October 21-27 – Kathmandu arrival, gear check, seven-day quarantine!
It’s been quite an adventure since leaving home. There have been surprises along the way from SLC->LAX->Doha>Kathmandu and I’m already experiencing lessons in resilience and going with the flow…Missing travel mates and bags, delays, surprise first class seats, and my senses are completely alive with new observations and curious musings (e.g. why is toilet paper so narrow in Nepal?). I’m taking in all the new sights, smells, languages, and I’m able to see smiles in the eyes of people across the world, even if their masks are covering the real deal. It’s comforting, this human connectedness during such a strange time.
I’m in Kathmandu at my hotel for seven days while we quarantine before heading out into the villages and beginning stages of the climb. I’m making the best of it, exploring on foot in this loud and chaotic city, solving problems (my phone charger caught fire and I forgot toothpaste!), and making my experience here a little more beautiful and connected. I bought myself some flowers, set up guided yoga and meditation for our group, and started enjoying the local food and rhythm. My first flight over 15 hours has delivered me at the doorstep of a whole new adventure and launched my Second Seven Summit journey!
October 25 – Kathmandu preparation for departure to climb!
Quarantining in Kathmandu while anticipating the beginning of our Ama Dablam journey has been an exercise in faith, letting go, and making the most of every moment. Every movement throughout the city requires expected face mask wearing, temperature checks, recording phone numbers everywhere we go, sanitizing constantly, and the same procedure upon re-entry into our hotel, even if we head out on a short walk. It’s tedious and it’s been a lot of waiting, worrying, meditating, making short local trips to explore the area, and more waiting and worrying. My climbing mate, Ted, brought me a camera to play with, so I’m learning all about aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and composition. The beauty of making the most of quarantine!
A few days ago, we received news that our trip could be on hold due to a Covid-19 case in the Namche area and, thankfully, just today we learned that the medical team sent in was able to clear us for travel through this critical stop for acclimatizing!
We are the first climbing group welcomed into Nepal since the pandemic outbreak and it feels like we are a local sports team that everyone is rooting for. We represent a return to tourism income and travelers shining a spotlight on this gorgeous and sacred part of the world. My team was blessed to be invited to the Ambassador’s home for a banquet dinner (wow, the amounts of food!) and local officials were doing all they could to make our trip a success.
We are all eagerly awaiting negative Covid-19 tests, bags have been sent ahead to base camp, we have clearance to helicopter in with day packs to Lukla, and now my job is to stay positive and focused!
October 26-28 – Lukla, Namche Bazaar ~ 11,300ft
My first “pinch me” moment that I am here to chase my dream came when we arrived by helicopter to Lukla. The magnitude of the Himalayas, being in them, breathing their air…it moved me to tears.
The impact of Covid on the travel industry is especially marked here: last year they had over 60,000 travelers and this year they are only at around 2,000 travelers. We are especially grateful to have had two negative Covid tests as we traverse these lands and realize how fragile this village could be.
The prayer stones, flags, and wheels along the pathways along with the monasteries add a deep and sacred presence to being here.
We are staying at 11,300ft in the Namchee Bazaar for a couple of days and nights to acclimatize and push cardio on hikes and climbs. Climbs to the Everest View Hotel provided the first views of Ama Dablam, Everest, and Lhotse!
Our hotel runs on solar power. It’s the little things… have found if I get up early (4am), I beat everyone to the shower and get warm water. It’s 1,000% worth it because tomorrow morning is the last hot shower day… and after two showers it takes hours to get enough water to get warm water. ☺
Our team is overeating at every meal to bank up calories for what comes ahead. My belly is full of more potatoes and rice than it’s ever been!
October 29 – Debuche ~ 12,000+ft
We made it up to Debuche! Like our last hotel, we were the only visitors at our new hotel, Rivendell (after The Lord of the Rings). We are grateful to be here and to contribute to this travel-dependent economy. It’s amazing how wildly the temperatures swing from extreme heat during the day to cold that requires wearing all my layers!
We lost the trekker part of our tribe at our last stop, and now it is just the climbers. Garret is our leader and Moe, Chase, and I are the climbers with Elia and Ted doing video work.
October 30 – Pangboche ~ 13,000ft
After our hikes, we had a special visit to the head Llama’s house and received a blessing from him. Aside from our hike workouts, we stick to hanging out at our accommodations to assuage any fear among villagers in regard to Covid. My downtime is devoted to thinking about my kids and my blessings. I am so grateful for technology in this regard and being able to connect to my family, kids, friends, and team in new ways.
November 1-8 – Base Camp, Ama Dablan (The Mother’s Necklace) ~ 15,000+ft
We are excited to be here at Base Camp! Waiting for the body to acclimatize is a mental challenge. I’m reading a lot to pass the time when we aren’t moving and pushing cardio.
