|
April 21 - Moving up
Change of plans - it is Wednesday (April 21 - 8:00 AM Nepal time) Joe and JJ
are heading up to Camp II right now. Currently their plan is to spend a
couple of nights there, push on to Camp III to drop off some supplies and
get a taste of that altitude, and then return to Base Camp.
This of course could change but we will keep you updated as often as
possible. Both Joe and JJ are doing well and feeling good! More later ...
Namaste
|
Update April 20
Joe called this morning from Camp I. After spending a night at Camp I, they
plan on carrying to Camp II, spending a night there and then heading back
down to Base Camp. Once rested they plan on hiking out to Dingboche where
they will spend a few days relaxing and taking in some O's.
|
Apr 12 - Joe calling in
Due to family emergency Liz has to leave the expedition. Listen to Joe talking about the hard decision.
|
Puja
With our Puja held at 5:00AM before sunrise, we are now blessed and free to start climbing. Our first challenge is the Khumbu Icefield with no less than 14 ladder crossings and a vertical section 5 ladders high, we have our work cut out for us!
The Puja ceremony was wonderful this morning. The Lama chanted prayers and blessing tossing rice and barley flour into the air while we sipped tea and chang.With juniper and incense burning , a central pole was erected with prayer flags and several kata, while a second one held the US and Maltese flags. The 'QOUTE QUILT and several school flags were also placed on and around the chorten.
The sun rose and warmed the day up nicely. This might break the nightly snow pattern we have had since arriving at Base Camp.
Will hopefully send photos later... Namaste
|
Belated updates ...
Greetings from Base Camp!
This is our 3rd day at BC and after our Puja tomorrow morning , we will be heading up the Icefall , which we are happy to hear is in good shape this year.
The entire Mountain Link team is doing well .. Joe and Liz hope to be sending regular dispatches from now on !Ciao for now.
|
March 29, Report from Tengbuche Monastery
Technical difficulties in Nepal won't stop the Jersey duo from updating on the first leg of their Everest climb. This weekend ExplorersWeb received a phone call from Joe and Liz with updates on their trip so far.
Hey guys it's Joe and Liz, and things are going great! We just arrived at the Tengbuche monastery. And just wanted to let you know that we're still staying in contact!
The mountain is completely clouded in, looks like there is a big storm going on over the peak. We're feeling great, we're really feeling strong, knock on wood. Nobodies feeling sick, no intestinal stuff. Everything is happy!
We have a whole lot written down and as soon as we can we will update everyone on it. From new work with the school kids, to going to the monastery and getting blessed, to playing with the children in Namche Bazaar. We're just having an amazing trip, absolutely wonderful. It's super. I hope you guys are well.
There have been some problems with recharging the battery on their laptop; a power source conflict. But they come prepared and are resourceful folks and are working on the issue. We expect regular dispatches very soon.
|
Organized chaos!
A whirlwind week of sorting through gear, shopping, taking care of last minute details and then the mammoth task of packing began. WOW! How much do we need? Plenty of everything and then some!
Before we could start packing we had just one other school to visit, the Lacordaire Academy in Montclair, where we made our initial Everest presentation back in December last year. Joe set up Base Camp in one of the classes. The students enjoyed a hands-on lesson in gear needed to climb a mountain like Everest. The highlight was definitely seeing one of their fellow students in Joe's down suit!
After one last visit to the ExplorersWeb office in NYC, everything is ready to go and after a test run or two on the PDA, we are good to go!
Now we cannot wait to get to Katmandu, power up the satellite phone and get our first real, On the road' dispatch sent. And also to start communications with the school children! The Audible.com site is going through its final stages of development and our initial audio interview should be in place any day now.
Joe and I are both thrilled to finally be getting on our way. Many years worth of dreams as well as years of preparations, about to come to fruition.
Back to work, as we are now literally hours from flight time.
Cheers,
Liz
|
|
|
