The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Hinku Valley to Lukla. Thursday, October 27 Saying goodbye was tough after so much time with such great people. The porters, guides and kitchen staff had performed fantastically and though they were paid well by Nepal standards, we felt indebted to them. Flying to Kathmandu […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition: Heading back down the Hinku Valley. Tuesday, October 25 Sun! Though it froze overnight, the sun rising in the morning was an excellent sign that maybe today would be warmer and less foggy. We also found out that the animals we called yaks, which we thought […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Going as high as possible on Mera Peak. Sunday, October 23 It wasn’t a great night of sleep. We finally figured out a system for keeping warm in our sleeping bags, but it was a night of tossing and turning as we exhausted ourselves on […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Kote to Tangnag. Wednesday, 19 October Life is great after 14 hours of deep sleep. The morning was clear though it would be a few hours before the sun would warm the valley as a subsidiary summit of Mera Peak shades Tangnag in the early […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Ngyngso Camp to Odare Camp. Monday, October 17 Morning was cold and clear and started with the hot water for tea or coffee and washing water, as always. It was very dark on this side of the mountain, shaded as we were by the steep […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Namdolingomba to Ngyngso Camp. Sunday, October 16 There was a steady patter of rain on the tent as we fell asleep which we always find very reassuring somehow, perhaps because we live in dry Southern California.  At some point during the night the temperature dropped […]

Dilli Bahadur Rai, or “D.B.” as he is known to his customers, is a senior guide in the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal. He comes from the village of Basa 6, one of 9 villages that make up Basa Village Development Committee (VDC). These VDC’s are a creation of the Nepal government for administration purposes and […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Spending a day in paradise Adheri, meaning “dark place” was very appropriately named. It sits high on the same steep mountainside that Basa occupies, but is situated in a way that the sun comes up very late over the mountain to the east and sets […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Why Basa matters so much If arriving in Basa was remarkable, spending a day there was incredible. We slept incredibly well after our prior evening of rahksi and dancing…and rahksi. Even though we were in their home village and they slept in their own homes, the […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Arriving in Basa Challenges Nepal is a great example of what happens when extremely poor meets well-meaning. Westerners have been coming to Nepal in large numbers for several decades because of its amazing mountains and equally amazing people. Westerners have opened their hearts and pocketbooks and donated […]