Even though we have access to the best jetliners in the
world with options of airlines to maximize our frequent flyer programs, the
trip to Kathmandu is long! I left Denver
International Airport at 7:30 pm Friday, October 11th and landed in Los Angeles a few hours later. No big deal
right? After a reasonable layover, the
next flight took off at 11:30pm headed to Guangzhou, China. During that 14-1/2-hour flight, the entire
day of October 12th disappeared, and we landed in China at 4:55 am
the morning of the 13th. The
original itinerary included a 2-1/2-hour layover before heading off again to
Kathmandu but as luck would have it, the President of China, Xi Jinping, decided
to visit Nepal at the same time, so our flight was delayed until 3:05 pm. That’s more than a 10-hour layover for those
of you doing the math. Pretty rough but
thankfully I connected with my pal Andy and we drank a few coffees and ate a
couple meals together to pass the time.
The flight to Kathmandu was uneventful and (gasp) I even did
some Pipestone work sitting at a bulkhead seat with nobody next to me. Pretty luxurious considering most flights are
jam packed these days. We finally landed
at 6:35 pm after circling for 90 minutes and then the real adventure
began. It seems that all of the planes
headed to Kathmandu were delayed until the departure of the Chinese
dignitary. Once the coast was clear, the
day’s travelers were allowed to land and the crush at the customs and
immigration counters was amazing. When
we finally got our bags and went outside, another couple of hours had
passed. Door to door from home to the
hotel was about 41 hours of travel. I’m
definitely feeling stiff at this point.
The plan was to meet the rest of the team at the hotel and
have dinner but due to the delays, it was more like catch a quick meal in the hotel, and hit the sack. The Hotel Le Himalaya is comfortable, and I was happy to wash off the two days of travel and get a decent night of sleep.
On Monday morning, we had a team meeting after breakfast and
reviewed the plan for the next week. Our
group is roughly split between Ama Dablam climbers and Khumbu Valley trekkers. After introductions, we found out that our
departure time for the drive to a different airport would be 1:00 am! The alternate airport is about 4
hours away and we want to catch the first flight to Lukla. That’s a pretty rough alpine start so soon
after all the travel we just finished.
Most of the day was spent checking and sorting gear,
exchanging money, buying a few things and figuring out a plan for
technology. It would be easy if there
was no cellular or internet access but that’s not the reality in this part of the
world anymore. At least I should be able
to get some blog posts out during the trek and at Ama Dablam base camp. Hopefully the burner phone I purchased will
work up there and I’ll be able to make a few calls home as well.
The best part of the day was seeing an old friend from my
2017 Everest climb. Sherpa Fura came to
the hotel with the wife and sons of another friend and employee of Pipestone,
Ngima Karma Sherpa. We had a great visit
and enjoyed catching up on each other’s lives.
It’s a blessing to have Sherpa people in my life and I am thankful for
it.
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