RMI Expeditions Blog
Namaste from Namche Bazaar, aka "Khumbu Central".
I'm happy to report this guide is surrounded by a team of crushers, who hiked the first hill of the trail as if it was flat. We arrived way before lunch and enjoyed a good afternoon at the epicenter of Sherpa trading in this old market town of the Himalaya. Fun dinner conversations added to a great day! We'll stay here an extra night to start allowing for acclimatization. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Slowly camp came alive. Like little forest creatures coming out of their den, people crawled out of their tents. Before you knew it camp was packed up and we were on our way uphill. We continued to follow the river. After an hour or so of walking we emerged from the jungle and got a view of Saipal Peak. It looks beautiful. The southwest face is impressive. There is an American team attempting it as we speak. Fingers crossed for them, for if they succeed it will be a first ascent. For us, however, we are settling into our Base Camp. We will hangout here for a couple days waiting for the rest of our duffels and begin making a plan on what exactly our objective should be. It feels good being at our Base Camp. Snow lightly falls from the sky as people nestle into their sleeping bags before we gather for dinner. It will be a chilly night. Tomorrow should be a nice relaxing day with ample time to charge our devices.
Till tomorrow,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Oh yea! Kodiak is very entertained by your stories! I love hearing the daily report!
Posted by: michelle the mom on 10/25/2018 at 10:38 pm
Sounds like you are enjoying yourself. People at work liked your goat sacrifice and marijuana camp story!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 10/25/2018 at 2:34 pm
Namaste from the village of Phakding!
Our days on the trail have started, and we cover the first stage of our acclimatizing trek. After an uneventful flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, gateway to the Himalaya, we ironically walked the trail that makes the first day being downhill.
It is definitely special to be back in the Khumbu, and while we've haven't seen yet any major peaks, the change of pace from city to mountain, feels good and helps build up the excitement for the mission we have ahead.
Everyone is in great spirits, healthy and psyched about what we're discovering so far!
Stay tuned for more tomorrow, and some pictures. The game is on!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Good luck and God speed!
Posted by: Beverly on 10/24/2018 at 4:27 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
We woke today to a frosty morning. Items left outside were damp and crispy. As we packed up camp you could see your breath. We are getting closer to the snow, which makes all of us happy. The trail weaved through the jungle along side the Seti River. You have to be careful for the stinging nettle like plant as you walk. If it pokes you it stings for hours. I've been poked many times. The scenery reminds us of a magical place. A place like the shire from the Lord of the Rings. Little shanty homes pop up here and there. The trail we are on is a trail to people's homes. Once again after a handful of hours walking we have arrived to our next home for the night, our own little shantytown. A bonfire has been made, which adds comfort to the chilly evening air. Tomorrow we may arrive to Base Camp, but as stated, we are on Nepali time, so who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Goodnight,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
So happy to be included in your daily treks! So awesome!
Posted by: Michelle the mom on 10/24/2018 at 8:47 pm
What your doing Hannah is so very cool! Thanks for sharing your journey!
Posted by: Diane Chesness on 10/24/2018 at 7:54 pm
Namaste from Kathmandu!
RMI's 2018 Kyajo Ri and Ama Dablam Expedition has officially started. Everyone arrived yesterday on time, and we kicked off our trip with a nice dinner in Thamel, the central commercial district of the city. Today we spent the morning sightseeing and the rest of the day organizing and prepping for tomorrow's flight into the Khumbu, to start our trek uphill.
Stay tuned for our adventure into the mountains to start!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and team
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
You just can't make this stuff up folks. It started as a normal morning. We woke and ate rice portage, followed by some confusion on when we were leaving and how far we would go. This relaxed sense of time and a schedule is called Nepali time. Everything takes longer then you think and no one has a direct answer. We sat around a bit then we were informed there was going to be a goat sacrifice. Bells, chanting and smoke filled the air as a momma goat and and baby goat were taken into the temple and killed. Then the goats were decapitated by the teeth of a priest. Shortly afterwards we ate some bread and piece of goat and were on our way to the next camp. After walking roughly four hours we arrived to our jungle camp, a forest of marijuana. The porters took machetes to the marijuana, stumped it down, then we set up our tents. With so many people it is a sea of yellow tents, with no room to walk between them. As I write this it has began to sprinkle a little, so we are settling into our home for the night and having tea time. Tomorrow we will hit the trail again, getting closer to our Base Camp.
