane it was a joy to see the altimeter on the Sunnto tick up the gain in altitude and register the changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature. Though the sighting of the mountains was far and few in between (we had cloud cover) Lukla is a sight to behold! The airstrip runs UP a hill and seems too tiny for the plan to land on. You can actually see the end of the runaway and I let out a loud whoop when I first saw it. Quite sure we were going to run into the rockface (I had also imagined a tabletop runway with clear airspace on both sides).
It is also a full moon might tonight. Nigel and I tried some shots with the camera – they seem to come out like sunrise. I knocked the door next door but Andrea and Helen seemed a little unimpressed. I am sure I am going to get some flak tomorrow for talking about the full moon (I did).
End note: the tea house is rather luxurious compared to what he Intrepid trip notes mentioned. The food is awesome, the shower hot and the room has an ensuite loo! Proper sit down potty with a roll of toilet paper screwed into the wall. We trek to Namche Bazar tomorrow which is an altitude gain of approximately 500 meters from here. We’ll spend two nights there acclimatizing befoe moving onto the next stop.
Tomorrow is a 0600 start to the day so I am going to get into my sleeping bag. And I am still not sure how to set an altitude alarm on the Sunnto (do I need one really? )
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