Friday, April 9, 2010
Kathmandu, Nepal and Prep for Makalu
We are in Nepal! We just arrived and only have pictures from the flight in (my first glimpse of Everest), but we wanted to post this update since we likely won't have another one for about a month. We were fortunate enough to be able to re-route our trip and join our friend Rob and his expedition heading to Makalu.
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From Wikipedia:
Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world and is located 22 km (14 mi) east of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and China. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolated peak whose shape is a four-sided pyramid. Makalu is one of the harder eight-thousanders, and is considered one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb. The mountain is notorious for its steep pitches and knife-edged ridges that are completely open to the elements. The final ascent of the summit pyramid involves technical rock/ice climbing.
We will be with the expedition until base camp (5200m; 17,000ft), but we won't be making a summit bid as Rob will. Still this is a unique opportunity and we are very psyched. The hardest part of this is that the timing isn't perfect. We will be deep in the Himalayas as our nephew is born and that is extremely difficult for both of us.
The expedition has a blog and should be updated as we go, so that is your best bet for following us over the next month.
http://www.k2klinke.blogspot.com/
The journey for us will be just under a month; for the climbers more like two months. So please check it out!
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Leslie and Jim -
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! Super jealous, as we just had to turn down a trip like this a friend was planning. I hope you guys have an amazing adventure, and can't wait to read all about it. :-) Be safe!