Local Time: 19:30 April 1
Location: Kathmandu
Elevation: 1350m
Weather: Fine, 29C
Hi, It’s Paul in Kathmandu,
This afternoon Tim and Damien arrived from the US and Australia and we have spent the rest of the day negotiating traffic and equipment sales people. And I am not sure which is more difficult.
It was great seeing Tim and Damien over here and we are all really looking forward to the trek into base camp.
Logistics meeting
This morning Steve, Attilla and I met with Mohan, Ptemba and some of the Sherpa staff at Asian Trekking’s offices. We discussed all the logistics that are being provided by Asian Trekking and what we need to provide. Everything seemed to go reasonably well, and there were no huge surprises.
Helping Pat
I met up with Pat Hickey this afternoon before Damien & Tim arrived and we did a test of his communications equipment. We had to get up onto the roof of the hotel to test everything and it was quite hot in the sun. But Pat seems to have everything under control and it all went smoothly. Pat seems really excited about the climb and being able to keep in touch with everyone.
Buying gear
Tim and Damien arrived at about 2pm and with quite a list of gear to buy, we decided to hit the shops right away. They needed to buy some sleeping bags, down jackets, trekking poles, t-shirts and trekking pants and with prices starting out so high it was bound to be quite a time consuming exercise. However, I am pleased to say that after 4 hours they are both fully equipped for trekking. You can buy almost everything you need for trekking right here in Thamel and I would recommend that people support these local shopkeepers and buy some equipment here. The prices are very reasonable – a good down jacket costs about US$55 and a sleeping bag is about US$65. You do need to look around though, as prices and quality vary and you will need to bargain a little. We bought almost everything from the one shop and were well looked after.
Tomorrow we are off at 9am to see the Lama with my Sherpa, Lhakpa and then we will go to the Ministry of Tourism to obtain the Everest climbing permit. We still need to get a bit more gear and then hopefully we can get out to Monkey Temple in the afternoon.
Bye for now, Paul.
Sounds like the “Adler boys” got some good deals. It is interesting, many items for sale are negotiable here in the states and I have received phenomenal deals by negotiating well. I think people do not realize that a price tag is not necessarily set in stone. Btw, love the photo of the three amigos. Regarding the other photo, I would not want to be a field worker for the power company in Kathmandu!
MC
Hi Paul. Tim & Damien
Have a great trek into base camp. It will be fun being together. This Easter Fiona, Jacqui & Leah are having a couple of nights together at Blairgowrie so I hope they have a relaxing, enjoyable sisterly time together. We are going to Lakes Entrance for a few nights with the Lucas’s and the Moulynox. I bought a new camera yesterday – we don’t want to run into problems as before – it’s a canon and the newest model so I hope that it’s got everything I need. I’ll practise using it over Easter. Can you tell Fiona which shop to go to so we can pick up extra gear from them – they were good with you so we may as well use them too. Leah has got the flat – there was a problem but finally the vendor signed. She takes possession on the 11th May so I won’t be there to help move her in. There has just been a tsunami warning for North Queensland coast as there was an`earthquake off the Soloman Islands – don’t know any more at this stage. Anyway have a great time together, Love Marg & Neil
Hello Paul, Pat, Tim, Damien,
Good luck for your upcoming adventure; the excitement levels must truly be building. Paul and Pat’s regular updates have been fascinating. Is sleep deprivation a major problem on these climbs or something you just get used to? Can you prepare for this before you depart or do you just accept that you’ll be very tired and that you’ll get through “on adrenaline”? Do you have to prepare your gastro-intestinal tracts before you depart for the significant change in diet when climbing and do you aim for a certain daily fluid input when climbing, particularly at higher altitudes?
Best wishes and keep well,
Craig
Hi Paul, Tim, and Dame
Glad to hear that you all meet up ok. Let me know what Monkey Temple is like, as I will be interested in visiting there on my trip.
Dame and Tim- are you able to tell the difference in quality of the gear compared to back home ?
It is Meals’ bday tomorrow, and we are sure to miss the Adler boys discussions at the family table!
Have fun,
Love Beck
Hi paul, tim and dame, it’s really cool to hear about you guys all meeting up and tooling about together – as fiona mentioned, I think i am glad i wasn’t there for the shopping bit but i do wish i was there for the adventure bit. Dinner at mum’s tomorrow and it will definitely be much quieter without you three. Still plenty more family members back here so i’m sure wel’ll manage!! Have a great time on the trek in….and tell tim not to be too smelly.
thinking of you lots, meals