Trekking along with John Rudolf towards colorfully creative Kathmandu

The trip to Kathmandu on your way to Everest is itself a pretty interesting thread to this adventure woven into the fabric of your life. It’s full of brilliant colors, foreign languages, new and exotic smells foreign to your olfactory senses and people like you’ve never experienced.

On his blog John Rudolf reports today he’s flown via Los Angeles to Bangkok and then in reverse back to Kathmandu. I flew via Chicago and London then onto Bangkok and backtracked to Kathmandu. It’s a series of long flights and as a traveler, to some extent you look and feel different than everyone else around you. Many are dressed for business and your business is filling mountaineer boots. For his age his fitness level will make him stick out like a sore thumb on a piano player. But then it changes. It's true right up until the last flight where he might run into other climbers with the same level of adrenaline pumping through their veins. Kathmandu's airport is small, but clean and is a well organized terminal. The people are friendly, customs quickly moves you through and out to the cab stands.

In Kathmandu we stayed at the Hotel Yak & Yeti, which appears to still be intact after the Maoist revolution. (Bagh Bazaar, Kathmandu, Nepal, (0)1 424 89 99) It’s close to Durbar Marg, the Royal Palace, the Hotel Annapurna and still sort of off the well beaten path. Visit the website by following the link to see this is truly a five star accommodation. I sat in the restaurant and the guide explained that Sir Edmund Hillary in the 1953 expedition laid out the expedition's gear on the tennis courts just outside in the courtyard area. I stared in amazement trying to imagine for a moment the historic significance and wishing I had an photograph of the scene back then in 53'.

Guiding Service – Alpine Ascents, International
Owner - Todd Burleson
Guiding Team – Vern Tejas, Lakpa Rita Sherpa, Garret Madison, Michael Horst and Ellie Henke.
Climbing Team Members – Vanessa Folkerts, Donall Healy, Michael Kraft, Alison Levine, D.C. McDonald, John Rudolf, Jan Smith and Victor Vescovo.

I’ve travelled with Alpine Ascents back in 2000 or 2001 to Africa and Kilimanjaro. They have some great images on the AA website that you may enjoy watching.

From reading AA’s tweet (Twitter) it seems John’s post is a bit delayed which isn’t unusual. AA reports the team is “stuck in Kathmandu with gastritis.” But then says April Fools! They go on to report the team has safely landed in Lukla and has begun the trek up the first hill towards base camp.

The airstrip in Lukla can’t be compared to any airport you’ve ever travelled to. Before you even get to it all your gear is weighed and flown via a small plane from Kathmandu. The plane is one that isn’t like a normal airline plane. It seats around 12 to 20 if I my memory is serving me well. A lot of the room is taken up with gear. The climbers are all crammed in together. The cockpit is wide open and the windshield is in plane view from most passenger seats. You could hug the pilot if you chose to do so. During the flight you can see the peaks all around you. The plane flies pretty low to some peaks it overflies and everyone is buzzed with the excitement of seeing nothing like you’ve every before experienced. Climbers react to all of this by either talking or sitting in silence. It’s an emotional overload for these adrenaline junkies. Here you are starting the trip that has taken you so many months of preparation and so many miles of blood, sweat and now you are seemingly near tears as you see it unfolding around you. Our guide turned to us and said, here comes Lukla you won’t want to miss this landing.

As the plane approaches the airstrip you won’t believe this is where you’re about to land. The plane flies straight into a mountain and if by chance it didn’t stop you’d be toast. As it approaches this highly elevated landing strip you seemingly hold your breath, which at this altitude isn’t the wisest thing to do. But it does stop and you do get out, suck in some O’s and walk out of the airport, if I can call it that, and through the town of Lukla which is colorful and amazing all at once. Down this narrow path that winds through the town’s center, by shops, Sherpa’s, Yaks and Knacks. You can buy anything you didn’t find even antacid tablets for the gastritis that is surely to visit your intestinal track from time to time. My eyeballs fell on the bottles of Everest Whiskey which we discussed on our trek to Mt. Everest’s base camp.

Already too long for today, I won’t discuss it now, but later I’ll revisit this airport because if you think the landing was exciting wait till you takeoff to head back to Kathmandu.

That’s enough for one day. You’ve a flavor of the vibrant colors of this ancient civilization that grows in the early stages of this walk to base camp. Enjoy this Easter weekend.

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