SummitClimb Pumori 2006 Jay reports in Live

This is Jay Reilly calling from SummitClimb, the 2006 International Pumori Expedition.  We're currently in the village of Pangboche at 3,900 meters. It's an absolutely gorgeous day.   We're looking out at beautiful blue skies, not a cloud anywhere.  But it's pretty cold.  I just took a temperature reading, we're here in the shade, a little bit of wind blowing and it's negative 8 degrees Celsius so it's very cold this morning.  All the team's doing well, everyone's having a great time.  I want to hand over to Matthew Vulk from California and he's going to talk a little about his

impressions of the expedition so far.

Matt Vulk:  Hey, how y'all doing.  This is Matt, I've got a dispatch for you, I'm gonna just go for it.  To be back in Nepal is such a treat, and Katmandu is one of the wildest cities, the most bazaar-like atmosphere.  At the hotel friends from last year and new friends got acquainted.  Everyone seems to be on the prowl for last minute gear, and some of us are

frantically trying to locate the newest Everest One-Sport boots.  We all enjoyed a few dinners together, telling stories of faraway places and amazing people.  Well, we're all packed up and ready for that wacky plane ride to Lukla.  It was a surprise when there was almost no turbulence and the landing was golden.

We all gathered at Namaste Lodge and Teahouse.  The next day was the great march up to Namche Bazaar.  Yaks, porters, sherpas and trekkers all making their way over rocks, dust, and the most amazing cable suspension bridges with prayer flags whipping in the breeze.  Namche Bazaar.  What a sweet locale with all of its stone teahouses and lodges.  It's a classic mountain village with the melodic sounds of hammer and chisel on stone as new tea houses are continually being built.

We enjoyed a rest day to acclimatize.  Then the rocky trail leads up to Pangboche where views of Ama Dablam await.  The mountains continue to grow larger and larger as we go.  So long for now, and God Bless.

Dispatch Index

Earlier updates: Starting our Pumori expedition, Dispatch for 3 October

Hi EverestNews.com. I hope you are well.  We flew to Lukla early this morning. The weather was perfect and we were treated to amazing views during the 30 minute flight.

We arrived in Lukla and relaxed in the comfortable Namaste Lodge teahouse. It's a very beautiful lodge. We trekked for three hours downhill to Phakding. It's a stunningly beautiful trek along winding trails with lovely views abounding in all directions.

During our three hour trek we were able to see the amazing peaks of Kusum Kanguru, Numbur, and Kwangde Ri.

We saw almost no one on the trail today. Its very quiet, warm, and peaceful here. We are camped at the gorgeous Sunrise Lodge. It's a very lovely spot with a comfortable garden on the edge of the Dudh Khosi river at around 2500 metres. It was a very warm and sunny winter in this part of the Himalaya this year. The peaks are quite devoid of snow. You can see waterfalls coming down from the high summits. I have never seen it so dry and warm at this time of year. Everyone should come over here before the last glacier melts.

Tomorrow we are going to climb the big hill up to Namche Bazaar at 3500 metres. Thanks for watching the progress of our Pumori climb and Everest basecamp trek! Yours Sincerely from Dan and all of us at SummitClimb.com

Dear EverestNews.com Readers,

We apologize for the tardiness in our most recent dispatch. The team has been enjoying a gorgeous trek through the Khumbu Valley for the last 2 days.

Right now we are in Namche Bazar at 3400m. This is quite a large village and is widely considered to be the Sherpa Capital. We're taking a rest and acclimatization day today, as our ascent yesterday was around 900m - certainly more than the recommended 300m per day, but due to the complete lack of places to camp or stay from 2700m up to 3400m, every single group that treks the Khumbu must follow this schedule.

But, Namche is a great place to spend time! There are numerous bakeries, cafes and restaurants, and a couple of fun bars and plenty of fun souvenir shopping. There's even email via a relatively expensive satellite link. 

Speaking of which - this will be the last email dispatch. Further dispatches will be made by satellite phone and will be available on everestnews.com as a downloadable voice file. These are great fun to do as  - I've been told  - great fun to listen to! So watch out for them in the coming days!

We thank you for following the news of our expedition,

From all of us at summitclimb.com

Dispatch Index

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