Pile of parts
Well-Known Member
- Location
- South Jordan
AMAZING!
Everest Base Camp (EBC) for Christmas
- Thread starter mesha
- Start date
rholbrook
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville, Ut
I don't know who is luckier, your kids or you and your wife to be able to watch your kids really step up and kick some ass in a tough situation. What an experience for all of you. Thank You for sharing.
You said it got "pretty cold" and "this was the coldest night..." What temps are we talking here? Your wife isn't wearing a hat in all the pics and your faces aren't totally covered so it can't be that cold, I'm just curious to know in freedom units what degrees were you guys experiencing.
Seems like a phenomenal trip that helped you all grow closer together.
Seems like a phenomenal trip that helped you all grow closer together.
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
This is AWESOME!! It makes me want to do an epic trip they will never forget. You are cool parents.
kmboren
Recovering XJ owner anonymous
- Location
- Southern Utah
So cool. I remember you telling me you were going to do it but never heard how it went. Glad you decided to share it with us. Thanks.
The coldest temp that we actually saw was just before bed time one night. It was minus 17f. There are definitely colder other places in the world and very rarely Utah is one of them. Maybe for you it wouldnt be that cold, for us it was. During the day at lower elevations it was not that bad.
I can tell you it is a little deceptive. If you have never been in really high altitudes it is sort of hard to understand. Your body does not have as much oxygen so you just can't get warm. We love winter camping and no Utah temps scare us. I have camped all over the state during all times of year, including the sinks in logan. I will tell you that I have never felt as cold as I was at Lobuche and Gorek Shep. There just isn't an opportunity to get warm. Here you go on a brisk hike or stay over night and end up in a warm vehicle or at home soon. 12 days without a way to warm up wears on your body and your mind. Also, you stop eating high up. I told myself I would push through it and force myself to eat. I just couldn't will myself to eat. No oxygen, no calories, no heat source, high altitude= really really cold. Talking with our guide the first night in KTM we exclaimed that we have colder temps in Utah. He kind of smiled and said, "the mountain is different". He was right. The highest days we usually made it to noon before we felt our toes. Cedar and I kind of had a ritual when we could finally feel them and get really excited and give each other a hug.
Hats are the easiest way to vent. Many of the pics were taken at a rest stop. Hats were pulled off to try to keep from sweating. I noticed the same thing about some of the pics. Some we weren't wearing hats or even coats in them. It looks like it is a nice warm winter day, it wasn't
I wish I could include some of the videos I took. I think they convey the temps a little better. Also, we didn't get a lot of pictures when it was really cold. Our hands stayed inside our gloves and pockets.
Going in I wasn't worried about the temperatures. We have colder temps in Utah. It is just different. It wasn't the coldest I have ever been all the time. It was like any typical day. Sometimes when the sun was out it was like 20 degrees, cold, but not unreasonable. When the sun was down it got stupid cold.
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- Location
- The Village of Kay
I take it the trip out was faster and uneventful? Not knowing anything about the country or the route, do you hike from Lukla out of necessity, or acclimation? I assume it is out of necessity. I realize it is another world there and nothing like our cozy homes and cars here.
Trekking day 9- Gorak Shep to Pangboche (13074)
We woke up at about 6:30 to have breakfast and get headed down. No one except Jami had an appetite so we didn’t eat much. We headed down through Lobuche and then Lobuche pass. The weather was decent and didn’t cause us any problems. Each step brought some relief from the altitude. We ate lunch in Thukla again and met up with some friends we see almost every day. After lunch we departed and headed down. Instead of heading to the side hill part that would eventually take us to Dingboche we followed the giant U shaped valley. It saved us some uphill trekking and that was nice. The whole valley was filled with fields that grow grasses for grazing animals. Nothing was growing since it was winter and no animals were around. Dotting along the way was more stonewalls, cottages, and roofs. We walked all the way to Pangboche, which was 14.1 miles and 9 hours. We descended 4000 vertical feet today and we all felt like a million bucks. Well, all except Jami, this was the hardest trekking day for her. I felt like I had been miraculously healed by a witch doctor or something. The difference in the teahouse was distinct and there was a lot more laughter around the meals we ate. Our personalities had returned. At dinner I tried some juice from a fruit that grows in the Himalaya. It was called seabuckthorn juice. It was so sour, like next level sour. They say it is a super fruit so I thought I would give it a try. I wont be doing that again.
