Mount Everest

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

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go to Chittwan National Forest in Southern Nepal to go Rhino stalking. Now THAT is a rush!!!

Oh my gosh...stop tempting me, Linny! I cannot go to Nepal when I go to visit India, but I may have to look into the "rhino stalking" for next time. It sounds like something that I would sooo LOVE to do!!! (I know, I'm so weird!)

[Frenchy68 0]

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go to Chittwan National Forest in Southern Nepal to go Rhino stalking

Uh... Why go all the way there to stalk him? I can do that in Speaker's Corner!

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[linny 1]

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go to Chittwan National Forest in Southern Nepal to go Rhino stalking. Now THAT is a rush!!!

Oh my gosh...stop tempting me, Linny! I cannot go to Nepal when I go to visit India, but I may have to look into the "rhino stalking" for next time. It sounds like something that I would sooo LOVE to do!!! (I know, I'm so weird!)

Well Rosa, if you ever go, I'll be sure to brief you on "What to do if a Rhino charges you, 101"
Actually it's quite simple..... Don't do what I did and freeze.... RUN!

[Frenchy68 0]

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One former girlfriend of mine tried to climb both Everest and K2. She successfully climbed several others including Gasherbrum, Kanchenjunga etc. It was scary to talk to her afterwards - she'd lose around 50 IQ points. (She had them to spare, fortunately.) She was buried in an avalanche once, and had several porters die on her. She wrote a book on it - "K2: one woman's quest for the summit" which you can get on Amazon if you're interested.

Good point. My take on the whole "climbing the himalayas" thingie (damn, especially K2!), based on having experienced mountain climbing friends explaining it to me: if you are not super fit, knowledgable of the (extreme) sport, and properly(understatement) trained, it amounts to pushing a ground trained AFF Level 1 student out the door without any instructors jumping along. You'd better hope everything goes textbook...

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[shunkka 0]

everest is not a trip
is a challenge
do it

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"jump, have fun, pull"

[PhreeZone 20]

Yep, Mckinnley is a climb, and its WAY beyond my level for now and the future. Even some of the 14'ers in CO that are "just a hike" are still beyond my level today.

I've talked to a few people that have done it and I know just how easy it is to end up a heap of trouble even to the most prepared and skilled. I have no business even thinking about it till I cut my teeth on quite a few easier and less technical climbs. Solo as in climb it a lone.. thats insane. Solo for me would be not as part of a big corperate lead group and more of finding a group to climb with on my own. I've heard fees for lead treks are getting expensive.

I've still got issues climbing 5.6 routes indoors. Like I said... Its a LONG ways aways
Even just hiking to places like Shasta is'nt exactly the easiest thing in the world, but its a hell of a lot less then most the big peaks.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Zennie 0]

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Wouldn't you rather BASE Norway ?

Well yeah of course I want to BASE Norway and I most certainly will, eventually.

If you want to venture into the realm of the exotic you could go where 460 and I have talked about going and do both!

Check out the pics and tell me that wouldn't be an incredible BASE jump. Plus this climb looks REALLY hardcore.

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

[gjhdiver 0]

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I'm thinking about doing a 3 week Mount Everest trip. Any info would be appreciated.

This is all very raw thought so I don't have dates set or even an idea of what I'm doing here....

Thanks!

I have friends who are serious climbers, and I thought about doing this as well, so here goes.

First, read Jon Krakauers book Into Thin Air. Do it now if you haven't already. I'll lend you mine if you want. Then read Touching The Void. Don't go on the mountain until you have. It's an account of what happens when things go badly wrong on Everest. Part of the problem is exactly what you describe. The mountain is getting sold as an adventure destination, when in fact, like any other 20,000 foot plus peak, it's a killer. Getting up it is the easy part. Lots of people have done that. Getting down it is another matter. More people have died coming down, totally debitated by hypoxia and edema than have fallen off it going up.

Learn about the Death Zone about 25000. Over that height, even with supplemental O2, you have barely enough energy to maintain basic bodily functions, let alone do any physical work. If you hurt yourself in any way at this height, you will be left there to die.You will not be carried down and helped. If the weather turns there and maroons you at the alititude for any amount of time, you will die.

