IMG Gurla Mandhata 2006 Expedition

Back home safely

Not a quick journey, but after driving 3 days across Tibet, bumping across the border in Zhangmu, catching up with the world and modern life in Kathmandu, and then flying some 8500 miles across the globe, we are all finally back home to spouses, friends, and hamro kukurs (our dogs).

While a tad grueling at times, we had some great experiences on the drive. There were goat traffic jams on the "highway", spectacular sand dunes lining th e banks of the mighty Yarlung-Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river with the Kanjiroba Himal rising behind, lunches on river banks, views of Shishapangma, the world's 14th highest peak, surprise meetings with old friends like Mark Whetu, a legendary Kiwi climber and videographer, and even a special Dasain puja for our bus in the truck stop town of Banepa...without the traditional blood sacrifice to appease the goddess Durga - our driver sacrificed a coconut instead. (Dasain is one of the biggest festivals in Nepal and, while it is best known for the pulpati day - which entails blood sacrifice for Durga - the other four main days of the festival are wonderful occasions of giving and family time for Nepali Hindus. And, while the blood sacrifice seems a bit gruesome to our oft-naive senses, a client of mine put it well back in 1997: Well, it's shocking to see, but I guess they're just doing in public [killing animals for eventual human consumption] what we choose to do behind the doors of a slaughter house. And, at least they'll use the entire animal and not waste it! Perspective is always important...)

As wonderful as the trip was - fascinating peoples, brilliant cultures, lost kingdoms, and remote mountains - it is always a joy to get back home again. And, the long journey never fails to give me pause, time to reflect on my travels and go through the exercise I always go through after a mountain sojourn: to see what I learned.

The first item is the obvious one: I really enjoyed being on a lone, solitary peak, far away from other teams and the chaos which often accompanies Himalayan climbs. Our route on Gurla was not a first ascent, but in many ways it might as well have been. We had a map and a general idea of where the route went - but that much we could have seen from Mansarovar. But, the details were up to us, and that added a wonderful element of excitement, a tad of unknown, a bit of spice to the climbing experience. And, the fact that we were all alone put the onus on us and only us for our own safety and decision making. If we got ourselves in a jam, unlike on other mountains like Cho Oyu or Everest, there was going to be no rescue, no help from other teams. Get yourself in, and you gotta get yourself out again. So, again, I learned that I want to travel to more lone, solitary peaks and have a more unique climbing adventure.

The second main thing I learned on this trip came quietly to me as we drove across the barren plains of Tibet. It I was something I've known for a long time, but perhaps never completely verbalized to myself, so it appeared as a sort of epiphany to me: I love Nepal. Many of you are probably saying: Duh! You've been there 18 times, you've studied, written, worked, and spent more time in Nepal than some Nepalis. Of course you love Nepal! Well, good point. But, sometimes we have to be away from something to realize how much we truly value it.

For me, as we bumped along north of Dolpo, I gazed through the Landcruiser windows toward Nepal and longed to be there again. And, it was less selfish than just me wanting to be in Nepal because it is comfortable...I wanted to be there again to make a difference, to effect a lasting change, to, as Ralph Waldo Emerson (purportedly) wrote: to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived... this is to have succeeded.

While we trekked through the Humla, I saw firsthand a beautiful people that, simply by uncontrollable forces geography and economy, were stuck in a life of poverty. They work harder than most, are kind beyond belief, are wizened from the lives they lead but not from school as such niceties hardly exist in Humla. Throughout Nepal in recent years, I have seen a people ravaged by a corrupt and ineffectual government coupled with a violent Maoist insurgency, 25 million people who subsist on an average of $190 per year while their king buys $35,000 chunks of Tanzanite while visiting Tanzania. I have gained so much from Nepal and the Nepali people, they have taught me much of what I know and changed my life in ways I may never be able to express. I have had the opportunity to help by teaching English in 1998, by sponsoring - along with my family and friends - a young Tamang boy in school and in work, and by giving my time and money to Porters' Progress (www.portersprogress.org). But, my epiphany was this: it is time to do more. To create lasting, sustainable change. Nepal has given that to me...it is only right that I return the favor.

