First Views of Everest...

The start of any expedition brings on series of mixed emotions - from apprehension as you hold your breath as your gigantic overstuffed bags of gear are weighed at the airport check-in through to the first handshakes with new team mates and on to the feelings of excitement at the first views of Everest (wondering if the heart flutters are effects of the thin air or simply feeling of awe at the sheer size of the mountain!). It's been a monumental few days and I can't believe that it's only been 4 days since I left the UK..!
 I'm typing this email from Namche Bazaar - a key feature of the ever popular 'Everest Base Camp' trek. It is the 'gateway to the Himalayas', the central town for the Sherpa culture, and a mountaineering-gear mecca. Located at an altitude of 3400m it's one of the first places that the effects of the thin air become increasingly apparent when even walking up a flight of stairs can leave you breathless. I'm being taken back to my 'backpacker days' sitting in a dingy internet cafe with Phil Collins and Bryan Adams blasting from a CD-shop downstairs and locals selling an array of North Face branded jackets in the streets....

We hiked into Namche yesterday in the blasting sun and enjoying the absolutely stunning views of the panorama of snow covered peaks around us as we made our way through the tree-line and up to the town. We're enroute to Ama Dablam Base Camp where we'll be spending two nights acclimatising and getting used to the thin air and appreciating the physiological measures taken by the body to account for the lack of oxygen (eg. production of increased red blood cells). We've had to hike in and spend about a week on the South side of the mountain as the border to China doesn't open until the 12th of April. At that stage we will head directly to Base Camp on Everest North (5200m) which will be our home away from home for the next 2 months. We will already be acclimatised thanks to the time spent on the South side of the mountain.

The flight from Kathmandu into Lukla Airport (worth 'You Tube' search!) was harrowing to say the least... Lukla is one of the most dangerous airports in the world to fly into as you're literally landing on an 'inclined' runway and the only thing to stop you if your breaks fail is a 6,000m mountain. Flights are heavily influenced by the weather patterns and the updrafts from the moutains that appear about 30-40m below the tiny plane.... Our takeoff went smoothly enough but we immediately had the sense that not all was going according to plan (understatement of the century) when the air stewardess (whose job description is limited to handing out cotton wool for the ears accompanied with a smile and a mango-flavoured sweet) started praying to the gods and clamped onto one of my teammates knees with white knuckles... We hit a few 'air pockets' that dropped the plane dangerously low. Nervous smiles and a few moans escaped from the flights 15 passengers and 2 pilots... When we finally did make our 'bouncy' and 'turbulent' approach of the runway at the end of the 45 minute flight (during which my life flashed before my eyes at least 5 times) I was incredibly relieved.  Had the tarmac not been covered by yak dung I might even have kissed the ground.

And so the adventure has begun..!

Everest2 Challenges Update
I hope that all is well with Ridgetown District High School, Sevenoaks School and Future Hope..! A big 'hello' to you all and I've been thinking about you loads..! Last night at dinner we chatted about the various Challenges and I had some fantastic input from my team mates -- for the boys at Sevenoaks, you'll be pleased to know that I have already found 3 guys who are keen to engage in a bench-press competition with a Sherpa and also see who will win an arm wrestle..! Watch this space - I'll keep you posted..! We'll do this in late April when we get into Base Camp on Everest North and meet the Sherpa team.

As for the "Namaste! Welcome to Kathmandu" Challenge, I will be back in Kathmandu on the 10th of April for 2 days and will start to document the challenges that you have for me in the city.... so please do feel free to send them through. Last time I checked, you wanted me to take photographs of a school, find out the cost of a taxi, document public transport, and the cost of a Big Mac... (interesting update on that front - they don't eat Big Macs in Nepal because the cow is considered sacred... will find out if they have a chicken-related equivalent). How does a city of 1-million people relate to your town / city? What similarities and differences do you think will exist?

 On that note, I'd best end this here - the sun is starting to set behind the mountains which means the temperature will start dropping below zero in a few minutes... Unfortunately our 'guest house' is a heart-and-lung challenging 25-minute walk up a steep hill with steps that I've nicknamed, 'highway to heaven'. Fortunately there's some egg-fried rice that will be waiting for me at the top for dinner..! Will be back in comms over the next few days with updates..! Photos will be posted when I get back to Kathmandu....