Remember at that height, you are in the jetstream, and Everest experiences 100 mph plus winds and insane chill factors. Your tent will be shredded. If you do the climb, you'll be able to see the dessicated bodies of all the climbers that have just run out of steam, got edema or got hurt, sat down and died where they stopped. You can even go and see Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to attempt the thing if you like. He's lying face down at the foot of the Lhotse face with a broken leg after falling down it on his descent in the 1930's.

Part of the reason that so many people are dying on the mountian now is that tour operators are hauling people up it on execursions, and relying on the skills of good guides and sherpa to corral them safely. Unfortunately, if the guide gets hurt or just deserts the party, the people in it have virtually no chance of survival.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't do it, but you need to be totally physically fit, and mentally really together. Oh yeah, base camp is an open garbage dump. Nobody carried anything off that mountain, from used O2 to human waste, although to be fair,some operators are trying to clean it up.

Having said all that, the lure of it is very enticing.

[Frenchy68 0]

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You will not be carried down and helped

Very true. And helicopter evacuation is not an option at this altitude, as it is too high for a chopper to have any air to play with...

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[prepheckt 0]

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You will not be carried down and helped

Very true. And helicopter evacuation is not an option at this altitude, as it is too high for a chopper to have any air to play with...

But that's not what I saw in the movie Veritical Limit! Everyone knows how much the movies can teach you.

"Dancing Argentine Tango is like doing calculus with your feet."
-9 toes

[lawrocket 3]

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You can even go and see Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to attempt the thing if you like. He's lying face down at the foot of the Lhotse face with a broken leg after falling down it on his descent in the 1930's.

Actually, it's Mallory you can see. Hillary's still alive and well.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[gjhdiver 0]

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You can even go and see Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to attempt the thing if you like. He's lying face down at the foot of the Lhotse face with a broken leg after falling down it on his descent in the 1930's.

Actually, it's Mallory you can see. Hillary's still alive and well.

Bugger. I knew that Just having a brainfart.

[Girlfalldown 0]

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Bugger. I knew that Just having a brainfart.

Do those smell as bad as your normal farts?

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[truckerbase 0]

I did the Everest Base Camp climb a little over a year ago, before a trip to India; flew into Katmandu, stayed a few days to see buddhist and Hindu sites, then flew into Lukla and walked up from there all the way to Everest Base Camp and then partly onto the Khumba Ice fall (illegally). If you want to do this with a guide I would recommend World Expeditions, which is an Australian Based company, but their American offices are in SF. They will look after you well, but you can do it just fine by yourself. Getting yourself a porter isnt a bad idea though. I loved it. I climbed to Ama Dablan base camp and climbed to the top of Kalapatar (near Gorak Shep), before heading to Base Camp. If you can do so, go during the full moon as these views at night are surreal.

Also, there was zero trash at Base Camp. And "overly-commercialized" is a radical overstatement. Youll see when you get there. As for helicopters, the wreck of one still rests near Base Camp so they are semi operable at that point at great cost.

I also spoke with people who had done the Annapurna route, and the Mountain passes trip. All had identical things to say about those trips as I had about mine.

Wonderful beyond description, do it.

[MWGemini 0]

I think the trip the GFD is talking about is just a trek to basecamp, and NOT a climb. Anyone who is/was a climber knows that Everest is not summited in three weeks by the "average person". Messner and Viesturs, sure, but everyone else, no. Everest CLIMB expeditions are generally in the 2-4 month range if I recall correctly.

What TruckerBASE did sounds a lot like a trip I tried to do several years ago, which was a 3 week guided trek to climb Kala Patar and then go to Everest base camp, but no higher than that. I'm betting that this is the same thing GFD is talking about.

Anyone who is not a good climber should not even THINK about trying to climb Everest, even on a guided and fully supported expedition. Chances are you won't summit. Or maybe you will, and won't survive the descent. From what I understand, however, Kala Patar is a very mild climb that is not much more difficult than a technical hike. I can't say from experience, since I was not able to go, but it is probably within the realm of someone who is in good shape but has never climbed before.

Mike

[Girlfalldown 0]

Ding Ding Ding! Finally someone that actually read my post!

I am not much of a climber so I wouldn't even think of trying to climb it but the hike just looks beautiful. That's what I want out of it. Long all day big hiking for a couple of weeks along with beautiful scenery away from everyone and everything just sounds so thereaputic to me.