Upon our arrival in Kathmandu, this lesson became even more poignant: a week earlier, a Russian MI-17 helicopter was carrying the best and brightest conservation minds in Nepal from the eastern mountain airstrip of Ghunsa back to Kathmandu. They had just turned a groundbreaking forest conservation program back over to the villagers who had inhabited the region for centuries. Four minutes after takeoff, flying VFR in cloudy weather, the helicopter smashed into a mountainside. In a flash, Nepali heroes, self-made people who were actively giving back to their countrymen, were gone. Mingma Norbu Sherpa. Dr. Harka Gurung. Dr. Chandra Gurung. Yeshi Choden Lama. It was a tragedy beyond words, and a horrible blow to this country that is desperate for good news as it works through peace talks with the Maoists, parties, and monarchy.

But, through desperation often comes hope, and perhaps as the life stories of Mingma, Harka, Chandra, Yeshi, and the others are made known, they will posthumously inspire other Nepali youngsters to seize the day, to build themselves, give back, and build their communities and their nation. That is what I must hope and believe.

While it is difficult to motivate in these times of war and suffering around the world, hard at times to see how one person's contribution can possible make a difference, I am often reminded of a couple of quotes. First, the full version of Emerson's quote from above:

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...this is to have succeeded.

And, second, a classic Tibetan & Nepali proverb, which I use at the ending piece of my book What Is Your Everest?:

Do not take lightly small good deeds
believing they can hardly help...
For drops of water,
one by one,
in time can fill a giant pond.

Back home safely

Not a quick journey, but after driving 3 days across Tibet, bumping across the border in Zhangmu, catching up with the world and modern life in Kathmandu, and then flying some 8500 miles across the globe, we are all finally back home to spouses, friends, and hamro kukurs (our dogs).

While a tad grueling at times, we had some great experiences on the drive. There were goat traffic jams on the "highway", spectacular sand dunes lining th e banks of the mighty Yarlung-Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river with the Kanjiroba Himal rising behind, lunches on river banks, views of Shishapangma, the world's 14th highest peak, surprise meetings with old friends like Mark Whetu, a legendary Kiwi climber and videographer, and even a special Dasain puja for our bus in the truck stop town of Banepa...without the traditional blood sacrifice to appease the goddess Durga - our driver sacrificed a coconut instead. (Dasain is one of the biggest festivals in Nepal and, while it is best known for the pulpati day - which entails blood sacrifice for Durga - the other four main days of the festival are wonderful occasions of giving and family time for Nepali Hindus. And, while the blood sacrifice seems a bit gruesome to our oft-naive senses, a client of mine put it well back in 1997: Well, it's shocking to see, but I guess they're just doing in public [killing animals for eventual human consumption] what we choose to do behind the doors of a slaughter house. And, at least they'll use the entire animal and not waste it! Perspective is always important...)

As wonderful as the trip was - fascinating peoples, brilliant cultures, lost kingdoms, and remote mountains - it is always a joy to get back home again. And, the long journey never fails to give me pause, time to reflect on my travels and go through the exercise I always go through after a mountain sojourn: to see what I learned.

The first item is the obvious one: I really enjoyed being on a lone, solitary peak, far away from other teams and the chaos which often accompanies Himalayan climbs. Our route on Gurla was not a first ascent, but in many ways it might as well have been. We had a map and a general idea of where the route went - but that much we could have seen from Mansarovar. But, the details were up to us, and that added a wonderful element of excitement, a tad of unknown, a bit of spice to the climbing experience. And, the fact that we were all alone put the onus on us and only us for our own safety and decision making. If we got ourselves in a jam, unlike on other mountains like Cho Oyu or Everest, there was going to be no rescue, no help from other teams. Get yourself in, and you gotta get yourself out again. So, again, I learned that I want to travel to more lone, solitary peaks and have a more unique climbing adventure.

The second main thing I learned on this trip came quietly to me as we drove across the barren plains of Tibet. It I was something I've known for a long time, but perhaps never completely verbalized to myself, so it appeared as a sort of epiphany to me: I love Nepal. Many of you are probably saying: Duh! You've been there 18 times, you've studied, written, worked, and spent more time in Nepal than some Nepalis. Of course you love Nepal! Well, good point. But, sometimes we have to be away from something to realize how much we truly value it.

For me, as we bumped along north of Dolpo, I gazed through the Landcruiser windows toward Nepal and longed to be there again. And, it was less selfish than just me wanting to be in Nepal because it is comfortable...I wanted to be there again to make a difference, to effect a lasting change, to, as Ralph Waldo Emerson (purportedly) wrote: to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived... this is to have succeeded.

