April 12, 2007

"A climber's day always starts at the crux: getting out of bed." - Unknown

So my epic journey has begun, although quite slowly at first. Kazi and I left for the airport at 6am as we had a scheduled 7am departure. Unfortunately there was quite a substantial delay likely due to the weather in Lukla and we weren't in the air until 9:15. From what I've read this delay actually is quite minimal for flights to Lukla and trekkers can often be stranded for days. The plane was quite small and rediculously packed, the first 3 rows of seats were stuffed with baggage that wouldn't fit in the cargoe holds, the plane felt a little like a clown car with all the passengers and baggage. I would like to say that it was a comfortable flight, but then I would also like to say that I climbed Lhotse and Everest on this trip! The flight despite being cramped was uneventful until we approached the Himalayas... I sat shell shocked for the first several minutes watching the towering snow capped giants pass by, they were massive beyond all comprehension... and then I realised that these were really only the vanguard and that the true giants lurked behind and as of yet unseen.
Lukla is an interesting little town and the arrival there is no exception with only a couple of hundred meters of runway on which to stop if your not interested in a very up close and personal look at the mountain face at the end of the STOL. I saw my first yaks today at the tea house I will be camping at tonight and I think they are quite beautiful creatures. They share those doopey innocent eyes with their North American cattle cousins (turns out they weren't yaks but rather zho. Even at the end of my journey I still can't tell a yak/nak from a zho).
I am currently at 2,840m (~ 9100ft) and feel no worse for wear, hopefully this trend will continue at higher altitudes. This afternoon Dindy took me on a guided tour of Lukla, it is a lot bigger than I had anticipated and then it appears. We wondered along many foot paths and vistited the market (which was very uninspiring especially compared to Kathmandu's or even St-Chrosotome's), the monastery which has not yet been completed (but the artwork already created is exquisite) and the school located high above town. Finally to close off the day we wandered along 'main' street which felt a bit like Thamel, shops lining the streets and selling every type of wares imaginable. Lukla seems to have a very lucrative counterfit economy based on North Face and Mountain Hardwear apparel, everyone in town seems to sport a jacket by one of these two companies and seeing as how I can scarcely afford MH I fail to see how they can afford authentic apparel. Tomorrow my trek begins in earnest as we head for Chuttanga.