Final day in Kathmndu for a while

Its another nice day in Kathmandu, Kathy and Sandy were up early for a pre-breakfast swim at the Shanker Hotel around 7.30am this morning. We have been packing the last of our bags and getting ready for our flights to Lukla tomorrow where we start our approach walk to Namche and then on up to our base camps. Sandy met with Ministry of Tourisim yesterday and ater an intersting interview obtianed the Climbing Permit for Ama Dablam... We also have permit for Island Peak, so we are set to go. Sandy, Ed, John and Kambi are photographed here having a chat and nice lunc at Kilroy's. Ed's missing luggage( thanks to Thai Airways) has been re-located and Ed was at the airport yesterday and it delighted to be reunited with his vital climbig kit! So, we are kind of ready to leave Kathmnadu, and this blogspt will not be updated again until we reach Namche this weekend where we hopfully have access to the internet again...

So, all is fine this end, everyone in good spirits and importantly there as been no travellers tummy reported to date, so all is ace and fine. For family and friends reading this please remeber that out here in Nepal communications can break down quite easily so please do not worry if there is no news for a while, it will simply mean that we cannot get access to the internet for some simple reason! So its good bye from us all, and we should get another update by the weekend!

Ama Dablam Group arrives at Kathmandu

Kathy and the Sherpha's met us last night at Kathmandu airport from our excellent Gulf air flight. We transfered to the Shanker Hotel which is a 100 year old ex Palace. Everyone is doing fine. Ewan, Ed, John and Kambiz are taking in the sights of Kathmandu this morning while Sandy and Kathy are making final arrangements for the expedition. We have a meeting with the minestry this afternoon to finalise our climbing permits for Island Peak and Ama Dablam.

Ama Dablam Expedition

Today is the beginning of the Ama Dablam Expedition, as everyone is flying in from the UK today. After some sightseeing and last minuit shopping we will all leave for Lukla and the Kumbu on Wednesday the 10th. The

plan is to acclimatise by doing Island Peak first which is just under 6200m, and then to go back down to Penboche then up to the Ama Dablam Base Camp which is around 4,800m. This photo of Ama Dablam was taken about two weeks ago on my last trip with our Evereest Base Camp trekkers. There was quite a lot fof fresh snow just over a week ago but the weather has stabilised a lot since then. More news later, Kathy

Fond farewells

And so the troops have been sent on their way back to Sunny Lakeland, they will fly at 7.50 this evening and arrive at manchester sometime in the early hours of Saturday. Nelson mentioned something about going straight to Booths to buy some bacon and Cumberland Sausage, What's wrong with Dhal anyway? Joking they have had a mixed and varied diet but bacon is the one thing that seems a little scarce out here, mind you we have seen lots of monkeys, goats, Yaks, dogs, chickens and cows(they especially like to hang out in the middle of the busy roads) but we havent seen a single pig but one of the group did wounder if pigs were unable to survive out here as they have no hair and might get sun stroke! Moving swiftly on, here in Kathmandu Team Ascent and Sherpha Tinkerbell (my new nick name it seems) wish them all a safe and smooth journey home.

Life in Kathmandu

Well the trekking gang are all fine and well, after shopping shopping and more shopping in the famous Thamel, buying a range of goods from Yak cheese, yeti books pashmina shawls and tea! They also had a couple of days lounging by the Crown Plaza pool to recoop and did some sight seeing around various temples and ancient villages. I think they all need another holiday after all this activity in Kathmandu!
Lots of resteraunts have been visited like Pilgrims, Funky Buddha and the famous Rum Doodle, they even got to fill in a big foot and put in on the wall. Rum Doodle also offers a free meal if you have climbed Everest! Get your hiking boots on.
I think they have all just about saturated Thamel now and its time to fly home. Oops better go I'm taking them to the airport in 10 mins
by for now! Kathy

Sophie the Wizard

As I wandered through the steeply wooded slopes of Chamonix yesterday afternoon I stumbled into a lovely wooded opening which contained a chalet among the colourful trees. I knocked on the door and a little wizard lady came and let me in. She was dressed in unusual but very colourful clothing including a witches hat! She offered me tea whichI glady accepted and then taking my cup she read the tea-leaves and said, "Ah, you are mountain guide? "

"Yes, I said, "It's been a difficult season for us guides this year, the weather has been all over the place and I have spent a lot of the season breaking trail through deep snow!"

She agreed and told me that the weather should be better today and tomorrow but it may cloud in again, but today should be good.

She swore me to secrecy and thatI should never ever tell anyone about the secret location of her charming little chalet in the magical woods above Chamonix and I said, " Oh, I would like to mention this interesting encounter on my blog"

"Oh, well, thats OK I suppose" she said and shrugging her shoulders in a very French attitude! With that, she tossed a fine powder which was made of some ground up mices tails and other ingredients and stirred it into a steaming bubbling pot of greenish soup, which was boiling away on her wood burning stove. A mist appeared and she waved her wand and suddenly I found myself transported away from the magical autum woods and sitting in a tiny internet booth in the Chamonix Tourist Office!

So, I am assuming that she wanted me to publish this blog page, but I ask any reader to please keep it a bit secrect!

This morning now I am away with my client to Italy. We will stay at the Refuge Torino tonight. Perhaps if we wake early tomorrow and are very lucky we may get a climb or scramble done before the weather closes in again.

Chamonix Climber

Here we are guiding in Chamonix again.. the weather has been very good but just yesterday it has changed for the worse. Here are somo photos of us up on the Vallee Blanche. We went up to the Refuge des Cosmiques last night to push on the acclimatisation a bit and hoped to climb today, but it snowed all night with about 28 cms of fresh snow this morning so after a walk around the vallee blanche we climbed up the exposed arete back to the Aig du Midi and took the cable car back to Chamonix. The leaves on the trees are turning and its quite mild in the valley! The photos show Greg making easy work of the fresh snow!