Chalo Kathmandu

We are setting off to Kathmandu, tomorrow morning. The excitement and anxiety is building up so much that it feels like a thousand butterflies on steroids fluttering wild on my insides.

We almost had a trekking partner, our favorite person from Japan, fondly known as Kerala San. He is the one who coined "Chalo Kathmandu" for our trip. Due to last minute work commitments, he wouldn't be joining us this time. He is the one who introduced me to the mountains, even though I didn't fancy them much back then. It would have been so much fun trekking with Kerala San. I am sure we will be hiking together soonish. 

One of the reasons we targeted to reach the Everest base Camp by first week of May, was to earn a chance to meet the legendary Sherpas who have touched Everest summit multiple times and the amazing climbers attempting summit. The tragic avalanche on April 18th 2014 at the notorious Khumbu Icefall has turned the tidings of this season. There have been 13 deaths and 3 still missing in the snow. Out of respect to the fallen Sherpas, the summit teams had not climbed the last week. The uncertainties on the route, safety issues, the tensions ongoing between Sherpas and Nepal Govt and much more has contributed to the folding up of this season. As of now, almost all big teams like IMG, Himex, Altitude Junkies all have decided to pull the plug on their 2014 expedition. As Alan Arnette says, climbing in Nepal has changed forever. 

Even with all the challenges and unfortunate news, we are going ahead on our little adventure to EBC. The support we have received from friends and family is incredible. Our family and friends here joining us on the training hikes and trail runs, friends bringing trekking stuff from the US and delish snacks from India, our outdoorsy friends giving us valuable tips on the medicines, where to buy whats, importance of heat packs and layered clothing, in-numerous calls,chats and messages to keep our motivation up for the trek, writing, photography and the list goes on... A big thank you to every single one of you!

This journey, at times, feels like a Dickens novel. Even though each sentence and chapter is amazing, I am too eager to know the climax. There is a huge urge to turn the pages and take a peek at the ending, just to make sure that all is well. But then, knowing the end kills the thrill of the ride. So, wish us the best, as you always have 

:-)

Journey to the Himalayas

Chomolungma or the majestic Mount Everest is alluring to everybody. The idea that the mountain stands tall and consistent, witnessing the turn of the centuries, the beauty of being above the clouds viewing the milky way in all its glory, are few of the pull factors. 

The famous words of George Mallory sums it up - we climb "Because It's there"!

One of our usual sunday evening activities is exploring and dreaming up travel itineraries. We had a couple of leave days coming up in May and it was our chance to choose from few of the destinations in our list. We have been looking at the live webcam from Kala Patthar for a while now. Manu suggested that we should attempt Everest Base Camp trekking this year. We both had hundreds of reasons to put it off - the days, training and money involved were the top three. But the beauty of the mountains, the idea of being in the nature for so long and getting a chance to learn about Sherpa lives was too good to pass up. Finally after couple of hours of buts and ifs, how to's and can we's, we decided to hike up to the base camp and give ourselves a chance to view the Mt.Everest.

We started reading up on the trekking paths, flight options and training plans. We informed the family and the only supportive words we got were from the bro of the family(officially the brother in law) to get a proper insurance. Rest were obvious and genuine concerns on our compulsive behaviour to endanger our lives. After convincing them that this is not dangerous, we were granted permissions. The following few days were action packed. We have bought the tickets, insurance, decided on a trekking guide, we are training hard and shopping more :) Now, we have 20 more days left for the epic trip.

The countless travel blogs out there have served us as an encouragement and have been helpful in making many decisions, but the information changes with each season. I will document the preparations, shopping lists and our journey, here in this blog space, in hope that this will help some one, some day in their quest to the Nepal Himalayas.