South Pole Mike: May 2022

This is a very long post with over 150 pictures. I took over a thousand pictures and it took a lot of work to pare these down. But it was such a fantastic and out of this world trip hiking in the most fantastic setting in this world that few people will ever experience. Thanks to Amy and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Trekking in Dubai for this wonderful opportunity. And a special thanks to Kelly for the invitation to join her and for "not killing her neighbor!" And also to a very young world traveler, Grace, who helped me overcome a few difficult times. We were the "Four Amigos!"

After the four of us hiked the Poon Hill Trek as shown in the previous post we flew back to Kathmandu from Pokhara, flew to Lukla, and met the other members of our group of 19 which included 5 males. Also included were Sherpas, porters, and Yaks.

Before I learned to smile on this trek. Thanks to Kelly, Grace, and Amy I learned how to smile again and be animated - a very difficult task for me.

Flying into Kathmandu the cumulus clouds were amazing.

The enormous city of Kathmandu with a population of 2 and a half million.

The electrical wiring throughout Asia is scary.

What a cool city to explore.

I am an electrical engineer and tracing an electrical issue through this can be hazardous and very confusing!

Bamboo scaffolding.

Namaste.

Our ten day 80 mile Everest Base Camp Hike began in the town of Lukla, Nepal a 45 minute very small plane ride from Kathmandu. Lukla sits at just over 9,000 feet - a tough beginning for our acclimation.

What an interesting and cool town surrounded by beautiful peaks.

The hike begins - Grace and Kelly. In the background is a memorial to Nepal's first woman Sherpa.

It was a trek in awe.

The Nepalese carve on these stones and stack them to have a better life.

These rocks are carved with Tibetan Buddhist words for safe travels.

A very unique ladder for climbing the hillside.

One of our first suspension bridges.

Donkeys, mules, horses, and Yaks are prized as work animals. They populate the trail. We readily give way.

A safe travels "egg."

Carrying propane tanks.

A rock painting.

What a cool way to travel.

A relief of the Himalayas and the Everest Range.

There are many prayer wheels along the trek.

Magnificent!

The highest and longest suspension bridge in Nepal. I am afraid of heights and it took all I had to cross this.

Taking a break from a heavy load.

A very hard life for some.

Wash day in Namche.

Kelly and I hiking into Namche. The group spent two nights here to acclimate. On the second day, we hiked a few hundred meters up and then back down to spend another night.

What a cool town. Our teahouse had really good food and a hot shower, the only one on the trip!

Wash day!

Nepal's first woman Sherpa.

Occasionally we grew tired of teahouse food. On this day we had a really nice lunch with cake in a restaurant.

Our acclimating hike.

Looking down on Namche from our acclimating hike.

A beautiful sunrise.

Amy and Kelly with Mt. Everest in the background.

What planet is this?

Everest is the distant middle peak.

Sitting in front of Everest!

Yak, Yak!

Getting ready for the day's hike.

Our Yaks standing by.

The porters are enclosing our bags into waterproof sacks. These are then loaded onto the Yaks.

After a while, I was smiling all the time. It just took a bit of coaxing!

Magnificient! Hikers on the trail.

From here we hiked all the way to the river below for lunch then back up the opposite side.

We received a blessing (a red string tied around our neck) from a Lama at the temple and monastery in Tengboche.

The Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Tengboche. We spent the night in a teahouse next door.

A unique way to heat water. This high up above the tree line there is only solar power available. There is no wood or propane to provide heat, only dried Yak poop burned in a furnace. Not a pleasant smell but warm.

Continuing towards Everest.

The trek was 80 miles over varied terrain. Hikers at the bottom.

The village of Dingboche was another acclimation hike where we spent two nights. Both afternoons the "Four Amigos" sat at this delicious bakery basking inside the sun-baked sitting area. It was so warm and delicious as we drank hot chocolate, and tea and ate delicious cookies and cakes and chatted away the hours. We spent several hours here resting and eating. One can't beat fun times like this.

Hiking out of Dingbouche.

On top of the world!

A 10-day trek full of memories.

From one day to the next you never knew what you would see. What a cool house.

Our Yaks hauling our stuff.

We came across an Everest memorial area filled with cairns and memorials to those that have died attempting to summit Everest. A very humbling moment in time.

It was so eerie and quiet in the misty rain.

Scott Fischer was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for his ascents of the world's highest mountains made without the use of supplemental oxygen. He died in 1996 during a blizzard on his descent.

Wow! The altitude does magic to the atmosphere. This was our summit day.

Hikers to the left - within a few hours to Everest Base Camp.

Glaciers.

Everest Ice Falls.

Almost there.

Everest Base Camp tents to the left and icefall to the right.

Everest Base Camp.

What a magical place.

A magic moment - the "I was there picture!"

Our group picture. I'm on the far right in the blue jacket.

The end to a magical journey. We did good! For those that are metrically challenged that is 17,598 feet.

From Gorakshep (the last village before Everest Base Camp) we helicoptered back to Lukla and then returned to Kathmandu.

It was a very cold day and flight.

During the trek, our Sherpa cut me off from alcohol as it will mess with red blood cell oxygen levels which will contribute to high altitude mountain sickness. Thanks Mann. My wife can't cut me off but my Sherpa can!

Kelly and I enjoyed our first alcohol after arriving back in Lukla.

A fine beer.

Photobombed at the Irish Pub in Lukla, Nepal!

Our chariot awaits. What an exciting flight from one of the most dangerous airports in the world! We were the last flight out this day as it started raining hard as we took off.

Back in Kathmandu at a hotel.

We visited a temple with monkeys running wild.

Another fine Nepalese beer.

My neighbor Kelly and I flew to Dubai for a few days on our way back to Florida. Kelly used to live here so we played tourist. This is the world's tallest building.