Talk to you later,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Geez Louise! Like I said, what you are experiencing is like a movie! Small town minnesota girl! Who would ever dream that you would be doing what you are!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 10/23/2018 at 4:36 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Snug as a bug under a rug, 10 of us slept in a small room. Last night having arrived to the village in the dark with no gear, a tea house took us in. They fed us Dhal Bhat and tea, and gave us their extra room with blankets for us all to sleep. It was a fun little slumber party. We woke casually this morning and fired up the one stove I had to make our coffee. We then ate our breakfast, a bowl of ramen, and did some laundry. After wandering the village for an hour, we could see the rest of our team, and porters arriving with all the gear. We told our story about our night and settled in. The rest of the day we are taking time to ourselves to read and write. Jorge one of the team members, is a doctor is Spain and is setting up a medical tent. He will see the villagers and give them needed medicine, such as vitamins, antibiotics, and pain killers. This will be the first time many of these people have seen a doctor. As for now, We enjoy the last few hours of sun and will get ready for more walking tomorrow.
Adios,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
So awesome! Go ladies!
Uncle Mike
Posted by: MIKE SMITH on 10/23/2018 at 5:40 am
You guys are troopers! How kind and wonderful are the Nepalese people.
Posted by: Michelle the mom on 10/22/2018 at 9:04 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
We finally hit the trail! It felt real good to get the legs going and get some miles behind us. The trail was mathi tala, up down, up down. We walked uphill to just walk back down, then wind around a jungle peak to walk back up another. After many miles and nine hours of walking we arrived at a village. We aren't sure we are in the right village and we don't know where our mules are, but we are in good spirits eating cookies and crushing orange soda. Its gonna be a cold night of sleep without our duffels, but it's all apart of the adventure. Tomorrow we will find the rest of our team and start a new day.
Good night,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Evening!
Today we finished our last day of driving. After a three hour drive in a jeep with a muddy finish we arrived in Talkot. After many selfies, mostly taken by the local people and a delicious dinner, we are readying for bed. Tomorrow we start walking!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
We started our morning with a simple question: coffee or tea? I am a coffee person along with most of the members of the team, so we say coffee, black coffee. Our meanings of black coffee are different. In Nepal it seems all black coffee means sugar water with a hint of coffee...so we take our shot of hot sugar water and prepare for the day (tomorrow morning we will make our own coffee with my MSR windburner stove and Starbucks Via). Today was another day of driving on the windy, one and three quarter lane road. As the bus bumped along the road with horns sounding our presence around the turns, you can't help but zone out. Thoughts of how simple life is here, with minimal distraction from social media and media in general...it seems nice, but then the mind floats to the mountains and what you should climb next. We arrived in the town of Chainpur where we were once again greeted to the town by dance, scarves and flowers. But this greeting was different for this time we got to meet the four Nepali women that will be joining us on our climb. They range from the age of 19 to 25. They have been training for this climb the last four months by trekking into the basecamp and in Kathmandu. They are all very excited and eager to climb and learn some more, just as were are excited to climb, teach and learn ourselves. We took an afternoon stroll to the top of the foothills to stretch our legs before we sat down for a delicious dinner of fried rice. We are definitely eating our weight in rice on this trip. As the evening winds down, we enjoy our last chance on the wifi and get ready for bed. Tomorrow brings our last day of driving and the start of our trekking.
Climb on,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Might be a good idea to switch to tea…
Posted by: Mary Ann on 10/20/2018 at 9:11 am
So exciting!
Posted by: Mary Ann on 10/20/2018 at 12:37 am
The mountains are calling and I must go.
-John Muir
Good looking group!
Posted by: Beverly on 10/26/2018 at 6:28 am
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