Hello to all, Robbie writing to you on the 16th of April from Seduwa and all is great!!! We have meshed well with our new French friends and we are traveling with great strength and bright smiles. The Nepali children have have helped us along the way and have provided us with some well deserved entertainment... Aside of a lil delay getting out of KTM we finally are hiking in some of the more remote areas of Nepal. We are in the Makalu/ Barun Valley and today was the most strenuous day of the trek so far for we had had to actually hike. Yep, we didn't have jeep support, no really today was spectacular... We are definitely in the thick of the Nepali culture... Broken english is par for the trek and the remoteness and the surreal landscape adds to the journeys mystical milieu... An interesting mix of tropical and high alipine flora.... Thick cummulus clouds obscure the high mountains though for a brief moment we were able to glimpe the lower South Face of Makalu from above Num. We have been blessed with no ailments aside of some low grade Gi issues and a loving leech that afixed itself to Leslie's index finger..Iodine works well for leech removal!!! We are so Psyched that all is going so well and we are hoping that our great fortunes continue for the rest of the expedition...

In The Du

Just a quick update to make sure my sat phone and electronics are in working order before going out into the mountains. I had a great flight over, slept soundly, and ready for the days ahead. Today is all about checking the list for the fourth time .

At Base Camp

We arrived at Cho Oyu Base Camp yesterday morning. Everything is going great. Tents are up, food has been amazing, and everyone on the team is healthy and acclimatizing well.

This morning we went for a hike up to Palung which is the intermediate camp between the Chinese Basecamp and Advanced Base Camp, BC is at about 4855m and Palung is at about 5400m so it did our bodies some good to get the exercise after sitting in a car for the past 4 days.

Our trip to BC was relatively uneventful. We got stopped by one landslide on the Nepal side of the border and then missed the cutoff time to cross the border. Because of that we stayed in Kodari, Nepal instead of Zhangmu, Tibet. We spent two days in Nylam and I have to say how I am amazed at the new road that was put in on the Tibet side. What used to take 4 hours only took 45 minutes. While in Nylam we hiked up to about 5100m and enjoyed ourselves people watching. Then we moved to Tingri and I found it exactly as I remembered it, dogs outnumbering people 3 to 1, dusty and, a bit trying. We were all happy to depart Tingri and head to BC.

Our plan now is to spend a rest day at BC tomorrow and then head up to Palung on the 9th where we load our 4000lbs of food and gear onto yaks for the hike to ABC, and spend 1 night. We should arrive at ABC on the 10th of October and we will spend a day or two setting up camp and getting ready to start moving up the mountain.

Chris Klinke
Cho Oyu BC

Of Monsoons and Sutures

We awoke in Seduwa just inside the Makalu Barun National Park at 5:12 AM -- 18 minutes earlier than was hoped -- to the sound of a barking dog. The dog beat our alarms to the punch. Still spirits were high; the weather wasn't perfect, but there was no rain and we had a relatively easy day in front of us. The hike was beautiful through the cloud forest and we came across many smiling faces along the way. The team members all made the hike to Tashigaon before lunch and we were glad for it as the clouds began to descend. During lunch the rains came. We were sheltered, but many of the porters had not yet arrived in Tashigaon and were not so lucky. But a little rain didn't slow them down and they carried thier heavy loads down and up the steep valley sides.

Shortly after lunch Eric and Rob broke out the medical kit to treat a Sherpa who had an open suturable lac approx 5cm from a mishap with mini sledge while pounding a chisel. The Sherpa, Lakpa, had sustained an injury that received sutures approx 3 weeks ago and now he had cellulitis. The sutures were removed and the wound was once again dressed, though this time it was left open. Cleaned, dressed and PO antibiotics, we sent him on his way to be seen again on our return trip out.

This was all made a bit more interesting as the weather continued to intensify and the monsoon rains came in sideways mixed with hail. Lakpa successfully patched up, he headed into the yard to show off his new bandages to his friends.

The rains (and hail) did let up a bit. Brad and I enjoyed watching about a dozen Sherpas chasing tonight's dinner (chicken) through town. Coops may be a bit easier, but this was certainly more entertaining for chasers and onlookers alike (if not for the chicken). So now we sit awaiting dinner and our sleeping bags that will surely follow closely on dinner's heels. Tomorrow is our first long, hard day. About eight hours of hiking and lots of steep ascents away, Khongma awaits.

- Jim Kendrick (with help from Rob)
17 April 2010