Update from Nepal

Hello all,

Well, I nearly made it all the way to Everest Base Camp--got as far as Pheriche before winter weather and extreme cold made it nearly impossible to continue. Well, not impossible, just very unwise. I took advice from locals/sherpas along the way, and they advised all trekkers to turn back at Pheriche and Lobuche. I did not argue! I have never felt as cold in my life as when I had my overnight stay in a "lodge" in Pheriche. -20 F outdoors, and easily zero indoors. Actually, the only thing separating me, outside from inside, was a thin plywood wall and a plastic tarp for a door--very primitive from Tengboche on, and certainly not for the weak-at-heart at even lower elevations like Namche Bazar. But what a trek while it lasted! I saw some of the most beautiful geography ever, and had a good time, although freezing cold for most of it. From Lukla to Namche, the weather was sunny and warm, and I hiked in a t-shirt for this distance. Then like a light switch, the weather turned nasty and cold. Trekking upward from Namche to Pheriche was literally in the fog, and the entire trek back down to Lukla was foggy, windy, light snow, and COLD. Once back in Lukla, I found the accomodations all over town to be staggering. In the middle of winter, there is no running water--it's all frozen, and nobody wants to waste their firewood for warmth, only to cook with. The best place to hang out for the night, I found, was in the kitchen of the Shangri-La Lodge, with the locals. I couldn't understand a word they were saying, but it was warmer than in the lodge itself! I just smiled a great deal, and responded, "USA"!!! With a backup of airline flights, I had to battle it out with frantic foreign trekkers for a flight down to Kathmandu--this proved to be quite an adventure. Some of these trekkers had been stuck in Lukla for up to seven days already. A very temporary break in the clouds yesterday morning meant that three airplanes had time, and visibility, to land and take back off. A "bribe" on my part of $120 US to the right airport worker (with the help of a sherpa, Goatham), assured me a seat on Agni Airlines back to Kathmandu--really. Otherwise, I think I might still be sitting in the freezing wasteland of Lukla.

Anyway, now I am back in the relative warmth of Kathmandu, at the Hotel Everest Mount Holiday, enjoying my last 48 hours before flying back to the United States. Helena's Rooftop Cafe is every bit as good as I read about and was advised--a long walk upstairs (well worth it) puts you eight stories above Thamel on a sunny, warm, scenic rooftop overlooking the entire city. The breakfast at this location has been the absolute best! See you all in a few short days,

Paul Bosseler