One day closer Everest Base Camp

    One Day Closer To Everest

This has been a wild and crazy journey… everyday seems more dramatic and beautiful. Won’t lie it’s also gets tougher as we continue to hike higher and higher. The sky seems to be a deeper “bluer”. My guess is less pollution at these altitudes. 

So we left Tengbouche yesterday morning. I woke up at 5 and the room (no heat) I could see my breath and needed to start moving to get warm.  It’s was a chilly 30 degs. We had breakfast at 7am. I have been starting my mornings with ginger tea and a small breakfast. I also take my altitude meds along with my new friend of ibuprofen daily for some minor body aches. 

We hit the trail at 8am after we all stretch and go over our trek for the day. Spirts are high and everyone is ready. Our hike will take us over 2,200 ft of elevation gain. 

We cross more suspension bridges with amazing views. Our main snow capped mountain in view all day Ama Dablam. This mountain is just insane looking. We also are finding more Yaks along the trail. 

After 7 hours and 19 mins of hiking we made it to Dingboche. We are at 14,470ft. The highest I have ever been. We hiked for about 8 hours. We will be here all day today to acclimate. We have a hike today to over 16,667 ft to help with acclimatization. Everest base camp is getting closer. Sunday is the day! The entire team has been doing great. It’s been a very slow and steady trek up into the mountains.

 The landscape has changed dramatically. There are no more trees. It’s just rocks and open valleys. The daytime temps have been in the 40’s. Clear blue sunny skies. The sun has been harsh at these altitudes. Lots of sunscreen and keeping covered up. 

The nights have been in the low 30’s. There are no heat in the tea huts rooms. I have been sleeping with a hat, gloves and jacket to keep warm. I can see my breath thru the night. Hot ginger tea has been a must. lol Sleeping has been shorter as we continue to climb. Over all my body has been feeling pretty good. 

Some simple stats so far…

I have hiked 30.2 miles so far. We ascend 10,796 ft. Descent has been at 5,855 ft. 

Time to get ready for today’s hike! Only getting higher…Thanks for following me on this journey! 

First glimpse Mt Everest!!!

First glimpse Mt Everest!!…

Today was just mind blowing….. we had a very special treat after hiking 1,456ft…taking us to 12,780 ft

I SAW MT EVEREST!!!!!! Oh my.. the feelings.. the emotions!

 

This trek is getting incredible by the moment. 

Thank you so much for everyone who has donated towards a powerful cause. Even today seeing these villages and the way of life out here words can’t explain. 

If you can give towards such a worthy cause please do so. 🙏🏼

https://joegarzaphotography.com/mt-everest/

One step at a time

One step at a time…

Early morning alarm goes off at 5:45am to get ready for breakfast at 6:30am. The tea house was cold and cozy. Cold… no heat in my room. Shower was just warm / cold. Haha 

We get ready for hike to Namche Bazaar which is 8 hours away. Our elevation change we will ascend to 3600ft. 

We do a little stretch and head off. 

We trek along the river with magnificent views of the snow cap mountains are just breathtaking. We pass thru many little villages and meet some many wonderful people. The children are so precious and kind. 

We cross 3 amazing suspension bridges along the way. We also cross the world famous Hillary Step bridge as seen from the movie “Everest” 

This came the hardest part of the hike yesterday. The hike was straight up and slow and steady. 

After 8.5 hours we arrive in Namche Bazaar at 4:34pm. 

The views are just incredible here…. Its the largest village that we have been to since we started. I’m hoping and praying that we have clear skies tonight as I want to do some nighttime milkyway images. 

Enjoy my journey as I take you thru the Himalaya Mountains as we trek to Everest

Lukla arrival!

Our flight to Lukla!!

Arrived in Lukla! 

We left Kathmandu at 4:30 this morning to catch our 6:15 flight out. 35 mins later we were flying into the mountain valley. 

