Kathmandu, Lukla, and Namche

Well, after our time warp in Pokhara we have had some interesting experiences. We took the flight out of Pokhara instead of risking another 11 hour van ride over a bridge that was deteriorating rapidly and only had one lane open. We left our hotel and arrived at our hotel in Kathmandu in 2 hours door-to-door. We had amazing view of the Himalayan Spine that spans Nepal's northern border. Upon arrival in Kathmandu we got our rooftop rooms and waited for the arrival of our cousin-in-law who had a delay from the typhoon that wreaked havoc on Southeast Asia. We greeted him with a beer on the rooftop and then said goodnight. The next few days consisted of arranging for our climbing permits, park-entry permits, and a few other documents that we needed for entry into Sagarmatha National Park. We also visited the Monkey Temple and the town square in Kathmandu. We had some amazing meals from all over the globe and ate plenty in preparation for our daily Dal Bhat dosage in the mountains. We said goodbye to many of our friends that we had met on the Annapurna Circuit who were heading out on their own respective adventures. The last day in Kathmandu consisted of buying essentials for the mountains as well as getting a bit nervous for our upcoming flight into Lukla.
We awoke at 4:00 a.m. and headed to the airport where we would fly out of Kathmandu on a 40 minute ride over the massive foothills of the Himalayas. The other means of getting to Lukla would be by a 10 hour bus ride and then a 6-day trek that would include over 30,000 feet of total ascent. After, dealing with normal Nepali bureaucracy, we finally got on the plane after pay a substantial fee for reasons not entirely understood. The flight was amazing and terrifying at the same time. We flew over the lush jungle, foothills, and had spectacular views of the Himalayas and even Mount Everest. We were quite scared when we skirted mountain ridges by a mere 100 meters. While passing over these ridges the wind shear was frightening with a great deal of turbulence and moments of immense fear. Then, after what seemed to be a reasonably short flight we started lowering closer and closer to the ridge and bounced down onto the landing strip. Everyone let out an exuberant cheer knowing that we had completed the most dangerous part of the 30 day trek.
We then got our gear and had brunch at Lukla where we made arrangements for our Porters. After the business was taken care of we began our 30-day trek descending into an immense river valley where we spent the evening at Phakding(8,600 feet). The next day we had our ritual french press and got on with the trekking. We hiked up the river valley until we reached a confluence of river that used to be the border of old Tibet. Here we crossed a bridge that rested above the rivers approximately 130 meters. After the bridge we climbed straight up a huge ridge that ended in the town on Namche(11,300 feet), gateway to Mt Everest. We all felt the altitude a great deal and had a difficult time hiking up and down the steep staircases of Namche. Namche is an enigma in its own right with outdoor gear stores, handcraft shopping, coffee shops, bakeries, and other stores to lure in the wayward tourist. Namche, the expedition center for moutaineering, rests in a U-shaped ridge that staircases up a steep ridge. We had a nice bit of food and went to bed a bit winded and weary due to the altitude.
The next day we awoke and hiked up the ridge where Namche rests hoping for a view of Everest at the top. Our hopes were rewarded and when we reached the top of the ridge we saw Mt. Everest protruding just above Lhotse Ridge. We also had great view of many of the other famous Himalayan peaks including Cholaste and Ama Dablam. We stared at Everest for a great while and took pictures and video for family back home and memories in the future. After our viewing we went down to a tea house where we had coffee, tea, and steaks while taking in the view of Mount Everest. Tomorrow we head up to Thame where we will acclimate and climb to over 15,000 feet on our "rest day". After that, onto Gokyo, Cho La Pass, and many more Everest views. We hope to post more stories as we travel through the Himalayas, but putting up pictures seems to take a great deal of time and probably won't occur until our descent. Namaste!