Trekking day 10- Pangboche to Sanasa
We left a little bit later because the day wasn’t quite as long. We had a good breakfast and we were all able to eat. They didn’t start the fire in the morning, but they lit a kerosene heater that put out about the same amount of heat as a single match. The morning was cold, but nothing compared to what we had experienced up higher on the mountain. Today was mostly downhill walking with a few very steep and rocky sections we pulled into Sanasa, which is a new village we didn’t stay at last time. They offered us a deluxe room. It was clean and we were the only people in the teahouse. The room was clean and they took extreme pride in their lodge. I really liked the owners of the lodge and even though the beds were thin I preferred this to the larger lodges. I felt more like we were part of their family. They kept the fire on the entire time we were in the main room eating and hanging out. It felt so good to be warm. The entire village was maybe 10 buildings and along the main trial they had tables set out with souvenirs to buy. Davy and cedar enjoyed shopping and talking to the other kids. Cedar bought a prayer wheel necklace and the lady ran away telling Cedar to stay. She came back with a cord for Cedar to wear it on. Davy bought a key chain for each of his friends. It was a pleasant night and this was the first night I sort of felt the stress of sickness and keeping my family safe start to melt away. I have enjoyed the whole trip even though sometimes I felt really sick. The worry of keeping my family safe while I wasn’t at my best was getting to me. We did eat some grilled cheese sandwiches that were probably the best I have ever had.
Trekking day 11- Sanasa to Phakding
This was an easy day. It was kind of cool to spend the night in the same lodge we started in. We met up with some of our friends that started at the same time we did. It was good to swap stories of our adventures. We also talked with people that were on their way up the mountain. They looked so fresh and unaware of the misery ahead of them. All of them asked advice and how the trip went. Many of them made comments like, if the 9 and 12 year old made it we should be fine. I wanted to explain to them that my kids are exceptionally tough, but instead said I am sure you will be fine. Ganesh would often hop in and tell them how strong the kids were, but they didn’t take much notice. One lady was chowing down on a big steak. She grubbed that steak super hard which is understandable since it looked amazing and you get pretty hungry after a long day of trekking. We decided not to eat any meat on our trip because it has to be carried up the mountain. We did end up eating some tuna fish since it comes in a can. We heard that pour lady all night puking her guts out. I felt so bad for her.
Trekking day 12- Phakding to Lukla
Today was a bittersweet day. Our last day of trekking was exciting, but also kind of sad. We were tired and worn out, but it was nice to only have to worry about walking each day. It was Christmas Eve and the kids were excited about that. We got to Lukla pretty early since we only had to walk a few hours today, like 3 or 4. We got to our lodge directly across from the airport. They had warm showers so we all took one of those and it felt pretty amazing even though it was freezing, the water was warm most of the time. It had been ten days of 8-9 hours of hard hiking each day since our last shower. We all needed one to say the least. The sun was out so we hung out on the porch and watched some workers hand chip stone for a walkway and a wall. I fell asleep lying on the stone porch in the sun and it was so nice.
Depart Lukla
We slept pretty well last night. We stayed up for quite awhile talking to some hikers from Ireland. Again we were on the first flight out in the morning. The weather and air is better early so there is less chance of being delayed if you get out before things start to warm up. We are all pretty excited because today is Christmas Eve.
We arrived back in KTM after a short, non eventful, but beautiful flight. The ride was bumpy, and loud, but that counts as uneventful by Nepali standards. Our hotel had a Christmas tree up and a sign that said merry Christmas. It was really nice of them to do that for us. Another nice touch that our guide made sure happened. We were able to get a little sleep and most importantly a long hot shower. We stopped in a little restaurant and ate a water buffalo steak. If you have never had water buffalo, go chew on a life jacket soaked in beef bullion. The flavor wasn’t bad, but man it was chewy.
We woke up at about 6:30 to have breakfast and get headed down. No one except Jami had an appetite so we didn’t eat much. We headed down through Lobuche and then Lobuche pass. The weather was decent and didn’t cause us any problems. Each step brought some relief from the altitude. We ate lunch in Thukla again and met up with some friends we see almost every day. After lunch we departed and headed down. Instead of heading to the side hill part that would eventually take us to Dingboche we followed the giant U shaped valley. It saved us some uphill trekking and that was nice. The whole valley was filled with fields that grow grasses for grazing animals. Nothing was growing since it was winter and no animals were around. Dotting along the way was more stonewalls, cottages, and roofs. We walked all the way to Pangboche, which was 14.1 miles and 9 hours. We descended 4000 vertical feet today and we all felt like a million bucks. Well, all except Jami, this was the hardest trekking day for her. I felt like I had been miraculously healed by a witch doctor or something. The difference in the teahouse was distinct and there was a lot more laughter around the meals we ate. Our personalities had returned. At dinner I tried some juice from a fruit that grows in the Himalaya. It was called seabuckthorn juice. It was so sour, like next level sour. They say it is a super fruit so I thought I would give it a try. I wont be doing that again.
