Dulce Vida

Only 3 of us made it to the summit, the others had descended back down due to altitude complications…..dizziness, vomitting, extreme lethargia, hyperventilation, disorientation, etc…..
We reached an elevation just above Base Camp…..18,898 feet:)

Today we started our descent ….I will be among civilization – and at normal oxygen levels- by saturday

Words in an email or pictures from my camera wouldnt do justice to the extraordinary journey ive been through on Everest, and the people from across the globe, whom ive met here on these remote mountains…..
snapshot moments:
*4:30am trek over endless expanse of glaciers as far as the eye can see…moonlight and headlamp providing sole source of light on our path
* subfreezing temperatures…..sleeping in fleece, thermals and gortex…..inside a sleeping bag WITH a fleece lining
* Bouldering over Cho La pass (17, 779 ft elevation! – No classes at presidio gym could have prepared me for climbing at that altitude…if i wasnt religious before, i certainly became religious that morning)
* Witnessing an avalanche…. (should i finish my porridge or run for my life….ummmm, run!)
* 80yr old monk taking hold of my hand in front of the monestary, and in total silence for 2 hrs, sitting watching the clouds sweep in, and scoop up the tiny villlage of Thame below
* Trekking Base camp, Kala Pattar, and now Debouche with 19 british marines who have just returned from Afghanistan, and are all wounded in some way (gun shot injuries, partial paralysis, mental disturbances, etc…) trekking everest is part of theyre reassimilation and rehabilitation ….they’ve been incredibly inspirational
* Getting pulled under a boulder on Renjo La Pass (an 800ft cliffside we were climbing over) by my French savior, seconds before the thundering noise of a rock slide comes crashing down around us…. (my dad & rest of our grp witnessed whole thing from bottom of cliff…. they were horrified….apparently all you could see was rubble and boulders flying down the mountain at death defying speed towards us)

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Spectacular dosnt even begin to describe the overwhelming beauty and magnitude of Everest. Today we reached 11 000 feet… in the last village (namche bazaar) that we will come across for the remainder of the trek (trekking till oct 23rd). its a tiny little village with a cyber cafe, surrounded by snow capped mountains, sitting in its own total solitude. (other than the sounds of rescue helicopters overhead, and the yaks with ringing bells around theyre necks)… its the last ‘semi civilized’ overnight stay (our showers have consisted of a bucket with boiled water that you wash up in).
When we reached about 9000 feet, temperatures dropped significantly, and the high elevation, coupled with 6-8 hours of ascending directly upwards daily, definitely started to become challenging. but the views…..breathtakingly magnificent. A sense of peaceful spirituality overwhelms you up here. Our first glimpse of Mt everest left me speechless for an hour, in awe, and overcome with emotion.
Our group consists of a sherpa trek leader, my dad, me, and 6 wonderful guys from england
At sunrise tmrw, we continue to ascend upwards, into frigid temperatures, and without any further mode of communication with the outside world available to us, lost in the mountains…..until we descend back down on Oct 23rd.
So until then, my friends, wish us luck….
Namaste
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