A kind Llama hiked up to our camp to bless us with a puja ceremony. He blessed our team, our climbing gear, the photo of my kids that I carry with me, and some prayer flags I brought. One prayer flag is for a friend battling cancer, and we hung it on the alter after the blessing. May we love the cancer out of her.
Instagram is so new to me and is proving to be such a blessing, full of energy from back home with friends, family, and new friends cheering on our adventure here! Thank you, all who have reached out and supported me!
Simple joys are alive and well here. The weather has been perfect with crisp, clear mountain air. We burn juniper for good omens, and it is a smell I won’t soon forget. The full moon last night lit the sky on fire. The views of the solar system from where I sit are simply stunning and awe-inspiring. Watching the stream near camp freeze at night and then flow more freely during the day. Speaking of water, I have mastered the fast and happy warm shower with our 20-gallon bag portable shower. And, to the hair geniuses that invented dry shampoo, I thank you!!
The sherpas here have given me the nickname “Di-Di” (sister). It’s sweet and makes me realize how simply we can show affection and connection, and how profoundly they can affect our well-being. Though I can’t speak their language, we communicate in a deeper human way in this setting. There is a common humaneness that bonds us all.
Who would have thought travel during a global pandemic to climb a mountain named “The Mother’s Necklace” could bring us home to ourselves and to one another? Garrett, Ted and I…We are like siblings. It’s amazing how we just met a few short weeks ago. I am the sister that makes them crazy. Ted is the genius (he does have a Masters degree from Stanford) and creative, Garrett is the calm, steady one that keeps us in line… it’s been a journey and I couldn’t imagine any others I would rather have this experience with. Some family you are born into, and some you get to create. Grateful for both 💕
Fixed Line travel practice is going well. I’m the only female on the team and I know all eyes are on me. I’m also the least experienced. I refuse to be a weak link, and I am holding my own with boosted fitness from living at altitude at home in Park City. Scrambling and hiking with 2,000 ft gain prepared us for the next stage.
I’ve hit some sickness and am managing with rest, hydration, and staying warm. This is always a possibility and I’m trying to remain focused, making every next best decision I can before we move higher up the mountain.
Camp 1, here we come!
November 9 – Camp 1 ~ 19,000+ft
Living on basics. Food and warmth are #1. Everything else, a bonus.
November 10 – Camp 2, Ama Dablam ~ 20,000ft
Slow and steady…one foot in front of the other. I’ve recovered from being sick, but am moving footstep by footstep, micro-decision by micro-decision. Here’s to doing hard things and smiling along the way!
November 11 – Summit, Ama Dablam ~ 22,349ft
We woke up at 1am, ate (two oatmeal packets), dressed and departed at 2am. We were expecting temperatures colder than Antarctica and we dressed for them: Two pairs of long underwear, four long underwear shirts, one mid-weight puffer, two pairs of socks, three sets of gloves (liner, fleece layer, shell), foot heaters, hand warmers, body warmers, ski goggles, balaclava, hat, face cover, my one-piece down suit, 8,000 meter boots, helmet, and harness. Snacks stuffed into my clothes, water in my pack. Ready!
The south side of the mountain is dark until 9am. I left with my Sherpa at 2am to allow a little more time and minimize danger. Ama usually has more snow cover at this time of year and the climb is now made more difficult by exposed rock and rock fall danger. My headlamp wasn’t working well, and in retrospect, I’m grateful it wasn’t so I didn’t initially see the sketchy climbing around me in those early hours.
I gave myself a 40% chance of summiting due to the weight I lost from an allergic reaction to medicine. My fitness, living at altitude, and mental preparedness are what got me through the initial part of the summit push. Because the sky is so open and clear without light pollution, all I had to do was gaze up for inspiration. I imagined the stars were looking at the “show” of me climbing. If they gave me their beautiful show, I had to return the favor! During each section of the climb I got stronger, and then I just knew I was going to summit.
Ted and I were the first to summit and my eyes were flooded with tears of joy when I climbed my final steps! Ama, arguably, is in the most beautiful mountain range in the world. The blues of the sky, the white peaks of the mountains, the sparkling waterways and towns below is overwhelming. This is a place where the Universe speaks directly into your soul.
We waited an hour for all to summit and then started to rappel down. Both Ted and I were hit with a wave of energy and strength while descending and decided to pass Camp 2 (also the worst sleeping conditions on sharp rocks), pause at Camp 1 (where we picked up all our gear), and head all the way to Base Camp, where we arrived at 7:30pm. A 17.5 hour day of pure exhilaration. To gaze back up at what we did was nothing short of awe-inspiring!