No words or pictures can explain the feelings or emotions flying into Lukla this morning. What a adrenaline rush! Flying past the snow capped Himalaya mountains during sunrise. Going past massive waterfalls along with suspension bridges. Oh my what a thrill! 

Landing here was just EPIC! As the plane touched down our group irrupted cheers, tears and clapping. Our team is now a family that has bonded in just less than 48 hours after meeting. 

After we landed we enjoyed a incredible breakfast with tea. We spent the morning and early afternoon acclimating to the 9,200 elevation. We are about to start our 5 hour hike to our next village to spend the night. The suspension bridges are next! 

Part II of our day to Phakding

Today I have to admit… I got emotional. Hiking today included some absolutely breathtaking views as we heading to Phakding today. Over suspension bridges and so much more. 

Now here’s the emotional park of the day. 

As you know this trek is raising the awareness and fight human trafficking. We read about it… hear about it on the news and more. 

These girls are being trafficked at such a young age. 

Well…. Before I left my daughters wanted to make bracelets for the young children here in Nepal. As I passed thru these some villages today I passed out and talked to these children. Their faces lite up and smiled as they picked out which one they liked. I showed them the picture of my daughters Chloe and Brianna that made them. Well I will just let you enjoy the pictures of them today. ❤️

I’m still working on my fundraising to help these victims who are affected by trafficking. If you can please consider donating to this Everest trek. 

WiFi has been pretty weak as we continue to climb. I will continue to update my journey to Everest! Please visit “Give to the cause” or thru my website. Thank you so much for your support and love  🙏🏼🙏🏼

Last flight…. Off to Kathmandu

  Last leg…Kathmandu!!

We are now boarding on Qatar flight QR652. We have a 4 hr and 15 min flight. I wheels up at 1:54am. Our flight is 4.5 hours thru the night for a 8:30am arrival. So hard to believe I’m only hours away from the Everest region. Can’t wait to see, hear, smell the culture of the Nepal region. 

This is what I have been working and training for over a year. 

We have made it to Kathmandu!!!!! Wheels touched down at 8:33am Nepal time. 

The sun shining bright… everything from the air looks so different. We even saw our first glance of the Himalaya mountains with Mt. Everest! 

Got thru customs, Covid info and all our bags arrived! It’s a great start for everyone. 

We are greeted by our host of Five14….  We are welcomed with silk scarfs to their country. 

 We are then shuttle thru the streets of madness. Very overwhelming at the moment to watch the fast pace craziness! 

We are then shuffled to our resort. Where are welcome with food and drinks. Everything is very outdoor open feeling. This is just amazing! 

Tomorrow morning we are heading to Lukla at 4:30am.. at this point our WiFi could be very sketchy so my post will be ASAP in the evenings at the tea houses. Our plane ride to Lukla…. Holy crap it’s starts! Stay tuned! 

33 hours of travel…

First leg… Madison to Kathmandu

At 1:10pm in Madison 6 of us board the bus to head to Chicago O’hare for my flight to Doha, Qatar. We have 33 hours of traveling in front of me. After a few stops along the way we make it to Chicago.  

We now have a additional 5 more trekkers that join us. Our team is growing quickly! A few people had some Covid issues so they had to get another test at the airport costing a additional $225 for it. Ouch… good news they made it just in time. 

Boarding time… Flying Qatar airlines on a 777-300ER aircraft. It’s massive for sure. Wheels up at 8:12pm central time. Next stop is Doha 13+ hours away. 

Our flight was great and nice and smooth. Flying at 35,000ft over 550kts. This is the longest flight I have been on. The service was excellent. I had a couple meals… not exactly sure what it was but it was good. 

We are in Doha! 

After 13+hours we touch down at 5:33pm. It’s 84 degs here. We are one more flight closer to Kathmandu! We have a little down here so our group decided to head to a “lounge” room. There are showers, food, drinks and more to just relax and get some rest.