Thursday, 17 April 2014 The day dawned bright and sunny. While our tents are crusted with frost in the morning, the moment the sun hits them, everything warms up. We celebrated the puja for our expedition in the late morning. It is a Buddhist blessing ceremony attended by our entire team and staff. The Sherpas built a large square altar out of stone. On and around it were placed items of significance, like bowls of rice, delicate butter sculptures, cups of chang (a sort of rice beer), fried breads and other food. A lama came up from Pangboche to conduct the ceremony. Our climbers sat with himn ion the middle of a tarp. The rest of us ringed the group. He offered Buddhist prayers and blessings for the safe passage of all persons. During the 1.5 hour ceremony, he chanted mantras, rang bells and banged a small drum. In the middle of the ceremony, our Sherpas erected a wooden pole in the middle of the altar, securing it with ropes on all sides. The pole has a long, white, vertical Tibetan prayer flag. From it, they tied four long strands of multi-colored prayer flags. The flags now cover almost all of our camp. Several hundred feet of flags now flutter prayers over us all. At the end of the ceremony, Lauren and Jetha arrived to great fanfare. They had spent the night at Gorek Shep and walked up in the morning. It was wonderful to have them with us for the blessings. Sadly, Carol and Danny decided not to make the trek up to EBC. After the Kongma la day, Carol was not feeling strong enough to continue. They walked down to Pangboche. Tomorrow, they will head for the comforts of the Panorama Lodge in Namche for a night before walking to Lukla for a flight to Kathmandu and on to Bangkok. I shall miss their company and Danny's wonderfully inventive stories. We wish them well. We are slowly unpacking our things here in EBC and getting set up for the earnest work of the climbers. Everyone is in excellent health and feeling strong. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams 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

Lama arrives and puja begins


Steve, Shane and Sherpa climbing crew


Stringing prayer flags all over camp


Lauren arrives in EBC just at the end of puja

Wednesday, 16 April 2014 The Kongma la pass crossing took their toll on Lauren and Carol. Each of them elected not to make the trip up to Everest Base Camp today. Lauren planned to walk up about half-way to Gorek Shep, accompanied by Jetha. Carol was feeling some respiratory strain from the heavy breathing of the previous day. She and Danny elected to stay in Lobouche to rest up. If she is feeling better, they will make the trip up to EBC tomorrow. The rest of us headed out around 9:00 a.m. The trail fairly wide and very busy. Everything and everyone seems to be going up. Many trekkers seem intent on just reaching EBC, turning around and heading down. It is their summit of sorts. We reached Gorek Shep in two hours. It is a tiny place, perhaps best known for its terrible water quality. When even the Sherpas drink bottled water there, you know you don't want to give it a try. Our final hour-and-a-half to EBC was full of anticipation. We could see it in the distance and worked our way up, along the left side of the Khumbu Glacier. Having never been here before, I did not know what to expect. Here are three immediate impressions: First, the place is huge. After we passed through the ceremonial entry area, it took us about 20 minutes to reach our camp. It would take another 20-30 minutes to reach the far end of the camp. Second, it has lots of ups-and-downs. Camps are perched all over the glacier. There are more than 50 expeditions here this year. Ours sits on high area (17,750 ft), above several others. Third, high mountains flank us on all sides. While this may strike you as obvious, the size and scale of the peaks is staggering. We were greeted by Nima Tashi and our camp staff. The central point of our camp is the dining tent, communications tent and cooking tent. Our individual tents spread out beyond. Nima is particularly proud of our toilet tent which resembles a green phone booth, placed on a rocky outcrop. After a dinner of dal bat (rice and lentils), we headed to bed for a well-deserved sleep. We are here! Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams 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

Gorak Shep half way to EBC


Down the hill and up the glacier to BC


Old friend Dawa "moti" Sherpa grets us at EBC

Tuesday, 15 April 2014 Today turned out to be a bit of an adventure. We got an early start on the day. In fine, clear weather, we started up to the Kongma la (la = pass). This promised to be a stiff hike from Chhukung's 16,000 ft up to 18,200 ft at the pass. It is part of a "climb high, sleep low" strategy. We climbed up a grass-covered hillside, mowed low by grazing yaks. As we ascended higher, we moved though rocky fields and later up onto continuous snowfields. Some pitches were very steep over broken rock and scree. For everyone, it was a stiff hike to the pass and took about five hours. We took a brief stop at the top of the pass to celebrate and eat a little food. Then, we discovered the first of our two surprises. The snow we experienced the day before had accumulated on the west side of the pass. It made the first hour of the descent a slippery experience and had us looking carefully for footholds. In the distance, we could see Lobouche, our destination for the night. Between us, we had to cross the Khumbu Glacier. Several years before, Steve and Martin had made the crossing with relative ease, following a sandy trail. In this area, the glacier is completely covered in rocks an boulders. To get to it, you climb about 200-ft up a loose gravel trail. After getting up on the glacier, we got our second surprise. What had, on previous trips, been rolling, easy trail to Lobouche, was now blocked by a series of large glacial lakes and cravasses. Jetha did some reconoitering and worked out a trail to the south. It involved significant rock-hopping and scrambling. Martin and Steve were particularly fond of this section. Thankfully, we emerged from the rock field onto decent trail and quickly found our way to Lobouche. Once he could see the end, Steve took off like a horse to the barn. It was great to be in a warm tea room. The party took 9.5-10.5 hours to complete a pretty rugged day. Lauren headed straight to bed. Martin went to his room shortly thereafter. Tomorrow, we make the final push up to Everest Base Camp. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams 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

Lauren with a smile to start the climb up the Kongma la


The final group arrives at the top of the Kongma la

Monday, 14 April 2014 Today is the Nepali new year of 2071. For us, it literally started with a crash. Jetha was bringing a pitcher of hot tea to us and the bottom fell out. The glass inner liner smashed on the floow. While he was shocked, the rest of us shouted "Happy New Year." We took an easy three-hour walk up to Chhukung. This route took us off of the main trail up to Everest Base Camp. It allowed for a more moderate elevation gain, helping to avoid problems. After a week of yak trains, porters and trekkers, it was nice to be somewhat on our own. During the walk, the weather declined a bit and snow flurries started falling. Our lodge was a pleasant surprise. It was almost new. It had comfortable seating in the tea room. The individual rooms were lined with luan plywood with an LED light. Best of all ... new toilets. We now define luxury in different terms. In the late afternoon, the snow picked up for several hours. It was nice to be sitting near a yak dung stove. Yak dung is the dominant fuel around here. It is a mixed blessing. It brings needed warmth, but it comes with an acrid smoke. Tomorrow, depending on the weather, we will hike over the Kong Ma La (la = pass). Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams 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

This way to Chhukung


Short walk in the park past potato fields

Sunday, 13 April 2014 Today, we took an easy walk up to Dengboche, about 1,000 ft higher. Even though it is a short distance, it is part of a measured acclimitization program. We had our usual weather of sun in the morning with cold winds and clouds in the afternoon. We are now well above the tree line. The trail winds through rock formations, low juniper bushes and patches of grass. Occasionally, we get whiffs of oleander. Our lodge was at 14,500 ft (4,410 m). Carol and Danny were happy to grab a shower. The rest of us are getting a bit rustic. At night, our dreams are becoming more and more vivid. Martin had a strange dream of raiding a church poor box. Shane was dreaming of a hot dog and donut. Don't ask. Lots of love to our family and friends. Posted by: Scott Williams 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

Heading up the Khumbu valley... leaving Pangboche behind


Heading to Dingboche