While we trekked through the Humla, I saw firsthand a beautiful people that, simply by uncontrollable forces geography and economy, were stuck in a life of poverty. They work harder than most, are kind beyond belief, are wizened from the lives they lead but not from school as such niceties hardly exist in Humla. Throughout Nepal in recent years, I have seen a people ravaged by a corrupt and ineffectual government coupled with a violent Maoist insurgency, 25 million people who subsist on an average of $190 per year while their king buys $35,000 chunks of Tanzanite while visiting Tanzania. I have gained so much from Nepal and the Nepali people, they have taught me much of what I know and changed my life in ways I may never be able to express. I have had the opportunity to help by teaching English in 1998, by sponsoring - along with my family and friends - a young Tamang boy in school and in work, and by giving my time and money to Porters' Progress (www.portersprogress.org). But, my epiphany was this: it is time to do more. To create lasting, sustainable change. Nepal has given that to me...it is only right that I return the favor.

Upon our arrival in Kathmandu, this lesson became even more poignant: a week earlier, a Russian MI-17 helicopter was carrying the best and brightest conservation minds in Nepal from the eastern mountain airstrip of Ghunsa back to Kathmandu. They had just turned a groundbreaking forest conservation program back over to the villagers who had inhabited the region for centuries. Four minutes after takeoff, flying VFR in cloudy weather, the helicopter smashed into a mountainside. In a flash, Nepali heroes, self-made people who were actively giving back to their countrymen, were gone. Mingma Norbu Sherpa. Dr. Harka Gurung. Dr. Chandra Gurung. Yeshi Choden Lama. It was a tragedy beyond words, and a horrible blow to this country that is desperate for good news as it works through peace talks with the Maoists, parties, and monarchy.

But, through desperation often comes hope, and perhaps as the life stories of Mingma, Harka, Chandra, Yeshi, and the others are made known, they will posthumously inspire other Nepali youngsters to seize the day, to build themselves, give back, and build their communities and their nation. That is what I must hope and believe.

While it is difficult to motivate in these times of war and suffering around the world, hard at times to see how one person's contribution can possible make a difference, I am often reminded of a couple of quotes. First, the full version of Emerson's quote from above:

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...this is to have succeeded.

And, second, a classic Tibetan & Nepali proverb, which I use at the ending piece of my book What Is Your Everest?:

Do not take lightly small good deeds
believing they can hardly help...
For drops of water,
one by one,
in time can fill a giant pond.

Expedition Audio - The Missing Files

Hi All,

During the course of the expedition, when I was unable to fire up the laptop and make full dispatches, I was making audio dispatches using my Iridium satellite phone and a podcast service from Hipcast.com. Unfortunately, though, there was a glitch in the system and the audio was stored on the Hipcast servers but never posted to the blog...Ugh.

I finally got it all figured out today, and have now posted all the audio. You can listen to it all with no problem now! Sorry about that!!

Expedition Audio - The Missing Files

Hi All,

During the course of the expedition, when I was unable to fire up the laptop and make full dispatches, I was making audio dispatches using my Iridium satellite phone and a podcast service from Hipcast.com. Unfortunately, though, there was a glitch in the system and the audio was stored on the Hipcast servers but never posted to the blog...Ugh.

I finally got it all figured out today, and have now posted all the audio. You can listen to it all with no problem now! Sorry about that!!

Bhaktapur - The Old City

It is difficult at best to explain Bhaktapur to someone who has not been there. It is, in many ways, a timewarp, a mideival city pockmarked with internet cafes and ATM machines next to open sewers on cobblestone streets. To a large extent, life continues in Bhaktapur as it has for centuries, a constant drumming of rituals and devotion. And, for me, it was wonderful to return once again to this favorite place of mine and to be able to share it with our team.

One of the original four principalities of the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur, or Bhadgaon, was known as the City of Devotees, for it was a place of deep religion with Hinduism and Buddhism leaving poignant marks on the city as a whole. Once the valley and much of Nepal itself was united by Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768, Kathmandu (Kantipur) and Patan (Lalitpur) became the epicenters of modern Kathmandu, while Bhaktapur remained isolated, almost stuck in time.

The result is an entrancing city of fabulous achitecture - brick houses with tile roofs, intricately carved windows and doors, and stunning temples with pagoda-style roofs arching skyward - and amazing people. It is a city made for walking, and that is the best way to take in the sights, sounds, smells, and smiles of the place.

We wandered around, from Durbar Square to Golden Gate, Nyatapola to Dattatreya, enjoying the uniqueness of Bhaktapur, learning about its past, hoping for its future, and lving every minute of both.

