Above Lobuche, the world turns to stone and water, more like moon than earth. Miles of thick ice make up the Khumbu Glacier, and smaller glaciers reach down from 6000...7000...8000 meter peaks all around. A light snow sticks atop rocks, but still allows for easy...
We continue up the Khumbhu Valley with a little snow and a little sun, the combination making the landscape stunningly powerful. Staying in Dingboche for 2 days, our sherpas settle into tents, we warm up by the stove in the lodge, and our yaks get a rest. A rest day,...
Back on the trail to Everest Base Camp for spring 2012! Every journey starts with a blessing. Whether from Hanuman the Monkey God or from a Buddhist monk, it's comforting to have an extra dose of luck and protection as we take one of the world's most exhilarating...
Lama Geshe Chants A Prayer http://youtu.be/SyeHLNRxV_0 Lama Geshe speaks Tibetan, so when I visit him, conversations get double and triple translated from a mix English and Nepali to a mix of Sherpa and Tibetan. Whatever is lost along the way doesn't seem to matter...
Lama Geshe is an Everest-area legend. Foreign climbers and local Sherpas come every season to take his blessing before attempting to climb the dangerous summits of nearby peaks. His receiving room is plastered with signed photos of famous climbers holding the blessing...
Om mani padme hum. Buddhists chant this mantra for the Buddha of Wisdom and Compassion incessantly. They carve it into rocks, inscribe it in prayer wheels, stamp it on prayer flags, and recite it hundreds of thousands of times in morning and evening prayers. Lama...
At 6am, after two nights at 17,000 ft, Sam's oxygen level had dropped precariously low. He was stumbling, couldn't walk, and his skin was blue. I knew immediately this was very serious. It had snowed lightly through the night and the sky remained as white as the...
Video: Khumbu Icefall http://youtu.be/cNvpRTQmCVE The precarious Khumbu Icefall is a moving river of ice that shifts and changes every year. Everest climbers must cross this most dangerous obstacle each time they ascend from Base Camp. Imagine wearing full...
Video: Mountain Madness on Kala Patar http://youtu.be/G1P8ZylaigU Mountain Madness trekkers reach their zenith! We climb Kala Patar at 18,450 ft for staggering 360-degree mountain views and classic views of Everest before heading to Base Camp the next day. Video: Kala...
Video: Ama Dablam Lakes http://youtu.be/-54BzTfjRGQ One of my all-time favorite hikes is a visit to the turquoise lakes behind Ama Dablam. The rolling alpine meadow is rarely visited, despite the plethora of trek groups in the area, because the barely-visible...
Video: Debuche Nuns Kitchen Tour and New Stove http://youtu.be/cHZ3Sxd56fs This fall, I stopped in at the nunnery to see everything hooked up, in place, in use. The stove has been a welcome addition. They cook morning tea and lunch on it and keep the big wood-burning...
What do the Buddhist nuns of Debuche want in 2011? A stove. The communal kitchen has a big wood-fired hearth for cooking, so at first I wondered why they needed a stove. One nun explained that they spend so much time chopping firewood that it detracts from their...