Thanks Truckerbase and MWGemini.

And to the rest of you that went off without reading the post... BITE ME!

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[DeepThought 0]

I went there a couple of years ago. If you can you deffinetly have to go.

I went with a company called Himalayan Kingdoms. ( http://www.himalayankingdoms.com/ ). And I could not say a bad word about them.

If you want a well run trip with no hastle of orgonasation, pick them.

If you do go make sure you go to a peak called Kala Pattar, it is in the same area as Base camp, but it is a peak on 18,100ft with the most amazing view I have ever seen.

I have put some pics on my webs site ( I know it is the worst designed site in the world, It is only there to share photos) www.plindstrand.co.uk

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You only have one life, make the most of it.

[Hooknswoop 19]

I re-read your post:

"I'm thinking about doing a 3 week Mount Everest trip. I was checking out a book on some long hiking trips and this one seemed like the one I'd want to do the most. Have any of you ever done it? Climbed it? Hiked it? Visited? Whatever? I'd like to hear your stories and how you went about it like if you went with a legit company and traveled with a group of people you didn't know of if you threw a bunch of friends together. Any info would be appreciated.

This is all very raw thought so I don't have dates set or even an idea of what I'm doing here....

Thanks!"

And didn't see anything in there about just climbing to Base Camp. So if you are angry about the replys you recieved, maybe you should have been clear in your post.

Derek

[Girlfalldown 0]

er...."I was checking out a book on some long hiking trips and this one seemed like the one I'd want to do the most"

???



I just thought it was funny that everyone assumed I wanted to climb it.

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[DeepThought 0]

One of the best books on the subject is "Trekking in the Everest Region" by Jamie Mc Gunness
ISBN 1 873756 60 7

The trek I went on did not involve any serious climbing. It was walking about 6 hours a day.
On the second day, the trek to Namch Bazzar is very hard work, after that it is not too hard until the last day when you reach the peak.

As long as you are reasnobly fit you will be able to manage it.

In the goup I went with I only knew 2 other, but everyone got on very well.

Porters where orgonised to carry all your luggage up, so all you have to worry about are things you need that day.

I am sure there are a lot of cheaper ways to do it, but I dought there are any easier.

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You only have one life, make the most of it.

[truckerbase 0]

Yup, Naamche Bazaar is a hike, but that was my acclimatization stop also, so hanging out in the market place for two days, and getting my first view of Everest was great. Quite a buzzing crowd of tibetans, nepalese, locals and tourists.
But still with internet access so girlfalldown can still spare some time to complain

And yes Kalapatar is just a big hill, but at over 17000 ft a big hill becomes
a Jim Morrison psychedelic experience; great views of Everest, Lotse, the Khumba Glacier and the rest of the world.

Honestly, everyone at the top of Kalapatar, including me, were crying our eyes out with joy. But of course the altitude had a lot to do with it, too.

And lastly, there is the strange high altitude effect of being incredibly horny for some people, including me, which fortunately some girls up there suffered from also...


All the more reason to keep GFD OFF that mountain...

[Girlfalldown 0]

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And lastly, there is the strange high altitude effect of being incredibly horny for some people, including me, which fortunately some girls up there suffered from also...


All the more reason to keep GFD OFF that mountain...

Oh man! I'm going for sure!!!!!

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[blueskybug 0]

If you are really interested i would recommend you contact Alpine Acents or Mountain Madness for detail. There are alot of small details that you would need to know and or have taken care of.
As far as price range AA will have alot of info but will run a little more money, but their trips are a little better (IMO)

good luck and be safe

vince

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[Girlfalldown 0]

Have you used them before or know someone that has? If so tell me about the experience!

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[truckerbase 0]

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And lastly, there is the strange high altitude effect of being incredibly horny for some people, including me, which fortunately some girls up there suffered from also...


All the more reason to keep GFD OFF that mountain...

Oh man! I'm going for sure!!!!!

Well, in Gorak Shep, near the top, in the lodge with the little tomb like freezing rooms I will forever remember the young girl alone in the room next to mine (about the size of a locker) behind the cardboard (plywood) wall; masturbating saying "oooooohhh, thats the spot...." And having my heart rate triple in the thin air....(true story)

ooooooohhhh, the stories I could tell.