Cybercasts

Hello Everyone,

We have made it to Basecamp!  Yesterday we relaxed and got adjusted to Basecamp.  I had a lot of things to do to get our electrical system in place but everything is good now.  Today we will have our Puja ceremony asking for a safe climb.  It’s always a fun day with our entire team before we start the hard work.  More photos coming later from our puja.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones

Hello Everyone,

Today we had another beautiful day to climb up and over Cho La pass (17,800ft).  The team is doing great!  We are healthy and looking forward to getting to Basecamp tomorrow!

More to come…

Ben Jones

Hello Everyone,

We had a great day today with a couple short hikes. After breakfast we hiked up to Gokyo Ri (17,500ft) where we got our first views of Everest (left most mountain in the photo)! After that we descended back down to Gokyo for lunch and then hiked an hour and a half down across the glacier to Dragnag (15,400ft). Tomorrow we will climb over Cho La pass (17,800ft) for our last night on the trek before heading to Basecamp! The team is healthy and feeling good.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones

Hello Everyone,

Today we hiked from Lungden (14,400ft) up and over Renjo La pass (17,600ft), and down to Gokyo (15,400ft).  We had beautiful weather although still had some clouds covering Everest so no views yet.  The team is doing well and feeling good with our new high point in elevation on the trip.  The trails are pretty quiet on the 2 pass trek that we do to Basecamp and we are enjoying that very much!  Tomorrow we have a short day to Thagnag just a couple hours away before heading over Cho La pass the day after.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones

Hello Everyone,

We’ve been in Namche the last couple of days enjoying the big city and getting some good acclimatization.  Yesterday we hiked up to a tea house that can have Everest views but unfortunately it was a really cold and cloudy day so we didn’t get any views.  In the afternoon we relaxed at the lodge and hung out in the Sherpa Barista cafe.  In total yesterday we climbed about 1,200 ft to help get used to higher elevations.  The team is feeling good and excited today to move to Thame and off of the main crowded trail to Basecamp.  Today is a really fun day of the trek as we will get some fun cultural interactions, stopping at our head Sherpa’s house on the way and have some tea with his parents.  We will also stop at couple other friend’s houses, will get a blessing at the Namche monastery before leaving and also stop by a Nunnery.  This is one of my favorite days of the trek and we will end up at 12,600ft at Thame where traditionally most of our climbing Sherpas are from.

I will update throughout our time in Thame.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones