Thursday, October 26, 2017

[#AmaDablamTour Days 13 - 15] Climbing Lobuche East


Day 13-15 - Lobuche East [October 26-28, 2015]


It's been two years since our trip to Nepal. Time and distance brings introspection. I'm concluding my story with the benefit of hindsight, though it takes away from the "spirit of the moment" but helps me relate my experience to the larger scheme of things. In more ways than one, returning to my comfort zone made writing about my experience less urgent. If anyone felt robbed of a conclusion to my story, my sincerest apologies for this late post. For those reading this blog for the first time, you may want to read the start of this story here. Thanks for your support! 


Recapping where we left off in the story, we just returned to Lobuche from Gorak Shep after the team's forays to EBC and Kala Patthar. From here we parted ways with the ladies and Ang Kami as they continued to Pheriche. Someone proposed that maybe we can delay our bid for Lobuche East by a day to recuperate and better adjust to the altitude. We managed to discuss this with Dawa, who gave the sobering news that the weather might turn in the next two days, and that if we didn’t climb as scheduled, there’s a chance that the weather won’t be favorable. No choice but to move on as planned.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Getting Back



Re-starting something after being away for some time is always hard (except maybe riding a bike, which they say you never forget). Even the thought of re-launching this blog, for example, is taking an extreme amount of energy. What more to actually start writing content again?

So after a year since my last hike of significant elevation gain, I headed back up a mountain. This time, the Pantingan Peak of Mt. Mariveles in Bagac, Bataan. I hoped that muscle memory will make up for the utter lack of hiking in the past six months. Pantingan turned out to be a mountain you should not restart climbing on.
Image may contain: mountain, sky, cloud, grass, outdoor and nature
The approach to Pantingan Peak (right-of-center)