mercoledì 30 settembre 2009

30/09/2009

here we are in Namche...
yesterday we made a small change to the usual itinerary walking little further than Phakding, and stopping in Monjo, where the Sagarmatha National Park begins.
so that today we have a nice and easy day to Namche.
The route is not very crowded as trekking season is just at its start after the monson season. In fact, last night, towards the end of the afternoon, black cloud came in and a heavy shower made the terrain soaked.

Today we had the first sight to the mountains: Kusumkhangaru and mount Everest. Apparentely last summer didn't snow very much as the walls are yes covered of a white layer but of fresh snow, and one can see the black rock underneath!

Pengba, our nepali guide, is at the beginning of his experience as leader and will join us for the Lobuche climb, so that he can improve his mountaineering skills. He speaks excellent italian and is very kind. We agreed with him that we have no fixed day stops. We'll be flexible depending on how we feel. As Marc wants to visit Gokyo, we'll take the path going by Machermo village which doesn't rise much in altitude but is a long way.

Domi is our only porter, he says he is 17 years old but looks more like he is 13...
He does a great job and he is definitely stronger than us.

They both will accompain us to Ama Dablam base camp, than another team will take over the lead.

next update....not sure!

lunedì 28 settembre 2009

28/09/2009 Kathmandu...

we arrived last night after a long trip from Italy...as we had to wait 8 hours in Abu Dabi we had a quick look around the city and trust me....you definitely don't want to live in a place like that! A city where the main shape you see is tall cubes with windows selling cloaths and cars, where the temperature is constantly around 40 C, and the view doesn't go further than 50 meters!
Therefore, we headed back to the airport quite quickly...at least there was air conditioning!

We arrived in Kathmandu in the evening and Chhongba was there, ready as usual to serve us in all our needs, although we didn't want more than a shower and a good sleep.

Today Marc and I woke up with unusual smells and sounds...oh it's true...we are in Kathmandu :-) we hadn't had the time to realize that yet, but it was a good feeling.
After breakfast the bargening immediately begun as we headed for the monkey temple by taxi.
It is a stunning huge Stupa (temple) on the top of a hill where you can have a great view of the entire Kathmandu Valley while monkeys jump all over around you!

We are feeling like kids in a playground full of toys. Kathmandu is very welcoming and people nice. We are concentrated on our objective, Ama Dablam. We went over the program with Chhongba and we managed to find 2 spare days to plan some rest during the trek, which is always good.
At the same time we are already speaking of new projects together... the team is working well as you can see. We are ready for it.

Tomorrow the scary flight to luka is expecting us to be at 5:30 am at the airport and than the real adventure begins!

netx update from Namche Bazar.

ciao

domenica 6 settembre 2009

Ama Dablam project...

from today in english...

when last year i was wondering around the Khumbu, most of the days i was admiring the beautyful shape of Ama Dablam dreaming of climbing the peak...
this year, unexpectedly i am heading for that summit with a client...this is what is wanderful about my job: sharing with people great adventures.

Departure will take place september 26, the team is composed by Marc Delmas and myself. We recently did some rewarding climbs together in the Alps, and we are happy to commit for this new adventure.

The Monviso Treks agency based in Kathmandu will organise the local logistic leading us to Base Camp. Pasang and Chhongba, the owners, work in the huts of Gran Paradiso National Park during summer time and organize treks in Nepal the rest of the year.

Until October 23 we will be hiking around the Everest region, acclimatizing on the Lobuche Peak (6114m) and than attacking the big mountain. We'll keep it under sight during all the approach, studying the route and prepearing ourselves for it.

Around the 12th october we should be reaching the top.....we'll keep you informed....check for updates!!!!