And, today it did not rain on us, so we're hopeful that this latest bout of monsoon is weakening and we'll get to Simikot quickly.

Tomorrow we're off to Pashupatinath, the sacred Hindu temple complex along the Bagmati River - there will be lots of stories from there for certain!

Bhaktapur - The Old City

It is difficult at best to explain Bhaktapur to someone who has not been there. It is, in many ways, a timewarp, a mideival city pockmarked with internet cafes and ATM machines next to open sewers on cobblestone streets. To a large extent, life continues in Bhaktapur as it has for centuries, a constant drumming of rituals and devotion. And, for me, it was wonderful to return once again to this favorite place of mine and to be able to share it with our team.

One of the original four principalities of the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur, or Bhadgaon, was known as the City of Devotees, for it was a place of deep religion with Hinduism and Buddhism leaving poignant marks on the city as a whole. Once the valley and much of Nepal itself was united by Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768, Kathmandu (Kantipur) and Patan (Lalitpur) became the epicenters of modern Kathmandu, while Bhaktapur remained isolated, almost stuck in time.

The result is an entrancing city of fabulous achitecture - brick houses with tile roofs, intricately carved windows and doors, and stunning temples with pagoda-style roofs arching skyward - and amazing people. It is a city made for walking, and that is the best way to take in the sights, sounds, smells, and smiles of the place.

We wandered around, from Durbar Square to Golden Gate, Nyatapola to Dattatreya, enjoying the uniqueness of Bhaktapur, learning about its past, hoping for its future, and lving every minute of both.

And, today it did not rain on us, so we're hopeful that this latest bout of monsoon is weakening and we'll get to Simikot quickly.

Tomorrow we're off to Pashupatinath, the sacred Hindu temple complex along the Bagmati River - there will be lots of stories from there for certain!

Arrival in Kathmandu

After endless hours of flights, layovers, and more meals than normal humans would consume in a week, we arrived in a soggy Kathmandu this afternoon. With me were Kirk and Stuart, while David and Cynthia arrived yesterday, making us jealous tonight with their lack of jetlag.

The until-recently-hesitant monsoon decided this week to go headlong into battle with a massive deluge across western Nepal. Floods and landslides have taken more than 20 lives in the western district of Bardiya according to the papers, with more missing. So, this poor area has contended with first a drought and now floods.

Our Sherpa team is waiting things out currently in Nepalgunj as the flights to Simikot have been cancelled thanks to the storms. But, they report that the sun was poking through today, so possibly the storm will abate for a bit. I hope so not so much for us and our plans but rather to ease the struggles of the farmers out west. We'll keep our fingers crossed!

We're off to see the sights of Kathmandu in the morning, visiting the old city of Bhaktapur, the sacred grounds of Pasupatinath, and the massive stupa of Bodhanath. A full and wonderful day it will be!

Arrival in Kathmandu

After endless hours of flights, layovers, and more meals than normal humans would consume in a week, we arrived in a soggy Kathmandu this afternoon. With me were Kirk and Stuart, while David and Cynthia arrived yesterday, making us jealous tonight with their lack of jetlag.

The until-recently-hesitant monsoon decided this week to go headlong into battle with a massive deluge across western Nepal. Floods and landslides have taken more than 20 lives in the western district of Bardiya according to the papers, with more missing. So, this poor area has contended with first a drought and now floods.

Our Sherpa team is waiting things out currently in Nepalgunj as the flights to Simikot have been cancelled thanks to the storms. But, they report that the sun was poking through today, so possibly the storm will abate for a bit. I hope so not so much for us and our plans but rather to ease the struggles of the farmers out west. We'll keep our fingers crossed!

We're off to see the sights of Kathmandu in the morning, visiting the old city of Bhaktapur, the sacred grounds of Pasupatinath, and the massive stupa of Bodhanath. A full and wonderful day it will be!

Off to Nepal & Tibet!

It is Friday evening, I am wrapping up at the office after a hectic week of talks, flights, travel, packing, and visiting friends and family. But, finally, it is time to head off.

I depart Sunday morning for Nepal, arriving the afternoon of the 29th. Will update as soon as possible once I arrive!

Stay tuned...

Off to Nepal & Tibet!

It is Friday evening, I am wrapping up at the office after a hectic week of talks, flights, travel, packing, and visiting friends and family. But, finally, it is time to head off.

I depart Sunday morning for Nepal, arriving the afternoon of the 29th. Will update as soon as possible once I arrive!

Stay tuned...