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 — Khare to Mera High Camp. Saturday, October 22 We were awakened at 6am with the announcement that the skies were clear and we would see if we could reach High Camp. After breakfast and bag packing/water bottle thawing, we set out on the same route […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Acclimatization in Khare Friday, October 21 This was our day to head for High Camp, with Mera Peak summit planned for the following day. Not only did it snow that night, but it snowed enough that it appeared dark in our tent even after sunrise […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Tangnag to Khare. Thursday, 20 October The morning started as our coldest yet, with the first light appearing at 5:30 am and the sun appearing over Mera Peak at 9am. Joel, Karlin and Chris were talking with an Indian climber who summitted the day before, […]

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 […]

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak — Adheri to Namdolingomba Saturday, October 15 Morning came at 5:30am as usual, and we were packed and ready by 6am “washing water.” followed by a delicious breakfast of rice pudding. Karlin was late for breakfast for a great reason, he agreed the night before to meet […]