Flying to Namche Bazar

I spent a wonderful week in Kathmandu with Patty and our eight awesome kids. We played games, went on a nice walk, did a little shopping and had a fun brunch at the Hyatt Hotel. Mostly we just hung out and enjoyed each other’s company. They are growing up fast but have not lost their sweet dispositions. They are excelling in school and two of the girls are well on their way to becoming nurses. We couldn’t be happier or more proud of them.

Alas all good things must end. Patty flew home on midday Wednesday and I jumped in a helicopter earlier that morning and flew directly to Namche Bazar with a brief stop in Lukla. The flight was breathtaking with perfect weather and indescribable views of high peaks. The video is a time lapse flying from Lukla to Namche.

 I’m staying in Namche for 48 hours to give my body a chance to catch up a bit with the necessary acclimatizing. It’s at almost 11,500’ which is quite a jump from Kathmandu at roughly 4,000’. From here I plan to move to Deboche and then to Pheriche or Dingboche spending (hopefully) only one night at each stop.

 The Panorama Lodge is my home in Namche. This family run lodge is clean and sunny with electric blankets and good food. Best of all is the genuine hospitality. I enjoyed a nice meal and conversation with Lhakpa Doma and her son Mingma, the owners of the lodge. I’ve known this family for 11 years now. I’d never met Mingma until this trip but was pleasantly surprised to learn that he graduated from CU Denver, the same university that Patty and I graduated from. What a small world! More interesting than this is the fact that both of Mingma’s grandfathers were climbing Sherpas on the 1953 British expedition to Everest that put Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on top. Further, his uncle is the only member from that group that is still living.