The following day, we cross more of the moonscape and head out to Everest Base Camp, surrounded by looming mountains. Incredibly dwarfed by the landscape, the tents of EBC slowly grow from dots of color in the distance to life-size domes and squares. We are one of the...
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...
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: Helicopter Take-Off http://youtu.be/sr4vm_tKr18 Helicopters come and go overhead each day, mostly for emergency evacuations. We happened to catch this one simply ferrying people back to Kathmandu. Ama Dablam in the background and a beautiful view towards...
Video: Everest View Hotel: First View Up The Valley http://youtu.be/1iDaLqsmcA8 After 13 treks to Everest Base Camp, one might suspect it has lost some appeal. Not so. The swathe of snow-capped mountains rearing up and surrounding us over the course of...
Distortion Pedals At 17,575 feet, Everest Base Camp is perhaps the Himalayas' most transitory town. The conditions are inhospitable even during summit season, which has the best weather of the year. Below freezing temperatures, wind, snow, and not a green shrub...
An old mother in a red sari was crying at the side of the trail. We followed her gaze, her distraught explanation, and saw a group of men and boys gathered around an isolated stand of bamboo. Up in the leaves, a gray faced monkey was rustling between branches, trying...