In three weeks I'm heading off to Nepal for a couple of months, and this is where I'll update my progress, when and if I have access to t'internet. I'm already training hard for a life devoid of online services at work, going to shops and buying things in person, using coins, reading books made out of paper, that sort of thing, but hopefully there will be opportunities to keep the blog live and interesting in the more enlightened environment of the world's newest republic.
On the 14th October we head off to Lukla and then up to Gokyo to climb Gokyo Ri, (5357m) and thereafter onward to Cho Oyu basecamp before attempting a crossing of the 5500m Cho La pass onto the main Everest trail. After climbing Kala Pattar it's up the Imja Glacier for a two day ice climbing refresher then the push for the summit of Imja Tse (6169m). Imja features a headwall of about 300m in height at around 5800m which the climbing leader tells us is short of snow and ice this year, so the ascent will be more technical than in previous years, pushing the Alpine Grade to TD (tres difficile). Hopefully summit day will be sometime around October 31st.
After this it's a few days with the orphaned children of Sherpas in Kathmandu, then a couple fo weeks exploring the Annapurna and then south to Chitwan and the Terai region. Then finally home on 25 November.
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