Trekking day 10- Pangboche to Sanasa
We left a little bit later because the day wasn’t quite as long. We had a good breakfast and we were all able to eat. They didn’t start the fire in the morning, but they lit a kerosene heater that put out about the same amount of heat as a single match. The morning was cold, but nothing compared to what we had experienced up higher on the mountain. Today was mostly downhill walking with a few very steep and rocky sections we pulled into Sanasa, which is a new village we didn’t stay at last time. They offered us a deluxe room. It was clean and we were the only people in the teahouse. The room was clean and they took extreme pride in their lodge. I really liked the owners of the lodge and even though the beds were thin I preferred this to the larger lodges. I felt more like we were part of their family. They kept the fire on the entire time we were in the main room eating and hanging out. It felt so good to be warm. The entire village was maybe 10 buildings and along the main trial they had tables set out with souvenirs to buy. Davy and cedar enjoyed shopping and talking to the other kids. Cedar bought a prayer wheel necklace and the lady ran away telling Cedar to stay. She came back with a cord for Cedar to wear it on. Davy bought a key chain for each of his friends. It was a pleasant night and this was the first night I sort of felt the stress of sickness and keeping my family safe start to melt away. I have enjoyed the whole trip even though sometimes I felt really sick. The worry of keeping my family safe while I wasn’t at my best was getting to me. We did eat some grilled cheese sandwiches that were probably the best I have ever had.
Trekking day 11- Sanasa to Phakding
This was an easy day. It was kind of cool to spend the night in the same lodge we started in. We met up with some of our friends that started at the same time we did. It was good to swap stories of our adventures. We also talked with people that were on their way up the mountain. They looked so fresh and unaware of the misery ahead of them. All of them asked advice and how the trip went. Many of them made comments like, if the 9 and 12 year old made it we should be fine. I wanted to explain to them that my kids are exceptionally tough, but instead said I am sure you will be fine. Ganesh would often hop in and tell them how strong the kids were, but they didn’t take much notice. One lady was chowing down on a big steak. She grubbed that steak super hard which is understandable since it looked amazing and you get pretty hungry after a long day of trekking. We decided not to eat any meat on our trip because it has to be carried up the mountain. We did end up eating some tuna fish since it comes in a can. We heard that pour lady all night puking her guts out. I felt so bad for her.
Trekking day 12- Phakding to Lukla
Today was a bittersweet day. Our last day of trekking was exciting, but also kind of sad. We were tired and worn out, but it was nice to only have to worry about walking each day. It was Christmas Eve and the kids were excited about that. We got to Lukla pretty early since we only had to walk a few hours today, like 3 or 4. We got to our lodge directly across from the airport. They had warm showers so we all took one of those and it felt pretty amazing even though it was freezing, the water was warm most of the time. It had been ten days of 8-9 hours of hard hiking each day since our last shower. We all needed one to say the least. The sun was out so we hung out on the porch and watched some workers hand chip stone for a walkway and a wall. I fell asleep lying on the stone porch in the sun and it was so nice.
Depart Lukla
We slept pretty well last night. We stayed up for quite awhile talking to some hikers from Ireland. Again we were on the first flight out in the morning. The weather and air is better early so there is less chance of being delayed if you get out before things start to warm up. We are all pretty excited because today is Christmas Eve.
We arrived back in KTM after a short, non eventful, but beautiful flight. The ride was bumpy, and loud, but that counts as uneventful by Nepali standards. Our hotel had a Christmas tree up and a sign that said merry Christmas. It was really nice of them to do that for us. Another nice touch that our guide made sure happened. We were able to get a little sleep and most importantly a long hot shower. We stopped in a little restaurant and ate a water buffalo steak. If you have never had water buffalo, go chew on a life jacket soaked in beef bullion. The flavor wasn’t bad, but man it was chewy.
Attachments
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
I’m so incredibly jealous
Good job guys!
Thanks for sharing
Good job guys!
Thanks for sharing
I posted some of the last trekking days for you. We ended up going into the jungle after were were done walking to get warm and see some cool animals. I may post that stuff up later. Most people fly into Lukla and start the trek from there. You could take a helicopter ride from there up if you like, but it is likely you would get altitude sickness if going much higher than Namche. There are no roads to or from Lukla. We realized most of the people on the mountain have never seen or heard a car.
Some trekkers walk to Lukla instead of flying there, but those people are crazy
We just didn't have that kind of time. We were already gone 21 days and I couldn't fit the additional trek time in.
Tonkaman
Well-Known Member
- Location
- West Jordan
You are honestly one of the coolest guys that I’ve ever met! Congrats on being a world class father
Thursty
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Green River
Wow, that is so impressive! You have an awesome family!
Jinx
when in doubt, upgrade!
- Location
- So Jordan, Utah
X2. Thanks for sharing.
- Location
- West Bountiful, UT
Much respect! So impressed.
The Houle's are all bad asses.
- DAA
The Houle's are all bad asses.
- DAA
RockChucker
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Highland
So awesome!
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
We shortchange ourselves so much, look at that guy with the boxes hanging from his head and back. That's what we can do if we aren't pampered. WOW.