We are off to climb Puncak Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid, the highest summit of Mount Carstensz in the Sudirman Range of the western central highlands of Papua province, Indonesia. <br /><br />At 16,023 ft (4,884 m) it is the highest summit in Australia and Oceania, but due to its location on the island of New Guinea, it doesn't technically live on a continent and is excluded from the Seven Summits list. Some consider it the eighth of the Seven Summits project (7 summits on 7 tallest mountains on 7 Continents).<br /><br />Follow our progress toward the summit by signing up at exploradus.com.<br />

Thursday, 1 May 2014 Following a bit of last-minute shopping for tea, paper goods, and prayer flags, Barbara and Shane said goodbye and headed to the airport. With all our climbers now gone, our Exploradus Everest Expedition comes to an end. While we had hoped to be here in Nepal longer and celebrate their successes, it was not to be this year. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Sherpa men killed in injured on that terrible day, May 18, 2014. Sometimes Chomolungma allows us to climb, sometimes she does not. Thank you for following our E3 dispatches. It has been my pleasure to share my perspectives on the daily events of our expedition. I hoped to provide you with some of the experiences, highs and lows of our trip. With my final sentence, I would ask everyone to please consider supporting The Juniper Fund, for the killed and injured men. Even small support will go a long way. Namaste. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams Please consider providing support for dead and injured Sherpa: TheJuniperFund.org Blogs by other members of the expedition Shane - http://HeartHealthyEverestClimb2014.blogspot.com Steve - http://Wetumpka2Everest.blogspot.com Jeff - http://www.highpeakadventures.com/high_peak_adventures/web_log/web_log.html

Wednesday, 30 April 2014 After a refreshing stay at the Panorama Lodge, complete with much-needed showers, we caught a helicopter from Namche to Lukla. For weeks, we walked by foot and everything moved slowly around us. Now, we soared above trails, bridges and valleys on which we once meandered. Our short 15-minute flight dropped us at the tiny Lukla airport where we promptly ... waited. Fixed wing flights in and out of Lukla are pretty fickle. They are often delayed by fog or slight winds. An 8 knot wind up the 500-meter runway shuts all flights down. All of us have seen this drill before.. Five years ago, I spent 2-1/2 days in Lukla, waiting for flights to resume. Today, I gave up my Zen demeanor for a moment and agreed to pay for a helicopter to Kathmandu for Jim, Jetha, and our gear. It arrived a few hours later (they have fewer condition restrictions than fixed-wing aircraft), and we were in Kathmandu in 50 minutes. (This turned out to be a good decision because the Lukla airport was still closed as I write this on May 2.) Kathmandu was its usual bustling, dusty self. We managed to catch the evening rush hour, a strange concept after being in the mountains so long. Finally, we reached the Malla Hotel and recovered bags we had left there a month ago. Shane, Barbara and Jeff were still there, awaiting their flights out of the country. Jim went to a Ministry meeting at the very posh Yak and Yeti hotel. Shane, Barbara and I snuck out to the Roadhouse restaurant for cold beer and great pizza. Tomorrow, they start their journey home. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams Please consider providing support for dead and injured Sherpa: TheJuniperFund.org Blogs by other members of the expedition Shane - http://HeartHealthyEverestClimb2014.blogspot.com Steve - http://Wetumpka2Everest.blogspot.com Jeff - http://www.highpeakadventures.com/high_peak_adventures/web_log/web_log.html

Tuesday, 29 April 2014 Even our bags were packed early in the morning, there was no way to make a quick getaway from Pangboche. First, we had to pay all our staff at Nima Tashi's house. Each one came up, received his pay envelope and offered his thanks. More katas were exchanged and more beer consumed. Later, Jim and Nima Tashi made the long reconciliation of other trip expenses (e.g., food, porters, yaks, fuel). It required more stacks of bills -- high finance, Khumbu style. Finally, it seemed like we could start our walk to Namche. Not so! More tea, more blessings and more katas were required. Then, we made a final run up to Tashi's lodge (repeat tea/blessing/kata cycle). I put all of this under the heading of "Wandering the Khumbu with Jim". Becayuse he is so close to so many families, I get to see a side of the area that would be invisible to a normal trekker. It is a great honor to be welcomed by so many people. A little before noon, we took off down the trail. Jetha ran ahead to Namche to sort our final details with the Sagarmatha Polution Control Committee. Although it was lots of downhill and uphill, the air felt thick and rich. We rolled into the Panorama Lodge after about five hours. Our bags were not so lucky. One set (mine) arrived late in the evening. Jim's arrived early the following morning. Both of us got showers (the first in 3 weeks), but I got clean clothes. Jim? Not so much. Tomorrow, we make the quick trip by helicopter to Lukla and then wait to see if we will get our flight to Kathmandu. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams Please consider providing support for dead and injured Sherpa: TheJuniperFund.org Blogs by other members of the expedition Shane - http://HeartHealthyEverestClimb2014.blogspot.com Steve - http://Wetumpka2Everest.blogspot.com Jeff - http://www.highpeakadventures.com/high_peak_adventures/web_log/web_log.html

Monday, 28 April 2014 The lodge in which we stayed was operated by Tashi Sherpa, the daughter of the Lama Geshe. Her husband is Lama Sange, who was formerly pursuing a monastic education in India. After breakfast, we all walked up to visit the Lama Geshe. He asked questions about our perspectives on the Everest disaster and its aftermath. As always with this deeply learned man, his questions provoke ongoing discussions about personal motivations and positive purposes. He blessed several sets of prayer beads for us, gave Jim a new amulet, and renewed his blessings over the amulet he gave me five years ago. As Jim gets closer to his auspicious 60th birthday, the Lama Geshe also gave him several acts of compassion to do because he was born in the year of the horse. While some are easy, (e.g., giving money for trail maintenance), it will be interesting to see if he is able to find 100 live fish to release in Kathmandu. We shared a lunch potato pancakes in Lama Geshe's home. These are one of Jim's favorite foods. Potatoes are grated into a mash and then cooked in a hot pan. When ready, they are slathered in butter and a fresh green onion / pepper paste. They taste terrific, but leave your fingers a bit slippery (no forks). In the afternoon, we prepared pay envelopes for all our staff. We piles of cash, both Nepali and USD, spread around as we did the payroll. Each staff member received wages, equipment allowances and tip bonus. We also included expedition patches and phone cards in each envelope. Throughout the process, Ang Phurba, Nima Tashi's wife kept appearing with tea, juice, Coke and beer. Each time, she would say, "Shei shei!" (drink more). You quickly learn to leave your cup full, lest it be immediately refilled. Tomorrow is pay day for the staff and then we head to Namche. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams Please consider providing support for dead and injured Sherpa: TheJuniperFund.org Blogs by other members of the expedition Shane - http://HeartHealthyEverestClimb2014.blogspot.com Steve - http://Wetumpka2Everest.blogspot.com Jeff - http://www.highpeakadventures.com/high_peak_adventures/web_log/web_log.html